Discovery BoxGenesis 3:24 
Context3:24 When he drove 1 the man out, he placed on the eastern side 2 of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries 3 who used the flame of a whirling sword 4 to guard the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 15:10
Context15:10 So Abram 5 took all these for him and then cut them in two 6 and placed each half opposite the other, 7 but he did not cut the birds in half.
Genesis 18:8
Context18:8 Abraham 8 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 9 before them. They ate while 10 he was standing near them under a tree.
Genesis 19:16
Context19:16 When Lot 11 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 12 They led them away and placed them 13 outside the city.
Genesis 22:9
Context22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 14 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 15 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.
Genesis 28:11
Context28:11 He reached a certain place 16 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 17 He took one of the stones 18 and placed it near his head. 19 Then he fell asleep 20 in that place
Genesis 28:18
Context28:18 Early 21 in the morning Jacob 22 took the stone he had placed near his head 23 and set it up as a sacred stone. 24 Then he poured oil on top of it.
Genesis 41:43
Context41:43 Pharaoh 25 had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, 26 and they cried out before him, “Kneel down!” 27 So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.
Genesis 48:14
Context48:14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger. 28 Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Genesis 48:17
Context48:17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him. 29 So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.
1 tn The verb with the vav (ו) consecutive is made subordinate to the next verb forming a temporal clause. This avoids any tautology with the previous verse that already stated that the
2 tn Or “placed in front.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
3 tn The Hebrew word is traditionally transliterated “the cherubim.”
sn Angelic sentries (Heb “cherubim”). The cherubim in the Bible seem to be a class of angels that are composite in appearance. Their main task seems to be guarding. Here they guard the way to the tree of life. The curtain in the tabernacle was to be embroidered with cherubim as well, symbolically guarding the way to God. (See in addition A. S. Kapelrud, “The Gates of Hell and the Guardian Angels of Paradise,” JAOS 70 [1950]: 151-56; and D. N. Freedman and M. P. O’Connor, TDOT 7:307-19.)
4 tn Heb “the flame of the sword that turns round and round.” The noun “flame” is qualified by the genitive of specification, “the sword,” which in turn is modified by the attributive participle “whirling.” The Hitpael of the verb “turn” has an iterative function here, indicating repeated action. The form is used in Job 37:12 of swirling clouds and in Judg 7:13 of a tumbling roll of bread. Verse 24 depicts the sword as moving from side to side to prevent anyone from passing or as whirling around, ready to cut to shreds anyone who tries to pass.
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “in the middle.”
7 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
sn For discussion of this ritual see G. F. Hasel, “The Meaning of the Animal Rite in Genesis 15,” JSOT 19 (1981): 61-78.
8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
10 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
13 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).
14 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
15 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
16 tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37.
17 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
18 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
19 tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37.
20 tn Heb “lay down.”
21 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
22 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
24 tn Heb “standing stone.”
sn Sacred stone. Such a stone could be used as a boundary marker, a burial stone, or as a shrine. Here the stone is intended to be a reminder of the stairway that was “erected” and on which the
25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 tn Heb “and he caused him to ride in the second chariot which was his.”
27 tn The verb form appears to be a causative imperative from a verbal root meaning “to kneel.” It is a homonym of the word “bless” (identical in root letters but not related etymologically).
28 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-concessive here.
29 tn Heb “it was bad in his eyes.”
