Genesis 24:16

24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ¹  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up.

Genesis 26:18

26:18 Isaac reopened ²  the wells that had been dug ³  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁴  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁵  gave these wells ⁶  the same names his father had given them. ⁷ 

Genesis 27:5

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ⁸  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ⁹ 

Genesis 28:15

28:15 I am with you! ¹⁰  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

Genesis 28:22

28:22 Then this stone ¹¹  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ¹²  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ¹³ 

Genesis 29:3

29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ¹⁴  would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.

Genesis 38:20

38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah ¹⁵  the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, ¹⁶  but Hirah ¹⁷  could not find her.

Genesis 38:29

38:29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. ¹⁸  She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” ¹⁹  So he was named Perez. ²⁰ 

Genesis 43:9

43:9 I myself pledge security ²¹  for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. ²² 

Genesis 44:8

44:8 Look, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?

Genesis 44:32

44:32 Indeed, ²³  your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.’

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¹ tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.

² tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

³ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

⁴ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

⁸ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.

⁹ tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).

¹¹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

¹² tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

¹³ tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.

¹⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Heb “sent by the hand of his friend.” Here the name of the friend (“Hirah”) has been included in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Heb “to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Judah’s friend Hirah the Adullamite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸ tn Heb “Look, his brother came out.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through the midwife’s eyes. The words “before him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁹ tn Heb “How you have made a breach for yourself!” The Hebrew verb translated “make a breach” frequently occurs, as here, with a cognate accusative. The event provided the meaningful name Perez, “he who breaks through.”

²⁰ sn The name Perez means “he who breaks through,” referring to Perez reaching out his hand at birth before his brother was born. The naming signified the completion of Tamar’s struggle and also depicted the destiny of the tribe of Perez who later became dominant (Gen 46:12 and Num 26:20). Judah and his brothers had sold Joseph into slavery, thinking they could thwart God’s plan that the elder brothers should serve the younger. God demonstrated that principle through these births in Judah’s own family, affirming that the elder will serve the younger, and that Joseph’s leadership could not so easily be set aside. See J. Goldin, “The Youngest Son; or, Where Does Genesis 38 Belong?” JBL 96 (1977): 27-44.

²¹ 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.

²² 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.

²³ tn Or “for.”