Kejadian 4:15

4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, ¹  if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” ²  Then the Lord put a special mark ³  on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. ⁴ 

Kejadian 24:14

24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ ⁵  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ⁶ 

Kejadian 29:25

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ⁷  So Jacob ⁸  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ⁹  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ¹⁰  me?”

Kejadian 31:43

31:43 Laban replied ¹¹  to Jacob, “These women ¹²  are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, ¹³  and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today ¹⁴  or the children to whom they have given birth?

[4:15]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) in this context carries the sense of “Okay,” or “in that case then I will do this.”

[4:15]  ² sn The symbolic number seven is used here to emphasize that the offender will receive severe punishment. For other rhetorical and hyperbolic uses of the expression “seven times over,” see Pss 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.

[4:15]  ³ tn Heb “sign”; “reminder.” The term “sign” is not used in the translation because it might imply to an English reader that God hung a sign on Cain. The text does not identify what the “sign” was. It must have been some outward, visual reminder of Cain’s special protected status.

[4:15]  ⁴ sn God becomes Cain’s protector. Here is common grace – Cain and his community will live on under God’s care, but without salvation.

[24:14]  ⁵ sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.

[24:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”

[29:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[29:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ⁹ tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”

[29:25]  ¹⁰ sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.

[31:43]  ¹¹ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[31:43]  ¹² tn Heb “daughters.”

[31:43]  ¹³ tn Heb “children.”

[31:43]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”