Discovery BoxGenesis 13:10 
Context13:10 Lot looked up and saw 1 the whole region 2 of the Jordan. He noticed 3 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 4 Sodom and Gomorrah) 5 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 6 all the way to Zoar.
Genesis 29:13
Context29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob 7 told Laban how he was related to him. 8
Genesis 39:6
Context39:6 So Potiphar 9 left 10 everything he had in Joseph’s care; 11 he gave no thought 12 to anything except the food he ate. 13
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. 14
Genesis 42:36
Context42:36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. 15 Simeon is gone. 16 And now you want to take 17 Benjamin! Everything is against me.”
1 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.
2 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
3 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).
5 tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.
6 sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the
7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).
9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 sn The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else.
11 tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
12 tn Heb “did not know.”
13 sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.
14 tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.
15 tn Heb “is not.”
16 tn Heb “is not.”
17 tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is desiderative here.
