Genesis 2:19

2:19 The Lord God formed ¹  out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would ²  name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 9:23

9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment ³  and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned ⁴  the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.

Genesis 31:43

31:43 Laban replied ⁵  to Jacob, “These women ⁶  are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, ⁷  and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today ⁸  or the children to whom they have given birth?

Genesis 42:16

42:16 One of you must go and get ⁹  your brother, while ¹⁰  the rest of you remain in prison. ¹¹  In this way your words may be tested to see if ¹²  you are telling the truth. ¹³  If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”

Genesis 44:26

44:26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there. ¹⁴  If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, ¹⁵  for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

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¹ tn Or “fashioned.” To harmonize the order of events with the chronology of chapter one, some translate the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive as a past perfect (“had formed,” cf. NIV) here. (In chapter one the creation of the animals preceded the creation of man; here the animals are created after the man.) However, it is unlikely that the Hebrew construction can be translated in this way in the middle of this pericope, for the criteria for unmarked temporal overlay are not present here. See S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 84-88, and especially R. Buth, “Methodological Collision between Source Criticism and Discourse Analysis,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 138-54. For a contrary viewpoint see IBHS 552-53 §33.2.3 and C. J. Collins, “The Wayyiqtol as ‘Pluperfect’: When and Why,” TynBul 46 (1995): 117-40.

² tn The imperfect verb form is future from the perspective of the past time narrative.

³ tn The word translated “garment” has the Hebrew definite article on it. The article may simply indicate that the garment is definite and vivid in the mind of the narrator, but it could refer instead to Noah’s garment. Did Ham bring it out when he told his brothers?

⁴ tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”

⁵ tn Heb “answered and said.”

⁶ tn Heb “daughters.”

⁷ tn Heb “children.”

⁸ tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”

⁹ tn Heb “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose.

¹⁰ tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal.

¹¹ tn Heb “bound.”

¹² tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹³ tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.”

¹⁴ tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁵ tn Heb “go down.”