Discovery BoxGenesis 5:29 
Context5:29 He named him Noah, 1 saying, “This one will bring us comfort 2 from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.”
Genesis 11:6
Context11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language 3 they have begun to do this, then 4 nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 5
Genesis 13:6
Context13:6 But the land could 6 not support them while they were living side by side. 7 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 8 alongside one another.
Genesis 15:1
Context15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 9 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 10
Genesis 17:12
Context17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 11 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants.
Genesis 18:10
Context18:10 One of them 12 said, “I will surely return 13 to you when the season comes round again, 14 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 15 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 16
Genesis 19:20
Context19:20 Look, this town 17 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 18 Let me go there. 19 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 20 Then I’ll survive.” 21
Genesis 19:35
Context19:35 So they made their father drunk 22 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 23 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 24
Genesis 22:2
Context22:2 God 25 said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac 26 – and go to the land of Moriah! 27 Offer him up there as a burnt offering 28 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to 29 you.”
Genesis 24:44
Context24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
Genesis 25:23
Context25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 30 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
Genesis 26:10
Context26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 31 One of the men 32 might easily have had sexual relations with 33 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”
Genesis 28:11
Context28:11 He reached a certain place 34 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 35 He took one of the stones 36 and placed it near his head. 37 Then he fell asleep 38 in that place
Genesis 29:33
Context29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 39 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 40
Genesis 30:31
Context30:31 So Laban asked, 41 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 42 Jacob replied, 43 “but if you agree to this one condition, 44 I will continue to care for 45 your flocks and protect them:
Genesis 32:16
Context32:16 He entrusted them to 46 his servants, who divided them into herds. 47 He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.”
Genesis 34:16
Context34:16 Then we will give 48 you our daughters to marry, 49 and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people.
Genesis 37:20
Context37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild 50 animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” 51
Genesis 38:25
Context38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word 52 to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” 53 Then she said, “Identify 54 the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.”
Genesis 39:9
Context39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do 55 such a great evil and sin against God?”
Genesis 41:8
Context41:8 In the morning he 56 was troubled, so he called for 57 all the diviner-priests 58 of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, 59 but no one could interpret 60 them for him. 61
Genesis 41:21
Context41:21 When they had eaten them, 62 no one would have known 63 that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up.
Genesis 41:24
Context41:24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this 64 to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” 65
Genesis 41:34
Context41:34 Pharaoh should do 66 this – he should appoint 67 officials 68 throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt 69 during the seven years of abundance.
Genesis 42:6
Context42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. 70 Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down 71 before him with 72 their faces to the ground.
Genesis 42:28
Context42:28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; 73 they turned trembling one to another 74 and said, “What in the world has God done to us?” 75
Genesis 42:33
Context42:33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain 76 for your hungry households and go.
Genesis 44:2
Context44:2 Then put 77 my cup – the silver cup – in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed. 78
Genesis 45:1
Context45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, 79 so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained 80 with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.
Genesis 47:24
Context47:24 When you gather in the crop, 81 give 82 one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and the rest 83 will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.”
Genesis 47:26
Context47:26 So Joseph made it a statute, 84 which is in effect 85 to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.
Genesis 49:24
Context49:24 But his bow will remain steady,
and his hands 86 will be skillful;
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
1 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.
2 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.
3 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
4 tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”
5 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
6 tn The potential nuance for the perfect tense is necessary here, and supported by the parallel clause that actually uses “to be able.”
7 tn The infinitive construct לָשֶׁבֶת (lashevet, from יָשַׁב, yashav) explains what it was that the land could not support: “the land could not support them to live side by side.” See further J. C. de Moor, “Lexical Remarks Concerning Yahad and Yahdaw,” VT 7 (1957): 350-55.
8 tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.
9 sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.
10 tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).
sn Abram has just rejected all the spoils of war, and the
11 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
13 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
sn I will surely return. If Abraham had not yet figured out who this was, this interchange would have made it clear. Otherwise, how would a return visit from this man mean Sarah would have a son?
14 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
15 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
16 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
17 tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”
18 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
19 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
20 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
21 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
22 tn Heb “drink wine.”
23 tn Heb “lied down with him.”
24 tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”
25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
27 sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
28 sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.
29 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
30 sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.
31 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
32 tn Heb “people.”
33 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
34 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.
35 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
36 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
37 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.
38 tn Heb “lay down.”
39 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
40 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
41 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
43 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
44 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
45 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
46 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
47 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
48 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
49 tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
50 tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.
51 tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”
52 tn Heb “she was being brought out and she sent.” The juxtaposition of two clauses, both of which place the subject before the predicate, indicates synchronic action.
53 tn Heb “who these to him.”
54 tn Or “ recognize; note.” This same Hebrew verb (נָכַר, nakhar) is used at the beginning of v. 26, where it is translated “recognized.”
55 tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.
56 tn Heb “his spirit.”
57 tn Heb “he sent and called,” which indicates an official summons.
58 tn The Hebrew term חַרְטֹם (khartom) is an Egyptian loanword (hyr-tp) that describes a class of priests who were skilled in such interpretations.
59 tn The Hebrew text has the singular (though the Samaritan Pentateuch reads the plural). If retained, the singular must be collective for the set of dreams. Note the plural pronoun “them,” referring to the dreams, in the next clause. However, note that in v. 15 Pharaoh uses the singular to refer to the two dreams. In vv. 17-24 Pharaoh seems to treat the dreams as two parts of one dream (see especially v. 22).
60 tn “there was no interpreter.”
61 tn Heb “for Pharaoh.” The pronoun “him” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
62 tn Heb “when they went inside them.”
63 tn Heb “it was not known.”
64 tn The words “all this” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
65 tn Heb “and there was no one telling me.”
66 tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”
67 tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
68 tn Heb “appointees.” The noun is a cognate accusative of the preceding verb. Since “appoint appointees” would be redundant in English, the term “officials” was used in the translation instead.
69 tn Heb “and he shall collect a fifth of the land of Egypt.” The language is figurative (metonymy); it means what the land produces, i.e., the harvest.
70 tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.
71 sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).
72 tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.
73 tn Heb “and their heart went out.” Since this expression is used only here, the exact meaning is unclear. The following statement suggests that it may refer to a sudden loss of emotional strength, so “They were dismayed” adequately conveys the meaning (cf. NRSV); NIV has “Their hearts sank.”
74 tn Heb “and they trembled, a man to his neighbor.”
75 tn Heb “What is this God has done to us?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question.
76 tn The word “grain” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
77 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express Joseph’s instructions.
78 tn Heb “and he did according to the word of Joseph which he spoke.”
79 tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”
80 tn Heb “stood.”
81 tn The words “the crop” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
82 tn The perfect form with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to an imperfect of instruction here.
83 tn Heb “four parts.”
84 tn On the term translated “statute” see P. Victor, “A Note on Hoq in the Old Testament,” VT 16 (1966): 358-61.
85 tn The words “which is in effect” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
86 tn Heb “the arms of his hands.”
87 tn Heb “from there,” but the phrase should be revocalized and read “from [i.e., because of] the name of.”
88 tn Or “Stone.”
