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.”
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 bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).
5 tn Heb “said.”
6 tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.
7 tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.
8 tn Heb “offspring.”
9 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.
10 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.
11 tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
12 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.
13 tn The word “child” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.