Kejadian 10:1--18:33
Konteks10:1 This is the account 1 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 2 were born 3 to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 4 were Gomer, 5 Magog, 6 Madai, 7 Javan, 8 Tubal, 9 Meshech, 10 and Tiras. 11 10:3 The sons of Gomer were 12 Askenaz, 13 Riphath, 14 and Togarmah. 15 10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 16 Tarshish, 17 the Kittim, 18 and the Dodanim. 19 10:5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.
10:6 The sons of Ham were Cush, 20 Mizraim, 21 Put, 22 and Canaan. 23 10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, 24 Havilah, 25 Sabtah, 26 Raamah, 27 and Sabteca. 28 The sons of Raamah were Sheba 29 and Dedan. 30
10:8 Cush was the father of 31 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter 32 before the Lord. 33 (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10:10 The primary regions 34 of his kingdom were Babel, 35 Erech, 36 Akkad, 37 and Calneh 38 in the land of Shinar. 39 10:11 From that land he went 40 to Assyria, 41 where he built Nineveh, 42 Rehoboth-Ir, 43 Calah, 44 10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 45
10:13 Mizraim 46 was the father of 47 the Ludites, 48 Anamites, 49 Lehabites, 50 Naphtuhites, 51 10:14 Pathrusites, 52 Casluhites 53 (from whom the Philistines came), 54 and Caphtorites. 55
10:15 Canaan was the father of 56 Sidon his firstborn, 57 Heth, 58 10:16 the Jebusites, 59 Amorites, 60 Girgashites, 61 10:17 Hivites, 62 Arkites, 63 Sinites, 64 10:18 Arvadites, 65 Zemarites, 66 and Hamathites. 67 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended 68 from Sidon 69 all the way to 70 Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to 71 Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.
10:21 And sons were also born 72 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 73 the father of all the sons of Eber.
10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, 74 Asshur, 75 Arphaxad, 76 Lud, 77 and Aram. 78 10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 79 10:24 Arphaxad was the father of 80 Shelah, 81 and Shelah was the father of Eber. 82 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, 83 and his brother’s name was Joktan. 10:26 Joktan was the father of 84 Almodad, 85 Sheleph, 86 Hazarmaveth, 87 Jerah, 88 10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, 89 Diklah, 90 10:28 Obal, 91 Abimael, 92 Sheba, 93 10:29 Ophir, 94 Havilah, 95 and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 10:30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to 96 Sephar in the eastern hills. 10:31 These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.
10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread 97 over the earth after the flood.
11:1 The whole earth 98 had a common language and a common vocabulary. 99 11:2 When the people 100 moved eastward, 101 they found a plain in Shinar 102 and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, 103 “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” 104 (They had brick instead of stone and tar 105 instead of mortar.) 106 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens 107 so that 108 we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise 109 we will be scattered 110 across the face of the entire earth.”
11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people 111 had started 112 building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language 113 they have begun to do this, then 114 nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 115 11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse 116 their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 117
11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building 118 the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called 119 Babel 120 – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.
11:10 This is the account of Shem.
Shem was 100 old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood. 11:11 And after becoming the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other 121 sons and daughters.
11:12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 11:13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other 122 sons and daughters. 123
11:14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 11:15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other 124 sons and daughters.
11:16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 11:17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 11:19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 11:21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 11:23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 11:25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
11:27 This is the account of Terah.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 11:28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, 125 while his father Terah was still alive. 126 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, 127 and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; 128 she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there. 11:32 The lifetime 129 of Terah was 205 years, and he 130 died in Haran.
12:1 Now the Lord said 131 to Abram, 132
“Go out 133 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 134
12:2 Then I will make you 135 into a great nation, and I will bless you, 136
and I will make your name great, 137
so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 138
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, 139
but the one who treats you lightly 140 I must curse,
and all the families of the earth will bless one another 141 by your name.”
12:4 So Abram left, 142 just as the Lord had told him to do, 143 and Lot went with him. (Now 144 Abram was 75 years old 145 when he departed from Haran.) 12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew 146 Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired 147 in Haran, and they left for 148 the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree 149 of Moreh 150 at Shechem. 151 (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 152 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants 153 I will give this land.” So Abram 154 built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel 155 and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. 156 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages 157 down to the Negev. 158
12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt 159 to stay for a while 160 because the famine was severe. 161 12:11 As he approached 162 Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, 163 I know that you are a beautiful woman. 164 12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 165 12:13 So tell them 166 you are my sister 167 so that it may go well 168 for me because of you and my life will be spared 169 on account of you.”
12:14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 12:15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife 170 was taken 171 into the household of Pharaoh, 172 12:16 and he did treat Abram well 173 on account of her. Abram received 174 sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
12:17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases 175 because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this 176 you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 12:19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her 177 to be my wife? 178 Here is your wife! 179 Take her and go!” 180 12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, 181 and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 182 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 183 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 184 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 185
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 186 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 187 He returned 188 to the place where he had pitched his tent 189 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 190 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 191
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 192 with Abram, also had 193 flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could 194 not support them while they were living side by side. 195 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 196 alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels 197 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 198 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 199
13:8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. 200 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go 201 to the left, then I’ll go to the right, but if you go to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
13:10 Lot looked up and saw 202 the whole region 203 of the Jordan. He noticed 204 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 205 Sodom and Gomorrah) 206 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 207 all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled 208 toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other. 209 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 210 and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now 211 the people 212 of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) 213
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 214 “Look 215 from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. 13:15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants 216 forever. 13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. 217 13:17 Get up and 218 walk throughout 219 the land, 220 for I will give it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 221 by the oaks 222 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
14:1 At that time 223 Amraphel king of Shinar, 224 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 225 14:2 went to war 226 against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 227 14:3 These last five kings 228 joined forces 229 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 230 14:4 For twelve years 231 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 232 they rebelled. 233 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 234 the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. 235 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 236 and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met 237 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 238 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 239 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 240 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 241 but some survivors 242 fled to the hills. 243 14:11 The four victorious kings 244 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 245 Lot and his possessions when 246 they left, for Lot 247 was living in Sodom. 248
14:13 A fugitive 249 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 250 Now Abram was living by the oaks 251 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 252 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 253 with Abram.) 254 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 255 had been taken captive, he mobilized 256 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 257 as far as Dan. 258 14:15 Then, during the night, 259 Abram 260 divided his forces 261 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 262 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 263 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 264 the people.
14:17 After Abram 265 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 266 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 267 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 268 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 269 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 270 the Most High God,
Creator 271 of heaven and earth. 272
14:20 Worthy of praise is 273 the Most High God,
who delivered 274 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 275 a tenth of everything.
14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand 276 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 277 14:23 that I will take nothing 278 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 279 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 280 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 281 As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 282 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 283
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 284 what will you give me since 285 I continue to be 286 childless, and my heir 287 is 288 Eliezer of Damascus?” 289 15:3 Abram added, 290 “Since 291 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 292
15:4 But look, 293 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 294 will not be your heir, 295 but instead 296 a son 297 who comes from your own body will be 298 your heir.” 299 15:5 The Lord 300 took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
15:6 Abram believed 301 the Lord, and the Lord 302 considered his response of faith 303 as proof of genuine loyalty. 304
15:7 The Lord said 305 to him, “I am the Lord 306 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 307 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But 308 Abram 309 said, “O sovereign Lord, 310 by what 311 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 312 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 313 took all these for him and then cut them in two 314 and placed each half opposite the other, 315 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, 316 and great terror overwhelmed him. 317 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 318 that your descendants will be strangers 319 in a foreign country. 320 They will be enslaved and oppressed 321 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 322 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 323 you will go to your ancestors 324 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 325 15:16 In the fourth generation 326 your descendants 327 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 328
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 329 passed between the animal parts. 330 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 331 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 332 this land, from the river of Egypt 333 to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land 334 of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” 335
16:1 Now Sarai, 336 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 337 but she had an Egyptian servant 338 named Hagar. 339 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 340 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 341 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 342 Abram did what 343 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 344 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 345 to her husband to be his wife. 346 16:4 He had sexual relations with 347 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 348 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 349 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 350 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 351 but when she realized 352 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 353 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 354
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 355 servant is under your authority, 356 do to her whatever you think best.” 357 Then Sarai treated Hagar 358 harshly, 359 so she ran away from Sarai. 360
16:7 The Lord’s angel 361 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 362 16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from 363 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 364 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 365 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 366 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 367 pregnant
and are about to give birth 368 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 369
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 370
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 371 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 372
and everyone will be hostile to him. 373
He will live away from 374 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 375 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 376 16:14 That is why the well was called 377 Beer Lahai Roi. 378 (It is located 379 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 380 16:16 (Now 381 Abram was 86 years old 382 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 383
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 384 the Lord appeared to him and said, 385 “I am the sovereign God. 386 Walk 387 before me 388 and be blameless. 389 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 390 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 391
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 392 and God said to him, 393 17:4 “As for me, 394 this 395 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 396 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 397 because I will make you 398 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 399 extremely 400 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 401 17:7 I will confirm 402 my covenant as a perpetual 403 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 404 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 405 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 406 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 407 the covenantal requirement 408 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 409 Every male among you must be circumcised. 410 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 411 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 412 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 413 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 414 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 415 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 416 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 417 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 418
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 419 Sarah 420 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 421 Kings of countries 422 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 423 as he said to himself, 424 “Can 425 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 426 Can Sarah 427 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 428 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 429 Ishmael might live before you!” 430
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 431 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 432 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 433 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 434 He will become the father of twelve princes; 435 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 436
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 437 and circumcised them 438 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 439 when he was circumcised; 440 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 441 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 442 by the oaks 443 of Mamre while 444 he was sitting at the entrance 445 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 446 looked up 447 and saw 448 three men standing across 449 from him. When he saw them 450 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 451 to the ground. 452
18:3 He said, “My lord, 453 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 454 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 455 you may all 456 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 457 a bit of food 458 so that you may refresh yourselves 459 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 460 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 461 three measures 462 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 463 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 464 who quickly prepared it. 465 18:8 Abraham 466 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 467 before them. They ate while 468 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 469 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 470 said, “I will surely return 471 to you when the season comes round again, 472 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 473 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 474 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 475 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 476 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 477 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 478 especially when my husband is old too?” 479
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 480 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 481 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 482 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 483 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 484
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 485 they looked out over 486 Sodom. (Now 487 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 488 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 489 18:18 After all, Abraham 490 will surely become 491 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 492 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 493 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 494 the way of the Lord by doing 495 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 496 to Abraham what he promised 497 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 498 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 499 18:21 that I must go down 500 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 501 If not, 502 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 503 and headed 504 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 505 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 506 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 507 of the whole earth do what is right?” 508
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 509 (although I am but dust and ashes), 510 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 511 the whole city because five are lacking?” 512 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 513 spoke to him again, 514 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 515 said, “May the Lord not be angry 516 so that I may speak! 517 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 518 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 519 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 520 when he had finished speaking 521 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 522
Kejadian 20:9
Konteks20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 523 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 524
Keluaran 6:29-30
Konteks6:29 he said to him, 525 “I am the Lord. Tell 526 Pharaoh king of Egypt all that 527 I am telling 528 you.” 6:30 But Moses said before the Lord, “Since I speak with difficulty, 529 why should Pharaoh listen to me?”
Yunus 3:2
Konteks3:2 “Go immediately 530 to Nineveh, that large city, 531 and proclaim to 532 it the message that I tell you.”
[10:1] 1 tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (’elle tolÿdot, here translated as “This is the account”) here covers 10:1–11:9, which contains the so-called Table of Nations and the account of how the nations came to be dispersed.
[10:1] 2 sn Sons were born to them. A vertical genealogy such as this encompasses more than the names of sons. The list includes cities, tribes, and even nations. In a loose way, the names in the list have some derivation or connection to the three ancestors.
[10:1] 3 tn It appears that the Table of Nations is a composite of at least two ancient sources: Some sections begin with the phrase “the sons of” (בְּנֵי, bÿne) while other sections use “begot” (יָלָד, yalad). It may very well be that the “sons of” list was an old, “bare bones” list that was retained in the family records, while the “begot” sections were editorial inserts by the writer of Genesis, reflecting his special interests. See A. P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Structure,” BSac 137 (1980): 340-53; idem, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Content,” BSac 138 (1981): 22-34.
[10:2] 4 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
[10:2] 5 sn Gomer was the ancestor of the Cimmerians. For a discussion of the Cimmerians see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 49-61.
[10:2] 6 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
[10:2] 7 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
[10:2] 8 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
[10:2] 9 sn Tubal was the ancestor of militaristic tribes that lived north of the Black Sea. For a discussion of ancient references to Tubal see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
[10:2] 10 sn Meshech was the ancestor of the people known in Assyrian records as the Musku. For a discussion of ancient references to them see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
[10:2] 11 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
[10:3] 12 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
[10:3] 13 sn Askenaz was the ancestor of a northern branch of Indo-Germanic tribes, possibly Scythians. For discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 63.
[10:3] 14 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
[10:3] 15 sn Togarmah is also mentioned in Ezek 38:6, where it refers to Til-garimmu, the capital of Kammanu, which bordered Tabal in eastern Turkey. See E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 26, n. 28.
[10:4] 16 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
[10:4] 17 sn The descendants of Tarshish settled along the southern coast of what is modern Turkey. However, some identify the site Tarshish (see Jonah 1:3) with Sardinia or Spain.
[10:4] 18 sn The name Kittim is associated with Cyprus, as well as coastlands east of Rhodes. It is used in later texts to refer to the Romans.
[10:4] 19 tc Most of the MT
[10:6] 20 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
[10:6] 21 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
[10:6] 22 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
[10:6] 23 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
[10:7] 24 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
[10:7] 25 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
[10:7] 26 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
[10:7] 27 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 28 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
[10:7] 29 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 30 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
[10:8] 31 tn Heb “fathered.” Embedded within Cush’s genealogy is an account of Nimrod, a mighty warrior. There have been many attempts to identify him, but none are convincing.
[10:9] 32 tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).
[10:9] 33 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
[10:10] 34 tn Heb “beginning.” E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 67, suggests “mainstays,” citing Jer 49:35 as another text where the Hebrew noun is so used.
[10:10] 36 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
[10:10] 37 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
[10:10] 38 tn No such place is known in Shinar (i.e., Babylonia). Therefore some have translated the Hebrew term כַלְנֵה (khalneh) as “all of them,” referring to the three previous names (cf. NRSV).
[10:10] 39 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
[10:11] 40 tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.
[10:11] 42 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
[10:11] 43 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
[10:11] 44 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
[10:12] 45 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
[10:13] 46 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
[10:13] 48 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
[10:13] 49 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
[10:13] 50 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
[10:13] 51 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
[10:14] 52 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
[10:14] 53 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
[10:14] 54 tn Several commentators prefer to reverse the order of the words to put this clause after the next word, since the Philistines came from Crete (where the Caphtorites lived). But the table may suggest migration rather than lineage, and the Philistines, like the Israelites, came through the Nile Delta region of Egypt. For further discussion of the origin and migration of the Philistines, see D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 232.
[10:14] 55 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
[10:15] 57 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
[10:15] 58 tn Some see a reference to “Hittites” here (cf. NIV), but this seems unlikely. See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
[10:16] 59 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
[10:16] 60 sn Here Amorites refers to smaller groups of Canaanite inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Palestine, rather than the large waves of Amurru, or western Semites, who migrated to the region.
[10:16] 61 sn The Girgashites are an otherwise unknown Canaanite tribe, though the name is possibly mentioned in Ugaritic texts (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 1:226).
[10:17] 62 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
[10:17] 63 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
[10:17] 64 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
[10:18] 65 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
[10:18] 66 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
[10:18] 67 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
[10:19] 69 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[10:19] 70 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:19] 71 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:21] 72 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
[10:21] 73 tn Or “whose older brother was Japheth.” Some translations render Japheth as the older brother, understanding the adjective הַגָּדוֹל (haggadol, “older”) as modifying Japheth. However, in Hebrew when a masculine singular definite attributive adjective follows the sequence masculine singular construct noun + proper name, the adjective invariably modifies the noun in construct, not the proper name. Such is the case here. See Deut 11:7; Judg 1:13; 2:7; 3:9; 9:5; 2 Kgs 15:35; 2 Chr 27:3; Neh 3:30; Jer 13:9; 36:10; Ezek 10:19; 11:1.
[10:22] 74 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
[10:22] 75 sn Asshur is the name for the Assyrians. Asshur was the region in which Nimrod expanded his power (see v. 11, where the name is also mentioned). When names appear in both sections of a genealogical list, it probably means that there were both Hamites and Shemites living in that region in antiquity, especially if the name is a place name.
[10:22] 76 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
[10:22] 77 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
[10:22] 78 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
[10:23] 79 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
[10:23] sn Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Little is known about these descendants of Aram.
[10:24] 81 tc The MT reads “Arphaxad fathered Shelah”; the LXX reads “Arphaxad fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered Sala [= Shelah].” The LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
[10:24] 82 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
[10:25] 83 tn The expression “the earth was divided” may refer to dividing the land with canals, but more likely it anticipates the division of languages at Babel (Gen 11). The verb פָּלָג (palag, “separate, divide”) is used in Ps 55:9 for a division of languages.
[10:26] 85 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
[10:26] 86 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
[10:26] 87 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
[10:26] 88 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
[10:27] 89 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
[10:27] 90 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
[10:28] 91 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
[10:28] 92 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
[10:28] 93 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
[10:29] 94 sn Ophir became the name of a territory in South Arabia. Many of the references to Ophir are connected with gold (e.g., 1 Kgs 9:28, 10:11, 22:48; 1 Chr 29:4; 2 Chr 8:18, 9:10; Job 22:24, 28:16; Ps 45:9; Isa 13:12).
[10:29] 95 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
[10:30] 96 tn Heb “as you go.”
[11:1] 98 sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1-9,” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.
[11:1] 99 tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.
[11:2] 100 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:2] 101 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
[11:2] 102 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”
[11:2] sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.
[11:3] 103 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
[11:3] 104 tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbbÿnah lÿvenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisrÿfah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).
[11:3] 105 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
[11:3] 106 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
[11:4] 107 tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.
[11:4] 108 tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.
[11:4] 109 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
[11:4] 110 sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.
[11:5] 111 tn Heb “the sons of man.” The phrase is intended in this polemic to portray the builders as mere mortals, not the lesser deities that the Babylonians claimed built the city.
[11:5] 112 tn The Hebrew text simply has בָּנוּ (banu), but since v. 8 says they left off building the city, an ingressive idea (“had started building”) should be understood here.
[11:6] 113 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
[11:6] 114 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.”
[11:6] 115 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
[11:7] 116 tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the
[11:7] 117 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
[11:8] 118 tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.
[11:9] 119 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
[11:9] 120 sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
[11:11] 121 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 122 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 123 tc The reading of the MT is followed in vv. 11-12; the LXX reads, “And [= when] Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan, Arphaxad lived four hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died. And [= when] Cainan had lived one hundred and thirty years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah]. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah], Cainan lived three hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died.” See also the note on “Shelah” in Gen 10:24; the LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
[11:15] 124 tn Here and in vv. 16, 19, 21, 23, 25 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:28] 125 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
[11:28] 126 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
[11:29] 127 sn The name Sarai (a variant spelling of “Sarah”) means “princess” (or “lady”). Sharratu was the name of the wife of the moon god Sin. The original name may reflect the culture out of which the patriarch was called, for the family did worship other gods in Mesopotamia.
[11:29] 128 sn The name Milcah means “Queen.” But more to the point here is the fact that Malkatu was a title for Ishtar, the daughter of the moon god. If the women were named after such titles (and there is no evidence that this was the motivation for naming the girls “Princess” or “Queen”), that would not necessarily imply anything about the faith of the two women themselves.
[11:32] 129 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
[11:32] 130 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:1] 131 sn The
[12:1] 132 tn The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.
[12:1] sn It would be hard to overestimate the value of this call and this divine plan for the theology of the Bible. Here begins God’s plan to bring redemption to the world. The promises to Abram will be turned into a covenant in Gen 15 and 22 (here it is a call with conditional promises) and will then lead through the Bible to the work of the Messiah.
[12:1] 133 tn The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”
[12:1] 134 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
[12:2] 135 tn The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative.
[12:2] 136 sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.
[12:2] 137 tn Or “I will make you famous.”
[12:2] 138 tn Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.
[12:3] 139 tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the
[12:3] 140 tn In this part of God’s statement there are two significant changes that often go unnoticed. First, the parallel and contrasting participle מְקַלֶּלְךָ (mÿqallelkha) is now singular and not plural. All the versions and a few Masoretic
[12:3] 141 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings on”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
[12:4] 142 sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).
[12:4] 143 tn Heb “just as the
[12:4] 144 tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + implied “to be” verb) is parenthetical, telling the age of Abram when he left Haran.
[12:4] 145 tn Heb “was the son of five years and seventy year[s].”
[12:4] sn Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran (Gen 11:26). Terah was 205 when he died in Haran (11:32). Abram left Haran at the age of 75 after his father died. Abram was born when Terah was 130. Abram was not the firstborn – he is placed first in the list of three because of his importance. The same is true of the list in Gen 10:1 (Shem, Ham and Japheth). Ham was the youngest son (9:24). Japheth was the older brother of Shem (10:21), so the birth order of Noah’s sons was Japheth, Shem, and Ham.
[12:5] 146 tn Heb “the son of his brother.”
[12:5] 147 tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.
[12:5] 148 tn Heb “went out to go.”
[12:6] 150 sn The Hebrew word Moreh (מוֹרֶה, moreh) means “teacher.” It may well be that the place of this great oak tree was a Canaanite shrine where instruction took place.
[12:6] 151 tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”
[12:6] 152 tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.
[12:7] 153 tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
[12:7] 154 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:8] 155 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:8] 156 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[12:9] 157 tn The Hebrew verb נָסַע (nasa’) means “to journey”; more specifically it means to pull up the tent and move to another place. The construction here uses the preterite of this verb with its infinitive absolute to stress the activity of traveling. But it also adds the infinitive absolute of הָלַךְ (halakh) to stress that the traveling was continually going on. Thus “Abram journeyed, going and journeying” becomes “Abram continually journeyed by stages.”
[12:9] 158 tn Or “the South [country].”
[12:9] sn Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.
[12:10] 159 sn Abram went down to Egypt. The Abrahamic narrative foreshadows some of the events in the life of the nation of Israel. This sojourn in Egypt is typological of Israel’s bondage there. In both stories there is a famine that forces the family to Egypt, death is a danger to the males while the females are preserved alive, great plagues bring about their departure, there is a summons to stand before Pharaoh, and there is a return to the land of Canaan with great wealth.
[12:10] 160 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” means “to stay for a while.” The “stranger” (traditionally “sojourner”) is one who is a temporary resident, a visitor, one who is passing through. Abram had no intention of settling down in Egypt or owning property. He was only there to wait out the famine.
[12:10] 161 tn Heb “heavy in the land.” The words “in the land,” which also occur at the beginning of the verse in the Hebrew text, have not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:11] 162 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
[12:11] 163 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
[12:11] 164 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
[12:12] 165 tn The Piel of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) means “to keep alive, to preserve alive,” and in some places “to make alive.” See D. Marcus, “The Verb ‘to Live’ in Ugaritic,” JSS 17 (1972): 76-82.
[12:13] 167 sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.
[12:13] 168 tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.
[12:13] 169 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
[12:15] 170 tn Heb “and the woman.” The word also means “wife”; the Hebrew article can express the possessive pronoun (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §86). Here the proper name (Abram) has been used in the translation instead of a possessive pronoun (“his”) for clarity.
[12:15] 171 tn The Hebrew term וַתֻּקַּח (vattuqqakh, “was taken”) is a rare verbal form, an old Qal passive preterite from the verb “to take.” It is pointed as a Hophal would be by the Masoretes, but does not have a Hophal meaning.
[12:15] 172 tn The Hebrew text simply has “house of Pharaoh.” The word “house” refers to the household in general, more specifically to the royal harem.
[12:16] 173 sn He did treat Abram well. The construction of the parenthetical disjunctive clause, beginning with the conjunction on the prepositional phrase, draws attention to the irony of the story. Abram wanted Sarai to lie “so that it would go well” with him. Though he lost Sarai to Pharaoh, it did go well for him – he received a lavish bride price. See also G. W. Coats, “Despoiling the Egyptians,” VT 18 (1968): 450-57.
[12:16] 174 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[12:17] 175 tn The cognate accusative adds emphasis to the verbal sentence: “he plagued with great plagues,” meaning the
[12:18] 176 tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[12:19] 177 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive here expresses consequence.
[12:19] 178 tn Heb “to me for a wife.”
[12:19] 179 tn Heb “Look, your wife!”
[12:19] 180 tn Heb “take and go.”
[12:20] 181 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:1] 182 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
[13:1] sn Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.
[13:1] 183 tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”
[13:2] 185 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.
[13:3] 186 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
[13:3] 187 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:3] 188 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:3] 189 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
[13:4] 190 tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).
[13:4] 191 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[13:5] 192 tn Heb “was going.”
[13:5] 193 tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.
[13:6] 194 tn The potential nuance for the perfect tense is necessary here, and supported by the parallel clause that actually uses “to be able.”
[13:6] 195 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.
[13:6] 196 tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.
[13:7] 197 tn The Hebrew term רִיב (riv) means “strife, conflict, quarreling.” In later texts it has the meaning of “legal controversy, dispute.” See B. Gemser, “The rîb – or Controversy – Pattern in Hebrew Mentality,” Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East [VTSup], 120-37.
[13:7] 198 sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.
[13:7] 199 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced with the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), again provides critical information. It tells in part why the land cannot sustain these two bedouins, and it also hints of the danger of weakening the family by inner strife.
[13:8] 200 tn Heb “men, brothers [are] we.” Here “brothers” describes the closeness of the relationship, but could be misunderstood if taken literally, since Abram was Lot’s uncle.
[13:9] 201 tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.
[13:10] 202 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.
[13:10] 203 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
[13:10] 204 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 205 sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).
[13:10] 206 tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 207 sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the
[13:11] 208 tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
[13:11] 209 tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”
[13:11] sn Separated from each other. For a discussion of the significance of this event, see L. R. Helyer, “The Separation of Abram and Lot: Its Significance in the Patriarchal Narratives,” JSOT 26 (1983): 77-88.
[13:12] 210 tn Or “the cities of the plain”; Heb “[the cities of] the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[13:13] 211 tn Here is another significant parenthetical clause in the story, signaled by the vav (וו) disjunctive (translated “now”) on the noun at the beginning of the clause.
[13:13] 212 tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.
[13:13] 213 tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the
[13:14] 214 tn Heb “and the
[13:14] 215 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”
[13:14] sn Look. Earlier Lot “looked up” (v. 10), but here Abram is told by God to do so. The repetition of the expression (Heb “lift up the eyes”) here underscores how the
[13:15] 216 tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”
[13:16] 217 tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.
[13:17] 218 tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.
[13:17] 219 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.
[13:17] 220 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).
[13:18] 221 tn Heb “he came and lived.”
[13:18] 222 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:1] 223 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”
[14:1] 224 sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
[14:1] 225 tn Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. NEB “Goyim”; NIV, NRSV “Goiim”).
[14:2] sn Went to war. The conflict here reflects international warfare in the Early and Middle Bronze periods. The countries operated with overlords and vassals. Kings ruled over city states, or sometimes a number of city states (i.e., nations). Due to their treaties, when one went to war, those confederate with him joined him in battle. It appears here that it is Kedorlaomer’s war, because the western city states have rebelled against him (meaning they did not send products as tribute to keep him from invading them).
[14:2] 227 sn On the geographical background of vv. 1-2 see J. P. Harland, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 1:41-75; and D. N. Freedman, “The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the Cities of the Plain,” BA 41 (1978): 143-64.
[14:3] 228 tn Heb “all these,” referring only to the last five kings named. The referent has been specified as “these last five kings” in the translation for clarity.
[14:3] 229 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to join together; to unite; to be allied.” It stresses close associations, especially of friendships, marriages, or treaties.
[14:3] 230 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
[14:4] 231 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
[14:4] 232 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.
[14:4] 233 sn The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east – to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats – that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.
[14:5] 234 tn The Hebrew verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to attack, to strike, to smite.” In this context it appears that the strike was successful, and so a translation of “defeated” is preferable.
[14:6] 235 sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.
[14:7] 236 tn Heb “they returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh).” The two verbs together form a verbal hendiadys, the first serving as the adverb: “they returned and came” means “they came again.” Most English translations do not treat this as a hendiadys, but translate “they turned back” or something similar. Since in the context, however, “came again to” does not simply refer to travel but an assault against the place, the present translation expresses this as “attacked…again.”
[14:9] 238 tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.
[14:9] 239 tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:10] 240 tn Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.”
[14:10] sn The word for “tar” (or “bitumen”) occurs earlier in the story of the building of the tower in Babylon (see Gen 11:3).
[14:10] 241 tn Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם).
[14:10] 242 tn Heb “the rest.”
[14:10] 243 sn The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.
[14:11] 244 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 245 tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
[14:12] 247 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 248 tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
[14:13] 249 tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
[14:13] 250 sn E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14-16).
[14:13] 251 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:13] 252 tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
[14:13] 253 tn Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.
[14:13] 254 tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.
[14:14] 255 tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).
[14:14] 256 tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.
[14:14] 257 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:14] 258 sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.
[14:15] 259 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
[14:15] 260 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 261 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
[14:15] 262 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
[14:16] 263 tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:16] 264 tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:17] 265 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 266 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 267 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
[14:18] 268 sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the
[14:18] 269 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
[14:18] sn It is his royal priestly status that makes Melchizedek a type of Christ: He was identified with Jerusalem, superior to the ancestor of Israel, and both a king and a priest. Unlike the normal Canaanites, this man served “God Most High” (אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, ’el ’elyon) – one sovereign God, who was the creator of all the universe. Abram had in him a spiritual brother.
[14:19] 270 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
[14:19] 271 tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”
[14:19] 272 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
[14:20] 273 tn Heb “blessed be.” For God to be “blessed” means that is praised. His reputation is enriched in the world as his name is praised.
[14:20] 274 sn Who delivered. The Hebrew verb מִגֵּן (miggen, “delivered”) foreshadows the statement by God to Abram in Gen 15:1, “I am your shield” (מָגֵן, magen). Melchizedek provided a theological interpretation of Abram’s military victory.
[14:20] 275 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:22] 276 tn Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”
[14:22] 277 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:23] 278 tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the
[14:23] 279 tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
[14:24] 280 tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:24] 281 tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
[15:1] 282 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.
[15:1] 283 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).
[15:1] sn Abram has just rejected all the spoils of war, and the
[15:2] 284 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
[15:2] 285 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
[15:2] 286 tn Heb “I am going.”
[15:2] 287 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
[15:2] sn For the custom of designating a member of the household as heir, see C. H. Gordon, “Biblical Customs and the Nuzu Tablets,” Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 2:21-33.
[15:2] 288 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
[15:2] 289 sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.
[15:3] 290 tn Heb “And Abram said.”
[15:3] 291 tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).
[15:3] 292 tn Heb “is inheriting me.”
[15:4] 293 tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.
[15:4] 294 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
[15:4] 295 tn Heb “inherit you.”
[15:4] 296 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
[15:4] 297 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:4] 298 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
[15:4] 299 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
[15:5] 300 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 301 tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50-98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.
[15:6] 302 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 303 tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440-41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him – [namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259-89.
[15:6] 304 tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12-13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962).
[15:6] sn This episode is basic to the NT teaching of Paul on justification (Romans 4). Paul weaves this passage and Psalm 32 together, for both use this word. Paul explains that for the one who believes in the
[15:7] 305 tn Heb “And he said.”
[15:7] 306 sn I am the
[15:7] 307 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
[15:8] 308 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
[15:8] 309 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:8] 310 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
[15:9] 312 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
[15:10] 313 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:10] 314 tn Heb “in the middle.”
[15:10] 315 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
[15:10] sn For discussion of this ritual see G. F. Hasel, “The Meaning of the Animal Rite in Genesis 15,” JSOT 19 (1981): 61-78.
[15:12] 316 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
[15:12] 317 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
[15:13] 318 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
[15:13] 319 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
[15:13] 320 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
[15:13] 321 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
[15:14] 322 tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
[15:15] 323 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
[15:15] 324 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
[15:15] 325 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
[15:16] 326 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
[15:16] 327 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[15:16] 328 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
[15:16] sn The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit. The justice of God is apparent. He will wait until the Amorites are fully deserving of judgment before he annihilates them and gives the land to Israel.
[15:17] 329 sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).
[15:17] 330 tn Heb “these pieces.”
[15:18] 331 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[15:18] 332 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
[15:18] sn To your descendants I give this land. The
[15:18] 333 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
[15:19] 334 tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:21] 335 tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.
[16:1] 336 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
[16:1] 337 sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.
[16:1] 338 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
[16:1] 339 sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)
[16:2] 340 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
[16:2] 341 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
[16:2] sn The Hebrew expression translated have sexual relations with does not convey the intimacy of other expressions, such as “so and so knew his wife.” Sarai simply sees this as the social custom of having a child through a surrogate. For further discussion see C. F. Fensham, “The Son of a Handmaid in Northwest Semitic,” VT 19 (1969): 312-21.
[16:2] 342 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
[16:2] 343 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
[16:2] sn Abram did what Sarai told him. This expression was first used in Gen 3:17 of Adam’s obeying his wife. In both cases the text highlights weak faith and how it jeopardized the plan of God.
[16:3] 344 tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.
[16:3] 345 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
[16:3] 346 sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.
[16:4] 347 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.
[16:4] 348 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)
[16:4] 349 tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.
[16:5] 350 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
[16:5] 351 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
[16:5] 353 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.
[16:5] 354 tn Heb “me and you.”
[16:5] sn May the
[16:6] 355 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
[16:6] 356 tn Heb “in your hand.”
[16:6] 357 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
[16:6] 358 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:6] 359 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
[16:6] 360 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:7] 361 tn Heb “the messenger of the
[16:7] 362 tn Heb “And the angel of the
[16:8] 363 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
[16:9] 364 tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.
[16:10] 365 tn Heb “The
[16:10] 366 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
[16:11] 367 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
[16:11] 368 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
[16:11] 369 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”
[16:11] 370 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
[16:11] sn This clause gives the explanation of the name Ishmael, using a wordplay. Ishmael’s name will be a reminder that “God hears” Hagar’s painful cries.
[16:12] 371 sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.
[16:12] 372 tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.
[16:12] 373 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
[16:12] 374 tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).
[16:13] 375 tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).
[16:13] 376 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
[16:13] sn For a discussion of Hagar’s exclamation, see T. Booij, “Hagar’s Words in Genesis 16:13b,” VT 30 (1980): 1-7.
[16:14] 377 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
[16:14] 378 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.
[16:14] 379 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:15] 380 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
[16:15] sn Whom Abram named Ishmael. Hagar must have informed Abram of what the angel had told her. See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
[16:16] 381 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.
[16:16] 382 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”
[16:16] 383 tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.
[17:1] 384 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:1] 385 tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
[17:1] 386 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew
[17:1] 387 tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”
[17:1] 388 tn Or “in my presence.”
[17:1] 389 tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the
[17:2] 390 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
[17:2] 391 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:3] 392 tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.
[17:3] 393 tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:4] 395 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
[17:5] 396 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
[17:5] 397 sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.
[17:5] 398 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
[17:6] 399 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
[17:6] 400 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:6] 401 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
[17:7] 402 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).
[17:7] 403 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:7] 404 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
[17:8] 405 tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.
[17:8] 406 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:9] 407 tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.
[17:9] 408 tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.
[17:10] 409 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
[17:10] 410 sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.
[17:12] 412 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
[17:13] 413 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
[17:13] 414 tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:13] 415 tn Or “an eternal.”
[17:14] 416 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
[17:14] 417 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:14] sn The meaning of “cut off” has been discussed at great length. An entire tractate in the Mishnah is devoted to this subject (tractate Keritot). Being ostracized from the community is involved at the least, but it is not certain whether this refers to the death penalty.
[17:14] 418 tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:15] 419 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
[17:15] 420 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
[17:16] 421 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
[17:17] 423 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
[17:17] 424 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
[17:17] 425 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
[17:17] 426 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
[17:17] 427 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
[17:17] 428 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
[17:18] 429 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
[17:18] 430 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
[17:19] 431 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
[17:19] 432 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:20] 433 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
[17:20] 434 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:20] 435 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
[17:22] 436 tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:22] sn God went up from him. The text draws attention to God’s dramatic exit and in so doing brings full closure to the scene.
[17:23] 437 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
[17:23] 438 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
[17:24] 439 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:24] 440 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
[17:25] 441 tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”
[18:1] 442 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:1] 443 tn Or “terebinths.”
[18:1] 444 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
[18:1] 445 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
[18:2] 446 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:2] 447 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
[18:2] 448 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
[18:2] 449 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
[18:2] 450 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:2] 451 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
[18:2] 452 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
[18:3] 453 tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the
[18:3] 454 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
[18:4] 455 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
[18:4] 456 tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.
[18:5] 457 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
[18:5] 458 tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.
[18:5] 459 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
[18:5] 460 tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”
[18:6] 461 tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.
[18:6] 462 sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.
[18:6] 463 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
[18:7] 464 tn Heb “the young man.”
[18:7] 465 tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”
[18:8] 466 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:8] 467 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:8] 468 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
[18:9] 469 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
[18:10] 470 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
[18:10] 471 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
[18:10] 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?
[18:10] 472 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
[18:10] 473 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
[18:10] 474 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
[18:11] 476 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
[18:12] 478 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.
[18:12] 479 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[18:13] 480 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
[18:13] 481 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
[18:14] 482 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
[18:14] 483 sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the
[18:15] 484 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
[18:16] 485 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
[18:16] 486 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
[18:16] 487 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
[18:16] 488 tn The Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to lead out, to send out, to expel”; here it is used in the friendly sense of seeing the visitors on their way.
[18:17] 489 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
[18:18] 490 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”
[18:18] 491 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
[18:18] 492 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings upon”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
[18:19] 493 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
[18:19] 494 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
[18:19] 495 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
[18:19] 496 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
[18:19] 497 tn Heb “spoke to.”
[18:20] 498 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
[18:21] 500 tn The cohortative indicates the
[18:21] sn I must go down. The descent to “see” Sodom is a bold anthropomorphism, stressing the careful judgment of God. The language is reminiscent of the
[18:21] 501 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
[18:21] 502 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
[18:22] 503 tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the
[18:22] 505 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
[18:24] 506 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
[18:25] 508 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
[18:27] 509 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[18:27] 510 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
[18:28] 511 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
[18:28] 512 tn Heb “because of five.”
[18:29] 513 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 514 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
[18:30] 515 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:30] 516 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
[18:30] 517 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
[18:31] 518 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:32] 519 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:33] 520 tn Heb “And the
[18:33] 521 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
[18:33] 522 tn Heb “to his place.”
[20:9] 523 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.
[20:9] 524 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
[6:29] 525 tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses saying.” This has been simplified in the translation as “he said to him” for stylistic reasons.
[6:29] 526 tn The verb is דַּבֵּר (dabber), the Piel imperative. It would normally be translated “speak,” but in English that verb does not sound as natural with a direct object as “tell.”
[6:29] 527 tn The clause begins with אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר (’et kol-’asher) indicating that this is a noun clause functioning as the direct object of the imperative and providing the content of the commanded speech.
[6:29] 528 tn דֹּבֵר (dover) is the Qal active participle; it functions here as the predicate in the noun clause: “that I [am] telling you.” This one could be rendered, “that I am speaking to you.”
[6:30] 529 tn See note on Exod 6:12.
[3:2] 530 sn The commands of 1:2 are repeated here. See the note there on the combination of “arise” and “go.”
[3:2] 531 tn Heb “Nineveh, the great city.”
[3:2] 532 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’, “proclaim”) is repeated from 1:2 but with a significant variation. The phrase in 1:2 was the adversative קְרָא עָל (qÿra’ ’al, “proclaim against”), which often designates an announcement of threatened judgment (1 Kgs 13:4, 32; Jer 49:29; Lam 1:15). However, here the phrase is the more positive קְרָא אֶל (qÿra’ ’el, “proclaim to”) which often designates an oracle of deliverance or a call to repentance, with an accompanying offer of deliverance that is either explicit or implied (Deut 20:10; Isa 40:2; Zech 1:4; HALOT 1129 s.v. קרא 8; BDB 895 s.v. קָרָא 3.a). This shift from the adversative preposition עַל (“against”) to the more positive preposition אֶל (“to”) might signal a shift in God’s intentions or perhaps it simply makes his original intention more clear. While God threatened to judge Nineveh, he was very willing to relent and forgive when the people repented from their sins (3:8-10). Jonah later complains that he knew that God was likely to relent from the threatened judgment all along (4:2).
