Discovery BoxGenesis 1:6 
Context1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse 1 in the midst of the waters and let it separate water 2 from water.
Genesis 3:2
Context3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat 3 of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;
Genesis 9:1
Context9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
Genesis 9:26
Context9:26 He also said,
“Worthy of praise is 4 the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem! 5
Genesis 12:11
Context12:11 As he approached 6 Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, 7 I know that you are a beautiful woman. 8
Genesis 14:21
Context14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.”
Genesis 15:8
Context15:8 But 9 Abram 10 said, “O sovereign Lord, 11 by what 12 can I know that I am to possess it?”
Genesis 16:9
Context16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 13 to her authority.
Genesis 18:3
Context18:3 He said, “My lord, 14 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 15
Genesis 18:15
Context18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 16
Genesis 18:20
Context18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 17 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 18
Genesis 20:4
Context20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 19 would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 20
Genesis 21:1
Context21:1 The Lord visited 21 Sarah just as he had said he would and did 22 for Sarah what he had promised. 23
Genesis 22:1
Context22:1 Some time after these things God tested 24 Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham 25 replied.
Genesis 24:17
Context24:17 Abraham’s servant 26 ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.”
Genesis 24:24
Context24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. 27
Genesis 24:39
Context24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go 28 with me?’ 29
Genesis 24:57
Context24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” 30
Genesis 26:16
Context26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 31 for you have become much more powerful 32 than we are.”
Genesis 27:18
Context27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 33 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 34
Genesis 30:13
Context30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, 35 for women 36 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 37
Genesis 30:23
Context30:23 She became pregnant 38 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 39
Genesis 31:48
Context31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement 40 today.” That is why it was called Galeed.
Genesis 33:12
Context33:12 Then Esau 41 said, “Let’s be on our way! 42 I will go in front of you.”
Genesis 37:26
Context37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
Genesis 37:30
Context37:30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?”
Genesis 39:7
Context39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of 43 Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” 44
Genesis 39:17
Context39:17 This is what she said to him: 45 “That Hebrew slave 46 you brought to us tried to humiliate me, 47
Genesis 41:13
Context41:13 It happened just as he had said 48 to us – Pharaoh 49 restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” 50
Genesis 41:17
Context41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing 51 by the edge of the Nile.
Genesis 41:41
Context41:41 “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I place 52 you in authority over all the land of Egypt.” 53
Genesis 42:1
Context42:1 When Jacob heard 54 there was grain in Egypt, he 55 said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” 56
Genesis 42:18
Context42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say 57 and you will live, 58 for I fear God. 59
Genesis 43:6
Context43:6 Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble 60 on me by telling 61 the man you had one more brother?”
Genesis 44:22
Context44:22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father 62 will die.’ 63
Genesis 44:27-28
Context44:27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. 64 44:28 The first disappeared 65 and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since.
Genesis 45:17
Context45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go 66 to the land of Canaan!
Genesis 45:28
Context45:28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.”
Genesis 46:2
Context46:2 God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night 67 and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!”
Genesis 48:3
Context48:3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The sovereign God 68 appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.
Genesis 50:18
Context50:18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.”
1 tn The Hebrew word refers to an expanse of air pressure between the surface of the sea and the clouds, separating water below from water above. In v. 8 it is called “sky.”
sn An expanse. In the poetic texts the writers envision, among other things, something rather strong and shiny, no doubt influencing the traditional translation “firmament” (cf. NRSV “dome”). Job 37:18 refers to the skies poured out like a molten mirror. Dan 12:3 and Ezek 1:22 portray it as shiny. The sky or atmosphere may have seemed like a glass dome. For a detailed study of the Hebrew conception of the heavens and sky, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 37-60.
2 tn Heb “the waters from the waters.”
3 tn There is a notable change between what the
4 tn Heb “blessed be.”
5 tn Heb “a slave to him”; the referent (Shem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
7 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
8 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
9 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
12 tn Or “how.”
13 tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.
14 tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the
15 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
16 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
17 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
18 tn Heb “heavy.”
19 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
20 tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.
21 sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the
22 tn Heb “and the
23 tn Heb “spoken.”
24 sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.
25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
27 tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.
29 tn Heb “after me.”
30 tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”
31 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
32 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
33 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
34 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
35 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
36 tn Heb “daughters.”
37 sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.
38 tn Or “conceived.”
39 tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.
40 tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”
41 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.”
43 tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.
44 tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
sn The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife has long been connected with the wisdom warnings about the strange woman who tries to seduce the young man with her boldness and directness (see Prov 5-7, especially 7:6-27). This is part of the literary background of the story of Joseph that gives it a wisdom flavor. See G. von Rad, God at Work in Israel, 19-35; and G. W. Coats, “The Joseph Story and Ancient Wisdom: A Reappraisal,” CBQ 35 (1973): 285-97.
45 tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”
46 sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.
47 tn Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. 14.
48 tn Heb “interpreted.”
49 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
50 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
51 tn Heb “In my dream look, I was standing.” The use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here (and also in vv. 18, 19, 22, 23) invites the hearer (within the context of the narrative, Joseph; but in the broader sense the reader or hearer of the Book of Genesis) to observe the scene through Pharaoh’s eyes.
52 tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is descriptive of a present action. Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, in which case Pharaoh describes a still future action as if it had already occurred in order to emphasize its certainty. In this case one could translate “I have placed” or “I will place.” The verb נָתַן (natan) is translated here as “to place in authority [over].”
53 sn Joseph became the grand vizier of the land of Egypt. See W. A. Ward, “The Egyptian Office of Joseph,” JSS 5 (1960): 144-50; and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 129-31.
54 tn Heb “saw.”
55 tn Heb “Jacob.” Here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
56 sn Why are you looking at each other? The point of Jacob’s question is that his sons should be going to get grain rather than sitting around doing nothing. Jacob, as the patriarch, still makes the decisions for the whole clan.
57 tn Heb “Do this.”
58 tn After the preceding imperative, the imperative with vav (ו) can, as here, indicate logical sequence.
59 sn For I fear God. Joseph brings God into the picture to awaken his brothers’ consciences. The godly person cares about the welfare of people, whether they live or die. So he will send grain back, but keep one of them in Egypt. This action contrasts with their crime of selling their brother into slavery.
60 tn The verb may even have a moral connotation here, “Why did you do evil to me?”
61 tn The infinitive construct here explains how they brought trouble on Jacob.
62 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the boy’s father, i.e., Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
63 tn The last two verbs are perfect tenses with vav consecutive. The first is subordinated to the second as a conditional clause.
64 tn Heb “that two sons my wife bore to me.”
65 tn Heb “went forth from me.”
66 tn Heb “and go! Enter!”
67 tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.
68 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
