4:25 And Adam had marital relations 5 with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given 6 me another child 7 in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 21 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 22 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.
36:39 When Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad 29 reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. 30 His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
1 tn Heb “And the
2 tn Heb “and he slept.” In the sequence the verb may be subordinated to the following verb to indicate a temporal clause (“while…”).
3 tn Traditionally translated “rib,” the Hebrew word actually means “side.” The Hebrew text reads, “and he took one from his sides,” which could be rendered “part of his sides.” That idea may fit better the explanation by the man that the woman is his flesh and bone.
4 tn Heb “closed up the flesh under it.”
5 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
6 sn The name Seth probably means something like “placed”; “appointed”; “set”; “granted,” assuming it is actually related to the verb that is used in the sentiment. At any rate, the name שֵׁת (shet) and the verb שָׁת (shat, “to place, to appoint, to set, to grant”) form a wordplay (paronomasia).
7 tn Heb “offspring.”
8 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
9 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
11 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
12 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
13 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
14 tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”
15 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
16 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
17 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
18 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
19 tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”
20 tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”
21 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
22 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
23 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.
24 sn Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the
25 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.
26 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 tn Heb “and Jacob set up a sacred pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a sacred pillar of stone” (see the notes on the term “sacred stone” in Gen 28:18). This passage stands parallel to Gen 28:18-19, where Jacob set up a sacred stone, poured oil on it, and called the place Bethel. Some commentators see these as two traditions referring to the same event, but it is more likely that Jacob reconsecrated the place in fulfillment of the vow he had made here earlier. In support of this is the fact that the present narrative alludes to and is built on the previous one.
28 tn The verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “to pour out, to make libations,” and the noun נֶסֶךְ (nesekh) is a “drink-offering,” usually of wine or of blood. The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out,” often of anointing oil, but of other elements as well.
29 tc Most
30 tn The name of the city is given as “Pai” in 1 Chr 1:50.
31 tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.
32 sn The story of Joseph is filled with cycles and repetition: He has two dreams (chap. 37), he interprets two dreams in prison (chap. 40) and the two dreams of Pharaoh (chap. 41), his brothers make two trips to see him (chaps. 42-43), and here, for the second time (see 37:24), he is imprisoned for no good reason, with only his coat being used as evidence. For further discussion see H. Jacobsen, “A Legal Note on Potiphar’s Wife,” HTR 69 (1976): 177.
33 tn The pronoun before the first person verbal form draws attention to the subject and emphasizes Judah’s willingness to be personally responsible for the boy.
34 sn I will bear the blame before you all my life. It is not clear how this would work out if Benjamin did not come back. But Judah is offering his life for Benjamin’s if Benjamin does not return.
35 tn Heb “in its weight.”
36 tn Heb “brought it back in our hand.”