Kejadian 4:1-7
Konteks4:1 Now 1 the man had marital relations with 2 his wife Eve, and she became pregnant 3 and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created 4 a man just as the Lord did!” 5 4:2 Then she gave birth 6 to his brother Abel. 7 Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. 8
4:3 At the designated time 9 Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering 10 to the Lord. 4:4 But Abel brought 11 some of the firstborn of his flock – even the fattest 12 of them. And the Lord was pleased with 13 Abel and his offering, 4:5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. 14 So Cain became very angry, 15 and his expression was downcast. 16
4:6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 4:7 Is it not true 17 that if you do what is right, you will be fine? 18 But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching 19 at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.” 20
Kejadian 4:1
Konteks4:1 Now 21 the man had marital relations with 22 his wife Eve, and she became pregnant 23 and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created 24 a man just as the Lord did!” 25
Kejadian 10:1--22:24
Konteks10:1 This is the account 26 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 27 were born 28 to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 29 were Gomer, 30 Magog, 31 Madai, 32 Javan, 33 Tubal, 34 Meshech, 35 and Tiras. 36 10:3 The sons of Gomer were 37 Askenaz, 38 Riphath, 39 and Togarmah. 40 10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 41 Tarshish, 42 the Kittim, 43 and the Dodanim. 44 10:5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.
10:6 The sons of Ham were Cush, 45 Mizraim, 46 Put, 47 and Canaan. 48 10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, 49 Havilah, 50 Sabtah, 51 Raamah, 52 and Sabteca. 53 The sons of Raamah were Sheba 54 and Dedan. 55
10:8 Cush was the father of 56 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter 57 before the Lord. 58 (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10:10 The primary regions 59 of his kingdom were Babel, 60 Erech, 61 Akkad, 62 and Calneh 63 in the land of Shinar. 64 10:11 From that land he went 65 to Assyria, 66 where he built Nineveh, 67 Rehoboth-Ir, 68 Calah, 69 10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 70
10:13 Mizraim 71 was the father of 72 the Ludites, 73 Anamites, 74 Lehabites, 75 Naphtuhites, 76 10:14 Pathrusites, 77 Casluhites 78 (from whom the Philistines came), 79 and Caphtorites. 80
10:15 Canaan was the father of 81 Sidon his firstborn, 82 Heth, 83 10:16 the Jebusites, 84 Amorites, 85 Girgashites, 86 10:17 Hivites, 87 Arkites, 88 Sinites, 89 10:18 Arvadites, 90 Zemarites, 91 and Hamathites. 92 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended 93 from Sidon 94 all the way to 95 Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to 96 Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.
10:21 And sons were also born 97 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 98 the father of all the sons of Eber.
10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, 99 Asshur, 100 Arphaxad, 101 Lud, 102 and Aram. 103 10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 104 10:24 Arphaxad was the father of 105 Shelah, 106 and Shelah was the father of Eber. 107 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, 108 and his brother’s name was Joktan. 10:26 Joktan was the father of 109 Almodad, 110 Sheleph, 111 Hazarmaveth, 112 Jerah, 113 10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, 114 Diklah, 115 10:28 Obal, 116 Abimael, 117 Sheba, 118 10:29 Ophir, 119 Havilah, 120 and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 10:30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to 121 Sephar in the eastern hills. 10:31 These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.
10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread 122 over the earth after the flood.
11:1 The whole earth 123 had a common language and a common vocabulary. 124 11:2 When the people 125 moved eastward, 126 they found a plain in Shinar 127 and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, 128 “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” 129 (They had brick instead of stone and tar 130 instead of mortar.) 131 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens 132 so that 133 we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise 134 we will be scattered 135 across the face of the entire earth.”
11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people 136 had started 137 building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language 138 they have begun to do this, then 139 nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 140 11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse 141 their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 142
11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building 143 the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called 144 Babel 145 – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.
11:10 This is the account of Shem.
Shem was 100 old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood. 11:11 And after becoming the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other 146 sons and daughters.
11:12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 11:13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other 147 sons and daughters. 148
11:14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 11:15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other 149 sons and daughters.
11:16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 11:17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 11:19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 11:21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 11:23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 11:25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
11:27 This is the account of Terah.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 11:28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, 150 while his father Terah was still alive. 151 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, 152 and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; 153 she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there. 11:32 The lifetime 154 of Terah was 205 years, and he 155 died in Haran.
12:1 Now the Lord said 156 to Abram, 157
“Go out 158 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 159
12:2 Then I will make you 160 into a great nation, and I will bless you, 161
and I will make your name great, 162
so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 163
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, 164
but the one who treats you lightly 165 I must curse,
and all the families of the earth will bless one another 166 by your name.”
12:4 So Abram left, 167 just as the Lord had told him to do, 168 and Lot went with him. (Now 169 Abram was 75 years old 170 when he departed from Haran.) 12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew 171 Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired 172 in Haran, and they left for 173 the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree 174 of Moreh 175 at Shechem. 176 (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 177 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants 178 I will give this land.” So Abram 179 built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel 180 and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. 181 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages 182 down to the Negev. 183
12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt 184 to stay for a while 185 because the famine was severe. 186 12:11 As he approached 187 Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, 188 I know that you are a beautiful woman. 189 12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 190 12:13 So tell them 191 you are my sister 192 so that it may go well 193 for me because of you and my life will be spared 194 on account of you.”
12:14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 12:15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife 195 was taken 196 into the household of Pharaoh, 197 12:16 and he did treat Abram well 198 on account of her. Abram received 199 sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
12:17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases 200 because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this 201 you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 12:19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her 202 to be my wife? 203 Here is your wife! 204 Take her and go!” 205 12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, 206 and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 207 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 208 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 209 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 210
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 211 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 212 He returned 213 to the place where he had pitched his tent 214 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 215 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 216
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 217 with Abram, also had 218 flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could 219 not support them while they were living side by side. 220 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 221 alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels 222 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 223 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 224
13:8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. 225 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go 226 to the left, then I’ll go to the right, but if you go to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
13:10 Lot looked up and saw 227 the whole region 228 of the Jordan. He noticed 229 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 230 Sodom and Gomorrah) 231 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 232 all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled 233 toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other. 234 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 235 and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now 236 the people 237 of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) 238
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 239 “Look 240 from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. 13:15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants 241 forever. 13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. 242 13:17 Get up and 243 walk throughout 244 the land, 245 for I will give it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 246 by the oaks 247 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
14:1 At that time 248 Amraphel king of Shinar, 249 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 250 14:2 went to war 251 against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 252 14:3 These last five kings 253 joined forces 254 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 255 14:4 For twelve years 256 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 257 they rebelled. 258 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 259 the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. 260 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 261 and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met 262 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 263 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 264 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 265 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 266 but some survivors 267 fled to the hills. 268 14:11 The four victorious kings 269 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 270 Lot and his possessions when 271 they left, for Lot 272 was living in Sodom. 273
14:13 A fugitive 274 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 275 Now Abram was living by the oaks 276 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 277 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 278 with Abram.) 279 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 280 had been taken captive, he mobilized 281 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 282 as far as Dan. 283 14:15 Then, during the night, 284 Abram 285 divided his forces 286 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 287 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 288 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 289 the people.
14:17 After Abram 290 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 291 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 292 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 293 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 294 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 295 the Most High God,
Creator 296 of heaven and earth. 297
14:20 Worthy of praise is 298 the Most High God,
who delivered 299 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 300 a tenth of everything.
14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand 301 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 302 14:23 that I will take nothing 303 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 304 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 305 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 306 As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 307 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 308
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 309 what will you give me since 310 I continue to be 311 childless, and my heir 312 is 313 Eliezer of Damascus?” 314 15:3 Abram added, 315 “Since 316 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 317
15:4 But look, 318 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 319 will not be your heir, 320 but instead 321 a son 322 who comes from your own body will be 323 your heir.” 324 15:5 The Lord 325 took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
15:6 Abram believed 326 the Lord, and the Lord 327 considered his response of faith 328 as proof of genuine loyalty. 329
15:7 The Lord said 330 to him, “I am the Lord 331 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 332 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But 333 Abram 334 said, “O sovereign Lord, 335 by what 336 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 337 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 338 took all these for him and then cut them in two 339 and placed each half opposite the other, 340 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, 341 and great terror overwhelmed him. 342 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 343 that your descendants will be strangers 344 in a foreign country. 345 They will be enslaved and oppressed 346 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 347 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 348 you will go to your ancestors 349 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 350 15:16 In the fourth generation 351 your descendants 352 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 353
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 354 passed between the animal parts. 355 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 356 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 357 this land, from the river of Egypt 358 to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land 359 of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” 360
16:1 Now Sarai, 361 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 362 but she had an Egyptian servant 363 named Hagar. 364 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 365 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 366 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 367 Abram did what 368 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 369 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 370 to her husband to be his wife. 371 16:4 He had sexual relations with 372 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 373 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 374 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 375 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 376 but when she realized 377 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 378 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 379
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 380 servant is under your authority, 381 do to her whatever you think best.” 382 Then Sarai treated Hagar 383 harshly, 384 so she ran away from Sarai. 385
16:7 The Lord’s angel 386 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 387 16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from 388 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 389 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 390 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 391 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 392 pregnant
and are about to give birth 393 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 394
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 395
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 396 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 397
and everyone will be hostile to him. 398
He will live away from 399 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 400 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 401 16:14 That is why the well was called 402 Beer Lahai Roi. 403 (It is located 404 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 405 16:16 (Now 406 Abram was 86 years old 407 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 408
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 409 the Lord appeared to him and said, 410 “I am the sovereign God. 411 Walk 412 before me 413 and be blameless. 414 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 415 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 416
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 417 and God said to him, 418 17:4 “As for me, 419 this 420 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 421 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 422 because I will make you 423 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 424 extremely 425 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 426 17:7 I will confirm 427 my covenant as a perpetual 428 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 429 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 430 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 431 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 432 the covenantal requirement 433 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 434 Every male among you must be circumcised. 435 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 436 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 437 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 438 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 439 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 440 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 441 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 442 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 443
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 444 Sarah 445 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 446 Kings of countries 447 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 448 as he said to himself, 449 “Can 450 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 451 Can Sarah 452 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 453 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 454 Ishmael might live before you!” 455
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 456 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 457 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 458 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 459 He will become the father of twelve princes; 460 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 461
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 462 and circumcised them 463 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 464 when he was circumcised; 465 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 466 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 467 by the oaks 468 of Mamre while 469 he was sitting at the entrance 470 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 471 looked up 472 and saw 473 three men standing across 474 from him. When he saw them 475 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 476 to the ground. 477
18:3 He said, “My lord, 478 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 479 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 480 you may all 481 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 482 a bit of food 483 so that you may refresh yourselves 484 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 485 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 486 three measures 487 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 488 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 489 who quickly prepared it. 490 18:8 Abraham 491 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 492 before them. They ate while 493 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 494 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 495 said, “I will surely return 496 to you when the season comes round again, 497 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 498 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 499 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 500 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 501 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 502 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 503 especially when my husband is old too?” 504
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 505 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 506 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 507 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 508 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 509
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 510 they looked out over 511 Sodom. (Now 512 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 513 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 514 18:18 After all, Abraham 515 will surely become 516 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 517 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 518 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 519 the way of the Lord by doing 520 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 521 to Abraham what he promised 522 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 523 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 524 18:21 that I must go down 525 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 526 If not, 527 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 528 and headed 529 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 530 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 531 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 532 of the whole earth do what is right?” 533
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 534 (although I am but dust and ashes), 535 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 536 the whole city because five are lacking?” 537 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 538 spoke to him again, 539 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 540 said, “May the Lord not be angry 541 so that I may speak! 542 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 543 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 544 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 545 when he had finished speaking 546 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 547
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 548 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 549 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 550 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 551 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 552
19:3 But he urged 553 them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, 554 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 555 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 556 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 557 with them!”
19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 558 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 559 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 560 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 561 of my roof.” 562
19:9 “Out of our way!” 563 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 564 and now he dares to judge us! 565 We’ll do more harm 566 to you than to them!” They kept 567 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 568 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 569 reached out 570 and pulled Lot back into the house 571 as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, 572 with blindness. The men outside 573 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 574 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 575 Do you have 576 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 577 Get them out of this 578 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 579 it. The outcry against this place 580 is so great before the Lord that he 581 has sent us to destroy it.”
19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. 582 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 583 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 584
19:15 At dawn 585 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 586 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 587 19:16 When Lot 588 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 589 They led them away and placed them 590 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 591 said, “Run 592 for your lives! Don’t look 593 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 594 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 595 19:19 Your 596 servant has found favor with you, 597 and you have shown me great 598 kindness 599 by sparing 600 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 601 this disaster will overtake 602 me and I’ll die. 603 19:20 Look, this town 604 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 605 Let me go there. 606 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 607 Then I’ll survive.” 608
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 609 “I will grant this request too 610 and will not overthrow 611 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 612 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 613
19:23 The sun had just risen 614 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 615 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 616 sulfur and fire 617 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 618 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 619 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 620 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 621 wife looked back longingly 622 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 623 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 624 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 625 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 626
19:29 So when God destroyed 627 the cities of the region, 628 God honored 629 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 630 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 631 the cities Lot had lived in.
19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said 632 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 633 to have sexual relations with us, 634 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 635 so we can have sexual relations 636 with him and preserve 637 our family line through our father.” 638
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 639 and the older daughter 640 came and had sexual relations with her father. 641 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 642 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 643 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 644 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 645 19:35 So they made their father drunk 646 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 647 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 648
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 649 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 650 He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. 651 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 652 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 653 in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
20:3 But God appeared 654 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 655 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 656
20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 657 would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 658 20:5 Did Abraham 659 not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 660 ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 661 and with innocent hands!”
20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. 662 That is why I have kept you 663 from sinning against me and why 664 I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed 665 he is a prophet 666 and he will pray for you; thus you will live. 667 But if you don’t give her back, 668 know that you will surely die 669 along with all who belong to you.”
20:8 Early in the morning 670 Abimelech summoned 671 all his servants. When he told them about all these things, 672 they 673 were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 674 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 675 20:10 Then Abimelech asked 676 Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” 677
20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, 678 ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of 679 my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, 680 she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander 681 from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: 682 Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
20:14 So Abimelech gave 683 sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” 684
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 685 to your ‘brother.’ 686 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 687
20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord 688 had caused infertility to strike every woman 689 in the household of Abimelech because he took 690 Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
21:1 The Lord visited 691 Sarah just as he had said he would and did 692 for Sarah what he had promised. 693 21:2 So Sarah became pregnant 694 and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. 695 21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, 696 Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. 697 21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) 698
21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. 699 Everyone who hears about this 700 will laugh 701 with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, 702 “Who would 703 have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared 704 a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 705 21:9 But Sarah noticed 706 the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. 707 21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish 708 that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. 709 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset 710 about the boy or your slave wife. Do 711 all that Sarah is telling 712 you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. 713 21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”
21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 714 some food 715 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 716 and sent her away. So she went wandering 717 aimlessly through the wilderness 718 of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved 719 the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot 720 away; for she thought, 721 “I refuse to watch the child die.” 722 So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. 723
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. 724 The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, 725 Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard 726 the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. 727 She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.
21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. 728 His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 729
21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you 730 in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name 731 that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. 732 Show me, and the land 733 where you are staying, 734 the same loyalty 735 that I have shown you.” 736
21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” 737 21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint 738 against Abimelech concerning a well 739 that Abimelech’s servants had seized. 740 21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, 741 you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”
21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. 742 21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these 743 seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof 744 that I dug this well.” 745 21:31 That is why he named that place 746 Beer Sheba, 747 because the two of them swore 748 an oath there.
21:32 So they made a treaty 749 at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned 750 to the land of the Philistines. 751 21:33 Abraham 752 planted a tamarisk tree 753 in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, 754 the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. 755
22:1 Some time after these things God tested 756 Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham 757 replied. 22:2 God 758 said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac 759 – and go to the land of Moriah! 760 Offer him up there as a burnt offering 761 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to 762 you.”
22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 763 He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out 764 for the place God had spoken to him about.
22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of 765 the place in the distance. 22:5 So he 766 said to his servants, “You two stay 767 here with the donkey while 768 the boy and I go up there. We will worship 769 and then return to you.” 770
22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 771 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 772 “My father?” “What is it, 773 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 774 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide 775 for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 776 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 777 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter 778 his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel 779 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 780 the angel said. 781 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 782 that you fear 783 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
22:13 Abraham looked up 784 and saw 785 behind him 786 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 787 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” 788 It is said to this day, 789 “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” 790
22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ 791 decrees the Lord, 792 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, 793 and I will greatly multiply 794 your descendants 795 so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession 796 of the strongholds 797 of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, 798 all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 799 using the name of your descendants.’”
22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together 800 for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. 801
22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah 802 also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 803 22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now 804 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
[4:1] 1 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.
[4:1] 2 tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
[4:1] 3 tn Or “she conceived.”
[4:1] 4 tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.
[4:1] 5 tn Heb “with the
[4:1] sn Since Exod 6:3 seems to indicate that the name Yahweh (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, translated
[4:2] 6 tn Heb “And she again gave birth.”
[4:2] 7 sn The name Abel is not defined here in the text, but the tone is ominous. Abel’s name, the Hebrew word הֶבֶל (hevel), means “breath, vapor, vanity,” foreshadowing Abel’s untimely and premature death.
[4:2] 8 tn Heb “and Abel was a shepherd of the flock, and Cain was a worker of the ground.” The designations of the two occupations are expressed with active participles, רֹעֵה (ro’eh, “shepherd”) and עֹבֵד (’oved, “worker”). Abel is occupied with sheep, whereas Cain is living under the curse, cultivating the ground.
[4:3] 9 tn Heb “And it happened at the end of days.” The clause indicates the passing of a set period of time leading up to offering sacrifices.
[4:3] 10 tn The Hebrew term מִנְחָה (minkhah, “offering”) is a general word for tribute, a gift, or an offering. It is the main word used in Lev 2 for the dedication offering. This type of offering could be comprised of vegetables. The content of the offering (vegetables, as opposed to animals) was not the critical issue, but rather the attitude of the offerer.
[4:4] 11 tn Heb “But Abel brought, also he….” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) stresses the contrast between Cain’s offering and Abel’s.
[4:4] 12 tn Two prepositional phrases are used to qualify the kind of sacrifice that Abel brought: “from the firstborn” and “from the fattest of them.” These also could be interpreted as a hendiadys: “from the fattest of the firstborn of the flock.” Another option is to understand the second prepositional phrase as referring to the fat portions of the sacrificial sheep. In this case one may translate, “some of the firstborn of his flock, even some of their fat portions” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
[4:4] sn Here are two types of worshipers – one (Cain) merely discharges a duty at the proper time, while the other (Abel) goes out of his way to please God with the first and the best.
[4:4] 13 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁעָה (sha’ah) simply means “to gaze at, to have regard for, to look on with favor [or “with devotion”].” The text does not indicate how this was communicated, but it indicates that Cain and Abel knew immediately. Either there was some manifestation of divine pleasure given to Abel and withheld from Cain (fire consuming the sacrifice?), or there was an inner awareness of divine response.
[4:5] 14 sn The Letter to the Hebrews explains the difference between the brothers as one of faith – Abel by faith offered a better sacrifice. Cain’s offering as well as his reaction to God’s displeasure did not reflect faith. See further B. K. Waltke, “Cain and His Offering,” WTJ 48 (1986): 363-72.
[4:5] 15 tn Heb “and it was hot to Cain.” This Hebrew idiom means that Cain “burned” with anger.
[4:5] 16 tn Heb “And his face fell.” The idiom means that the inner anger is reflected in Cain’s facial expression. The fallen or downcast face expresses anger, dejection, or depression. Conversely, in Num 6 the high priestly blessing speaks of the
[4:7] 17 tn The introduction of the conditional clause with an interrogative particle prods the answer from Cain, as if he should have known this. It is not a condemnation, but an encouragement to do what is right.
[4:7] 18 tn The Hebrew text is difficult, because only one word occurs, שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et), which appears to be the infinitive construct from the verb “to lift up” (נָאָשׂ, na’as). The sentence reads: “If you do well, uplifting.” On the surface it seems to be the opposite of the fallen face. Everything will be changed if he does well. God will show him favor, he will not be angry, and his face will reflect that. But more may be intended since the second half of the verse forms the contrast: “If you do not do well, sin is crouching….” Not doing well leads to sinful attack; doing well leads to victory and God’s blessing.
[4:7] 19 tn The Hebrew term translated “crouching” (רֹבֵץ, rovets) is an active participle. Sin is portrayed with animal imagery here as a beast crouching and ready to pounce (a figure of speech known as zoomorphism). An Akkadian cognate refers to a type of demon; in this case perhaps one could translate, “Sin is the demon at the door” (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 29, 32-33).
[4:7] 20 tn Heb “and toward you [is] its desire, but you must rule over it.” As in Gen 3:16, the Hebrew noun “desire” refers to an urge to control or dominate. Here the desire is that which sin has for Cain, a desire to control for the sake of evil, but Cain must have mastery over it. The imperfect is understood as having an obligatory sense. Another option is to understand it as expressing potential (“you can have [or “are capable of having”] mastery over it.”). It will be a struggle, but sin can be defeated by righteousness. In addition to this connection to Gen 3, other linguistic and thematic links between chaps. 3 and 4 are discussed by A. J. Hauser, “Linguistic and Thematic Links Between Genesis 4:1-6 and Genesis 2–3,” JETS 23 (1980): 297-306.
[4:1] 21 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.
[4:1] 22 tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
[4:1] 23 tn Or “she conceived.”
[4:1] 24 tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.
[4:1] 25 tn Heb “with the
[4:1] sn Since Exod 6:3 seems to indicate that the name Yahweh (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, translated
[10:1] 26 tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (’elle tolÿdot, here translated as “This is the account”) here covers 10:1–11:9, which contains the so-called Table of Nations and the account of how the nations came to be dispersed.
[10:1] 27 sn Sons were born to them. A vertical genealogy such as this encompasses more than the names of sons. The list includes cities, tribes, and even nations. In a loose way, the names in the list have some derivation or connection to the three ancestors.
[10:1] 28 tn It appears that the Table of Nations is a composite of at least two ancient sources: Some sections begin with the phrase “the sons of” (בְּנֵי, bÿne) while other sections use “begot” (יָלָד, yalad). It may very well be that the “sons of” list was an old, “bare bones” list that was retained in the family records, while the “begot” sections were editorial inserts by the writer of Genesis, reflecting his special interests. See A. P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Structure,” BSac 137 (1980): 340-53; idem, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Content,” BSac 138 (1981): 22-34.
[10:2] 29 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
[10:2] 30 sn Gomer was the ancestor of the Cimmerians. For a discussion of the Cimmerians see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 49-61.
[10:2] 31 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
[10:2] 32 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
[10:2] 33 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
[10:2] 34 sn Tubal was the ancestor of militaristic tribes that lived north of the Black Sea. For a discussion of ancient references to Tubal see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
[10:2] 35 sn Meshech was the ancestor of the people known in Assyrian records as the Musku. For a discussion of ancient references to them see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
[10:2] 36 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
[10:3] 37 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
[10:3] 38 sn Askenaz was the ancestor of a northern branch of Indo-Germanic tribes, possibly Scythians. For discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 63.
[10:3] 39 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
[10:3] 40 sn Togarmah is also mentioned in Ezek 38:6, where it refers to Til-garimmu, the capital of Kammanu, which bordered Tabal in eastern Turkey. See E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 26, n. 28.
[10:4] 41 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
[10:4] 42 sn The descendants of Tarshish settled along the southern coast of what is modern Turkey. However, some identify the site Tarshish (see Jonah 1:3) with Sardinia or Spain.
[10:4] 43 sn The name Kittim is associated with Cyprus, as well as coastlands east of Rhodes. It is used in later texts to refer to the Romans.
[10:4] 44 tc Most of the MT
[10:6] 45 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
[10:6] 46 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
[10:6] 47 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
[10:6] 48 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
[10:7] 49 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
[10:7] 50 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
[10:7] 51 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
[10:7] 52 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 53 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
[10:7] 54 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 55 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
[10:8] 56 tn Heb “fathered.” Embedded within Cush’s genealogy is an account of Nimrod, a mighty warrior. There have been many attempts to identify him, but none are convincing.
[10:9] 57 tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).
[10:9] 58 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
[10:10] 59 tn Heb “beginning.” E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 67, suggests “mainstays,” citing Jer 49:35 as another text where the Hebrew noun is so used.
[10:10] 61 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
[10:10] 62 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
[10:10] 63 tn No such place is known in Shinar (i.e., Babylonia). Therefore some have translated the Hebrew term כַלְנֵה (khalneh) as “all of them,” referring to the three previous names (cf. NRSV).
[10:10] 64 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
[10:11] 65 tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.
[10:11] 67 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
[10:11] 68 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
[10:11] 69 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
[10:12] 70 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
[10:13] 71 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
[10:13] 73 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
[10:13] 74 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
[10:13] 75 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
[10:13] 76 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
[10:14] 77 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
[10:14] 78 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
[10:14] 79 tn Several commentators prefer to reverse the order of the words to put this clause after the next word, since the Philistines came from Crete (where the Caphtorites lived). But the table may suggest migration rather than lineage, and the Philistines, like the Israelites, came through the Nile Delta region of Egypt. For further discussion of the origin and migration of the Philistines, see D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 232.
[10:14] 80 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
[10:15] 82 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
[10:15] 83 tn Some see a reference to “Hittites” here (cf. NIV), but this seems unlikely. See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
[10:16] 84 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
[10:16] 85 sn Here Amorites refers to smaller groups of Canaanite inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Palestine, rather than the large waves of Amurru, or western Semites, who migrated to the region.
[10:16] 86 sn The Girgashites are an otherwise unknown Canaanite tribe, though the name is possibly mentioned in Ugaritic texts (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 1:226).
[10:17] 87 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
[10:17] 88 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
[10:17] 89 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
[10:18] 90 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
[10:18] 91 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
[10:18] 92 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
[10:19] 94 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[10:19] 95 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:19] 96 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:21] 97 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
[10:21] 98 tn Or “whose older brother was Japheth.” Some translations render Japheth as the older brother, understanding the adjective הַגָּדוֹל (haggadol, “older”) as modifying Japheth. However, in Hebrew when a masculine singular definite attributive adjective follows the sequence masculine singular construct noun + proper name, the adjective invariably modifies the noun in construct, not the proper name. Such is the case here. See Deut 11:7; Judg 1:13; 2:7; 3:9; 9:5; 2 Kgs 15:35; 2 Chr 27:3; Neh 3:30; Jer 13:9; 36:10; Ezek 10:19; 11:1.
[10:22] 99 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
[10:22] 100 sn Asshur is the name for the Assyrians. Asshur was the region in which Nimrod expanded his power (see v. 11, where the name is also mentioned). When names appear in both sections of a genealogical list, it probably means that there were both Hamites and Shemites living in that region in antiquity, especially if the name is a place name.
[10:22] 101 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
[10:22] 102 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
[10:22] 103 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
[10:23] 104 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
[10:23] sn Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Little is known about these descendants of Aram.
[10:24] 105 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:24] 106 tc The MT reads “Arphaxad fathered Shelah”; the LXX reads “Arphaxad fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered Sala [= Shelah].” The LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
[10:24] 107 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
[10:25] 108 tn The expression “the earth was divided” may refer to dividing the land with canals, but more likely it anticipates the division of languages at Babel (Gen 11). The verb פָּלָג (palag, “separate, divide”) is used in Ps 55:9 for a division of languages.
[10:26] 109 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:26] 110 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
[10:26] 111 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
[10:26] 112 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
[10:26] 113 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
[10:27] 114 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
[10:27] 115 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
[10:28] 116 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
[10:28] 117 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
[10:28] 118 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
[10:29] 119 sn Ophir became the name of a territory in South Arabia. Many of the references to Ophir are connected with gold (e.g., 1 Kgs 9:28, 10:11, 22:48; 1 Chr 29:4; 2 Chr 8:18, 9:10; Job 22:24, 28:16; Ps 45:9; Isa 13:12).
[10:29] 120 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
[10:30] 121 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:32] 122 tn Or “separated.”
[11:1] 123 sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1-9,” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.
[11:1] 124 tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.
[11:2] 125 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:2] 126 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
[11:2] 127 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”
[11:2] sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.
[11:3] 128 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
[11:3] 129 tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbbÿnah lÿvenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisrÿfah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).
[11:3] 130 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
[11:3] 131 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
[11:4] 132 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] 133 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] 134 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
[11:4] 135 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.
[11:5] 136 tn Heb “the sons of man.” The phrase is intended in this polemic to portray the builders as mere mortals, not the lesser deities that the Babylonians claimed built the city.
[11:5] 137 tn The Hebrew text simply has בָּנוּ (banu), but since v. 8 says they left off building the city, an ingressive idea (“had started building”) should be understood here.
[11:6] 138 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
[11:6] 139 tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”
[11:6] 140 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
[11:7] 141 tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the
[11:7] 142 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
[11:8] 143 tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.
[11:9] 144 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
[11:9] 145 sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
[11:11] 146 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 147 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 148 tc The reading of the MT is followed in vv. 11-12; the LXX reads, “And [= when] Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan, Arphaxad lived four hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died. And [= when] Cainan had lived one hundred and thirty years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah]. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah], Cainan lived three hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died.” See also the note on “Shelah” in Gen 10:24; the LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
[11:15] 149 tn Here and in vv. 16, 19, 21, 23, 25 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:28] 150 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
[11:28] 151 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
[11:29] 152 sn The name Sarai (a variant spelling of “Sarah”) means “princess” (or “lady”). Sharratu was the name of the wife of the moon god Sin. The original name may reflect the culture out of which the patriarch was called, for the family did worship other gods in Mesopotamia.
[11:29] 153 sn The name Milcah means “Queen.” But more to the point here is the fact that Malkatu was a title for Ishtar, the daughter of the moon god. If the women were named after such titles (and there is no evidence that this was the motivation for naming the girls “Princess” or “Queen”), that would not necessarily imply anything about the faith of the two women themselves.
[11:32] 154 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
[11:32] 155 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:1] 156 sn The
[12:1] 157 tn The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.
[12:1] sn It would be hard to overestimate the value of this call and this divine plan for the theology of the Bible. Here begins God’s plan to bring redemption to the world. The promises to Abram will be turned into a covenant in Gen 15 and 22 (here it is a call with conditional promises) and will then lead through the Bible to the work of the Messiah.
[12:1] 158 tn The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”
[12:1] 159 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
[12:2] 160 tn The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative.
[12:2] 161 sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.
[12:2] 162 tn Or “I will make you famous.”
[12:2] 163 tn Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.
[12:3] 164 tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the
[12:3] 165 tn In this part of God’s statement there are two significant changes that often go unnoticed. First, the parallel and contrasting participle מְקַלֶּלְךָ (mÿqallelkha) is now singular and not plural. All the versions and a few Masoretic
[12:3] 166 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings on”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
[12:4] 167 sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).
[12:4] 168 tn Heb “just as the
[12:4] 169 tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + implied “to be” verb) is parenthetical, telling the age of Abram when he left Haran.
[12:4] 170 tn Heb “was the son of five years and seventy year[s].”
[12:4] sn Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran (Gen 11:26). Terah was 205 when he died in Haran (11:32). Abram left Haran at the age of 75 after his father died. Abram was born when Terah was 130. Abram was not the firstborn – he is placed first in the list of three because of his importance. The same is true of the list in Gen 10:1 (Shem, Ham and Japheth). Ham was the youngest son (9:24). Japheth was the older brother of Shem (10:21), so the birth order of Noah’s sons was Japheth, Shem, and Ham.
[12:5] 171 tn Heb “the son of his brother.”
[12:5] 172 tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.
[12:5] 173 tn Heb “went out to go.”
[12:6] 175 sn The Hebrew word Moreh (מוֹרֶה, moreh) means “teacher.” It may well be that the place of this great oak tree was a Canaanite shrine where instruction took place.
[12:6] 176 tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”
[12:6] 177 tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.
[12:7] 178 tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
[12:7] 179 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:8] 180 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:8] 181 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[12:9] 182 tn The Hebrew verb נָסַע (nasa’) means “to journey”; more specifically it means to pull up the tent and move to another place. The construction here uses the preterite of this verb with its infinitive absolute to stress the activity of traveling. But it also adds the infinitive absolute of הָלַךְ (halakh) to stress that the traveling was continually going on. Thus “Abram journeyed, going and journeying” becomes “Abram continually journeyed by stages.”
[12:9] 183 tn Or “the South [country].”
[12:9] sn Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.
[12:10] 184 sn Abram went down to Egypt. The Abrahamic narrative foreshadows some of the events in the life of the nation of Israel. This sojourn in Egypt is typological of Israel’s bondage there. In both stories there is a famine that forces the family to Egypt, death is a danger to the males while the females are preserved alive, great plagues bring about their departure, there is a summons to stand before Pharaoh, and there is a return to the land of Canaan with great wealth.
[12:10] 185 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” means “to stay for a while.” The “stranger” (traditionally “sojourner”) is one who is a temporary resident, a visitor, one who is passing through. Abram had no intention of settling down in Egypt or owning property. He was only there to wait out the famine.
[12:10] 186 tn Heb “heavy in the land.” The words “in the land,” which also occur at the beginning of the verse in the Hebrew text, have not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:11] 187 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
[12:11] 188 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
[12:11] 189 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
[12:12] 190 tn The Piel of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) means “to keep alive, to preserve alive,” and in some places “to make alive.” See D. Marcus, “The Verb ‘to Live’ in Ugaritic,” JSS 17 (1972): 76-82.
[12:13] 192 sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.
[12:13] 193 tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.
[12:13] 194 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
[12:15] 195 tn Heb “and the woman.” The word also means “wife”; the Hebrew article can express the possessive pronoun (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §86). Here the proper name (Abram) has been used in the translation instead of a possessive pronoun (“his”) for clarity.
[12:15] 196 tn The Hebrew term וַתֻּקַּח (vattuqqakh, “was taken”) is a rare verbal form, an old Qal passive preterite from the verb “to take.” It is pointed as a Hophal would be by the Masoretes, but does not have a Hophal meaning.
[12:15] 197 tn The Hebrew text simply has “house of Pharaoh.” The word “house” refers to the household in general, more specifically to the royal harem.
[12:16] 198 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] 199 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[12:17] 200 tn The cognate accusative adds emphasis to the verbal sentence: “he plagued with great plagues,” meaning the
[12:18] 201 tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[12:19] 202 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive here expresses consequence.
[12:19] 203 tn Heb “to me for a wife.”
[12:19] 204 tn Heb “Look, your wife!”
[12:19] 205 tn Heb “take and go.”
[12:20] 206 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:1] 207 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
[13:1] sn Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.
[13:1] 208 tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”
[13:2] 210 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.
[13:3] 211 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
[13:3] 212 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:3] 213 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:3] 214 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
[13:4] 215 tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).
[13:4] 216 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[13:5] 217 tn Heb “was going.”
[13:5] 218 tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.
[13:6] 219 tn The potential nuance for the perfect tense is necessary here, and supported by the parallel clause that actually uses “to be able.”
[13:6] 220 tn The infinitive construct לָשֶׁבֶת (lashevet, from יָשַׁב, yashav) explains what it was that the land could not support: “the land could not support them to live side by side.” See further J. C. de Moor, “Lexical Remarks Concerning Yahad and Yahdaw,” VT 7 (1957): 350-55.
[13:6] 221 tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.
[13:7] 222 tn The Hebrew term רִיב (riv) means “strife, conflict, quarreling.” In later texts it has the meaning of “legal controversy, dispute.” See B. Gemser, “The rîb – or Controversy – Pattern in Hebrew Mentality,” Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East [VTSup], 120-37.
[13:7] 223 sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.
[13:7] 224 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced with the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), again provides critical information. It tells in part why the land cannot sustain these two bedouins, and it also hints of the danger of weakening the family by inner strife.
[13:8] 225 tn Heb “men, brothers [are] we.” Here “brothers” describes the closeness of the relationship, but could be misunderstood if taken literally, since Abram was Lot’s uncle.
[13:9] 226 tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.
[13:10] 227 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.
[13:10] 228 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
[13:10] 229 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 230 sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).
[13:10] 231 tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 232 sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the
[13:11] 233 tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
[13:11] 234 tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”
[13:11] sn Separated from each other. For a discussion of the significance of this event, see L. R. Helyer, “The Separation of Abram and Lot: Its Significance in the Patriarchal Narratives,” JSOT 26 (1983): 77-88.
[13:12] 235 tn Or “the cities of the plain”; Heb “[the cities of] the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[13:13] 236 tn Here is another significant parenthetical clause in the story, signaled by the vav (וו) disjunctive (translated “now”) on the noun at the beginning of the clause.
[13:13] 237 tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.
[13:13] 238 tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the
[13:14] 239 tn Heb “and the
[13:14] 240 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”
[13:14] sn Look. Earlier Lot “looked up” (v. 10), but here Abram is told by God to do so. The repetition of the expression (Heb “lift up the eyes”) here underscores how the
[13:15] 241 tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”
[13:16] 242 tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.
[13:17] 243 tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.
[13:17] 244 tn The Hitpael form הִתְהַלֵּךְ (hithallekh) means “to walk about”; it also can carry the ideas of moving about, traversing, going back and forth, or living in an area. It here has the connotation of traversing the land to survey it, to look it over.
[13:17] 245 tn Heb “the land to its length and to its breadth.” This phrase has not been included in the translation because it is somewhat redundant (see the note on the word “throughout” in this verse).
[13:18] 246 tn Heb “he came and lived.”
[13:18] 247 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:1] 248 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”
[14:1] 249 sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
[14:1] 250 tn Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. NEB “Goyim”; NIV, NRSV “Goiim”).
[14:2] sn Went to war. The conflict here reflects international warfare in the Early and Middle Bronze periods. The countries operated with overlords and vassals. Kings ruled over city states, or sometimes a number of city states (i.e., nations). Due to their treaties, when one went to war, those confederate with him joined him in battle. It appears here that it is Kedorlaomer’s war, because the western city states have rebelled against him (meaning they did not send products as tribute to keep him from invading them).
[14:2] 252 sn On the geographical background of vv. 1-2 see J. P. Harland, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 1:41-75; and D. N. Freedman, “The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the Cities of the Plain,” BA 41 (1978): 143-64.
[14:3] 253 tn Heb “all these,” referring only to the last five kings named. The referent has been specified as “these last five kings” in the translation for clarity.
[14:3] 254 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to join together; to unite; to be allied.” It stresses close associations, especially of friendships, marriages, or treaties.
[14:3] 255 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
[14:4] 256 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
[14:4] 257 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.
[14:4] 258 sn The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east – to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats – that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.
[14:5] 259 tn The Hebrew verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to attack, to strike, to smite.” In this context it appears that the strike was successful, and so a translation of “defeated” is preferable.
[14:6] 260 sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.
[14:7] 261 tn Heb “they returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh).” The two verbs together form a verbal hendiadys, the first serving as the adverb: “they returned and came” means “they came again.” Most English translations do not treat this as a hendiadys, but translate “they turned back” or something similar. Since in the context, however, “came again to” does not simply refer to travel but an assault against the place, the present translation expresses this as “attacked…again.”
[14:9] 263 tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.
[14:9] 264 tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:10] 265 tn Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.”
[14:10] sn The word for “tar” (or “bitumen”) occurs earlier in the story of the building of the tower in Babylon (see Gen 11:3).
[14:10] 266 tn Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם).
[14:10] 267 tn Heb “the rest.”
[14:10] 268 sn The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.
[14:11] 269 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 270 tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
[14:12] 272 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 273 tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
[14:13] 274 tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
[14:13] 275 sn E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14-16).
[14:13] 276 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:13] 277 tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
[14:13] 278 tn Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.
[14:13] 279 tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.
[14:14] 280 tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).
[14:14] 281 tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.
[14:14] 282 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:14] 283 sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.
[14:15] 284 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
[14:15] 285 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 286 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
[14:15] 287 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
[14:16] 288 tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:16] 289 tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:17] 290 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 291 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 292 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
[14:18] 293 sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the
[14:18] 294 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
[14:18] sn It is his royal priestly status that makes Melchizedek a type of Christ: He was identified with Jerusalem, superior to the ancestor of Israel, and both a king and a priest. Unlike the normal Canaanites, this man served “God Most High” (אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, ’el ’elyon) – one sovereign God, who was the creator of all the universe. Abram had in him a spiritual brother.
[14:19] 295 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
[14:19] 296 tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”
[14:19] 297 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
[14:20] 298 tn Heb “blessed be.” For God to be “blessed” means that is praised. His reputation is enriched in the world as his name is praised.
[14:20] 299 sn Who delivered. The Hebrew verb מִגֵּן (miggen, “delivered”) foreshadows the statement by God to Abram in Gen 15:1, “I am your shield” (מָגֵן, magen). Melchizedek provided a theological interpretation of Abram’s military victory.
[14:20] 300 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:22] 301 tn Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”
[14:22] 302 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:23] 303 tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the
[14:23] 304 tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
[14:24] 305 tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:24] 306 tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
[15:1] 307 sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.
[15:1] 308 tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).
[15:1] sn Abram has just rejected all the spoils of war, and the
[15:2] 309 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
[15:2] 310 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
[15:2] 311 tn Heb “I am going.”
[15:2] 312 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
[15:2] sn For the custom of designating a member of the household as heir, see C. H. Gordon, “Biblical Customs and the Nuzu Tablets,” Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 2:21-33.
[15:2] 313 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
[15:2] 314 sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.
[15:3] 315 tn Heb “And Abram said.”
[15:3] 316 tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).
[15:3] 317 tn Heb “is inheriting me.”
[15:4] 318 tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.
[15:4] 319 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
[15:4] 320 tn Heb “inherit you.”
[15:4] 321 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
[15:4] 322 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:4] 323 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
[15:4] 324 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
[15:5] 325 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 326 tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50-98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.
[15:6] 327 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 328 tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440-41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him – [namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259-89.
[15:6] 329 tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12-13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962).
[15:6] sn This episode is basic to the NT teaching of Paul on justification (Romans 4). Paul weaves this passage and Psalm 32 together, for both use this word. Paul explains that for the one who believes in the
[15:7] 330 tn Heb “And he said.”
[15:7] 331 sn I am the
[15:7] 332 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
[15:8] 333 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
[15:8] 334 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:8] 335 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
[15:9] 337 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
[15:10] 338 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:10] 339 tn Heb “in the middle.”
[15:10] 340 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
[15:10] sn For discussion of this ritual see G. F. Hasel, “The Meaning of the Animal Rite in Genesis 15,” JSOT 19 (1981): 61-78.
[15:12] 341 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
[15:12] 342 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
[15:13] 343 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
[15:13] 344 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
[15:13] 345 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
[15:13] 346 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
[15:14] 347 tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
[15:15] 348 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
[15:15] 349 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
[15:15] 350 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
[15:16] 351 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
[15:16] 352 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[15:16] 353 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
[15:16] sn The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit. The justice of God is apparent. He will wait until the Amorites are fully deserving of judgment before he annihilates them and gives the land to Israel.
[15:17] 354 sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).
[15:17] 355 tn Heb “these pieces.”
[15:18] 356 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[15:18] 357 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
[15:18] sn To your descendants I give this land. The
[15:18] 358 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
[15:19] 359 tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:21] 360 tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.
[16:1] 361 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
[16:1] 362 sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.
[16:1] 363 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
[16:1] 364 sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)
[16:2] 365 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
[16:2] 366 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
[16:2] sn The Hebrew expression translated have sexual relations with does not convey the intimacy of other expressions, such as “so and so knew his wife.” Sarai simply sees this as the social custom of having a child through a surrogate. For further discussion see C. F. Fensham, “The Son of a Handmaid in Northwest Semitic,” VT 19 (1969): 312-21.
[16:2] 367 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
[16:2] 368 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
[16:2] sn Abram did what Sarai told him. This expression was first used in Gen 3:17 of Adam’s obeying his wife. In both cases the text highlights weak faith and how it jeopardized the plan of God.
[16:3] 369 tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.
[16:3] 370 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
[16:3] 371 sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.
[16:4] 372 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.
[16:4] 373 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)
[16:4] 374 tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.
[16:5] 375 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
[16:5] 376 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
[16:5] 378 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.
[16:5] 379 tn Heb “me and you.”
[16:5] sn May the
[16:6] 380 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
[16:6] 381 tn Heb “in your hand.”
[16:6] 382 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
[16:6] 383 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:6] 384 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
[16:6] 385 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:7] 386 tn Heb “the messenger of the
[16:7] 387 tn Heb “And the angel of the
[16:8] 388 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
[16:9] 389 tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.
[16:10] 390 tn Heb “The
[16:10] 391 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
[16:11] 392 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
[16:11] 393 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
[16:11] 394 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”
[16:11] 395 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
[16:11] sn This clause gives the explanation of the name Ishmael, using a wordplay. Ishmael’s name will be a reminder that “God hears” Hagar’s painful cries.
[16:12] 396 sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.
[16:12] 397 tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.
[16:12] 398 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
[16:12] 399 tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).
[16:13] 400 tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).
[16:13] 401 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
[16:13] sn For a discussion of Hagar’s exclamation, see T. Booij, “Hagar’s Words in Genesis 16:13b,” VT 30 (1980): 1-7.
[16:14] 402 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
[16:14] 403 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.
[16:14] 404 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:15] 405 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
[16:15] sn Whom Abram named Ishmael. Hagar must have informed Abram of what the angel had told her. See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
[16:16] 406 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.
[16:16] 407 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”
[16:16] 408 tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.
[17:1] 409 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:1] 410 tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
[17:1] 411 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew
[17:1] 412 tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”
[17:1] 413 tn Or “in my presence.”
[17:1] 414 tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the
[17:2] 415 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
[17:2] 416 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:3] 417 tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.
[17:3] 418 tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:4] 420 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
[17:5] 421 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
[17:5] 422 sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.
[17:5] 423 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
[17:6] 424 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
[17:6] 425 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:6] 426 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
[17:7] 427 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).
[17:7] 428 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:7] 429 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
[17:8] 430 tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.
[17:8] 431 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:9] 432 tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.
[17:9] 433 tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.
[17:10] 434 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
[17:10] 435 sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.
[17:12] 437 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
[17:13] 438 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
[17:13] 439 tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:13] 440 tn Or “an eternal.”
[17:14] 441 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
[17:14] 442 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:14] sn The meaning of “cut off” has been discussed at great length. An entire tractate in the Mishnah is devoted to this subject (tractate Keritot). Being ostracized from the community is involved at the least, but it is not certain whether this refers to the death penalty.
[17:14] 443 tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:15] 444 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
[17:15] 445 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
[17:16] 446 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
[17:17] 448 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
[17:17] 449 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
[17:17] 450 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
[17:17] 451 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
[17:17] 452 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
[17:17] 453 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
[17:18] 454 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
[17:18] 455 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
[17:19] 456 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
[17:19] 457 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:20] 458 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
[17:20] 459 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:20] 460 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
[17:22] 461 tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:22] sn God went up from him. The text draws attention to God’s dramatic exit and in so doing brings full closure to the scene.
[17:23] 462 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
[17:23] 463 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
[17:24] 464 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:24] 465 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
[17:25] 466 tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”
[18:1] 467 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:1] 468 tn Or “terebinths.”
[18:1] 469 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
[18:1] 470 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
[18:2] 471 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:2] 472 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
[18:2] 473 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
[18:2] 474 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
[18:2] 475 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:2] 476 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
[18:2] 477 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
[18:3] 478 tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the
[18:3] 479 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
[18:4] 480 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
[18:4] 481 tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.
[18:5] 482 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
[18:5] 483 tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.
[18:5] 484 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
[18:5] 485 tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”
[18:6] 486 tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.
[18:6] 487 sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.
[18:6] 488 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
[18:7] 489 tn Heb “the young man.”
[18:7] 490 tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”
[18:8] 491 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:8] 492 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:8] 493 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
[18:9] 494 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
[18:10] 495 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
[18:10] 496 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
[18:10] sn I will surely return. If Abraham had not yet figured out who this was, this interchange would have made it clear. Otherwise, how would a return visit from this man mean Sarah would have a son?
[18:10] 497 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
[18:10] 498 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
[18:10] 499 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
[18:11] 501 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
[18:12] 503 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.
[18:12] 504 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[18:13] 505 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
[18:13] 506 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
[18:14] 507 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
[18:14] 508 sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the
[18:15] 509 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
[18:16] 510 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
[18:16] 511 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
[18:16] 512 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
[18:16] 513 tn The Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to lead out, to send out, to expel”; here it is used in the friendly sense of seeing the visitors on their way.
[18:17] 514 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
[18:18] 515 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”
[18:18] 516 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
[18:18] 517 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings upon”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
[18:19] 518 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
[18:19] 519 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
[18:19] 520 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
[18:19] 521 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
[18:19] 522 tn Heb “spoke to.”
[18:20] 523 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
[18:21] 525 tn The cohortative indicates the
[18:21] sn I must go down. The descent to “see” Sodom is a bold anthropomorphism, stressing the careful judgment of God. The language is reminiscent of the
[18:21] 526 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
[18:21] 527 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
[18:22] 528 tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the
[18:22] 530 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
[18:24] 531 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
[18:25] 533 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
[18:27] 534 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[18:27] 535 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
[18:28] 536 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
[18:28] 537 tn Heb “because of five.”
[18:29] 538 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 539 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
[18:30] 540 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:30] 541 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
[18:30] 542 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
[18:31] 543 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:32] 544 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:33] 545 tn Heb “And the
[18:33] 546 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
[18:33] 547 tn Heb “to his place.”
[19:1] 548 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
[19:1] 549 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
[19:1] sn The expression sitting in the city’s gateway may mean that Lot was exercising some type of judicial function (see the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 19:8; Jer 26:10; 38:7; 39:3).
[19:2] 550 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
[19:2] 551 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
[19:2] 552 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
[19:3] 553 tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.
[19:4] 554 tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.
[19:4] 555 tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.
[19:5] 556 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[19:5] 557 tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.
[19:5] sn The sin of the men of Sodom is debated. The fact that the sin involved a sexual act (see note on the phrase “have sex” in 19:5) precludes an association of the sin with inhospitality as is sometimes asserted (see W. Roth, “What of Sodom and Gomorrah? Homosexual Acts in the Old Testament,” Explor 1 [1974]: 7-14). The text at a minimum condemns forced sexual intercourse, i.e., rape. Other considerations, though, point to a condemnation of homosexual acts more generally. The narrator emphasizes the fact that the men of Sodom wanted to have sex with men: They demand that Lot release the angelic messengers (seen as men) to them for sex, and when Lot offers his daughters as a substitute they refuse them and attempt to take the angelic messengers by force. In addition the wider context of the Pentateuch condemns homosexual acts as sin (see, e.g., Lev 18:22). Thus a reading of this text within its narrative context, both immediate and broad, condemns not only the attempted rape but also the attempted homosexual act.
[19:7] 558 tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”
[19:8] 559 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[19:8] 560 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
[19:8] 562 sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.
[19:9] 563 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
[19:9] 564 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
[19:9] 565 tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”
[19:9] 566 tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.
[19:9] 567 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
[19:9] 568 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
[19:10] 569 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[19:10] 570 tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[19:10] 571 tn Heb “to them into the house.”
[19:11] 572 tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”
[19:11] 573 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:12] 574 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[19:12] 575 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
[19:12] 576 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:12] 577 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
[19:12] 578 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
[19:13] 579 tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
[19:13] 580 tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:13] 581 tn Heb “the
[19:14] 582 sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.
[19:14] 583 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
[19:14] 584 tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.
[19:15] 585 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
[19:15] 586 tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.
[19:15] 587 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
[19:16] 588 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:16] 589 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
[19:16] 590 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).
[19:17] 591 tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.
[19:17] 593 tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.
[19:17] 594 tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:18] 595 tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[19:19] 596 tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.
[19:19] 597 tn Heb “in your eyes.”
[19:19] 598 tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
[19:19] 599 sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.
[19:19] 600 tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
[19:19] 602 tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.
[19:19] 603 tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.
[19:20] 604 tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”
[19:20] 605 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
[19:20] 606 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
[19:20] 607 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
[19:20] 608 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
[19:21] 609 tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the
[19:21] 610 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”
[19:21] 611 tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).
[19:22] 612 tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.
[19:22] 613 tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).
[19:23] 614 sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).
[19:23] 615 tn The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.
[19:24] 616 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
[19:24] 617 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
[19:24] 618 tn Heb “from the
[19:24] sn The text explicitly states that the sulfur and fire that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah was sent down from the sky by the
[19:25] 619 tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:25] 620 tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”
[19:26] 621 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:26] 622 tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).
[19:26] sn Longingly. Lot’s wife apparently identified with the doomed city and thereby showed lack of respect for God’s provision of salvation. She, like her daughters later, had allowed her thinking to be influenced by the culture of Sodom.
[19:27] 623 tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:28] 624 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
[19:28] 625 tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:28] 626 tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”
[19:28] sn It is hard to imagine what was going on in Abraham’s mind, but this brief section in the narrative enables the reader to think about the human response to the judgment. Abraham had family in that area. He had rescued those people from the invasion. That was why he interceded. Yet he surely knew how wicked they were. That was why he got the number down to ten when he negotiated with God to save the city. But now he must have wondered, “What was the point?”
[19:29] 627 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
[19:29] 628 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:29] 629 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
[19:29] sn God showed Abraham special consideration because of the covenantal relationship he had established with the patriarch. Yet the reader knows that God delivered the “righteous” (Lot’s designation in 2 Pet 2:7) before destroying their world – which is what he will do again at the end of the age.
[19:29] 630 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
[19:29] 631 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
[19:31] 632 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
[19:31] 633 tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.
[19:31] 634 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
[19:32] 635 tn Heb “drink wine.”
[19:32] 636 tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.
[19:32] 637 tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.
[19:32] 638 tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
[19:32] sn For a discussion of the cultural background of the daughters’ desire to preserve our family line see F. C. Fensham, “The Obliteration of the Family as Motif in the Near Eastern Literature,” AION 10 (1969): 191-99.
[19:33] 639 tn Heb “drink wine.”
[19:33] 640 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
[19:33] 641 tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.
[19:33] 642 tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”
[19:34] 643 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
[19:34] 644 tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”
[19:34] 645 tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
[19:35] 646 tn Heb “drink wine.”
[19:35] 647 tn Heb “lied down with him.”
[19:35] 648 tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”
[19:37] 649 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
[19:37] 650 sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.
[19:38] 651 sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.
[20:1] 652 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
[20:1] sn Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.
[20:1] 653 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
[20:3] 655 tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.
[20:3] 656 tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.
[20:4] 657 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[20:4] 658 tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.
[20:5] 659 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:5] 660 tn Heb “and she, even she.”
[20:5] 661 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
[20:6] 662 tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”
[20:6] 663 tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”
[20:6] 664 tn Heb “therefore.”
[20:7] 665 tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.
[20:7] 666 sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.
[20:7] 667 tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.
[20:7] sn He will pray for you that you may live. Abraham was known as a man of God whose prayer would be effectual. Ironically and sadly, he was also known as a liar.
[20:7] 668 tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.
[20:7] 669 tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.
[20:8] 670 tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”
[20:8] 671 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”
[20:8] 672 tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”
[20:8] 673 tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[20:9] 674 tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.
[20:9] 675 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
[20:10] 676 tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”
[20:10] 677 tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.
[20:11] 678 tn Heb “Because I said.”
[20:11] 679 tn Heb “over the matter of.”
[20:12] 680 tn Heb “but also.”
[20:13] 681 tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”
[20:13] 682 tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”
[20:14] 683 tn Heb “took and gave.”
[20:15] 684 tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”
[20:16] 685 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).
[20:16] 686 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).
[20:16] 687 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).
[20:18] 688 tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”
[20:18] 689 tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[20:18] sn The
[20:18] 690 tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[21:1] 691 sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the
[21:1] 692 tn Heb “and the
[21:2] 694 tn Or “she conceived.”
[21:3] 695 tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.
[21:4] 696 tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.
[21:4] 697 sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the
[21:5] 698 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).
[21:6] 699 tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”
[21:6] 700 tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[21:6] 701 sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).
[21:7] 703 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
[21:8] 705 sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.
[21:9] 707 tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.
[21:9] sn Mocking. Here Sarah interprets Ishmael’s actions as being sinister. Ishmael probably did not take the younger child seriously and Sarah saw this as a threat to Isaac. Paul in Gal 4:29 says that Ishmael persecuted Isaac. He uses a Greek word that can mean “to put to flight; to chase away; to pursue” and may be drawing on a rabbinic interpretation of the passage. In Paul’s analogical application of the passage, he points out that once the promised child Isaac (symbolizing Christ as the fulfillment of God’s promise) has come, there is no room left for the slave woman and her son (who symbolize the Mosaic law).
[21:10] 708 tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.
[21:11] 709 tn Heb “and the word was very wrong in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.” The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) often refers to what is morally or ethically “evil.” It usage here suggests that Abraham thought Sarah’s demand was ethically (and perhaps legally) wrong.
[21:12] 710 tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”
[21:12] 711 tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.
[21:12] 712 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.
[21:12] 713 tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.
[21:14] 714 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
[21:14] 715 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
[21:14] 716 tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”
[21:14] 717 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
[21:14] 718 tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.
[21:15] 719 tn Heb “threw,” but the child, who was now thirteen years old, would not have been carried, let alone thrown under a bush. The exaggerated language suggests Ishmael is limp from dehydration and is being abandoned to die. See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 2:85.
[21:16] 720 sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).
[21:16] 722 tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.
[21:16] 723 tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.
[21:17] 724 sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the
[21:17] 725 tn Heb “What to you?”
[21:17] 726 sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.
[21:19] 727 tn Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:21] 728 sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.
[21:21] 729 tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”
[21:22] 730 sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.
[21:23] 731 tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”
[21:23] 732 tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”
[21:23] 733 tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.
[21:23] 734 tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.
[21:23] 736 tn Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”
[21:24] 737 tn Heb “I swear.” No object is specified in the Hebrew text, but the content of the oath requested by Abimelech is the implied object.
[21:25] 738 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to argue; to dispute”; it can focus on the beginning of the dispute (as here), the dispute itself, or the resolution of a dispute (Isa 1:18). Apparently the complaint was lodged before the actual oath was taken.
[21:25] 739 tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”
[21:25] 740 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.
[21:26] 741 tn Heb “and also.”
[21:27] 742 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[21:29] 743 tn Heb “What are these?”
[21:30] 744 tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”
[21:30] 745 sn This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for the well he dug. It would be useless to make a treaty to live in this territory if he had no rights to the water. Abraham consented to the treaty, but added his rider to it.
[21:31] 746 tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”
[21:31] 747 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.” Both the verb “to swear” and the number “seven” have been used throughout the account. Now they are drawn in as part of the explanation of the significance of the name.
[21:31] 748 sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.
[21:32] 749 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[21:32] 750 tn Heb “arose and returned.”
[21:32] 751 sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.
[21:33] 752 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:33] 753 sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.
[21:33] 754 tn Heb “he called there in the name of the
[21:34] 755 tn Heb “many days.”
[22:1] 756 sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.
[22:1] 757 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 758 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 759 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
[22:2] 760 sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
[22:2] 761 sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.
[22:2] 762 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
[22:3] 763 tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”
[22:3] 764 tn Heb “he arose and he went.”
[22:4] 765 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”
[22:5] 766 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
[22:5] 767 tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.
[22:5] 768 tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.
[22:5] 769 tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”
[22:5] 770 sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.
[22:6] 771 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
[22:7] 772 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[22:7] 773 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
[22:7] 774 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:8] 775 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
[22:8] sn God will provide is the central theme of the passage and the turning point in the story. Note Paul’s allusion to the story in Rom 8:32 (“how shall he not freely give us all things?”) as well as H. J. Schoeps, “The Sacrifice of Isaac in Paul’s Theology,” JBL 65 (1946): 385-92.
[22:9] 776 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
[22:9] 777 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
[22:10] 778 tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”
[22:11] 779 sn Heb “the messenger of the
[22:12] 780 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
[22:12] 781 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:12] 782 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
[22:12] 783 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
[22:13] 784 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
[22:13] 785 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
[22:13] 786 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
[22:13] 787 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:14] 788 tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.
[22:14] 789 sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
[22:14] 790 sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.
[22:16] 791 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
[22:16] 792 tn Heb “the oracle of the
[22:17] 793 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.
[22:17] 794 tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).
[22:17] sn I will greatly multiply. The
[22:17] 795 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
[22:17] 797 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).
[22:18] 798 tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.
[22:18] sn Because you have obeyed me. Abraham’s obedience brought God’s ratification of the earlier conditional promise (see Gen 12:2).
[22:18] 799 tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
[22:19] 800 tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”
[22:19] 801 tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.
[22:20] 802 tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.
[22:21] 803 sn This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.
[22:23] 804 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).
