4:25 And Adam had marital relations 1 with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given 2 me another child 3 in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 4 to your ‘brother.’ 5 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 6
24:32 So Abraham’s servant 9 went to the house and unloaded 10 the camels. Straw and feed were given 11 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 12
27:41 So Esau hated 21 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 22 Esau said privately, 23 “The time 24 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 25 my brother Jacob!”
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 26 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 27
38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah 32 the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, 33 but Hirah 34 could not find her.
1 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
2 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).
3 tn Heb “offspring.”
4 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).
5 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).
6 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).
7 tn Heb “said.”
8 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
9 tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).
11 tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.
12 tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”
13 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.
14 tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the
15 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
16 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
17 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
18 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
21 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
22 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
23 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
24 tn Heb “days.”
25 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
26 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
27 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.
28 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
30 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”
32 tn Heb “sent by the hand of his friend.” Here the name of the friend (“Hirah”) has been included in the translation for clarity.
33 tn Heb “to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand.”
34 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Judah’s friend Hirah the Adullamite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
35 tn Heb “saw Ephraim, the children of the third.”
36 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.