8:8 Then Noah 3 sent out a dove 4 to see if the waters had receded 5 from the surface of the ground.
19:10 So the men inside 11 reached out 12 and pulled Lot back into the house 13 as they shut the door.
22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together 14 for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. 15
1 sn The name Nod means “wandering” in Hebrew (see vv. 12, 14).
2 tn Heb “and it went out, going out and returning.” The Hebrew verb יָצָא (yatsa’), translated here “flying,” is modified by two infinitives absolute indicating that the raven went back and forth.
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
5 tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.
6 tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “it did not again return to him still.” For a study of this section of the flood narrative, see W. O. E. Oesterley, “The Dove with the Olive Leaf (Gen VIII 8–11),” ExpTim 18 (1906/07): 377-78.
8 sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the
9 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
sn It is his royal priestly status that makes Melchizedek a type of Christ: He was identified with Jerusalem, superior to the ancestor of Israel, and both a king and a priest. Unlike the normal Canaanites, this man served “God Most High” (אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, ’el ’elyon) – one sovereign God, who was the creator of all the universe. Abram had in him a spiritual brother.
10 tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
11 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.
13 tn Heb “to them into the house.”
14 tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”
15 tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.
16 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.
17 tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”
18 sn Perhaps the child was named Zerah because of the scarlet thread. Though the Hebrew word used for “scarlet thread” in v. 28 is not related to the name Zerah, there is a related root in Babylonian and western Aramaic that means “scarlet” or “scarlet thread.” In Hebrew the name appears to be derived from a root meaning “to shine.” The name could have originally meant something like “shining one” or “God has shined.” Zerah became the head of a tribe (Num 26:20) from whom Achan descended (Josh 7:1).
19 tn Heb “And look, he was standing by the Nile, and look, from the Nile were coming up seven cows, attractive of appearance and fat of flesh.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to see the dream through Pharaoh’s eyes.