Kejadian 2:8

2:8 The Lord God planted an orchard ¹  in the east, ²  in Eden; ³  and there he placed the man he had formed. ⁴ 

Kejadian 12:16

12:16 and he did treat Abram well ⁵  on account of her. Abram received ⁶  sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

Kejadian 33:2

33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ⁷ 

Kejadian 43:14

43:14 May the sovereign God ⁸  grant you mercy before the man so that he may release ⁹  your other brother ¹⁰  and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” ¹¹ 

[2:8]  ¹ tn Traditionally “garden,” but the subsequent description of this “garden” makes it clear that it is an orchard of fruit trees.

[2:8]  sn The Lord God planted an orchard. Nothing is said of how the creation of this orchard took place. A harmonization with chap. 1 might lead to the conclusion that it was by decree, prior to the creation of human life. But the narrative sequence here in chap. 2 suggests the creation of the garden followed the creation of the man. Note also the past perfect use of the perfect in the relative clause in the following verse.

[2:8]  ² tn Heb “from the east” or “off east.”

[2:8]  sn One would assume this is east from the perspective of the land of Israel, particularly since the rivers in the area are identified as the rivers in those eastern regions.

[2:8]  ³ sn The name Eden (עֵדֶן, ’eden) means “pleasure” in Hebrew.

[2:8]  ⁴ tn The perfect verbal form here requires the past perfect translation since it describes an event that preceded the event described in the main clause.

[12:16]  ⁵ sn He did treat Abram well. The construction of the parenthetical disjunctive clause, beginning with the conjunction on the prepositional phrase, draws attention to the irony of the story. Abram wanted Sarai to lie “so that it would go well” with him. Though he lost Sarai to Pharaoh, it did go well for him – he received a lavish bride price. See also G. W. Coats, “Despoiling the Egyptians,” VT 18 (1968): 450-57.

[12:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “and there was to him.”

[33:2]  ⁷ sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.

[43:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[43:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “release to you.” After the jussive this perfect verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) probably indicates logical consequence, as well as temporal sequence.

[43:14]  ¹⁰ sn Several Jewish commentators suggest that the expression your other brother refers to Joseph. This would mean that Jacob prophesied unwittingly. However, it is much more likely that Simeon is the referent of the phrase “your other brother” (see Gen 42:24).

[43:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “if I am bereaved I am bereaved.” With this fatalistic sounding statement Jacob resolves himself to the possibility of losing both Benjamin and Simeon.