Kejadian 1:2

1:2 Now ¹  the earth ²  was without shape and empty, ³  and darkness ⁴  was over the surface of the watery deep, ⁵  but the Spirit of God ⁶  was moving ⁷  over the surface ⁸  of the water. ⁹ 

Kejadian 8:19

8:19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.

Kejadian 18:27

18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord ¹⁰  (although I am but dust and ashes), ¹¹ 

Kejadian 31:14

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ¹²  in our father’s house?

Kejadian 34:28

34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ¹³ 

Kejadian 39:2

39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful ¹⁴  and lived ¹⁵  in the household of his Egyptian master.

Kejadian 41:44

41:44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission ¹⁶  no one ¹⁷  will move his hand or his foot ¹⁸  in all the land of Egypt.”

Kejadian 42:4

42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, ¹⁹  for he said, ²⁰  “What if some accident ²¹  happens ²²  to him?”

Kejadian 46:1

The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt

46:1 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. ²³  When he came to Beer Sheba ²⁴  he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

[1:2]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) at the beginning of v. 2 gives background information for the following narrative, explaining the state of things when “God said…” (v. 3). Verse one is a title to the chapter, v. 2 provides information about the state of things when God spoke, and v. 3 begins the narrative per se with the typical narrative construction (vav [ו] consecutive followed by the prefixed verbal form). (This literary structure is paralleled in the second portion of the book: Gen 2:4 provides the title or summary of what follows, 2:5-6 use disjunctive clause structures to give background information for the following narrative, and 2:7 begins the narrative with the vav consecutive attached to a prefixed verbal form.) Some translate 1:2a “and the earth became,” arguing that v. 1 describes the original creation of the earth, while v. 2 refers to a judgment that reduced it to a chaotic condition. Verses 3ff. then describe the re-creation of the earth. However, the disjunctive clause at the beginning of v. 2 cannot be translated as if it were relating the next event in a sequence. If v. 2 were sequential to v. 1, the author would have used the vav consecutive followed by a prefixed verbal form and the subject.

[1:2]  ² tn That is, what we now call “the earth.” The creation of the earth as we know it is described in vv. 9-10. Prior to this the substance which became the earth (= dry land) lay dormant under the water.

[1:2]  ³ tn Traditional translations have followed a more literal rendering of “waste and void.” The words describe a condition that is without form and empty. What we now know as “the earth” was actually an unfilled mass covered by water and darkness. Later תֹהוּ (tohu) and בֹּהוּ (bohu), when used in proximity, describe a situation resulting from judgment (Isa 34:11; Jer 4:23). Both prophets may be picturing judgment as the reversal of creation in which God’s judgment causes the world to revert to its primordial condition. This later use of the terms has led some to conclude that Gen 1:2 presupposes the judgment of a prior world, but it is unsound method to read the later application of the imagery (in a context of judgment) back into Gen 1:2.

[1:2]  ⁴ sn Darkness. The Hebrew word simply means “darkness,” but in the Bible it has come to symbolize what opposes God, such as judgment (Exod 10:21), death (Ps 88:13), oppression (Isa 9:1), the wicked (1 Sam 2:9) and in general, sin. In Isa 45:7 it parallels “evil.” It is a fitting cover for the primeval waste, but it prepares the reader for the fact that God is about to reveal himself through his works.

[1:2]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 7:11).

[1:2]  sn The watery deep. In the Babylonian account of creation Marduk killed the goddess Tiamat (the salty sea) and used her carcass to create heaven and earth. The form of the Hebrew word for “deep” is distinct enough from the name “Tiamat” to deny direct borrowing; however, it is possible that there is a polemical stress here. Ancient Israel does not see the ocean as a powerful deity to be destroyed in creation, only a force of nature that can be controlled by God.

[1:2]  ⁶ tn The traditional rendering “Spirit of God” is preserved here, as opposed to a translation like “wind from/breath of God” (cf. NRSV) or “mighty wind” (cf. NEB), taking the word “God” to represent the superlative. Elsewhere in the OT the phrase refers consistently to the divine spirit that empowers and energizes individuals (see Gen 41:38; Exod 31:3; 35:31; Num 24:2; 1 Sam 10:10; 11:6; 19:20, 23; Ezek 11:24; 2 Chr 15:1; 24:20).

[1:2]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb has been translated “hovering” or “moving” (as a bird over her young, see Deut 32:11). The Syriac cognate term means “to brood over; to incubate.” How much of that sense might be attached here is hard to say, but the verb does depict the presence of the Spirit of God moving about mysteriously over the waters, presumably preparing for the acts of creation to follow. If one reads “mighty wind” (cf. NEB) then the verse describes how the powerful wind begins to blow in preparation for the creative act described in vv. 9-10. (God also used a wind to drive back the flood waters in Noah’s day. See Gen 8:1.)

[1:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “face.”

[1:2]  ⁹ sn The water. The text deliberately changes now from the term for the watery deep to the general word for water. The arena is now the life-giving water and not the chaotic abyss-like deep. The change may be merely stylistic, but it may also carry some significance. The deep carries with it the sense of the abyss, chaos, darkness – in short, that which is not good for life.

[18:27]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[18:27]  ¹¹ tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the Lord.

[31:14]  ¹² tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

[34:28]  ¹³ tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”

[39:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).

[39:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he was.”

[41:44]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “apart from you.”

[41:44]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “no man,” but here “man” is generic, referring to people in general.

[41:44]  ¹⁸ tn The idiom “lift up hand or foot” means “take any action” here.

[42:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers.” The disjunctive clause highlights the contrast between Benjamin and the other ten.

[42:4]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) could also be translated “thought” (i.e., “he said to himself”) here, giving Jacob’s reasoning rather than spoken words.

[42:4]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew noun אָסוֹן (’ason) is a rare word meaning “accident, harm.” Apart from its use in these passages it occurs in Exodus 21:22-23 of an accident to a pregnant woman. The term is a rather general one, but Jacob was no doubt thinking of his loss of Joseph.

[42:4]  ²² tn Heb “encounters.”

[46:1]  ²³ tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”

[46:1]  ²⁴ sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.