Kejadian 3:14

3:14 The Lord God said to the serpent, ¹ 

“Because you have done this,

cursed ²  are you above all the wild beasts

and all the living creatures of the field!

On your belly you will crawl ³ 

and dust you will eat ⁴  all the days of your life.

Kejadian 20:6

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ⁵  That is why I have kept you ⁶  from sinning against me and why ⁷  I did not allow you to touch her.

Kejadian 32:10

32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ⁸  you have shown ⁹  your servant. With only my walking stick ¹⁰  I crossed the Jordan, ¹¹  but now I have become two camps.

Kejadian 43:16

43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.”

[3:14]  ¹ sn Note that God asks no question of the serpent, does not call for confession, as he did to the man and the woman; there is only the announcement of the curse. The order in this section is chiastic: The man is questioned, the woman is questioned, the serpent is cursed, sentence is passed on the woman, sentence is passed on the man.

[3:14]  ² tn The Hebrew word translated “cursed,” a passive participle from אָרָר (’arar), either means “punished” or “banished,” depending on how one interprets the following preposition. If the preposition is taken as comparative, then the idea is “cursed [i.e., punished] are you above [i.e., more than] all the wild beasts.” In this case the comparative preposition reflects the earlier comparison: The serpent was more shrewd than all others, and so more cursed than all others. If the preposition is taken as separative (see the note on the word “ground” in 4:11), then the idea is “cursed and banished from all the wild beasts.” In this case the serpent is condemned to isolation from all the other animals.

[3:14]  ³ tn Heb “go”; “walk,” but in English “crawl” or “slither” better describes a serpent’s movement.

[3:14]  ⁴ sn Dust you will eat. Being restricted to crawling on the ground would necessarily involve “eating dust,” although that is not the diet of the serpent. The idea of being brought low, of “eating dust” as it were, is a symbol of humiliation.

[20:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

[20:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

[20:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “therefore.”

[32:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

[32:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “you have done with.”

[32:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.

[32:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “this Jordan.”