Genesis 6:7

6:7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – everything from humankind to animals, ¹  including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them.”

Genesis 11:4

11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens ²  so that ³  we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise ⁴  we will be scattered ⁵  across the face of the entire earth.”

Genesis 17:17

17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed ⁶  as he said to himself, ⁷  “Can ⁸  a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? ⁹  Can Sarah ¹⁰  bear a child at the age of ninety?” ¹¹ 

Genesis 30:40

30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face ¹²  the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks.

Genesis 44:26

44:26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there. ¹³  If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, ¹⁴  for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

---

¹ tn The text simply has “from man to beast, to creatures, and to birds of the air.” The use of the prepositions עַד…מִן (min...’ad) stresses the extent of the judgment in creation.

² tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.

³ tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.

⁴ tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”

⁵ sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.

⁶ sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.

⁷ tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”

⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.

⁹ tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”

¹⁰ sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).

¹¹ tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”

¹² tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”

¹³ tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁴ tn Heb “go down.”