4:17 Cain had marital relations 1 with his wife, and she became pregnant 2 and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after 3 his son Enoch.
4:25 And Adam had marital relations 4 with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given 5 me another child 6 in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”
15:4 But look, 7 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 8 will not be your heir, 9 but instead 10 a son 11 who comes from your own body will be 12 your heir.” 13
“You are now 14 pregnant
and are about to give birth 15 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 16
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 17
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 20 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 21 covenant for his descendants after him.
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 22 and circumcised them 23 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do.
22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 31 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 32 “My father?” “What is it, 33 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 34 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 35 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 36 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.
22:13 Abraham looked up 37 and saw 38 behind him 39 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 40 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 41 to this land? Must I then 42 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 45 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). 46
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 49 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 50
“Yes, 58 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”
29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 67 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 68
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 69 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 70
29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. 71 Then she stopped having children.
30:14 At the time 72 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 73 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
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 74 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:39 When Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad 75 reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. 76 His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
44:30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us – his very life is bound up in his son’s life. 82
49:9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah,
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches and lies down like a lion;
like a lioness – who will rouse him?
1 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
2 tn Or “she conceived.”
3 tn Heb “according to the name of.”
4 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
5 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).
6 tn Heb “offspring.”
7 tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.
8 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
9 tn Heb “inherit you.”
10 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
11 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
13 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
14 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
15 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
16 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”
17 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
sn This clause gives the explanation of the name Ishmael, using a wordplay. Ishmael’s name will be a reminder that “God hears” Hagar’s painful cries.
18 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
19 tn Heb “peoples.”
20 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).
21 tn Or “as an eternal.”
22 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
23 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
24 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
25 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?
26 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
27 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
28 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
29 tn Heb “said.”
30 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
31 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
32 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
33 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
34 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
35 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?
36 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.
37 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
38 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
39 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
40 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
41 tn Heb “to go after me.”
42 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
43 tn Heb “ to go after you.”
44 sn You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.
45 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.
46 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.
47 tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
48 tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).
49 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
50 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
51 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
52 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
53 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
54 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
55 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
56 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
57 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
58 tn Heb “see.”
59 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
60 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
61 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
62 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
63 tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).
64 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
65 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
66 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the
67 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
68 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the
69 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
70 sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.
71 sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.
72 tn Heb “during the days.”
73 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
74 tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).
75 tc Most
76 tn The name of the city is given as “Pai” in 1 Chr 1:50.
77 tn Heb “arose, stood”; which here suggests that they stood by him in his time of grief.
78 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Indeed I will go down to my son mourning to Sheol.’” Sheol was viewed as the place where departed spirits went after death.
79 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
80 tn Traditionally “more righteous”; cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT “more in the right.”
sn She is more upright than I. Judah had been irresponsible and unfaithful to his duty to see that the family line continued through the levirate marriage of his son Shelah. Tamar fought for her right to be the mother of Judah’s line. When she was not given Shelah and Judah’s wife died, she took action on her own to ensure that the line did not die out. Though deceptive, it was a desperate and courageous act. For Tamar it was within her rights; she did nothing that the law did not entitle her to do. But for Judah it was wrong because he thought he was going to a prostitute. See also Susan Niditch, “The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38,” HTR 72 (1979): 143-48.
81 tn Heb “and he did not add again to know her.” Here “know” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
82 tn Heb “his life is bound up in his life.”
83 tn Heb “hurry and go up.”
84 tn Heb “saw Ephraim, the children of the third.”
85 tn Heb “they were born on the knees of Joseph.” This expression implies their adoption by Joseph, which meant that they received an inheritance from him.