Genesis 8:21

8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma¹ and said² to himself,³ “I will never again curse⁴ the ground because of humankind, even though⁵ the inclination of their minds⁶ is evil from childhood on.⁷ I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

Genesis 27:29

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be⁸ lord⁹ over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you.¹⁰

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

¹tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיהֹחַ, reakh hannihoakh). The object forms a cognate accusative with the verb. The language is anthropomorphic. The offering had a sweet aroma that pleased or soothed. The expression in Lev 1 signifies that God accepts the offering with pleasure, and in accepting the offering he accepts the worshiper.

²tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

³tn Heb “in his heart.”

⁴tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

⁵tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.

⁶tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

⁷tn Heb “from his youth.”

⁸tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

⁹tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

¹⁰tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.