Discovery BoxGenesis 11:9 
Context11:9 That is why its name was called 1 Babel 2 – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.
Genesis 19:31
Context19:31 Later the older daughter said 3 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 4 to have sexual relations with us, 5 according to the way of all the world.
Genesis 26:10
Context26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 6 One of the men 7 might easily have had sexual relations with 8 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”
Genesis 29:25
Context29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 9 So Jacob 10 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 11 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 12 me?”
Genesis 42:28
Context42:28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; 13 they turned trembling one to another 14 and said, “What in the world has God done to us?” 15
1 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
2 sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
3 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
4 tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.
5 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
6 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
7 tn Heb “people.”
8 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
9 tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
10 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”
12 sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.
13 tn Heb “and their heart went out.” Since this expression is used only here, the exact meaning is unclear. The following statement suggests that it may refer to a sudden loss of emotional strength, so “They were dismayed” adequately conveys the meaning (cf. NRSV); NIV has “Their hearts sank.”
14 tn Heb “and they trembled, a man to his neighbor.”
15 tn Heb “What is this God has done to us?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question.
