Kejadian 26:1--30:43
Konteks26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 1 in the days of Abraham. 2 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; 3 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 4 26:3 Stay 5 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 6 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 7 and I will fulfill 8 the solemn promise I made 9 to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them 10 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 11 26:5 All this will come to pass 12 because Abraham obeyed me 13 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 14 26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 15 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 16 “The men of this place will kill me to get 17 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 18 had been there a long time, 19 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 20 Isaac caressing 21 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 22 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 23
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 24 One of the men 25 might easily have had sexual relations with 26 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 27 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 28
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 29 because the Lord blessed him. 30 26:13 The man became wealthy. 31 His influence continued to grow 32 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 33 so many sheep 34 and cattle 35 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 36 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 37 all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 38 for you have become much more powerful 39 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 40 26:18 Isaac reopened 41 the wells that had been dug 42 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 43 after Abraham died. Isaac 44 gave these wells 45 the same names his father had given them. 46
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 47 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 48 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 49 named the well 50 Esek 51 because they argued with him about it. 52 26:21 His servants 53 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 54 Sitnah. 55 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 56 named it 57 Rehoboth, 58 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 59 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped 60 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 61
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 62 to him from Gerar along with 63 Ahuzzah his friend 64 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 65 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 66 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 67 a pact between us 68 – between us 69 and you. Allow us to make 70 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 71 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 72 you, but have always treated you well 73 before sending you away 74 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 75
26:30 So Isaac 76 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 77 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 78 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 79
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 80 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 81 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 82 to this day.
26:34 When 83 Esau was forty years old, 84 he married 85 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 86
27:1 When 87 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 88 he called his older 89 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 90 replied. 27:2 Isaac 91 said, “Since 92 I am so old, I could die at any time. 93 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 94 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 95 I will eat it so that I may bless you 96 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 97 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 98 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat 99 it and bless you 100 in the presence of the Lord 101 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 102 exactly what I tell you! 103 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 104 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 105 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 106 and 107 bless you before he dies.”
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 108 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 109 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 110 my son! Just obey me! 111 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 112 and brought them to his mother. She 113 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 114 on his hands 115 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 116 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 117 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 118 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 119 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 120 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 121 did you find it so quickly, 122 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 123 he replied. 124 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 125 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 126 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 127 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 128 replied. 27:25 Isaac 129 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 130 Then I will bless you.” 131 So Jacob 132 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 133 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 134 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 135 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 136 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 137
and the richness 138 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 139 lord 140 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 141
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 142 his father’s 143 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 144 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 145 said to him, “My father, get up 146 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 147 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 148 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 149 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 150 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 151 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 152 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 153 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 154 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 155 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 156 He has tripped me up 157 two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” 158 Then Esau wept loudly. 159
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 160 your home will be
away from the richness 161 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.” 162
27:41 So Esau hated 163 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 164 Esau said privately, 165 “The time 166 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 167 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 168 she quickly summoned 169 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 170 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 171 Run away immediately 172 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 173 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 174 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. 175 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 176
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 177 because of these daughters of Heth. 178 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 179
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 180 28:2 Leave immediately 181 for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God 182 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 183 Then you will become 184 a large nation. 185 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 186 so that you may possess the land 187 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 188 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. 189 As he blessed him, 190 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 191 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 192 that the Canaanite women 193 were displeasing to 194 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 195 Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place 196 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 197 He took one of the stones 198 and placed it near his head. 199 Then he fell asleep 200 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 201 He saw 202 a stairway 203 erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. 204 I will give you and your descendants the ground 205 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 206 and you will spread out 207 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 208 using your name and that of your descendants. 209 28:15 I am with you! 210 I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
28:16 Then Jacob woke up 211 and thought, 212 “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”
28:18 Early 213 in the morning Jacob 214 took the stone he had placed near his head 215 and set it up as a sacred stone. 216 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 217 although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food 218 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 219 then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone 220 that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely 221 give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” 222
29:1 So Jacob moved on 223 and came to the land of the eastern people. 224 29:2 He saw 225 in the field a well with 226 three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now 227 a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds 228 would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.
29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson 229 of Nahor?” “We know him,” 230 they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” 231 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 232 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 233 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 234 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 235 29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water 236 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 237 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 238 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 239 went over 240 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 241 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 242 29:12 When Jacob explained 243 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 244 and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob 245 told Laban how he was related to him. 246 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 247 So Jacob 248 stayed with him for a month. 249
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 250 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 251 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 252 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 253 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 254 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 255 Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. 256 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 257 But they seemed like only a few days to him 258 because his love for her was so great. 259
29:21 Finally Jacob said 260 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 261 I want to have marital relations with her.” 262 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 263 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 264 to Jacob, 265 and Jacob 266 had marital relations with her. 267 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 268
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 269 So Jacob 270 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 271 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 272 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 273 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 274 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 275 Then we will give you the younger one 276 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 277
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 278 When Jacob 279 completed Leah’s bridal week, 280 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 281 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 282 29:30 Jacob 283 had marital relations 284 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 285 for seven more years. 286
29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 287 he enabled her to become pregnant 288 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant 289 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 290 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 291 Surely my husband will love me now.”
29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 292 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 293
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 294 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 295
29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. 296 Then she stopped having children.
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 297 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 298 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious 299 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 300 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with 301 her so that she can bear 302 children 303 for me 304 and I can have a family through her.” 305
30:4 So Rachel 306 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with 307 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant 308 and gave Jacob a son. 309 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer 310 and given me a son.” That is why 311 she named him Dan. 312
30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 313 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” 314 So she named him Naphtali. 315
30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave 316 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 317 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” 318 So she named him Gad. 319
30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 320 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, 321 for women 322 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 323
30:14 At the time 324 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 325 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, 326 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” 327 Rachel said, “he may sleep 328 with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep 329 with me because I have paid for your services 330 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations 331 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention 332 to Leah; she became pregnant 333 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 334 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward 335 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” 336 So she named him Issachar. 337
30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 338 30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 339
30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
30:22 Then God took note of 340 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 341 30:23 She became pregnant 342 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 343 30:24 She named him Joseph, 344 saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”
30:25 After Rachel had given birth 345 to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send 346 me on my way so that I can go 347 home to my own country. 348 30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. 349 Then I’ll depart, 350 because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” 351
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 352 for I have learned by divination 353 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” 354
30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, 355 “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. 356 30:30 Indeed, 357 you had little before I arrived, 358 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 359 The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. 360 But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” 361
30:31 So Laban asked, 362 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 363 Jacob replied, 364 “but if you agree to this one condition, 365 I will continue to care for 366 your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among 367 all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, 368 and the spotted or speckled goats. 369 These animals will be my wages. 370 30:33 My integrity will testify for me 371 later on. 372 When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 373 if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” 374 30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” 375
30:35 So that day Laban 376 removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care 377 of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, 378 while 379 Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.
30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. 380 30:39 When the sheep mated 381 in front of the branches, they 382 gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face 383 the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, 384 Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. 385 So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban 386 and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob 387 became extremely prosperous. He owned 388 large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.
Kejadian 22:9-10
Konteks22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 389 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 390 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter 391 his son.
Kejadian 25:1-4
Konteks25:1 Abraham had taken 392 another 393 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 394 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 395 of Keturah.
Lukas 14:21-23
Konteks14:21 So 396 the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious 397 and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly 398 to the streets and alleys of the city, 399 and bring in the poor, 400 the crippled, 401 the blind, and the lame.’ 14:22 Then 402 the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’ 403 14:23 So 404 the master said to his 405 slave, ‘Go out to the highways 406 and country roads 407 and urge 408 people 409 to come in, so that my house will be filled. 410
Yohanes 15:2
Konteks15:2 He takes away 411 every branch that does not bear 412 fruit in me. He 413 prunes 414 every branch that bears 415 fruit so that it will bear more fruit.
Yohanes 15:6
Konteks15:6 If anyone does not remain 416 in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, 417 and are burned up. 418
Kisah Para Rasul 5:1-10
Konteks5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. 5:2 He 419 kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought 420 only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet. 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled 421 your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of 422 the land? 5:4 Before it was sold, 423 did it not 424 belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money 425 not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? 426 You have not lied to people 427 but to God!”
5:5 When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped 428 all who heard about it. 5:6 So the young men came, 429 wrapped him up, 430 carried him out, and buried 431 him. 5:7 After an interval of about three hours, 432 his wife came in, but she did not know 433 what had happened. 5:8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you 434 paid this amount 435 for the land?” Sapphira 436 said, “Yes, that much.” 5:9 Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” 5:10 At once 437 she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
Kisah Para Rasul 8:18-22
Konteks8:18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit 438 was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 8:19 saying, “Give me this power 439 too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, 440 because you thought you could acquire 441 God’s gift with money! 8:21 You have no share or part 442 in this matter 443 because your heart is not right before God! 8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord 444 that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. 445
Kisah Para Rasul 20:30
Konteks20:30 Even from among your own group 446 men 447 will arise, teaching perversions of the truth 448 to draw the disciples away after them.
Kisah Para Rasul 20:1
Konteks20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging 449 them and saying farewell, 450 he left to go to Macedonia. 451
Kolose 1:1-6
Konteks1:1 From Paul, 452 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful 453 brothers and sisters 454 in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you 455 from God our Father! 456
1:3 We always 457 give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 1:4 since 458 we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen 459 from the hope laid up 460 for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 461 1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel 462 is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing 463 among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
Kolose 1:1-12
Konteks1:1 From Paul, 464 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful 465 brothers and sisters 466 in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you 467 from God our Father! 468
1:3 We always 469 give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 1:4 since 470 we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen 471 from the hope laid up 472 for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 473 1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel 474 is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing 475 among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 1:7 You learned the gospel 476 from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave 477 – a 478 faithful minister of Christ on our 479 behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, 480 have not ceased praying for you and asking God 481 to fill 482 you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live 483 worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects 484 – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of 485 all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share 486 in the saints’ 487 inheritance in the light.
Kolose 1:19
Konteks1:19 For God 488 was pleased to have all his 489 fullness dwell 490 in the Son 491
Kolose 1:2
Konteks1:2 to the saints, the faithful 492 brothers and sisters 493 in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you 494 from God our Father! 495
Kolose 1:13-15
Konteks1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, 496 1:14 in whom we have redemption, 497 the forgiveness of sins.
1:15 498 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn 499 over all creation, 500
Kolose 1:26
Konteks1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints.
Kolose 1:2
Konteks1:2 to the saints, the faithful 501 brothers and sisters 502 in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you 503 from God our Father! 504
Kolose 1:20-21
Konteks1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, 505 whether things on earth or things in heaven.
1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your 506 minds 507 as expressed through 508 your evil deeds,
Galatia 2:4
Konteks2:4 Now this matter arose 509 because of the false brothers with false pretenses 510 who slipped in unnoticed to spy on 511 our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. 512
Galatia 2:2
Konteks2:2 I went there 513 because of 514 a revelation and presented 515 to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so 516 only in a private meeting with the influential people, 517 to make sure that I was not running – or had not run 518 – in vain.
Titus 3:2-5
Konteks3:2 They must not slander 519 anyone, but be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people. 3:3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another. 3:4 520 But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
Titus 1:3-4
Konteks1:3 But now in his own time 521 he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior. 1:4 To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!
Titus 1:9-11
Konteks1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, 522 so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching 523 and correct those who speak against it.
1:10 For there are many 524 rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections, 525 1:11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught.
Titus 1:2
Konteks1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. 526
Pengkhotbah 2:1-3
Konteks2:1 “Come now, 528 I will try 529 self-indulgent pleasure 530 to see 531 if it is worthwhile.” 532
But I found 533 that it also is futile. 534
2:2 I said of partying, 535 “It is folly,”
and of self-indulgent pleasure, 536 “It accomplishes nothing!” 537
2:3 I thought deeply 538 about the effects of 539 indulging 540 myself 541 with wine
(all the while 542 my mind was guiding me 543 with wisdom) 544
and the effects of 545 behaving foolishly, 546
so that 547 I might discover what is profitable 548
for people 549 to do on earth 550 during the few days 551 of their lives.
Pengkhotbah 2:13-22
Konteks2:13 I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, 552
just as light is preferable to darkness:
2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, 553 but the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I also realized that the same fate 554 happens to them both. 555
2:15 So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! 556
Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively 557 wise?” 558
So I lamented to myself, 559
“The benefits of wisdom 560 are ultimately 561 meaningless!”
2:16 For the wise man, like 562 the fool, will not be remembered for very long, 563
because 564 in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. 565
Alas, 566 the wise man dies – just like 567 the fool!
2:17 So I loathed 568 life 569 because what
happens 570 on earth 571 seems awful to me;
for all the benefits of wisdom 572 are futile – like chasing the wind.
2:18 So I loathed all the fruit of 573 my effort, 574
for which I worked so hard 575 on earth, 576
because 577 I must leave it 578 behind 579 in the hands of my successor. 580
2:19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool?
Yet 581 he will be master over all the fruit of 582 my labor 583
for which I worked so wisely 584 on earth! 585
This also is futile!
2:20 So I began to despair 586 about all the fruit of 587 my labor 588
for which I worked so hard 589 on earth. 590
2:21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill;
however, he must hand over 591 the fruit of his labor 592 as an inheritance 593
to someone else who did not work for it.
This also is futile, and an awful injustice! 594
2:22 What does a man acquire from all his labor
and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth? 595
Pengkhotbah 2:1
Konteks2:1 “Come now, 597 I will try 598 self-indulgent pleasure 599 to see 600 if it is worthwhile.” 601
But I found 602 that it also is futile. 603
Yohanes 2:18-19
Konteks2:18 So then the Jewish leaders 604 responded, 605 “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” 606 2:19 Jesus replied, 607 “Destroy 608 this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.”
Yohanes 4:1-6
Konteks4:1 Now when Jesus 609 knew that the Pharisees 610 had heard that he 611 was winning 612 and baptizing more disciples than John 4:2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), 613 4:3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee. 614
4:4 But he had 615 to pass through Samaria. 616 4:5 Now he came to a Samaritan town 617 called Sychar, 618 near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 619 4:6 Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside 620 the well. It was about noon. 621
Yudas 1:4-5
Konteks1:4 For certain men 622 have secretly slipped in among you 623 – men who long ago 624 were marked out 625 for the condemnation I am about to describe 626 – ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil 627 and who deny our only Master 628 and Lord, 629 Jesus Christ.
1:5 Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts 630 once for all 631 ) that Jesus, 632 having saved the 633 people out of the land of Egypt, later 634 destroyed those who did not believe.
Wahyu 3:1
Konteks3:1 “To 635 the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: 636
“This is the solemn pronouncement of 637 the one who holds 638 the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation 639 that you are alive, but 640 in reality 641 you are dead.
Wahyu 3:15-17
Konteks3:15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. 642 I wish you were either cold or hot! 3:16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going 643 to vomit 644 you out of my mouth! 3:17 Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, 645 and need nothing,” but 646 do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, 647 poor, blind, and naked,
[26:1] 1 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
[26:1] 2 sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.
[26:2] 3 sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.
[26:3] 5 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.
[26:3] 6 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
[26:3] sn I will be with you and I will bless you. The promise of divine presence is a promise to intervene to protect and to bless.
[26:3] 7 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
[26:3] sn To you and to your descendants. The Abrahamic blessing will pass to Isaac. Everything included in that blessing will now belong to the son, and in turn will be passed on to his sons. But there is a contingency involved: If they are to enjoy the full blessings, they will have to obey the word of the
[26:3] 8 tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.
[26:3] 9 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
[26:3] sn The solemn promise I made. See Gen 15:18-20; 22:16-18.
[26:4] 10 tn Heb “your descendants.”
[26:4] 11 tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to 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. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
[26:5] 12 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[26:5] 13 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
[26:5] 14 sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.
[26:7] 15 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
[26:7] 16 tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.
[26:7] 17 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
[26:8] 18 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:8] 19 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
[26:8] 20 tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.
[26:8] sn The Hebrew word מְצַחֵק (mÿtsakheq), from the root צָחַק (tsakhaq, “laugh”), forms a sound play with the name “Isaac” right before it. Here it depicts an action, probably caressing or fondling, that indicated immediately that Rebekah was Isaac’s wife, not his sister. Isaac’s deception made a mockery of God’s covenantal promise. Ignoring God’s promise to protect and bless him, Isaac lied to protect himself and acted in bad faith to the men of Gerar.
[26:9] 22 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
[26:9] 23 tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).
[26:10] 24 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[26:10] 26 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
[26:11] 27 tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.
[26:11] 28 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
[26:12] 29 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
[26:12] 30 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
[26:13] 31 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
[26:13] 32 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
[26:14] 33 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[26:14] 34 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
[26:14] 35 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
[26:14] 36 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
[26:15] 37 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
[26:16] 38 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
[26:16] 39 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
[26:17] 40 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
[26:17] sn This valley was actually a wadi (a dry river bed where the water would flow in the rainy season, but this would have been rare in the Negev). The water table under it would have been higher than in the desert because of water soaking in during the torrents, making it easier to find water when digging wells. However, this does not minimize the blessing of the
[26:18] 41 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
[26:18] 42 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
[26:18] 43 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
[26:18] 44 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 45 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 46 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
[26:19] 47 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
[26:20] 48 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
[26:20] 49 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:20] 50 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
[26:20] 51 sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”
[26:20] 52 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:21] 53 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 54 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 55 sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.
[26:22] 56 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:22] 57 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
[26:22] 58 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
[26:23] 59 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:25] 60 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
[26:25] 61 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
[26:26] 62 tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”
[26:26] 64 tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
[26:27] 65 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
[26:28] 66 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
[26:28] 67 tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:28] 68 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
[26:28] 69 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
[26:28] 70 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”
[26:29] 71 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
[26:29] 73 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
[26:29] 74 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
[26:29] 75 tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).
[26:30] 76 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:30] 77 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
[26:31] 78 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
[26:31] 79 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
[26:32] 80 tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:33] 81 sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.
[26:33] 82 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.
[26:34] 83 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
[26:34] 84 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
[26:34] 85 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
[26:35] 86 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
[27:1] 87 tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
[27:1] 88 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
[27:1] 89 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
[27:1] 90 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 91 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 92 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
[27:2] 93 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
[27:3] 94 tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).
[27:4] 95 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:4] 96 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.
[27:5] 97 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
[27:5] 98 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
[27:7] 99 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:7] 100 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
[27:7] 101 tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the
[27:8] 102 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
[27:8] 103 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
[27:9] 104 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:10] 105 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.
[27:10] 106 tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.
[27:10] 107 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:11] 108 tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:12] 109 tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”
[27:13] 110 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
[27:13] 111 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
[27:14] 112 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:14] 113 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:16] 114 tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.
[27:16] 115 tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”
[27:17] 116 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
[27:18] 117 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:18] 118 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
[27:19] 119 tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.
[27:19] 120 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.
[27:20] 121 tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”
[27:20] 122 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
[27:20] 123 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
[27:20] 124 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
[27:21] 125 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:21] 126 tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.
[27:23] 127 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:24] 128 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 129 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 130 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:25] 131 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
[27:25] 132 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 133 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 134 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 135 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:28] 137 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
[27:28] 138 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
[27:29] 139 tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.
[27:29] 140 tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”
[27:29] 141 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:30] 142 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
[27:30] 143 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
[27:30] 144 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
[27:31] 145 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
[27:31] 146 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
[27:31] 147 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
[27:32] 149 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
[27:33] 150 tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.
[27:33] 151 tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”
[27:34] 152 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
[27:34] 153 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
[27:35] 154 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:35] 155 tn Or “took”; “received.”
[27:36] 156 tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
[27:36] 157 sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”
[27:38] 158 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:38] 159 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
[27:39] 161 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
[27:40] 162 sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.
[27:41] 163 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
[27:41] 164 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
[27:41] 165 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
[27:41] 167 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
[27:42] 168 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
[27:42] 169 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
[27:42] 170 tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.
[27:43] 171 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
[27:43] 172 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
[27:44] 173 tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.
[27:45] 174 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:45] 175 tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.
[27:45] 176 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
[27:46] 177 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
[27:46] 178 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
[27:46] 179 tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”
[28:1] 180 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:2] 181 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
[28:3] 182 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
[28:3] 183 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
[28:3] 184 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”
[28:3] 185 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
[28:4] 186 tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.
[28:4] 187 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[28:4] 188 tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.
[28:6] 189 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
[28:6] 190 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
[28:6] 191 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:8] 193 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:8] 194 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
[28:9] 195 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
[28:11] 196 tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37.
[28:11] 197 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
[28:11] 198 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
[28:11] 199 tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37.
[28:11] 200 tn Heb “lay down.”
[28:12] 201 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
[28:12] 202 tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the
[28:12] 203 tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87.
[28:13] 204 tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.
[28:13] 205 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.
[28:14] 206 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
[28:14] 207 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
[28:14] 208 tn Theoretically the Niphal stem 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 Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other 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/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 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
[28:14] 209 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
[28:15] 210 tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).
[28:16] 211 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[28:18] 213 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
[28:18] 214 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:18] 215 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
[28:18] 216 tn Heb “standing stone.”
[28:18] sn Sacred stone. Such a stone could be used as a boundary marker, a burial stone, or as a shrine. Here the stone is intended to be a reminder of the stairway that was “erected” and on which the
[28:19] 217 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
[28:19] map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[28:20] 218 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
[28:21] 219 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
[28:22] 220 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
[28:22] 221 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
[28:22] 222 tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.
[29:1] 223 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.
[29:1] 224 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
[29:2] 225 tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.
[29:2] 226 tn Heb “and look, there.”
[29:2] 227 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
[29:3] 228 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:5] 230 tn Heb “and they said, ‘We know.’” The word “him” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the translation several introductory clauses throughout this section have been placed after the direct discourse they introduce for stylistic reasons as well.
[29:6] 231 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
[29:7] 233 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:7] 234 tn Heb “the day is great.”
[29:7] 235 tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.
[29:8] 236 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
[29:9] 237 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
[29:10] 238 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
[29:10] 239 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:10] 240 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
[29:10] 241 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).
[29:11] 242 tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.
[29:12] 243 tn Heb “declared.”
[29:12] 244 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
[29:13] 245 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:13] 246 tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).
[29:14] 247 tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).
[29:14] 248 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:14] 249 tn Heb “a month of days.”
[29:15] 250 tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.
[29:15] 251 tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.
[29:16] 252 tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16-17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.
[29:17] 253 tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.
[29:17] 254 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
[29:18] 255 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
[29:19] 256 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
[29:20] 257 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
[29:20] 258 sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.
[29:20] 259 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[29:21] 260 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
[29:21] 261 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
[29:21] 262 tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).
[29:23] 264 tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”
[29:23] sn His daughter Leah. Laban’s deception of Jacob by giving him the older daughter instead of the younger was God’s way of disciplining the deceiver who tricked his older brother. D. Kidner says this account is “the very embodiment of anti-climax, and this moment a miniature of man’s disillusion, experienced from Eden onwards” (Genesis [TOTC], 160). G. von Rad notes, “That Laban secretly gave the unloved Leah to the man in love was, to be sure, a monstrous blow, a masterpiece of shameless treachery…It was certainly a move by which he won for himself far and wide the coarsest laughter” (Genesis [OTL], 291).
[29:23] 265 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:23] 266 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:23] 267 tn Heb “went in to her.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
[29:24] 268 tn Heb “and Laban gave to her Zilpah his female servant, to Leah his daughter [for] a servant.” This clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
[29:25] 269 tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
[29:25] 270 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:25] 271 tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”
[29:25] 272 sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.
[29:26] 273 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:26] 274 tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[29:27] 275 tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity.
[29:27] sn Bridal week. An ancient Hebrew marriage ceremony included an entire week of festivities (cf. Judg 14:12).
[29:27] 276 tn Heb “this other one.”
[29:27] 277 tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.”
[29:27] sn In exchange for seven more years of work. See C. H. Gordon, “The Story of Jacob and Laban in the Light of the Nuzi Tablets,” BASOR 66 (1937): 25-27; and J. Van Seters, “Jacob’s Marriages and Ancient Near Eastern Customs: A Reassessment,” HTR 62 (1969): 377-95.
[29:28] 278 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:28] 279 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:28] 280 tn Heb “the seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as Leah to avoid confusion with Rachel, mentioned later in the verse.
[29:28] 281 tn Heb “and he gave to him Rachel his daughter for him for a wife.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:29] 282 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
[29:30] 283 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:30] 284 tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
[29:30] 285 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:30] 286 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
[29:31] 287 tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.
[29:31] 288 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
[29:32] 289 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
[29:32] 290 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
[29:32] 291 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
[29:32] sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the
[29:33] 292 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
[29:33] 293 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the
[29:34] 294 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
[29:34] 295 sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.
[29:35] 296 sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.
[30:1] 297 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:2] 299 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
[30:2] 300 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
[30:3] 301 tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
[30:3] 302 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
[30:3] 303 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:3] 304 tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.
[30:3] 305 tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).
[30:4] 306 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:4] 307 tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
[30:5] 308 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
[30:5] 309 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
[30:6] 310 tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.
[30:6] 312 sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.
[30:7] 313 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
[30:8] 314 tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.
[30:8] 315 sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”
[30:9] 316 tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”
[30:10] 317 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
[30:11] 318 tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial בְּ (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”
[30:11] 319 sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.
[30:12] 320 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
[30:13] 321 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
[30:13] 322 tn Heb “daughters.”
[30:13] 323 sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.
[30:14] 324 tn Heb “during the days.”
[30:14] 325 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
[30:15] 326 tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:15] 327 tn Heb “therefore.”
[30:15] 328 tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
[30:16] 329 tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.
[30:16] 330 tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.
[30:16] 331 tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.
[30:17] 332 tn Heb “listened to.”
[30:17] 333 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
[30:17] 334 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
[30:18] 335 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
[30:18] 336 tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).
[30:18] sn Leah seems to regard the act of giving her servant Zilpah to her husband as a sacrifice, for which (she believes) God is now rewarding her with the birth of a son.
[30:18] 337 sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.
[30:19] 338 tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
[30:20] 339 sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, zevulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.
[30:22] 340 tn Heb “remembered.”
[30:22] 341 tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons
[30:23] 342 tn Or “conceived.”
[30:23] 343 tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.
[30:24] 344 sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yoseph) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף,’asasf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.
[30:25] 345 tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.
[30:25] 346 tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.
[30:25] sn For Jacob to ask to leave would mean that seven more years had passed. Thus all Jacob’s children were born within the range of seven years of each other, with Joseph coming right at the end of the seven years.
[30:25] 347 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[30:25] 348 tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”
[30:26] 349 tn Heb “give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you.” In one sense Laban had already “given” Jacob his two daughters as wives (Gen 29:21, 28). Here Jacob was asking for permission to take his own family along with him on the journey back to Canaan.
[30:26] 350 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[30:26] 351 tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”
[30:27] 352 tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[30:27] 353 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the
[30:28] 354 tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”
[30:29] 355 tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:29] 356 tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”
[30:30] 358 tn Heb “before me.”
[30:30] 359 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
[30:30] 360 tn Heb “at my foot.”
[30:30] 361 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
[30:31] 362 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:31] 363 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
[30:31] 364 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:31] 365 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
[30:31] 366 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
[30:32] 367 tn Heb “pass through.”
[30:32] 368 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
[30:32] 369 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
[30:32] 370 tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.
[30:33] 371 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
[30:33] 372 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
[30:33] 373 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”
[30:33] sn Only the wage we agreed on. Jacob would have to be considered completely honest here, for he would have no control over the kind of animals born; and there could be no disagreement over which animals were his wages.
[30:33] 374 tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”
[30:34] 375 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’” On the asseverative use of the particle לוּ (lu) here, see HALOT 521 s.v. לוּ.
[30:35] 376 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:35] 377 tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”
[30:36] 378 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”
[30:36] sn Three days’ traveling distance from Jacob. E. A. Speiser observes, “Laban is delighted with the terms, and promptly proceeds to violate the spirit of the bargain by removing to a safe distance all the grown animals that would be likely to produce the specified spots” (Genesis [AB], 238). Laban apparently thought that by separating out the spotted, striped, and dark colored animals he could minimize the production of spotted, striped, or dark offspring that would then belong to Jacob.
[30:36] 379 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.
[30:38] 380 sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids – in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).
[30:39] 381 tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.
[30:39] 382 tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:40] 383 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
[30:41] 384 tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”
[30:42] 385 tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.
[30:42] 386 tn Heb “were for Laban.”
[30:43] 387 tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[30:43] 388 tn Heb “and there were to him.”
[22:9] 389 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
[22:9] 390 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
[22:10] 391 tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”
[25:1] sn Abraham had taken another wife. These events are not necessarily in chronological order following the events of the preceding chapter. They are listed here to summarize Abraham’s other descendants before the narrative of his death.
[25:1] 393 tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”
[25:3] 394 sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.
[14:21] 396 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the preceding responses.
[14:21] 397 tn Grk “being furious, said.” The participle ὀργισθείς (orgisqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[14:21] 398 sn It was necessary to go out quickly because the banquet was already prepared. All the food would spoil if not eaten immediately.
[14:21] 400 sn The poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Note how the list matches v. 13, illustrating that point. Note also how the party goes on; it is not postponed until a later date. Instead new guests are invited.
[14:21] 401 tn Grk “and the crippled.” Normally crippled as a result of being maimed or mutilated (L&N 23.177). Καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following category (Grk “and the blind and the lame”) since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
[14:22] 402 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the order of events within the parable.
[14:22] 403 sn And still there is room. This comment suggests the celebration was quite a big one, picturing the openness of God’s grace.
[14:23] 404 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the master’s response to the slave’s report.
[14:23] 405 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
[14:23] 406 sn Go out to the highways and country roads. This suggests the inclusion of people outside the town, even beyond the needy (poor, crippled, blind, and lame) in the town, and so is an allusion to the inclusion of the Gentiles.
[14:23] 407 tn The Greek word φραγμός (fragmo") refers to a fence, wall, or hedge surrounding a vineyard (BDAG 1064 s.v. 1). “Highways” and “country roads” probably refer not to separate places, but to the situation outside the town where the rural roads run right alongside the hedges or fences surrounding the fields (cf. J. A. Fitzmyer, Luke [AB], 1057).
[14:23] 408 tn Traditionally “force” or “compel,” but according to BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 2 this is a weakened nuance: “strongly urge/invite.” The meaning in this context is more like “persuade.”
[14:23] 409 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[14:23] 410 sn So that my house will be filled. God will bless many people.
[15:2] 411 tn Or “He cuts off.”
[15:2] sn The Greek verb αἴρω (airw) can mean “lift up” as well as “take away,” and it is sometimes argued that here it is a reference to the gardener “lifting up” (i.e., propping up) a weak branch so that it bears fruit again. In Johannine usage the word occurs in the sense of “lift up” in 8:59 and 5:8-12, but in the sense of “remove” it is found in 11:39, 11:48, 16:22, and 17:15. In context (theological presuppositions aside for the moment) the meaning “remove” does seem more natural and less forced (particularly in light of v. 6, where worthless branches are described as being “thrown out” – an image that seems incompatible with restoration). One option, therefore, would be to understand the branches which are taken away (v. 2) and thrown out (v. 6) as believers who forfeit their salvation because of unfruitfulness. However, many see this interpretation as encountering problems with the Johannine teaching on the security of the believer, especially John 10:28-29. This leaves two basic ways of understanding Jesus’ statements about removal of branches in 15:2 and 15:6: (1) These statements may refer to an unfaithful (disobedient) Christian, who is judged at the judgment seat of Christ “through fire” (cf. 1 Cor 3:11-15). In this case the “removal” of 15:2 may refer (in an extreme case) to the physical death of a disobedient Christian. (2) These statements may refer to someone who was never a genuine believer in the first place (e.g., Judas and the Jews who withdrew after Jesus’ difficult teaching in 6:66), in which case 15:6 refers to eternal judgment. In either instance it is clear that 15:6 refers to the fires of judgment (cf. OT imagery in Ps 80:16 and Ezek 15:1-8). But view (1) requires us to understand this in terms of the judgment of believers at the judgment seat of Christ. This concept does not appear in the Fourth Gospel because from the perspective of the author the believer does not come under judgment; note especially 3:18, 5:24, 5:29. The first reference (3:18) is especially important because it occurs in the context of 3:16-21, the section which is key to the framework of the entire Fourth Gospel and which is repeatedly alluded to throughout. A similar image to this one is used by John the Baptist in Matt 3:10, “And the ax is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Since this is addressed to the Pharisees and Sadducees who were coming to John for baptism, it almost certainly represents a call to initial repentance. More importantly, however, the imagery of being cast into the fire constitutes a reference to eternal judgment, a use of imagery which is much nearer to the Johannine imagery in 15:6 than the Pauline concept of the judgment seat of Christ (a judgment for believers) mentioned above. The use of the Greek verb μένω (menw) in 15:6 also supports view (2). When used of the relationship between Jesus and the disciple and/or Jesus and the Father, it emphasizes the permanence of the relationship (John 6:56, 8:31, 8:35, 14:10). The prototypical branch who has not remained is Judas, who departed in 13:30. He did not bear fruit, and is now in the realm of darkness, a mere tool of Satan. His eternal destiny, being cast into the fire of eternal judgment, is still to come. It seems most likely, therefore, that the branches who do not bear fruit and are taken away and burned are false believers, those who profess to belong to Jesus but who in reality do not belong to him. In the Gospel of John, the primary example of this category is Judas. In 1 John 2:18-19 the “antichrists” fall into the same category; they too may be thought of as branches that did not bear fruit. They departed from the ranks of the Christians because they never did really belong, and their departure shows that they did not belong.
[15:2] 412 tn Or “does not yield.”
[15:2] 413 tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
[15:2] 414 tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.
[15:2] 415 tn Or “that yields.”
[15:6] 417 sn Such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire. The author does not tell who it is who does the gathering and throwing into the fire. Although some claim that realized eschatology is so prevalent in the Fourth Gospel that no references to final eschatology appear at all, the fate of these branches seems to point to the opposite. The imagery is almost certainly that of eschatological judgment, and recalls some of the OT vine imagery which involves divine rejection and judgment of disobedient Israel (Ezek 15:4-6, 19:12).
[15:6] 418 tn Grk “they gather them up and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
[5:2] 419 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[5:2] 420 tn The participle ἐνέγκας (enenka") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[5:3] 421 sn This is a good example of the Greek verb fill (πληρόω, plhrow) meaning “to exercise control over someone’s thought and action” (cf. Eph 5:18).
[5:3] 422 tn The words “from the sale of” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the meaning, since the phrase “proceeds from the land” could possibly be understood as crops rather than money from the sale.
[5:4] 423 tn Grk “Remaining to you.”
[5:4] 424 tn The negative interrogative particle οὐχί (ouci) expects a positive reply to this question and the following one (“And when it was sold, was it not at your disposal?”).
[5:4] 425 tn Grk “it”; the referent of the pronoun (the money generated from the sale of the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:4] 426 tn Grk “How is it that you have [or Why have you] placed this deed in your heart?” Both of these literal translations differ from the normal way of expressing the thought in English.
[5:4] 427 tn Grk “to men.” If Peter’s remark refers only to the apostles, the translation “to men” would be appropriate. But if (as is likely) the action was taken to impress the entire congregation (who would presumably have witnessed the donation or been aware of it) then the more general “to people” is more appropriate, since the audience would have included both men and women.
[5:5] 428 tn Or “fear came on,” “fear seized”; Grk “fear happened to.”
[5:6] 430 tn The translation “wrapped up” for συνέστειλαν (sunesteilan) is suggested by L&N 79.119, but another interpretation is possible. The same verb could also be translated “removed” (see L&N 15.200), although that sense appears somewhat redundant and out of sequence with the following verb and participle (“carried him out and buried him”).
[5:6] 431 sn Buried. Same day burial was a custom in the Jewish world of the first century (cf. also Deut 21:23).
[5:7] 432 tn Grk “It happened that after an interval of about three hours.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[5:7] 433 tn Grk “came in, not knowing.” The participle has been translated with concessive or adversative force: “although she did not know.” In English, the adversative conjunction (“but”) conveys this nuance more smoothly.
[5:8] 434 tn The words “the two of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate that the verb (ἀπέδοσθε, apedosqe) is plural and thus refers to both Ananias and Sapphira.
[5:8] 435 tn Grk “so much,” “as much as this.”
[5:8] 436 tn Grk “She”; the referent (Sapphira) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:10] 437 tn Grk “And at once.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[8:18] 438 tc Most witnesses (Ì45,74 A* C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï latt sy bo) here read “the Holy Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, to pneuma to {agion), while a few key
[8:19] 439 tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”
[8:20] 440 tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.
[8:21] 442 tn The translation “share or part” is given by L&N 63.13.
[8:21] 443 tn Since the semantic range for λόγος (logos) is so broad, a number of different translations could be given for the prepositional phrase here. Something along the lines of “in this thing” would work well, but is too colloquial for the present translation.
[8:22] 444 tn Or “and implore the Lord.”
[8:22] 445 tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.
[20:30] 446 tn Grk “from among yourselves.”
[20:30] 447 tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only rarely is used in a generic sense to refer to both males and females. Since Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders at this point and there is nothing in the context to suggest women were included in that group (“from among your own group”), it is most likely Paul was not predicting that these false teachers would include women.
[20:30] 448 tn Grk “speaking crooked things”; BDAG 237 s.v. διαστρέφω 2 has “λαλεῖν διεστραμμένα teach perversions (of the truth) Ac 20:30.”
[20:30] sn These perversions of the truth refer to the kinds of threats that would undermine repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. v. 21). Instead these false teachers would arise from within the Ephesian congregation (cf. 1 John 2:18-19) and would seek to draw the disciples away after them.
[20:1] 450 tn Or “and taking leave of them.”
[20:1] 451 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
[1:1] 452 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
[1:2] 453 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.
[1:2] 454 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
[1:2] 455 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
[1:2] 456 tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these
[1:3] 457 tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).
[1:4] 458 tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).
[1:5] 459 tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.
[1:5] 460 tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.
[1:5] 461 tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.
[1:6] 462 tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:6] 463 tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.
[1:1] 464 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
[1:2] 465 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.
[1:2] 466 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
[1:2] 467 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
[1:2] 468 tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these
[1:3] 469 tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).
[1:4] 470 tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).
[1:5] 471 tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.
[1:5] 472 tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.
[1:5] 473 tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.
[1:6] 474 tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:6] 475 tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.
[1:7] 476 tn Or “learned it.” The Greek text simply has “you learned” without the reference to “the gospel,” but “the gospel” is supplied to clarify the sense of the clause. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[1:7] 477 tn The Greek word translated “fellow slave” is σύνδουλος (sundoulo"); the σύν- prefix here denotes association. Though δοῦλος is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
[1:7] 478 tn The Greek text has “who (ὅς, Jos) is a faithful minister.” The above translation conveys the antecedent of the relative pronoun quite well and avoids the redundancy with the following substantival participle of v. 8, namely, “who told” (ὁ δηλώσας, Jo dhlwsa").
[1:7] 479 tc ‡ Judging by the superior witnesses for the first person pronoun ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “us”; Ì46 א* A B D* F G 326* 1505 al) vs. the second person pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “you”; found in א2 C D1 Ψ 075 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co), ἡμῶν should be regarded as original. Although it is possible that ἡμῶν was an early alteration of ὑμῶν (either unintentionally, as dittography, since it comes seventeen letters after the previous ἡμῶν; or intentionally, to conform to the surrounding first person pronouns), this supposition is difficult to maintain in light of the varied and valuable witnesses for this reading. Further, the second person is both embedded in the verb ἐμάθετε (emaqete) and is explicit in v. 8 (ὑμῶν). Hence, the motivation to change to the first person pronoun is counterbalanced by such evidence. The second person pronoun may have been introduced unintentionally via homoioarcton with the ὑπέρ (Juper) that immediately precedes it. As well, the second person reading is somewhat harder for it seems to address Epaphras’ role only in relation to Paul and his colleagues, rather than in relation to the Colossians. Nevertheless, the decision must be based ultimately on external evidence (because the internal evidence can be variously interpreted), and this strongly supports ἡμῶν.
[1:9] 480 tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.
[1:9] 481 tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.
[1:9] 482 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.
[1:10] 483 tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”
[1:10] 484 tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”
[1:11] 485 tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.
[1:12] 486 tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.
[1:12] 487 tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”
[1:19] 488 tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).
[1:19] 489 tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.
[1:19] 490 tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.
[1:19] 491 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:2] 492 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.
[1:2] 493 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
[1:2] 494 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
[1:2] 495 tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these
[1:13] 496 tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).
[1:14] 497 tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule
[1:15] 498 sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.
[1:15] 499 tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).
[1:15] 500 tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.
[1:2] 501 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.
[1:2] 502 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
[1:2] 503 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
[1:2] 504 tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these
[1:20] 505 tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì46 א A C D1 Ψ 048vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.
[1:21] 506 tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
[1:21] 507 tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.
[1:21] 508 tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.
[2:4] 509 tn No subject and verb are expressed in vv. 4-5, but the phrase “Now this matter arose,” implied from v. 3, was supplied to make a complete English sentence.
[2:4] 510 tn The adjective παρεισάκτους (pareisaktou"), which relates to someone joining a group with false motives or false pretenses, applies to the “false brothers.” Although the expression “false brothers with false pretenses” is somewhat redundant, it captures the emphatic force of Paul’s expression, which labels both these “brothers” as false (ψευδαδέλφους, yeudadelfou") as well as their motives. See L&N 34.29 for more information.
[2:4] 511 tn The verb translated here as “spy on” (κατασκοπέω, kataskopew) can have a neutral nuance, but here the connotation is certainly negative (so F. F. Bruce, Galatians [NIGTC], 112-13, and E. Burton, Galatians [ICC], 83).
[2:4] 512 tn Grk “in order that they might enslave us.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause with the subjunctive verb καταδουλώσουσιν (katadoulwsousin) has been translated as an English infinitival clause.
[2:2] 513 tn Grk “I went up”; one always spoke idiomatically of going “up” to Jerusalem.
[2:2] 514 tn Or “in accordance with.” According to BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.5.a.δ, “Oft. the norm is at the same time the reason, so that in accordance with and because of are merged…Instead of ‘in accordance w.’ κ. can mean simply because of, as a result of, on the basis of…κ. ἀποκάλυψιν Gal 2:2.”
[2:2] 515 tn Or “set before them.”
[2:2] 516 tn Grk “Gentiles, but only privately…to make sure.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with “But” and the words “I did so,” an implied repetition from the previous clause, were supplied to make a complete English sentence.
[2:2] 517 tn L&N 87.42 has “important persons, influential persons, prominent persons” for οἱ δοκοῦντες and translates this phrase in Gal 2:2 as “in a private meeting with the prominent persons.” The “prominent people” referred to here are the leaders of the Jerusalem church.
[2:2] 518 tn Here the first verb (τρέχω, trecw, “was not running”) is present subjunctive, while the second (ἔδραμον, edramon, “had not run”) is aorist indicative.
[3:2] 519 tn Or “discredit,” “damage the reputation of.”
[3:4] 520 tn Verses 4-7 are set as poetry in NA26/NA27. These verses probably constitute the referent of the expression “this saying” in v. 8.
[1:3] 521 tn The Greek text emphasizes the contrast between vv. 2b and 3a: God promised this long ago but now has revealed it in his own time.
[1:9] 522 tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).
[1:9] 523 tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).
[1:10] 524 tc ‡ The earliest and best
[1:10] 525 tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).
[1:2] 526 tn Grk “before eternal ages.”
[2:1] 527 tn Heb “I said, I, in my heart” (אָמַרְתִּי אֲנִי בְּלִבִּי, ’amarti ’ani bÿlibbi). The term “heart” (לֵב, lev) is a synecdoche of part (“heart”) for the whole (the whole person), and thus means “I said to myself” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 648).
[2:1] 528 tn The Hebrew verb לְכָה (lÿkhah, “Come!”) is a weakened imperative, used merely as an introductory word, e.g., Gen 19:32; 31:44; Judg 19:11; 1 Sam 9:9-10; 11:14; 2 Kgs 3:7; Ps 66:5; Song 7:12; Isa 1:18; 2:3; Mic 4:2 (HALOT 246 s.v. הָלַךְ 2; BDB 234 s.v. הָלַךְ I.5.f.2). Whenever לְכָה introduces an exhortation, it functions as an invitation to the audience to adopt a course of action that will be beneficial to the addressee or mutually beneficial to both the speaker and the addressee. Here, Qoheleth personifies his “heart” (לִבִּי, libbi) and addresses himself. The examination of self-indulgent pleasure is designed to be beneficial to Qoheleth.
[2:1] 529 tn Or “test.” The cohortative אֲנַסְּכָה (’anassÿkhah) emphasizes the resolve of the speaker. The term נָסַה (nasah, “to test”) means “to conduct a test,” that is, to conduct an experiment (Judg 6:39; Eccl 2:1; 7:23; Dan 1:12, 14; see HALOT 702 s.v. נסה 3; BDB 650 s.v. נָסָה 1). The verb נָסַה is often used as a synonym with בָּחַן (bakhan, “to examine”; BDB 103 s.v. בָּחַן and 650 s.v. נָסָה 1) and לָדַעַת (lada’at, “to ascertain”; Deut 8:2).
[2:1] 530 tn Heb “I will test you with pleasure.” The term שִׂמְחַה (simkhah, “pleasure”) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) it can refer to the legitimate enjoyment of life that Qoheleth affirms is good (5:17; 8:15; 9:7; 11:8, 9) and that God gives to those who please him (2:26; 5:19); or (2) it can refer to foolish pleasure, self-indulgent, frivolous merrymaking (2:1, 2; 7:4). The parallelism in 2:2 between שִׂמְחַה and שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “laughter, frivolous merrymaking”), which always appears in the context of banqueting, drinking, and merrymaking, suggests that the pejorative sense is in view in this context.
[2:1] sn The statement I will try self-indulgent pleasure is a figurative expression known as metonymy of association. As 2:1-3 makes clear, it is not so much Qoheleth who is put to the test with pleasure, but rather that pleasure is put to the test by Qoheleth.
[2:1] 531 tn Heb “See what is good!” The volitive sequence of the cohortative (אֲנַסְּכָה, ’anassÿkhah, “I will test you”) followed by vav + imperative (וּרְאֵה, urÿ’eh, “and see!”) denotes purpose/result: “I will test you…in order to see….” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”) has a broad range of meanings (e.g., in the Qal stem 16 categories are listed in HALOT 1157–1160 s.v.). In this context it means “to discover; to perceive; to discern; to understand” (HALOT 1159 s.v. ראה 13; BDB 907 s.v. רָאָה 5).
[2:1] 532 sn The phrase “to see what is good” (רָאָה, ra’ah, “to see” + טוֹב, tov, “good”) is repeated twice in 2:1-3. This is the key phrase in this section of Ecclesiastes. Qoheleth sought to discover (רָאָה) whether merry-making offered any value (טוֹב) to mankind.
[2:1] 533 tn The particle וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, literally “Behold!”) occurs after verbs of perception to introduce what was seen, understood or discovered (HALOT 252 s.v. הִנֵּה 8). It is used to make the narrative graphic and vivid, enabling the reader to enter into the surprise of the speaker (BDB 244 s.v. הִנֵּה c). This is an example of the heterosis of the deictic particle (“Behold!”) for a verb of perception (“I found”). See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 510-34.
[2:1] 534 tn This use of הֶבֶל (hevel) denotes “futile, worthless, fruitless, pointless” (HALOT 237 s.v. I הֶבֶל 2; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל 2). It is a synonym to מְהוֹלָל (mÿholal, “folly”) in 2:2a and an antonym to טוֹב (tov, “worthwhile, beneficial”) in 2:1b and 2:3c.
[2:2] 535 tn Heb “laughter.” The term שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “laughter”) has a fourfold range of meanings: (1) “joyful laughter” (Ps 126:2; Prov 14:13; Job 8:21); (2) “frivolous laughter, merrymaking” (Eccl 2:2; 7:3, 6); (3) “pleasure, sport” (Prov 10:23; Eccl 10:19); and (4) “derision, mockery, laughingstock” (Jer 20:7; 48:26, 27, 39; Job 12:4; Lam 3:14). See HALOT 1315 s.v שְׂחוֹק; BDB 966 s.v. שְׂחֹק. In Ecclesiastes, שְׂחוֹק is always used in contexts of self-indulgent banqueting, drinking, frivolous partying and merrymaking (Eccl 2:2; 7:3, 6; 10:19). It is distinct from “healthy” joy and laughter (Ps 126:2; Job 8:21). The connotation of “frivolous merrymaking” fits this context best.
[2:2] 536 tn The term שִׂמְחָה (simkhah, “pleasure”) has a two-fold range of meanings in Ecclesiastes: (1) it can refer to the enjoyment of life that Qoheleth affirms is good (5:17; 8:15; 9:7; 11:8, 9) and that God gives to those who are pleasing to him (2:26; 5:19); and (2) it can refer to foolish pleasure, that is, frivolous merrymaking (2:1, 2; 7:4). The parallelism between שִׂמְחָה and שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “laughter, frivolous merrymaking”) in 2:2 suggests that the pejorative sense is in view here.
[2:2] 537 tn Heb “What does it accomplish?” The rhetorical question “What does it accomplish?” expects a negative answer: “It accomplishes nothing!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949–51). See, e.g., Gen 1:19; 18:14, 17; Deut 7:17; 1 Sam 2:25; Job 40:2; Pss 56:7[8]; 90:11; 94:16; 106:2; Eccl 3:21.
[2:3] 538 tn Heb “In my heart I explored.” The verb תּוּר (tur, “to seek out, to spy out, to explore”) is used in the OT to describe: (1) the physical activity of “spying out” or “exploring” geographical locations (Num 13:2, 16, 17, 21, 25, 32; 14:6, 7, 34, 36, 38; Job 39:8) and (2) the mental activity of “exploring” or “examining” a course of action or the effects of an action (Eccl 1:13; 2:3; 7:25; 9:1). See BDB 1064 s.v. תּוּר 2; HALOT 1708 s.v. תּוּר. It was used as a synonym with דָרָשׁ (darash, “to study”) in 1:13: “I devoted myself to study (לִדְרוֹשׁ, lidrosh) and to explore (לָתוּר, latur).”
[2:3] sn As the repetition of the term לֵב (lev, “heart” or “mind”) indicates (2:1, 3), this experiment appears to have been only an intellectual exercise or a cognitive reflection: “I said to myself (Heb “in my heart [or “mind”],” 2:1); “I explored with my mind (Heb “heart,” 2:3a); and “my mind (Heb “heart”) guiding me with wisdom” (2:3b). Qoheleth himself did not indulge in drunkenness; but he contemplated the value of self-indulgence in his mind.
[2:3] 539 tn The phrase “the effects of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[2:3] 540 tn Or “I sought to cheer my flesh with wine.” The term לִמְשׁוֹךְ (limshokh, Qal infinitive construct from מָשַׁךְ, mashakh, “to draw, pull”) functions in a complementary sense with the preceding verb תּוּר (tur “to examine”): Heb “I sought to draw out my flesh with wine” or “I [mentally] explored [the effects] of drawing out my flesh with wine.” The verb מָשַׁךְ means “to draw, to drag along, to lead” (BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ) or “to draw out; to stretch out [to full length]; to drag; to pull; to seize; to carry off; to pull; to go” (HALOT 645–46 s.v. משׁך). BDB suggests that this use be nuanced “to draw, to attract, to gratify” the flesh, that is, “to cheer” (BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ 7). While this meaning is not attested elsewhere in the OT, it is found in Mishnaic Hebrew: “to attract” (Qal), e.g., “it is different with heresy, because it attracts [i.e., persuades, offers inducements]” (b. Avodah Zarah 27b) and “to be attracted, carried away, seduced,” e.g., “he was drawn after them, he indulged in the luxuries of the palace” (b. Shabbat 147b). See Jastrow 853-54 s.v. מְשַׂךְ. Here it denotes “to stretch; to draw out [to full length],” that is, “to revive; to restore” the body (HALOT 646 s.v. משׁד [sic] 3). The statement is a metonymy of cause (i.e., indulging the flesh with wine) for effect (i.e., the effects of self-indulgence).
[2:3] 541 tn Heb “my flesh.” The term בְּשָׂרִי (bÿsari, “my flesh”) may function as a synecdoche of part (i.e., flesh) for the whole (i.e., whole person). See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 642. One could translate, “I sought to cheer myself.”
[2:3] 542 tn The phrase “all the while” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[2:3] 543 tn The word “me” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[2:3] 544 tn Heb “and my heart was leading along in wisdom.” The vav + noun, וְלִבִּי (vÿlibbi) introduces a disjunctive, parenthetical clause designed to qualify the speaker’s remarks lest he be misunderstood: “Now my heart/mind….” He emphasizes that he never lost control of his senses in this process. It was a purely mental, cognitive endeavor; he never actually gave himself over to wanton self-indulgence in wine or folly.
[2:3] 545 tn The phrase “the effects of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[2:3] 546 tn Heb “embracing folly.” The verb אָחָז (’akhaz, “to embrace”) is normally used to describe the physical action of taking hold of an object. Here is it is used metaphorically to describe a person’s choice of lifestyle, that is, adopting a particular course of moral conduct (e.g., Job 17:9); see HALOT 31–32 s.v. אחז; BDB 28 s.v. אָחַז.
[2:3] 547 tn Or “until.” The construction עַד אֲשֶׁר (’ad ’asher, “until”) introduces a temporal result clause (e.g., Gen 27:44; 28:15; Num 21:35; Isa 6:11); see HALOT 787 s.v. III עַד B.b. With an imperfect verb (such as אֶרְאֶה, ’er’eh, Qal imperfect first common singular from רָאָה, ra’ah, “to see”), the compound construction עַד אֲשֶׁר usually refers to future time (Gen 27:44; 29:8; Exod 23:30; 24:14; Lev 22:4; Num 11:20; 20:17; 1 Sam 22:3; Hos 5:15), but it also rarely refers to past time (Jonah 4:5; Eccl 2:3); see BDB 725 s.v. III עַד II.1.a.b. Joüon 2:370 §113.k notes that when the compound construction עַד אֲשֶׁר is occasionally used with an imperfect depicting past action to denote a virtual nuance of purpose: “until” = “so that,” e.g., Jonah 4:5; Eccl 2:3.
[2:3] 548 tn Heb “I might see where is the good?” The interrogative particle אֵי (’e, “where?”) used with the demonstrative pronoun זֶה (zeh, “this”) forms an idiom: “where [then]?” (HALOT 37–38 s.v. אֵי 2.a; see, e.g., 1 Sam 9:18; 1 Kgs 13:12; 2 Kgs 3:8; Isa 50:1; 66:1; Jer 6:16; Job 28:12, 20; 38:19, 24; Esth 7:5). The phrase אֵי־זֶה טוֹב (’e-zeh tov) is an indirect question that literally means, “Where is the good?” that is, “what good?” (HALOT 38 s.v. אֵי 2.d).
[2:3] 549 tn Heb “the sons of man.”
[2:3] 550 tn Heb “under the heavens.”
[2:3] 551 tn Heb “number of the days.” The Hebrew noun מִסְפַּר (mispar, “number, quantity”) sometimes means “few” (e.g., Gen 34:30; Num 9:20; Deut 4:27; 33:6; Isa 10:19; Jer 44:28; Ezek 12:16; Ps 105:12; Job 16:22; 1 Chr 16:19); see HALOT 607 s.v. מִסְפָּר 2.b; BDB 709 s.v. מִסְפָּר 1.a. This phrase is an idiom that means, “during all their lives” (BDB 709 s.v.), “during their total [short] time of life,” that is, “as long as they live” (HALOT 608 s.v. מִסְפָּר 3.d). Ecclesiastes often emphasizes the brevity of life (e.g., 5:17; 6:12; 9:9). The LXX rendered מִסְפַּר in a woodenly literal sense: ἀριθμόν (ariqmon, “the number [of days of their lives]”). Several English translations adopt a similar approach: “all the days of their life” (ASV, Douay) and “the number of days of their lives” (YLT). However, this idiom is handled well by a number of English translations: “during the few days of their lives” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, NIV, Moffatt, NJPS), “during the limited days of their life” (NAB), and “throughout the brief span of their lives” (NEB).
[2:13] 552 tn Heb “and I saw that there is profit for wisdom more than folly.”
[2:14] 553 tn Heb “has his eyes in his head.” The term עַיִן (’ayin, “eye”) is used figuratively in reference to mental and spiritual faculties (BDB 744 s.v. עַיִן 3.a). The term “eye” is a metonymy of cause (eye) for effect (sight and perception).
[2:14] 554 sn The common fate to which Qoheleth refers is death.
[2:14] 555 tn The term כֻּלָּם (kullam, “all of them”) denotes “both of them.” This is an example of synecdoche of general (“all of them”) for the specific (“both of them,” that is, both the wise man and the fool).
[2:15] 556 tn The emphatic use of the 1st person common singular personal pronoun אֲנִי (’ani, “me”) with the emphatic particle of association גַּם (gam, “even, as well as”; HALOT 195–96 s.v. גַּם) appears to emphasize the 1st person common singular suffix on יִקְרֵנִי (yiqreni) “it will befall [or “happen to”] me” (Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 1st person common singular suffix from קָרָה, qarah, “to befall; to happen to”); see GKC 438 §135.e. Qoheleth laments not that the fate of the wise man is the same as that of the fool, but that even he himself – the wisest man of all – would fare no better in the end than the most foolish.
[2:15] 557 tn The adjective יוֹתֵר (yoter) means “too much; excessive,” e.g., 7:16 “excessively righteous” (HALOT 404 s.v. יוֹתֵר 2; BDB 452 s.v. יוֹתֵר). It is derived from the root יֶתֶר (yeter, “what is left over”); see HALOT 452 s.v. I יֶתֶר. It is related to the verbal root יתר (Niphal “to be left over”; Hiphil “to have left over”); see HALOT 451–52 s.v. I יתר. The adjective is related to יִתְרוֹן (yitron, “advantage; profit”) which is a key-term in this section, creating a word-play: The wise man has a relative “advantage” (יִתְרוֹן) over the fool (2:13-14a); however, there is no ultimate advantage because both share the same fate, i.e., death (2:14b-15a). Thus, Qoheleth’s acquisition of tremendous wisdom (1:16; 2:9) was “excessive” because it exceeded its relative advantage over folly: it could not deliver him from the same fate as the fool. He had striven to obtain wisdom, yet it held no ultimate advantage.
[2:15] 558 tn Heb “And why was I wise (to) excess?” The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “I gained nothing!” (E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949).
[2:15] 559 tn Heb “So I said in my heart.”
[2:15] 560 tn Heb “and also this,” referring to the relative advantage of wisdom over folly.
[2:15] 561 tn The word “ultimately” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[2:16] 562 tn The preposition עִם (’im, “with”) may occasionally function in a comparative sense, meaning “together with; even as; like” (e.g., Eccl 1:11; 2:16; 7:11; Job 9:26; 1 Chr 14:10: 20:6; 25:8; see HALOT 839 s.v. עִם 2). When used to describe a common lot, it connotes “together with” (Gen 18:23, 25; 1 Chr 24:5; Job 3:14, 15; 30:1; Pss 26:9; 28:3; 69:29; Isa 38:11), hence “like” (Pss 73:5; 106:6; Eccl 2:16; see BDB 767–68 s.v. עִם 1.e).
[2:16] 563 tn As HALOT 798–99 s.v. עוֹלָם and BDB 762-64 s.v. עוֹלָם note, עוֹלָם (’olam) has a wide range of meanings: (1) indefinite time: “long time; duration,” (2) unlimited time: “eternal; eternity,” (3) future time: “things to come,” and (4) past time: “a long time back,” that is, the dark age of prehistory. The context here suggests the nuance “a long time.”
[2:16] 564 tn The preposition בְּ (bet) on בְּשֶׁכְּבָר (bÿshekkÿvar, the adverb כְּבָר [kÿvar,“already”] + relative pronoun שֶׁ [she] + preposition בְּ) is probably best classified as causal: “Because…already.”
[2:16] 565 tn The verb נִשְׁכָּח (nishkakh) is a future perfect – it describes an event that is portrayed as a past event from the perspective of the future: “they will have been forgotten.” The emphasis of the past perfect is not simply that the future generations will begin to forget him, but that he will already have been forgotten long ago in the past by the time of those future generations. This past perfect situation is brought out by the emphatic use of the temporal adverb כְּבָר (kÿvar) “already” (HALOT 459 s.v. I כְּבָר; BDB 460 s.v. I כְּבָר); see, e.g., Eccl 1:10; 2:12, 16; 3:15; 4:2; 6:10; 9:6-7.
[2:16] 566 tn The particle אֵיךְ (’ekh, “Alas!”) is an exclamation of lamentation and mourning (e.g., 2 Sam 1:19; Isa 14:4, 12; Jer 2:21; 9:18; Ezek 26:17; Mic 2:4); see HALOT 39 s.v. אֵיךְ 5; BDB 32 s.v. אֵיךְ 2; also E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 955.
[2:16] 567 tn The preposition עִם (’im, “with”) may occasionally function in a comparative sense, meaning “together with; even as; like” (e.g., Eccl 1:11; 2:16; 7:11; Job 9:26; 1 Chr 14:10: 20:6; 25:8); see HALOT 839 s.v. עִם 2. When used to describe a common lot, it connotes “together with” (Gen 18:23, 25; 1 Chr 24:5; Job 3:14, 15; 30:1; Ps 26:9; 28:3; 69:29; Isa 38:11), hence “like” (Pss 73:5; 106:6; Eccl 2:16); see BDB 767–68 s.v. עִם 1.e.
[2:17] 569 tn The term הַחַיִּים (hakhayyim, “life”) functions as a metonymy of association, that is, that which is associated with life, that is, the profitlessness and futility of human secular achievement.
[2:17] 570 tn Heb “the deed that is done.” The root עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) is repeated in הַמַּעֲשֶׂה שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה (hamma’aseh shenna’asah, “the deed that is done”) for emphasis. Here, the term “deed” does not refer to human accomplishment, as in 2:1-11, but to the fact of death that destroys any relative advantage of wisdom over folly (2:14a-16). Qoheleth metaphorically describes death as a “deed” that is “done” to man.
[2:17] 571 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[2:17] 572 tn Heb “all,” referring here to the relative advantage of wisdom.
[2:18] 573 tn The phrase “the fruit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the phrase “hard labor”).
[2:18] 574 tn Heb “I hated all my toil for which I had toiled.” The term עֲמָלִי (’amali, “my toil”) is repeated throughout 2:18-21. In each case, it functions as a metonymy of cause (i.e., toil) for effect (i.e., fruit of labor). See, e.g., Ps 105:44; BDB 765 s.v עָמַל 3. The metonymy is indicated by several factors: (1) The 3rd person masculine singular suffix (“it”) on אַנִּיחֶנּוּ (’annikhennu, “I must leave it”) in 2:18, and on יִתְּנֶנּוּ (yittÿnennu, “I must give it”) in 2:21 refer to his wealth, that is, the fruit of his labor. (2) In 2:21 the 3rd person masculine singular suffix on שֶׁלֹּא עָמַל־בּוֹ (shello’ ’amal-bo, “who did not work for it”) refers to the inheritance that Qoheleth must turn over to his successor, namely, the fruit of his labor. (3) While he himself enjoyed the fruit of his labor, he despaired that he had to turn the fruit of his labor over to his successor: “So I loathed all the [fruit of] my labor” (2:18a) and “I began to despair about the [fruit of] my labor” (2:20a). Although most translations render עֲמָלִי as “my toil” in 2:18, the metonymy is recognized by several English translations: “So I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored” (NASB); “So I detested all the fruits of my labor” (NAB); “I hated all the things I had toiled for” (NIV); and “So I loathed all the wealth that I was gaining” (NJPS).
[2:18] 575 tn Qoheleth uses an internal cognate accusative construction (accusative noun and verb from the same root) for emphasis: עֲמָלִי שֶׁאֲנִי עָמֵל (’amali she’ani ’amel, “my toil for which I had toiled”). See IBHS 167 §10.2.1g.
[2:18] 576 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[2:18] 577 tn The relative pronoun שֶׁ (she) on שֶׁאַנִּיחֶנּוּ (she’annikhennu, relative pronoun שֶׁ + Hiphil imperfect 1st person common singular from נוּחַ, nuakh, “to leave” + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) is causal: “Because I must leave it behind.”
[2:18] 578 tn The 3rd person masculine singular suffix on אַנִּיחֶנּוּ (’annikhennu, “I must leave it”) refers to Qoheleth’s wealth, that is, the fruit of his labor (see the note on the phrase “hard labor” in 2:18). The suffix is rendered literally by nearly all translations; however, a few make its referent explicit: “I have to leave its fruits” (NEB), “I must leave them [= all the fruits of my labor]” (NAB).
[2:18] 579 tn The verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”) denotes “to leave [something] behind” in the hands of someone (e.g., Ps 119:121; Eccl 2:18); see HALOT 680 s.v. נוח B.2.c. The imperfect functions in a modal sense of obligation or necessity. At death, Qoheleth will be forced to pass on his entire estate and the fruit of his labors to his successor.
[2:18] 580 tn Heb “to a man who will come after me.”
[2:19] 581 tn The vav on וְיִשְׁלַט (vÿyishlat, conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from שָׁלַט, shalat, “to be master”) is adversative (“yet”).
[2:19] 582 tn The phrase “the fruit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the word “labor”).
[2:19] 583 tn Heb “my labor.” As in 2:18, the term עֲמָלִי (’amali, “my labor”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., my labor) for effect (i.e., fruit of my labor). The metonymy is recognized by several translations: “he will control all the wealth that I gained” (NJPS); “he will have control over all the fruits of my labor” (NAB); “he will have mastery over all the fruits of my labor” (NEB); “he will have control over all the fruit of my labor” (NASB); “he will be master over all my possessions” (MLB).
[2:19] 584 tn An internal cognate accusative construction (accusative and verb from same root) is used for emphasis: שֶׁעָמַלְתִּי עֲמָלִי (’amali she’amalti, “my toil for which I had toiled”); see IBHS 167 §10.2.1g. The two verbs שֶׁעָמַלְתִּי וְשֶׁחָכַמְתִּי (she’amalti vÿshekhakhamti, “for which I had labored and for which I had acted wisely”) form a verbal hendiadys (two separate verbs used in association to communicate one idea): “for I had labored so wisely.” The second verb is used adverbially to modify the first verb, which functions in its full verbal sense.
[2:19] 585 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[2:20] 586 tn Heb “I turned aside to allow my heart despair.” The term לִבִּי (libbi, “my heart”) is a synecdoche of part (i.e., heart) for the whole (i.e., whole person); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 648.
[2:20] 587 tn The phrase “the fruit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the word “labor”).
[2:20] 588 tn Heb “all my toil.” As in 2:18-19, the term עֲמָלִי (’amali, “my labor”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., my labor) for effect (i.e., the fruit of my labor). The metonymy is recognized by several translations: “all the fruits of my labor” (NAB); “all the fruit of my labor” (NASB); “all the gains I had made” (NJPS).
[2:20] 589 tn Here the author uses an internal cognate accusative construction (accusative noun and verb from the same root) for emphasis: שֶׁעָמַלְתִּי הֶעָמָל (he’amal she’amalti, “the toil for which I had toiled”); see IBHS 167 §10.2.1g.
[2:20] 590 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[2:21] 591 tn Heb “he must give.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix on יִתְּנֶנּוּ (yittÿnennu, Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from נָתַן, natan, “to give” + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) refers back to עֲמָלוֹ (’amalo, “his labor”) which is treated in this line as a metonymy of cause for effect, that is, “he must give it” = “he must give his labor” = “he must give the fruit of his labor.”
[2:21] sn As in 2:18-19, Qoheleth laments the injustice that a person who works diligently in wisdom must one day hand over the fruit of his labor (i.e., his fortune and the care of his achievements) to his successor. There is no guarantee that one’s heir will be wise and be a good steward of this wealth, or be foolish and squander it – in which case, the former man’s entire life’s work would be in vain.
[2:21] 592 tn Heb “it”; the referent (“the fruit of his labor”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:21] 593 tn Or “he must turn over an inheritance”; or “he must turn it over, namely, an inheritance.” There are two approaches to the syntax of חֶלְקוֹ (khelqo, “his inheritance”): (1) The 3rd person masculine singular suffix is a subjective genitive: “his inheritance” = the inheritance which he must give to his heir. The referent of the 3rd person masculine singular suffix is Qoheleth in 2:21a who worked hard to amass the fortune. The noun חֵלֶק (kheleq, “inheritance”) functions as an adverbial accusative of state (GKC 372 §118.a) or a predicate accusative (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 12-13, §57): “He must give it [i.e., his fortune] as an inheritance.” (2) The 3rd person masculine singular suffix is an objective genitive: “his inheritance” = the inheritance which the heir will receive from Qoheleth. The referent of the 3rd person masculine singular suffix is the heir in 2:21b. The noun חֵלֶק (“inheritance”) functions as the accusative direct object in apposition (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 15-16, §71) to the 3rd person masculine singular suffix on יִתְּנֶנּוּ (yittÿnennu, “he must give it”; Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from נָתַן, natan, + 3rd person masculine singular suffix): “He must give it, namely, his inheritance, to one who did not work for it.”
[2:21] 594 tn The noun רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) probably means “misfortune” (HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4) or “injustice; wrong” (HALOT 1262 s.v. רָעָה 2.b). The phrase רָעָה רַבָּה (ra’ah rabbah) connotes “grave injustice” or “great misfortune” (e.g., Eccl 2:17; 5:12, 15; 6:1; 10:5). It is expressed well as: “This too is…a great misfortune” (NAB, NIV, MLB) and “utterly wrong!” (NEB).
[2:21] sn Verses 18-21 are arranged into two sub-units (2:18-19 and 2:20-21). Each contains a parallel structure: (1) Introductory lament: “I hated all my toil” and “I began to despair about all my toil.” (2) Reason for the lament: “I must turn over the fruit of my labor to the hands of my successor” and “he must hand over the fruit of his work as an inheritance.” (3) Description of successor: “who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?” and “he did not work for it.” (4) Concluding statement: “This also is fruitless!” and “This also is profitless and an awful injustice!”
[2:22] 595 tn Heb “under the sun.” The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “Man acquires nothing” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51).
[2:1] 596 tn Heb “I said, I, in my heart” (אָמַרְתִּי אֲנִי בְּלִבִּי, ’amarti ’ani bÿlibbi). The term “heart” (לֵב, lev) is a synecdoche of part (“heart”) for the whole (the whole person), and thus means “I said to myself” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 648).
[2:1] 597 tn The Hebrew verb לְכָה (lÿkhah, “Come!”) is a weakened imperative, used merely as an introductory word, e.g., Gen 19:32; 31:44; Judg 19:11; 1 Sam 9:9-10; 11:14; 2 Kgs 3:7; Ps 66:5; Song 7:12; Isa 1:18; 2:3; Mic 4:2 (HALOT 246 s.v. הָלַךְ 2; BDB 234 s.v. הָלַךְ I.5.f.2). Whenever לְכָה introduces an exhortation, it functions as an invitation to the audience to adopt a course of action that will be beneficial to the addressee or mutually beneficial to both the speaker and the addressee. Here, Qoheleth personifies his “heart” (לִבִּי, libbi) and addresses himself. The examination of self-indulgent pleasure is designed to be beneficial to Qoheleth.
[2:1] 598 tn Or “test.” The cohortative אֲנַסְּכָה (’anassÿkhah) emphasizes the resolve of the speaker. The term נָסַה (nasah, “to test”) means “to conduct a test,” that is, to conduct an experiment (Judg 6:39; Eccl 2:1; 7:23; Dan 1:12, 14; see HALOT 702 s.v. נסה 3; BDB 650 s.v. נָסָה 1). The verb נָסַה is often used as a synonym with בָּחַן (bakhan, “to examine”; BDB 103 s.v. בָּחַן and 650 s.v. נָסָה 1) and לָדַעַת (lada’at, “to ascertain”; Deut 8:2).
[2:1] 599 tn Heb “I will test you with pleasure.” The term שִׂמְחַה (simkhah, “pleasure”) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) it can refer to the legitimate enjoyment of life that Qoheleth affirms is good (5:17; 8:15; 9:7; 11:8, 9) and that God gives to those who please him (2:26; 5:19); or (2) it can refer to foolish pleasure, self-indulgent, frivolous merrymaking (2:1, 2; 7:4). The parallelism in 2:2 between שִׂמְחַה and שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “laughter, frivolous merrymaking”), which always appears in the context of banqueting, drinking, and merrymaking, suggests that the pejorative sense is in view in this context.
[2:1] sn The statement I will try self-indulgent pleasure is a figurative expression known as metonymy of association. As 2:1-3 makes clear, it is not so much Qoheleth who is put to the test with pleasure, but rather that pleasure is put to the test by Qoheleth.
[2:1] 600 tn Heb “See what is good!” The volitive sequence of the cohortative (אֲנַסְּכָה, ’anassÿkhah, “I will test you”) followed by vav + imperative (וּרְאֵה, urÿ’eh, “and see!”) denotes purpose/result: “I will test you…in order to see….” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”) has a broad range of meanings (e.g., in the Qal stem 16 categories are listed in HALOT 1157–1160 s.v.). In this context it means “to discover; to perceive; to discern; to understand” (HALOT 1159 s.v. ראה 13; BDB 907 s.v. רָאָה 5).
[2:1] 601 sn The phrase “to see what is good” (רָאָה, ra’ah, “to see” + טוֹב, tov, “good”) is repeated twice in 2:1-3. This is the key phrase in this section of Ecclesiastes. Qoheleth sought to discover (רָאָה) whether merry-making offered any value (טוֹב) to mankind.
[2:1] 602 tn The particle וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, literally “Behold!”) occurs after verbs of perception to introduce what was seen, understood or discovered (HALOT 252 s.v. הִנֵּה 8). It is used to make the narrative graphic and vivid, enabling the reader to enter into the surprise of the speaker (BDB 244 s.v. הִנֵּה c). This is an example of the heterosis of the deictic particle (“Behold!”) for a verb of perception (“I found”). See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 510-34.
[2:1] 603 tn This use of הֶבֶל (hevel) denotes “futile, worthless, fruitless, pointless” (HALOT 237 s.v. I הֶבֶל 2; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל 2). It is a synonym to מְהוֹלָל (mÿholal, “folly”) in 2:2a and an antonym to טוֹב (tov, “worthwhile, beneficial”) in 2:1b and 2:3c.
[2:18] 604 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)
[2:18] 605 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
[2:18] 606 sn The request “What sign can you show us” by Jesus’ adversaries was a request for a defense of his actions – a mark of divine authentication. Whether this was a request for a miracle is not entirely clear. Jesus never obliged such a request. Yet, ironically, the only sign the Jewish leadership will get is that predicted by Jesus in 2:19 – his crucifixion and resurrection. Cf. the “sign of Jonah” in the synoptics (Matt 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29-32).
[2:19] 607 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
[2:19] 608 tn The imperative here is really more than a simple conditional imperative (= “if you destroy”); its semantic force here is more like the ironical imperative found in the prophets (Amos 4:4, Isa 8:9) = “Go ahead and do this and see what happens.”
[4:1] 609 tc Several early and important witnesses, along with the majority of later ones (Ì66c,75 A B C L Ws Ψ 083 Ë13 33 Ï sa), have κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) here instead of ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”). As significant as this external support is, the internal evidence seems to be on the side of ᾿Ιησοῦς. “Jesus” is mentioned two more times in the first two verses of chapter four in a way that is stylistically awkward (so much so that the translation has substituted the pronoun for the first one; see tn note below). This seems to be sufficient reason to motivate scribes to change the wording to κύριος. Further, the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is not without decent support, though admittedly not as strong as that for κύριος (Ì66* א D Θ 086 Ë1 565 1241 al lat bo). On the other hand, this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions elsewhere only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and probably 6:23, preferring ᾿Ιησοῦς most of the time. This fact could be used to argue that scribes, acquainted with John’s style, changed κύριος to ᾿Ιησοῦς. But the immediate context generally is weighed more heavily than an author’s style. It is possible that neither word was in the original text and scribes supplied what they thought most appropriate (see TCGNT 176). But without ms evidence to this effect coupled with the harder reading ᾿Ιησοῦς, this conjecture must remain doubtful. All in all, it is best to regard ᾿Ιησοῦς as the original reading here.
[4:1] 610 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[4:1] 611 tn Grk “Jesus”; the repetition of the proper name is somewhat redundant in English (see the beginning of the verse) and so the pronoun (“he”) has been substituted here.
[4:1] 612 tn Grk “was making.”
[4:2] 613 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[4:3] 614 sn The author doesn’t tell why Jesus chose to set out once more for Galilee. Some have suggested that the Pharisees turned their attention to Jesus because John the Baptist had now been thrown into prison. But the text gives no hint of this. In any case, perhaps Jesus simply did not want to provoke a confrontation at this time (knowing that his “hour” had not yet come).
[4:4] 615 sn Travel through Samaria was not geographically necessary; the normal route for Jews ran up the east side of the Jordan River (Transjordan). Although some take the impersonal verb had to (δεῖ, dei) here to indicate logical necessity only, normally in John’s Gospel its use involves God’s will or plan (3:7, 3:14, 3:30, 4:4, 4:20, 4:24, 9:4, 10:16, 12:34, 20:9).
[4:4] 616 sn Samaria. The Samaritans were descendants of 2 groups: (1) The remnant of native Israelites who were not deported after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722
[4:5] 617 tn Grk “town of Samaria.” The noun Σαμαρείας (Samareias) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
[4:5] 618 sn Sychar was somewhere in the vicinity of Shechem, possibly the village of Askar, 1.5 km northeast of Jacob’s well.
[4:5] 619 sn Perhaps referred to in Gen 48:22.
[4:6] 620 tn Grk “on (ἐπί, epi) the well.” There may have been a low stone rim encircling the well, or the reading of Ì66 (“on the ground”) may be correct.
[4:6] 621 tn Grk “the sixth hour.”
[4:6] sn It was about noon. The suggestion has been made by some that time should be reckoned from midnight rather than sunrise. This would make the time 6 a.m. rather than noon. That would fit in this passage but not in John 19:14 which places the time when Jesus is condemned to be crucified at “the sixth hour.”
[1:4] 622 tn Grk “people.” However, if Jude is indeed arguing that Peter’s prophecy about false teachers has come true, these are most likely men in the original historical and cultural setting. See discussion of this point in the note on the phrase “these men” in 2 Pet 2:12.
[1:4] 623 tn “Among you” is not in the Greek text, but is obviously implied.
[1:4] sn The infiltration referred to by the phrase slipped in among you was predicted by Peter (2 Pet 2:1), Paul (e.g., Acts 20:29-30), and OT prophets.
[1:4] 624 tn Or “in the past.” The adverb πάλαι (palai) can refer to either, though the meaning “long ago” is more common.
[1:4] 625 tn Grk “written about.”
[1:4] 626 tn Grk “for this condemnation.” τοῦτο (touto) is almost surely a kataphoric demonstrative pronoun, pointing to what follows in vv. 5-18. Otherwise, the condemnation is only implied (in v. 3b) or is merely a statement of their sinfulness (“ungodly” in v. 4b), not a judgment of it.
[1:4] 627 tn Grk “debauchery.” This is the same word Peter uses to predict what the false teachers will be like (2 Pet 2:2, 7, 18).
[1:4] sn Turned the grace of our God into a license for evil. One of the implications that the gospel in the apostolic period was truly a gospel of grace was the fact that the enemies of the gospel could pervert it into license. If it were a gospel of works, no such abuse could be imagined. Along these lines, note Rom 6:1 – “Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?” This question could not have even been asked had the gospel been one of works. But grace is easily misunderstood by those who would abuse it.
[1:4] 628 tc Most later witnesses (P Ψ Ï sy) have θεόν (qeon, “God”) after δεσπότην (despothn, “master”), which appears to be a motivated reading in that it explicitly links “Master” to “God” in keeping with the normal NT pattern (see Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; 2 Tim 2:21; Rev 6:10). In patristic Greek, δεσπότης (despoth") was used especially of God (cf. BDAG 220 s.v. 1.b.). The earlier and better witnesses (Ì72,78 א A B C 0251 33 81 323 1241 1739 al co) lack θεόν; the shorter reading is thus preferred on both internal and external grounds.
[1:4] sn The Greek term for Master (δεσπότης, despoths) is the same term the author of 2 Peter used (2 Pet 2:1) to describe his Lord when he prophesied about these false teachers. Since δεσπότης is used only ten times in the NT, the verbal connection between these two books at this juncture is striking. This is especially so since both Peter and Jude speak of these false teachers as denying the Master (both using the same verb). The basic difference is that Peter is looking to the future, while Jude is arguing that these false teachers are here now.
[1:4] 629 tn The terms “Master and Lord” both refer to the same person. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. For more discussion see ExSyn 270-78. See also Titus 2:13 and 2 Pet 1:1
[1:5] 630 tn Grk “knowing all things.” The subject of the participle “knowing” (εἰδότας, eidota") is an implied ὑμᾶς (Jumas), though several ancient witnesses actually add it. The πάντα (panta) takes on an adverbial force in this context (“fully”), intensifying how acquainted the readers are with the following points.
[1:5] sn That Jude comments on his audience’s prior knowledge of what he is about to tell them (you have been fully informed of these facts) may imply that they were familiar with 2 Peter. In 2 Pet 2:4ff., the same illustrations from the OT are drawn. See the note on the following phrase once for all.
[1:5] 631 tc ‡ Some translations take ἅπαξ (Japax) with the following clause (thus, “[Jesus,] having saved the people once for all”). Such a translation presupposes that ἅπαξ is a part of the ὅτι (Joti) clause. The reading of NA27, πάντα ὅτι [ὁ] κύριος ἅπαξ (panta {oti [Jo] kurio" {apax), suggests this interpretation (though with “Lord” instead of “Jesus”). This particle is found before λαόν (laon) in the ὅτι clause in א C* Ψ 630 1241 1243 1505 1739 1846 1881 pc co. But ἅπαξ is found before the ὅτι clause in most witnesses, including several important ones (Ì72 A B C2 33 81 623 2344 Ï vg). What seems best able to explain the various placements of the adverb is that scribes were uncomfortable with ἅπαξ referring to the readers’ knowledge, feeling it was more appropriate to the theological significance of “saved” (σώσας, swsas).
[1:5] sn In this translation, Jude is stressing that the readers have been informed once for all of the OT illustrations he is about to mention. Where would they get this information? Most likely from having read 2 Peter. Earlier Jude used the same adverb to indicate that these believers had a written record of the faith. This seems to be his implication here, too. Thus, for the second time Jude is appealing to the written documents of the early church as authoritative as opposed to the messages of the false teachers. As the 1st century began to draw to a close, the early church found itself increasingly dependent on the letters and gospels of the apostles and their associates. Once those apostles died, false apostles and false teachers sprang up, like wolves in sheep’s clothing (cf. Acts 20:29-30). To combat this, some of the latest books of the NT stressed the authority of what had been written (so Hebrews, Jude, Ephesians, 1 John). Although these writers anticipated the return of the Lord, they also braced their audiences for a delay of the parousia (the second coming of Christ) by suggesting that when they were gone the NT documents should guide them.
[1:5] 632 tc ‡ The reading ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) is deemed too hard by several scholars, since it involves the notion of Jesus acting in the early history of the nation Israel. However, not only does this reading enjoy the strongest support from a variety of early witnesses (e.g., A B 33 81 1241 1739 1881 2344 pc vg co Or1739mg), but the plethora of variants demonstrate that scribes were uncomfortable with it, for they seemed to exchange κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) or θεός (qeos, “God”) for ᾿Ιησοῦς (though Ì72 has the intriguing reading θεὸς Χριστός [qeos Cristos, “God Christ”] for ᾿Ιησοῦς). In addition to the evidence supplied in NA27 for this reading, note also {88 322 323 424c 665 915 2298 eth Cyr Hier Bede}. As difficult as the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is, in light of v. 4 and in light of the progress of revelation (Jude being one of the last books in the NT to be composed), it is wholly appropriate.
[1:5] sn The construction our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ in v. 4 follows Granville Sharp’s rule (see note on Lord). The construction strongly implies the deity of Christ. This is followed by a statement that Jesus was involved in the salvation (and later judgment) of the Hebrews. He is thus to be identified with the Lord God, Yahweh. Verse 5, then, simply fleshes out what is implicit in v. 4.
[1:5] 633 tn Or perhaps “a,” though this is less likely.
[1:5] 634 tn Grk “the second time.”
[3:1] 635 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
[3:1] 636 tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
[3:1] 637 tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.
[3:1] sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.
[3:1] 638 tn Grk “who has” (cf. 1:16).
[3:1] 640 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
[3:1] 641 tn The prepositional phrase “in reality” is supplied in the translation to make explicit the idea that their being alive was only an illusion.
[3:15] 642 sn Laodicea was near two other towns, each of which had a unique water source. To the north was Hierapolis which had a natural hot spring, often used for medicinal purposes. To the east was Colossae which had cold, pure waters. In contrast to these towns, Laodicea had no permanent supply of good water. Efforts to pipe water to the city from nearby springs were successful, but it would arrive lukewarm. The metaphor in the text is not meant to relate spiritual fervor to temperature. This would mean that Laodicea would be commended for being spiritually cold, but it is unlikely that Jesus would commend this. Instead, the metaphor condemns Laodicea for not providing spiritual healing (being hot) or spiritual refreshment (being cold) to those around them. It is a condemnation of their lack of works and lack of witness.
[3:16] 644 tn This is the literal meaning of the Greek verb ἐμέω (emew). It is usually translated with a much weaker term like “spit out” due to the unpleasant connotations of the English verb “vomit,” as noted by L&N 23.44. The situation confronting the Laodicean church is a dire one, however, and such a term is necessary if the modern reader is to understand the gravity of the situation.
[3:17] 645 tn Grk “and have become rich.” The semantic domains of the two terms for wealth here, πλούσιος (plousios, adjective) and πλουτέω (ploutew, verb) overlap considerably, but are given slightly different English translations for stylistic reasons.
[3:17] 646 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
[3:17] 647 tn All the terms in this series are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.
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