¹ tn The response of the serpent includes the infinitive absolute with a blatant negation equal to saying: “Not – you will surely die” (לֹא מוֹת תִּמֻתען, lo’ mot tÿmutun). The construction makes this emphatic because normally the negative particle precedes the finite verb. The serpent is a liar, denying that there is a penalty for sin (see John 8:44).

sn Surely you will not die. Here the serpent is more aware of what the Lord God said than the woman was; he simply adds a blatant negation to what God said. In the account of Jesus’ temptation Jesus is victorious because he knows the scripture better than Satan (Matt 4:1-11).

² tn The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call”) followed by the preposition אֶל־ or לְ (’el- or lÿ, “to, unto”) often carries the connotation of “summon.”

³ sn Where are you? The question is probably rhetorical (a figure of speech called erotesis) rather than literal, because it was spoken to the man, who answers it with an explanation of why he was hiding rather than a location. The question has more the force of “Why are you hiding?”

⁴ sn Note that God asks no question of the serpent, does not call for confession, as he did to the man and the woman; there is only the announcement of the curse. The order in this section is chiastic: The man is questioned, the woman is questioned, the serpent is cursed, sentence is passed on the woman, sentence is passed on the man.

⁵ tn The Hebrew word translated “cursed,” a passive participle from אָרָר (’arar), either means “punished” or “banished,” depending on how one interprets the following preposition. If the preposition is taken as comparative, then the idea is “cursed [i.e., punished] are you above [i.e., more than] all the wild beasts.” In this case the comparative preposition reflects the earlier comparison: The serpent was more shrewd than all others, and so more cursed than all others. If the preposition is taken as separative (see the note on the word “ground” in 4:11), then the idea is “cursed and banished from all the wild beasts.” In this case the serpent is condemned to isolation from all the other animals.

⁶ tn Heb “go”; “walk,” but in English “crawl” or “slither” better describes a serpent’s movement.

⁷ sn Dust you will eat. Being restricted to crawling on the ground would necessarily involve “eating dust,” although that is not the diet of the serpent. The idea of being brought low, of “eating dust” as it were, is a symbol of humiliation.

⁸ tn Heb “only.”

⁹ tn Or “flesh.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “its life, its blood.” The second word is in apposition to the first, explaining what is meant by “its life.” Since the blood is equated with life, meat that had the blood in it was not to be eaten.

¹¹ tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

sn You must not eat meat with its life…in it. Because of the carnage produced by the flood, people might conclude that life is cheap and therefore treat it lightly. But God will not permit them to kill or even to eat anything with the lifeblood still in it, serving as a reminder of the sanctity of life.

¹² tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.

¹³ tn The Hitpael form הִתְהַלֵּךְ (hithallekh) means “to walk about”; it also can carry the ideas of moving about, traversing, going back and forth, or living in an area. It here has the connotation of traversing the land to survey it, to look it over.

¹⁴ tn Heb “the land to its length and to its breadth.” This phrase has not been included in the translation because it is somewhat redundant (see the note on the word “throughout” in this verse).

¹⁵ tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”

¹⁶ tn Or “live with your blessing.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.

¹⁸ tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.

¹⁹ tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”

²⁰ tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.

²¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²² tn Heb “said.”

²³ tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

²⁴ tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

²⁵ tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.

²⁶ tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.

²⁷ tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”

²⁸ tn Heb “with all my strength.”

²⁹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘No, for the nakedness of the land you have come to see.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for clarity.

³⁰ tn Heb “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose.

³¹ tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal.

³² tn Heb “bound.”

³³ tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³⁴ tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.”

³⁵ tn The cohortative after the imperative indicates purpose here.

³⁶ tn Heb “that I may set my eyes upon him.”

³⁷ tn Heb “he made you swear on oath.”