Kejadian 4:9

4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” ¹  And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” ² 

Kejadian 4:24

4:24 If Cain is to be avenged seven times as much,

then Lamech seventy-seven times!” ³ 

Kejadian 6:20

6:20 Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive. ⁴ 

Kejadian 13:8

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. ⁵ 

Kejadian 17:14

17:14 Any uncircumcised male ⁶  who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off ⁷  from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” ⁸ 

Kejadian 31:26

31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ⁹  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ¹⁰ 

Kejadian 31:30

31:30 Now I understand that ¹¹  you have gone away ¹²  because you longed desperately ¹³  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ¹⁴ 

Kejadian 45:28

45:28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.”

[4:9]  ¹ sn Where is Abel your brother? Again the Lord confronts a guilty sinner with a rhetorical question (see Gen 3:9-13), asking for an explanation of what has happened.

[4:9]  ² tn Heb “The one guarding my brother [am] I?”

[4:9]  sn Am I my brother’s guardian? Cain lies and then responds with a defiant rhetorical question of his own in which he repudiates any responsibility for his brother. But his question is ironic, for he is responsible for his brother’s fate, especially if he wanted to kill him. See P. A. Riemann, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” Int 24 (1970): 482-91.

[4:24]  ³ sn Seventy-seven times. Lamech seems to reason this way: If Cain, a murderer, is to be avenged seven times (see v. 15), then how much more one who has been unjustly wronged! Lamech misses the point of God’s merciful treatment of Cain. God was not establishing a principle of justice when he warned he would avenge Cain’s murder. In fact he was trying to limit the shedding of blood, something Lamech wants to multiply instead. The use of “seventy-seven,” a multiple of seven, is hyperbolic, emphasizing the extreme severity of the vengeance envisioned by Lamech.

[6:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “to keep alive.”

[13:8]  ⁵ 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.

[17:14]  ⁶ tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.

[17:14]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.

[31:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).

[31:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”

[31:30]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[31:30]  ¹² tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.

[31:30]  ¹³ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.

[31:30]  ¹⁴ sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.