¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”

³ tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”

sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.

⁴ tn Here is another significant parenthetical clause in the story, signaled by the vav (וו) disjunctive (translated “now”) on the noun at the beginning of the clause.

⁵ tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.

⁶ tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly.” The description of the sinfulness of the Sodomites is very emphatic. First, two nouns are used to form a hendiadys: “wicked and sinners” means “wicked sinners,” the first word becoming adjectival. The text is saying these were no ordinary sinners; they were wicked sinners, the type that cause pain for others. Then to this phrase is added “against the Lord,” stressing their violation of the laws of heaven and their culpability. Finally, to this is added מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “exceedingly,” translated here as “extremely”).

⁷ tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).

⁸ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.

⁹ tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “men.”

¹¹ sn The name Dan (דָּן, dan) means “judge” and forms a wordplay with the following verb.

¹² tn Or “govern.”