3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about 1 in the orchard at the breezy time 2 of the day, and they hid 3 from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard.
4:1 Now 4 the man had marital relations with 5 his wife Eve, and she became pregnant 6 and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created 7 a man just as the Lord did!” 8
4:17 Cain had marital relations 9 with his wife, and she became pregnant 10 and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after 11 his son Enoch.
4:25 And Adam had marital relations 12 with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given 13 me another child 14 in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 18 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 19 covenant for his descendants after him.
19:15 At dawn 25 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 26 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 27 19:16 When Lot 28 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 29 They led them away and placed them 30 outside the city.
20:3 But God appeared 31 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 32 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 33
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 38 with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 39
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 46 One of the men 47 might easily have had sexual relations with 48 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”
28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. 50 As he blessed him, 51 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 52
36:17 These were the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons 56 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:39 When Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad 57 reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. 58 His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with 59 your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise 60 up a descendant for your brother.” 61 38:9 But Onan knew that the child 62 would not be considered his. 63 So whenever 64 he had sexual relations with 65 his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely 66 so as not to give his brother a descendant.
38:12 After some time 67 Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with 68 his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
1 tn The Hitpael participle of הָלָךְ (halakh, “to walk, to go”) here has an iterative sense, “moving” or “going about.” While a translation of “walking about” is possible, it assumes a theophany, the presence of the
2 tn The expression is traditionally rendered “cool of the day,” because the Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruakh) can mean “wind.” U. Cassuto (Genesis: From Adam to Noah, 152-54) concludes after lengthy discussion that the expression refers to afternoon when it became hot and the sun was beginning to decline. J. J. Niehaus (God at Sinai [SOTBT], 155-57) offers a different interpretation of the phrase, relating יוֹם (yom, usually understood as “day”) to an Akkadian cognate umu (“storm”) and translates the phrase “in the wind of the storm.” If Niehaus is correct, then God is not pictured as taking an afternoon stroll through the orchard, but as coming in a powerful windstorm to confront the man and woman with their rebellion. In this case קוֹל יְהוָה (qol yÿhvah, “sound of the
3 tn The verb used here is the Hitpael, giving the reflexive idea (“they hid themselves”). In v. 10, when Adam answers the
4 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.
5 tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
6 tn Or “she conceived.”
7 tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.
8 tn Heb “with the
sn Since Exod 6:3 seems to indicate that the name Yahweh (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, translated
9 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
10 tn Or “she conceived.”
11 tn Heb “according to the name of.”
12 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
13 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).
14 tn Heb “offspring.”
15 tn Heb “the son of his brother.”
16 tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.
17 tn Heb “went out to go.”
18 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
19 tn Or “as an eternal.”
20 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
21 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
sn I will surely return. If Abraham had not yet figured out who this was, this interchange would have made it clear. Otherwise, how would a return visit from this man mean Sarah would have a son?
22 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
23 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
24 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
25 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
26 tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.
27 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
28 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
30 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).
31 tn Heb “came.”
32 tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.
33 tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.
34 tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”
35 tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.
36 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.
37 tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.
38 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.
39 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
40 tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.
41 tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
42 tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”
43 tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.
44 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
45 tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).
46 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
47 tn Heb “people.”
48 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
49 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
50 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
51 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
52 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
53 tn Heb “Make very great upon me the bride price and gift.” The imperatives are used in a rhetorical manner. Shechem’s point is that he will pay the price, no matter how expensive it might be.
54 tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.
55 tn Heb “say.”
56 tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).
57 tc Most
58 tn The name of the city is given as “Pai” in 1 Chr 1:50.
59 tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
60 tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.
61 sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.
62 tn Heb “offspring.”
63 tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.
64 tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.
sn The text makes it clear that the purpose of the custom was to produce an heir for the deceased brother. Onan had no intention of doing that. But he would have sex with the girl as much as he wished. He was willing to use the law to gratify his desires, but was not willing to do the responsible thing.
65 tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
66 tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.
67 sn After some time. There is not enough information in the narrative to know how long this was. The text says “the days increased.” It was long enough for Shelah to mature and for Tamar to realize she would not have him.
68 tn Heb “and he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and.”
69 tn Heb “and he said.”
70 tn Heb “know.”
71 tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
72 tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
73 tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.
74 sn The meaning of Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah, is uncertain. Many recent commentators have followed the proposal of G. Steindorff that it means “the god has said, ‘he will live’” (“Der Name Josephs Saphenat-Pa‘neach,” ZÄS 31 [1889]: 41-42); others have suggested “the god speaks and lives” (see BDB 861 s.v. צָפְנָת פַּעְנֵחַ); “the man he knows” (J. Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, 145); or “Joseph [who is called] áIp-àankh” (K. A. Kitchen, NBD3 1262).
75 sn The name Asenath may mean “she belongs to the goddess Neit” (see HALOT 74 s.v. אָֽסְנַת). A novel was written at the beginning of the first century entitled Joseph and Asenath, which included a legendary account of the conversion of Asenath to Joseph’s faith in Yahweh. However, all that can be determined from this chapter is that their children received Hebrew names. See also V. Aptowitzer, “Asenath, the Wife of Joseph – a Haggadic Literary-Historical Study,” HUCA 1 (1924): 239-306.
76 sn On (also in v. 50) is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
77 tn Heb “and he passed through.”