18:30 Then Abraham 12 said, “May the Lord not be angry 13 so that I may speak! 14 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 17 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 18
49:17 May Dan be a snake beside the road,
a viper by the path,
that bites the heels of the horse
so that its rider falls backward. 25
1 tn The verb is usually translated “and sanctified it.” The Piel verb קִדֵּשׁ (qiddesh) means “to make something holy; to set something apart; to distinguish it.” On the literal level the phrase means essentially that God made this day different. But within the context of the Law, it means that the day belonged to God; it was for rest from ordinary labor, worship, and spiritual service. The day belonged to God.
2 tn Heb “God.” The pronoun (“he”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “for on it he ceased from all his work which God created to make.” The last infinitive construct and the verb before it form a verbal hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the modifier – “which God creatively made,” or “which God made in his creating.”
4 tn Heb “And the
5 tn Heb “and he slept.” In the sequence the verb may be subordinated to the following verb to indicate a temporal clause (“while…”).
6 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.
7 tn Heb “closed up the flesh under it.”
8 tn The Hebrew construction in this sentence uses an independent nominative absolute (formerly known as a casus pendens). “The woman” is the independent nominative absolute; it is picked up by the formal subject, the pronoun “she” written with the verb (“she gave”). The point of the construction is to throw the emphasis on “the woman.” But what makes this so striking is that a relative clause has been inserted to explain what is meant by the reference to the woman: “whom you gave me.” Ultimately, the man is blaming God for giving him the woman who (from the man’s viewpoint) caused him to sin.
9 tn The words “some fruit” here and the pronoun “it” at the end of the sentence are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
10 tn The clause introduced by vav (ו) consecutive is translated as a temporal clause subordinated to the following clause.
11 tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to the olive leaf. It invites readers to enter into the story, as it were, and look at the olive leaf with their own eyes.
12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
14 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
15 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
16 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.
17 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
18 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
19 tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison.
20 tn Heb “and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we dreamed.”
21 tn Heb “all the food.”
22 tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”
23 tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.
24 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.
25 sn The comparison of the tribe of Dan to a venomous serpent is meant to say that Dan, though small, would be potent, gaining victory through its skill and shrewdness. Jewish commentators have linked the image in part with Samson. That link at least illustrates the point: Though a minority tribe, Dan would gain the upper hand over others.