Discovery BoxGenesis 2:20 
Context2:20 So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam 1 no companion who corresponded to him was found. 2
Genesis 4:17
Context4:17 Cain had marital relations 3 with his wife, and she became pregnant 4 and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after 5 his son Enoch.
Genesis 4:25
Context4:25 And Adam had marital relations 6 with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given 7 me another child 8 in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”
Genesis 5:29
Context5:29 He named him Noah, 9 saying, “This one will bring us comfort 10 from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.”
Genesis 26:20
Context26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 11 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 12 named the well 13 Esek 14 because they argued with him about it. 15
Genesis 26:22
Context26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 16 named it 17 Rehoboth, 18 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
Genesis 29:32-35
Context29:32 So Leah became pregnant 19 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 20 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 21 Surely my husband will love me now.”
29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 22 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 23
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 24 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 25
29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. 26 Then she stopped having children.
Genesis 38:29
Context38:29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. 27 She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” 28 So he was named Perez. 29
Genesis 39:1
Context39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. 30 An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, 31 purchased him from 32 the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.
Genesis 48:16
Context48:16 the Angel 33 who has protected me 34
from all harm –
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them, 35
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
1 tn Here for the first time the Hebrew word אָדָם (’adam) appears without the article, suggesting that it might now be the name “Adam” rather than “[the] man.” Translations of the Bible differ as to where they make the change from “man” to “Adam” (e.g., NASB and NIV translate “Adam” here, while NEB and NRSV continue to use “the man”; the KJV uses “Adam” twice in v. 19).
2 tn Heb “there was not found a companion who corresponded to him.” The subject of the third masculine singular verb form is indefinite. Without a formally expressed subject the verb may be translated as passive: “one did not find = there was not found.”
3 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
4 tn Or “she conceived.”
5 tn Heb “according to the name of.”
6 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
7 sn The name Seth probably means something like “placed”; “appointed”; “set”; “granted,” assuming it is actually related to the verb that is used in the sentiment. At any rate, the name שֵׁת (shet) and the verb שָׁת (shat, “to place, to appoint, to set, to grant”) form a wordplay (paronomasia).
8 tn Heb “offspring.”
9 sn The name Noah appears to be related to the Hebrew word נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”). There are several wordplays on the name “Noah” in the story of the flood.
10 tn The Hebrew verb יְנַחֲמֵנוּ (yÿnakhamenu) is from the root נָחָם (nakham), which means “to comfort” in the Piel verbal stem. The letters נ (nun) and ח (heth) pick up the sounds in the name “Noah,” forming a paronomasia on the name. They are not from the same verbal root, and so the connection is only by sound. Lamech’s sentiment reflects the oppression of living under the curse on the ground, but also expresses the hope for relief in some way through the birth of Noah. His words proved to be ironic but prophetic. The relief would come with a new beginning after the flood. See E. G. Kraeling, “The Interpretations of the Name Noah in Genesis 5:29,” JBL 48 (1929): 138-43.
11 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
12 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
14 sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”
15 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
16 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
18 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
19 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
20 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
21 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the
22 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
23 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the
24 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
25 sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.
26 sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.
27 tn Heb “Look, his brother came out.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through the midwife’s eyes. The words “before him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
28 tn Heb “How you have made a breach for yourself!” The Hebrew verb translated “make a breach” frequently occurs, as here, with a cognate accusative. The event provided the meaningful name Perez, “he who breaks through.”
29 sn The name Perez means “he who breaks through,” referring to Perez reaching out his hand at birth before his brother was born. The naming signified the completion of Tamar’s struggle and also depicted the destiny of the tribe of Perez who later became dominant (Gen 46:12 and Num 26:20). Judah and his brothers had sold Joseph into slavery, thinking they could thwart God’s plan that the elder brothers should serve the younger. God demonstrated that principle through these births in Judah’s own family, affirming that the elder will serve the younger, and that Joseph’s leadership could not so easily be set aside. See J. Goldin, “The Youngest Son; or, Where Does Genesis 38 Belong?” JBL 96 (1977): 27-44.
30 tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.
31 sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.
32 tn Heb “from the hand of.”
33 sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.
34 tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).
35 tn Or “be recalled through them.”
