Genesis 6:5

6:5 But the Lord saw¹ that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination² of the thoughts³ of their minds⁴ was only evil⁵ all the time.⁶

Genesis 9:15

9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you⁷ and with all living creatures of all kinds.⁸ Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy⁹ all living things.¹⁰

Genesis 17:16

17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations.¹¹ Kings of countries¹² will come from her!”

Genesis 17:20

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you.¹³ I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants.¹⁴ He will become the father of twelve princes;¹⁵ I will make him into a great nation.

Genesis 24:35

24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy.¹⁶ The Lord¹⁷ has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

Genesis 32:10

32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love¹⁸ you have shown¹⁹ your servant. With only my walking stick²⁰ I crossed the Jordan,²¹ but now I have become two camps.

Genesis 34:16

34:16 Then we will give²² you our daughters to marry,²³ and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people.

Genesis 34:22-23

34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand²⁴ that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so,²⁵ won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

Genesis 38:24

38:24 After three months Judah was told,²⁶ “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution,²⁷ and as a result she has become pregnant.”²⁸ Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”

Genesis 45:11

45:11 I will provide you with food²⁹ there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor – you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’

Genesis 47:26

47:26 So Joseph made it a statute,³⁰ which is in effect³¹ to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

¹sn The Hebrew verb translated “saw” (רָאָה, ra’ah), used here of God’s evaluation of humankind’s evil deeds, contrasts with God’s evaluation of creative work in Gen 1, when he observed that everything was good.

²tn The noun יֵצֶר (yetser) is related to the verb יָצָר (yatsar, “to form, to fashion [with a design]”). Here it refers to human plans or intentions (see Gen 8:21; 1 Chr 28:9; 29:18). People had taken their God-given capacities and used them to devise evil. The word יֵצֶר (yetser) became a significant theological term in Rabbinic literature for what might be called the sin nature – the evil inclination (see also R. E. Murphy, “Yeser in the Qumran Literature,” Bib 39 [1958]: 334-44).

³tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.

⁴tn Heb “his heart” (referring to collective “humankind”). The Hebrew term לֵב (lev, “heart”) frequently refers to the seat of one’s thoughts (see BDB 524 s.v. לֵב). In contemporary English this is typically referred to as the “mind.”

⁵sn Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil. There is hardly a stronger statement of the wickedness of the human race than this. Here is the result of falling into the “knowledge of good and evil”: Evil becomes dominant, and the good is ruined by the evil.

⁶tn Heb “all the day.”

sn The author of Genesis goes out of his way to emphasize the depth of human evil at this time. Note the expressions “every inclination,” “only evil,” and “all the time.”

⁷tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”

⁸tn Heb “all flesh.”

⁹tn Heb “to destroy.”

¹⁰tn Heb “all flesh.”

¹¹tn Heb “she will become nations.”

¹²tn Heb “peoples.”

¹³sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

¹⁴tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

¹⁵tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

¹⁶tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.

¹⁷tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

¹⁹tn Heb “you have done with.”

²⁰tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.

²¹tn Heb “this Jordan.”

²²tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

²³tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

²⁴tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”

²⁵tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

²⁶tn Heb “it was told to Judah, saying.”

²⁷tn Or “has been sexually promiscuous.” The verb may refer here to loose or promiscuous activity, not necessarily prostitution.

²⁸tn Heb “and also look, she is with child by prostitution.”

²⁹tn The verb כּוּל (kul) in the Pilpel stem means “to nourish, to support, to sustain.” As in 1 Kgs 20:27, it here means “to supply with food.”

³⁰tn On the term translated “statute” see P. Victor, “A Note on Hoq in the Old Testament,” VT 16 (1966): 358-61.

³¹tn The words “which is in effect” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.