Kejadian 1:12

1:12 The land produced vegetation – plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

Kejadian 1:25

1:25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

Kejadian 1:31

1:31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! ¹  There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Kejadian 2:17

2:17 but ²  you must not eat ³  from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when ⁴  you eat from it you will surely die.” ⁵ 

Kejadian 3:5

3:5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open ⁶  and you will be like divine beings who know ⁷  good and evil.” ⁸ 

Kejadian 24:50

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. ⁹  Our wishes are of no concern. ¹⁰ 

Kejadian 26:29

26:29 so that ¹¹  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ¹²  you, but have always treated you well ¹³  before sending you away ¹⁴  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ¹⁵ 

Kejadian 40:16

40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, ¹⁶  he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread ¹⁷  on my head.

Kejadian 45:18

45:18 Get your father and your households and come to me! Then I will give you ¹⁸  the best land in Egypt and you will eat ¹⁹  the best ²⁰  of the land.’

Kejadian 49:15

49:15 When he sees ²¹  a good resting place,

and the pleasant land,

he will bend his shoulder to the burden

and become a slave laborer. ²² 

[1:31]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text again uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) for the sake of vividness. It is a particle that goes with the gesture of pointing, calling attention to something.

[2:17]  ² tn The disjunctive clause here indicates contrast: “but from the tree of the knowledge….”

[2:17]  ³ tn The negated imperfect verb form indicates prohibition, “you must not eat.”

[2:17]  ⁴ tn Or “in the very day, as soon as.” If one understands the expression to have this more precise meaning, then the following narrative presents a problem, for the man does not die physically as soon as he eats from the tree. In this case one may argue that spiritual death is in view. If physical death is in view here, there are two options to explain the following narrative: (1) The following phrase “You will surely die” concerns mortality which ultimately results in death (a natural paraphrase would be, “You will become mortal”), or (2) God mercifully gave man a reprieve, allowing him to live longer than he deserved.

[2:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “dying you will die.” The imperfect verb form here has the nuance of the specific future because it is introduced with the temporal clause, “when you eat…you will die.” That certainty is underscored with the infinitive absolute, “you will surely die.”

[2:17]  sn The Hebrew text (“dying you will die”) does not refer to two aspects of death (“dying spiritually, you will then die physically”). The construction simply emphasizes the certainty of death, however it is defined. Death is essentially separation. To die physically means separation from the land of the living, but not extinction. To die spiritually means to be separated from God. Both occur with sin, although the physical alienation is more gradual than instant, and the spiritual is immediate, although the effects of it continue the separation.

[3:5]  ⁶ tn Or “you will have understanding.” This obviously refers to the acquisition of the “knowledge of good and evil,” as the next statement makes clear.

[3:5]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps “like God, knowing.” It is unclear how the plural participle translated “knowing” is functioning. On the one hand, יֹדְעֵי (yodÿ’e) could be taken as a substantival participle functioning as a predicative adjective in the sentence. In this case one might translate: “You will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil.” On the other hand, it could be taken as an attributive adjective modifying אֱלֹהִים (’elohim). In this case אֱלֹהִים has to be taken as a numerical plural referring to “gods,” “divine beings,” for if the one true God were the intended referent, a singular form of the participle would almost certainly appear as a modifier. Following this line of interpretation, one could translate, “You will be like divine beings who know good and evil.” The following context may favor this translation, for in 3:22 God says to an unidentified group, “Look, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” It is probable that God is addressing his heavenly court (see the note on the word “make” in 1:26), the members of which can be called “gods” or “divine beings” from the ancient Israelite perspective. (We know some of these beings as messengers or “angels.”) An examination of parallel constructions shows that a predicative understanding (“you will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil,” cf. NIV, NRSV) is possible, but rare (see Gen 27:23, where “hairy” is predicative, complementing the verb “to be”). The statistical evidence strongly suggests that the participle is attributive, modifying “divine beings” (see Ps 31:12; Isa 1:30; 13:14; 16:2; 29:5; 58:11; Jer 14:9; 20:9; 23:9; 31:12; 48:41; 49:22; Hos 7:11; Amos 4:11). In all of these texts, where a comparative clause and accompanying adjective/participle follow a copulative (“to be”) verb, the adjective/participle is attributive after the noun in the comparative clause.

[3:5]  ⁸ sn You will be like divine beings who know good and evil. The serpent raises doubts about the integrity of God. He implies that the only reason for the prohibition was that God was protecting the divine domain. If the man and woman were to eat, they would enter into that domain. The temptation is to overstep divinely established boundaries. (See D. E. Gowan, When Man Becomes God [PTMS], 25.)

[24:50]  ⁹ tn Heb “From the Lord the matter has gone out.”

[24:50]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.

[26:29]  ¹¹ tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”

[26:29]  ¹² tn Heb “touched.”

[26:29]  ¹³ tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”

[26:29]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and we sent you away.”

[26:29]  ¹⁵ 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).

[40:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “that [the] interpretation [was] good.” The words “the first dream” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:16]  ¹⁷ tn Or “three wicker baskets.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun חֹרִי (khori, “white bread, cake”) is uncertain; some have suggested the meaning “wicker” instead. Comparison with texts from Ebla suggests the meaning “pastries made with white flour” (M. Dahood, “Eblaite h¬a-rí and Genesis 40,16 h£o„rî,” BN 13 [1980]: 14-16).

[45:18]  ¹⁸ tn After the imperatives in vv. 17-18a, the cohortative with vav indicates result.

[45:18]  ¹⁹ tn After the cohortative the imperative with vav states the ultimate goal.

[45:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fat.”

[49:15]  ²¹ tn The verb forms in this verse (“sees,” “will bend,” and “[will] become”) are preterite; they is used in a rhetorical manner, describing the future as if it had already transpired.

[49:15]  ²² sn The oracle shows that the tribe of Issachar will be willing to trade liberty for the material things of life. Issachar would work (become a slave laborer) for the Canaanites, a reversal of the oracle on Canaan. See C. M. Carmichael, “Some Sayings in Genesis 49,” JBL 88 (1969): 435-44; and S. Gevirtz, “The Issachar Oracle in the Testament of Jacob,” ErIsr 12 (1975): 104-12.