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 16:5

16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! ²  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, ³  but when she realized ⁴  that she was pregnant, she despised me. ⁵  May the Lord judge between you and me!” ⁶ 

Genesis 20:6

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ⁷  That is why I have kept you ⁸  from sinning against me and why ⁹  I did not allow you to touch her.

Genesis 20:9

20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? ¹⁰  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ¹¹ 

Genesis 24:14

24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ ¹²  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ¹³ 

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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 Heb “my wrong is because of you.”

³ tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”

⁴ tn Heb “saw.”

⁵ tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.

⁶ tn Heb “me and you.”

sn May the Lord judge between you and me. Sarai blamed Abram for Hagar’s attitude, not the pregnancy. Here she expects to be vindicated by the Lord who will prove Abram responsible. A colloquial rendering might be, “God will get you for this.” It may mean that she thought Abram had encouraged the servant girl in her elevated status.

⁷ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

⁸ tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

⁹ tn Heb “therefore.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.

¹¹ tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.

¹² sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.

¹³ tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”