18:30 Then Abraham 3 said, “May the Lord not be angry 4 so that I may speak! 5 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 6 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 7 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
30:14 At the time 16 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 17 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 18 for I have learned by divination 19 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.”
1 tn Here for the first time the Hebrew word אָדָם (’adam) appears without the article, suggesting that it might now be the name “Adam” rather than “[the] man.” Translations of the Bible differ as to where they make the change from “man” to “Adam” (e.g., NASB and NIV translate “Adam” here, while NEB and NRSV continue to use “the man”; the KJV uses “Adam” twice in v. 19).
2 tn Heb “there was not found a companion who corresponded to him.” The subject of the third masculine singular verb form is indefinite. Without a formally expressed subject the verb may be translated as passive: “one did not find = there was not found.”
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
5 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.
9 tn Heb “in your eyes.”
10 tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
11 sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.
12 tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
13 tn Heb “lest.”
14 tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.
15 tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.
16 tn Heb “during the days.”
17 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
18 tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
19 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the
20 tn Heb “they traveled from this place.”
21 tn Heb “in its weight.”
22 tn Heb “brought it back in our hand.”
23 tn Or “in exchange.” On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. בְּ.
24 tn Heb “house.”