Discovery BoxGenesis 4:4 
Context4:4 But Abel brought 1 some of the firstborn of his flock – even the fattest 2 of them. And the Lord was pleased with 3 Abel and his offering,
Genesis 25:13
Context25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: 4 Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
Genesis 36:15
Context36:15 These were the chiefs 5 among the descendants 6 of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,
Genesis 41:51
Context41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, 7 saying, 8 “Certainly 9 God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.”
Genesis 43:33
Context43:33 They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. 10 The men looked at each other in astonishment. 11
Genesis 46:8
Context46:8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt – Jacob and his sons:
Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.
Genesis 48:18
Context48:18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
1 tn Heb “But Abel brought, also he….” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) stresses the contrast between Cain’s offering and Abel’s.
2 tn Two prepositional phrases are used to qualify the kind of sacrifice that Abel brought: “from the firstborn” and “from the fattest of them.” These also could be interpreted as a hendiadys: “from the fattest of the firstborn of the flock.” Another option is to understand the second prepositional phrase as referring to the fat portions of the sacrificial sheep. In this case one may translate, “some of the firstborn of his flock, even some of their fat portions” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
sn Here are two types of worshipers – one (Cain) merely discharges a duty at the proper time, while the other (Abel) goes out of his way to please God with the first and the best.
3 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁעָה (sha’ah) simply means “to gaze at, to have regard for, to look on with favor [or “with devotion”].” The text does not indicate how this was communicated, but it indicates that Cain and Abel knew immediately. Either there was some manifestation of divine pleasure given to Abel and withheld from Cain (fire consuming the sacrifice?), or there was an inner awareness of divine response.
4 tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”
5 tn Or “clan leaders” (so also throughout this chapter).
6 tn Or “sons.”
7 sn The name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh) describes God’s activity on behalf of Joseph, explaining in general the significance of his change of fortune. The name is a Piel participle, suggesting the meaning “he who brings about forgetfulness.” The Hebrew verb נַשַּׁנִי (nashani) may have been used instead of the normal נִשַּׁנִי (nishani) to provide a closer sound play with the name. The giving of this Hebrew name to his son shows that Joseph retained his heritage and faith; and it shows that a brighter future was in store for him.
8 tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
9 tn Or “for.”
10 tn Heb “the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth.”
11 sn The brothers’ astonishment indicates that Joseph arranged them in this way. They were astonished because there was no way, as far as they were concerned, that Joseph could have known the order of their birth.
