Genesis 5:29

5:29 He named him Noah, 1  saying, “This one will bring us comfort 2  from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.”

Genesis 19:16

19:16 When Lot 3  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 4  They led them away and placed them 5  outside the city.

Genesis 20:5

20:5 Did Abraham 6  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 7  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 8  and with innocent hands!”

Genesis 48:14

48:14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger. 9  Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

1 sn The name Noah appears to be related to the Hebrew word נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”). There are several wordplays on the name “Noah” in the story of the flood.

2 tn The Hebrew verb יְנַחֲמֵנוּ (yÿnakhamenu) is from the root נָחָם (nakham), which means “to comfort” in the Piel verbal stem. The letters נ (nun) and ח (heth) pick up the sounds in the name “Noah,” forming a paronomasia on the name. They are not from the same verbal root, and so the connection is only by sound. Lamech’s sentiment reflects the oppression of living under the curse on the ground, but also expresses the hope for relief in some way through the birth of Noah. His words proved to be ironic but prophetic. The relief would come with a new beginning after the flood. See E. G. Kraeling, “The Interpretations of the Name Noah in Genesis 5:29,” JBL 48 (1929): 138-43.

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

4 tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

5 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

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

7 tn Heb “and she, even she.”

8 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”

9 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-concessive here.