Kejadian 6:13

6:13 So God said ¹  to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, ²  for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy ³  them and the earth.

Kejadian 11:4

11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens ⁴  so that ⁵  we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise ⁶  we will be scattered ⁷  across the face of the entire earth.”

Kejadian 34:7

34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ⁸  They ⁹  were offended ¹⁰  and very angry because Shechem ¹¹  had disgraced Israel ¹²  by sexually assaulting ¹³  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ¹⁴ 

Kejadian 36:7

36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled ¹⁵  was not able to support them because of their livestock.

Kejadian 37:14

37:14 So Jacob ¹⁶  said to him, “Go now and check on ¹⁷  the welfare ¹⁸  of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob ¹⁹  sent him from the valley of Hebron.

[6:13]  ¹ sn On the divine style utilized here, see R. Lapointe, “The Divine Monologue as a Channel of Revelation,” CBQ 32 (1970): 161-81.

[6:13]  ² tn Heb “the end of all flesh is coming [or “has come”] before me.” (The verb form is either a perfect or a participle.) The phrase “end of all flesh” occurs only here. The term “end” refers here to the end of “life,” as v. 3 and the following context (which describes how God destroys all flesh) make clear. The statement “the end has come” occurs in Ezek 7:2, 6, where it is used of divine judgment. The phrase “come before” occurs in Exod 28:30, 35; 34:34; Lev 15:14; Num 27:17; 1 Sam 18:13, 16; 2 Sam 19:8; 20:8; 1 Kgs 1:23, 28, 32; Ezek 46:9; Pss 79:11 (groans come before God); 88:3 (a prayer comes before God); 100:2; 119:170 (prayer comes before God); Lam 1:22 (evil doing comes before God); Esth 1:19; 8:1; 9:25; 1 Chr 16:29. The expression often means “have an audience with” or “appear before.” But when used metaphorically, it can mean “get the attention of” or “prompt a response.” This is probably the sense in Gen 6:13. The necessity of ending the life of all flesh on earth is an issue that has gotten the attention of God. The term “end” may even be a metonymy for that which has prompted it – violence (see the following clause).

[6:13]  ³ tn The participle, especially after הִנֵּה (hinneh) has an imminent future nuance. The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) here has the sense “to destroy” (in judgment). Note the wordplay involving this verb in vv. 11-13: The earth is “ruined” because all flesh has acted in a morally “corrupt” manner. Consequently, God will “destroy” all flesh (the referent of the suffix “them”) along with the ruined earth. They had ruined themselves and the earth with violence, and now God would ruin them with judgment. For other cases where “earth” occurs as the object of the Hiphil of שָׁחָת, see 1 Sam 6:5; 1 Chr 20:1; Jer 36:29; 51:25.

[11:4]  ⁴ tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.

[11:4]  ⁵ tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.

[11:4]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”

[11:4]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.

[34:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.

[34:7]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.

[34:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ¹² tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”

[34:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.

[34:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.

[36:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “land of their settlements.”

[37:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “see.”

[37:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “peace.”

[37:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.