Discovery BoxGenesis 2:19 
Context2:19 The Lord God formed 1 out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would 2 name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
Genesis 18:19
Context18:19 I have chosen him 3 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 4 the way of the Lord by doing 5 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 6 to Abraham what he promised 7 him.”
Genesis 19:14
Context19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. 8 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 9 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 10
Genesis 20:7
Context20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed 11 he is a prophet 12 and he will pray for you; thus you will live. 13 But if you don’t give her back, 14 know that you will surely die 15 along with all who belong to you.”
Genesis 24:40
Context24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, 16 will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.
Genesis 30:40
Context30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face 17 the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks.
Genesis 38:16
Context38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” 18 (He did not realize 19 it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” 20
Genesis 39:5
Context39:5 From the time 21 Potiphar 22 appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed 23 the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both 24 in his house and in his fields. 25
Genesis 40:20
Context40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” 26 the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.
Genesis 42:21
Context42:21 They said to one other, 27 “Surely we’re being punished 28 because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was 29 when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress 30 has come on us!”
Genesis 48:19
Context48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude 31 of nations.”
1 tn Or “fashioned.” To harmonize the order of events with the chronology of chapter one, some translate the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive as a past perfect (“had formed,” cf. NIV) here. (In chapter one the creation of the animals preceded the creation of man; here the animals are created after the man.) However, it is unlikely that the Hebrew construction can be translated in this way in the middle of this pericope, for the criteria for unmarked temporal overlay are not present here. See S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 84-88, and especially R. Buth, “Methodological Collision between Source Criticism and Discourse Analysis,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 138-54. For a contrary viewpoint see IBHS 552-53 §33.2.3 and C. J. Collins, “The Wayyiqtol as ‘Pluperfect’: When and Why,” TynBul 46 (1995): 117-40.
2 tn The imperfect verb form is future from the perspective of the past time narrative.
3 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
4 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
5 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
6 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
7 tn Heb “spoke to.”
8 sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.
9 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
10 tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.
11 tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.
12 sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.
13 tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.
sn He will pray for you that you may live. Abraham was known as a man of God whose prayer would be effectual. Ironically and sadly, he was also known as a liar.
14 tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.
15 tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.
16 tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the
17 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
18 tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
19 tn Heb “for he did not know that.”
20 tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
21 tn Heb “and it was from then.”
22 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).
24 tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
25 sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.
26 tn The translation puts the verb in quotation marks because it is used rhetorically here and has a double meaning. With respect to the cup bearer it means “reinstate” (see v. 13), but with respect to the baker it means “decapitate” (see v. 19).
27 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”
28 tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”
29 tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”
30 sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.
31 tn Heb “fullness.”
