Genesis 4:2

4:2 Then she gave birth ¹  to his brother Abel. ²  Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. ³ 

Genesis 14:12

14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew ⁴  Lot and his possessions when ⁵  they left, for Lot ⁶  was living in Sodom. ⁷ 

Genesis 21:27

21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. ⁸ 

Genesis 30:22

30:22 Then God took note of ⁹  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 34:26

34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left.

Genesis 34:28

34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ¹¹ 

Genesis 37:31

37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat, ¹²  and dipped the tunic in the blood.

Genesis 39:7

39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of ¹³  Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” ¹⁴ 

Genesis 50:3

50:3 They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming. ¹⁵  The Egyptians mourned ¹⁶  for him seventy days. ¹⁷ 

---

¹ tn Heb “And she again gave birth.”

² sn The name Abel is not defined here in the text, but the tone is ominous. Abel’s name, the Hebrew word הֶבֶל (hevel), means “breath, vapor, vanity,” foreshadowing Abel’s untimely and premature death.

³ tn Heb “and Abel was a shepherd of the flock, and Cain was a worker of the ground.” The designations of the two occupations are expressed with active participles, רֹעֵה (ro’eh, “shepherd”) and עֹבֵד (’oved, “worker”). Abel is occupied with sheep, whereas Cain is living under the curse, cultivating the ground.

⁴ tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”

⁵ tn Heb “and.”

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

⁷ tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.

⁸ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

⁹ tn Heb “remembered.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons

¹¹ tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”

¹² sn It was with two young goats that Jacob deceived his father (Gen 27:9); now with a young goat his sons continue the deception that dominates this family.

¹³ tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.

¹⁴ tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

sn The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife has long been connected with the wisdom warnings about the strange woman who tries to seduce the young man with her boldness and directness (see Prov 5-7, especially 7:6-27). This is part of the literary background of the story of Joseph that gives it a wisdom flavor. See G. von Rad, God at Work in Israel, 19-35; and G. W. Coats, “The Joseph Story and Ancient Wisdom: A Reappraisal,” CBQ 35 (1973): 285-97.

¹⁵ tn Heb “and forty days were fulfilled for him, for thus are fulfilled the days of embalming.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “wept.”

¹⁷ sn Seventy days. This probably refers to a time of national mourning.