¹ tn Heb “men, brothers [are] we.” Here “brothers” describes the closeness of the relationship, but could be misunderstood if taken literally, since Abram was Lot’s uncle.

² tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

³ tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.

sn The sin of the men of Sodom is debated. The fact that the sin involved a sexual act (see note on the phrase “have sex” in 19:5) precludes an association of the sin with inhospitality as is sometimes asserted (see W. Roth, “What of Sodom and Gomorrah? Homosexual Acts in the Old Testament,” Explor 1 [1974]: 7-14). The text at a minimum condemns forced sexual intercourse, i.e., rape. Other considerations, though, point to a condemnation of homosexual acts more generally. The narrator emphasizes the fact that the men of Sodom wanted to have sex with men: They demand that Lot release the angelic messengers (seen as men) to them for sex, and when Lot offers his daughters as a substitute they refuse them and attempt to take the angelic messengers by force. In addition the wider context of the Pentateuch condemns homosexual acts as sin (see, e.g., Lev 18:22). Thus a reading of this text within its narrative context, both immediate and broad, condemns not only the attempted rape but also the attempted homosexual act.

⁴ tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

⁵ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tn Heb “drink wine.”

⁸ tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.

⁹ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

sn For a discussion of the cultural background of the daughters’ desire to preserve our family line see F. C. Fensham, “The Obliteration of the Family as Motif in the Near Eastern Literature,” AION 10 (1969): 191-99.

¹¹ tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹² tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity.

sn Bridal week. An ancient Hebrew marriage ceremony included an entire week of festivities (cf. Judg 14:12).

¹³ tn Heb “this other one.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.”

sn In exchange for seven more years of work. See C. H. Gordon, “The Story of Jacob and Laban in the Light of the Nuzi Tablets,” BASOR 66 (1937): 25-27; and J. Van Seters, “Jacob’s Marriages and Ancient Near Eastern Customs: A Reassessment,” HTR 62 (1969): 377-95.

¹⁵ tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

¹⁷ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “and Mizpah.”

²⁰ sn The name Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, mitspah), which means “watchpost,” sounds like the verb translated “may he watch” (יִצֶף, yitsef). Neither Laban nor Jacob felt safe with each other, and so they agreed to go their separate ways, trusting the Lord to keep watch at the border. Jacob did not need this treaty, but Laban, perhaps because he had lost his household gods, felt he did.

²¹ tn Heb “between me and you.”

²² tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”

²³ tn Heb “we are not able to do this thing, to give.” The second infinitive is in apposition to the first, explaining what they are not able to do.

²⁴ tn The Hebrew word translated “disgrace” usually means “ridicule; taunt; reproach.” It can also refer to the reason the condition of shame or disgrace causes ridicule or a reproach.

²⁵ tn Heb “and they sent the special tunic and they brought [it] to their father.” The text as it stands is problematic. It sounds as if they sent the tunic on ahead and then came and brought it to their father. Some emend the second verb to a Qal form and read “and they came.” In this case, they sent the tunic on ahead.

²⁶ tn Heb “a dream we dreamed.”

²⁷ tn The word “them” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

²⁸ tn Heb “like this,” but the referent could be misunderstood to be a man like that described by Joseph in v. 33, rather than Joseph himself. For this reason the proper name “Joseph” has been supplied in the translation.

²⁹ tn The rhetorical question expects the answer “No, of course not!”

³⁰ tn Heb “and buy for us from there.” The word “grain,” the direct object of “buy,” has been supplied for clarity, and the words “from there” have been omitted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³¹ tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result.

³² tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.

³³ tn Heb “made us.”

³⁴ tn The words “if we were” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.