Kejadian 1:4

1:4 God saw ¹  that the light was good, ²  so God separated ³  the light from the darkness.

Kejadian 1:7

1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. ⁴  It was so. ⁵ 

Kejadian 17:11

17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder ⁶  of the covenant between me and you.

Kejadian 17:24

17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old ⁷  when he was circumcised; ⁸ 

Kejadian 21:9

21:9 But Sarah noticed ⁹  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ¹⁰ 

Kejadian 29:15

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ¹¹  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ¹²  Tell me what your wages should be.”

Kejadian 39:7

39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of ¹³  Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” ¹⁴ 

[1:4]  ¹ tn Heb “And God saw the light, that it was good.” The verb “saw” in this passage carries the meaning “reflected on,” “surveyed,” “concluded,” “noted.” It is a description of reflection of the mind – it is God’s opinion.

[1:4]  ² tn The Hebrew word טוֹב (tov) in this context signifies whatever enhances, promotes, produces, or is conducive for life. It is the light that God considers “good,” not the darkness. Whatever is conducive to life in God’s creation is good, for God himself is good, and that goodness is reflected in all of his works.

[1:4]  ³ tn The verb “separate, divide” here explains how God used the light to dispel the darkness. It did not do away with the darkness completely, but made a separation. The light came alongside the darkness, but they are mutually exclusive – a theme that will be developed in the Gospel of John (cf. John 1:5).

[1:4]  sn The idea of separation is critical to this chapter. God separated light from darkness, upper water from lower water, day from night, etc. The verb is important to the Law in general. In Leviticus God separates between clean and unclean, holy and profane (Lev 10:10, 11:47 and 20:24); in Exodus God separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Exod 26:33). There is a preference for the light over the darkness, just as there will be a preference for the upper waters, the rain water which is conducive to life, over the sea water.

[1:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the expanse.”

[1:7]  ⁵ tn This statement indicates that it happened the way God designed it, underscoring the connection between word and event.

[17:11]  ⁶ tn Or “sign.”

[17:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”

[17:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).

[21:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “saw.”

[21:9]  ¹⁰ tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.

[21:9]  sn Mocking. Here Sarah interprets Ishmael’s actions as being sinister. Ishmael probably did not take the younger child seriously and Sarah saw this as a threat to Isaac. Paul in Gal 4:29 says that Ishmael persecuted Isaac. He uses a Greek word that can mean “to put to flight; to chase away; to pursue” and may be drawing on a rabbinic interpretation of the passage. In Paul’s analogical application of the passage, he points out that once the promised child Isaac (symbolizing Christ as the fulfillment of God’s promise) has come, there is no room left for the slave woman and her son (who symbolize the Mosaic law).

[29:15]  ¹¹ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

[29:15]  ¹² tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

[39:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.

[39:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:7]  sn The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife has long been connected with the wisdom warnings about the strange woman who tries to seduce the young man with her boldness and directness (see Prov 5-7, especially 7:6-27). This is part of the literary background of the story of Joseph that gives it a wisdom flavor. See G. von Rad, God at Work in Israel, 19-35; and G. W. Coats, “The Joseph Story and Ancient Wisdom: A Reappraisal,” CBQ 35 (1973): 285-97.