Discovery BoxGenesis 15:16 
Context15:16 In the fourth generation 1 your descendants 2 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 3
Genesis 31:30
Context31:30 Now I understand that 4 you have gone away 5 because you longed desperately 6 for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” 7
1 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
sn The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit. The justice of God is apparent. He will wait until the Amorites are fully deserving of judgment before he annihilates them and gives the land to Israel.
4 tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
5 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.
6 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.
7 sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.
