14:1 At that time 1 Amraphel king of Shinar, 2 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 3 14:2 went to war 4 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). 5 14:3 These last five kings 6 joined forces 7 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 8 14:4 For twelve years 9 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 10 they rebelled. 11 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 12 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. 13 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 14 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 15 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 16 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 17 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 18 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 19 but some survivors 20 fled to the hills. 21 14:11 The four victorious kings 22 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 23 Lot and his possessions when 24 they left, for Lot 25 was living in Sodom. 26
14:13 A fugitive 27 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 28 Now Abram was living by the oaks 29 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 30 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 31 with Abram.) 32 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 33 had been taken captive, he mobilized 34 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 35 as far as Dan. 36 14:15 Then, during the night, 37 Abram 38 divided his forces 39 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 40 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 41 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 42 the people.
14:17 After Abram 43 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 44 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 45 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 46 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 47 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 48 the Most High God,
Creator 49 of heaven and earth. 50
14:20 Worthy of praise is 51 the Most High God,
who delivered 52 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 53 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 54 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 55 14:23 that I will take nothing 56 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 57 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 58 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 59 As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about 60 in the orchard at the breezy time 61 of the day, and they hid 62 from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard.
20:18 All the people were seeing 63 the thundering and the lightning, and heard 64 the sound of the horn, and saw 65 the mountain smoking – and when 66 the people saw it they trembled with fear 67 and kept their distance. 68
20:2 “I, 69 the Lord, am your God, 70 who brought you 71 from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 72
13:1 73 The Lord spoke 74 to Moses:
24:1 75 But to Moses the Lord 76 said, “Come up 77 to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. 78
1:12 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right then, 79 everything he has is 80 in your power. 81 Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!” 82 So Satan went out 83 from the presence of the Lord. 84
2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted 85 Job with a malignant ulcer 86 from the sole of his feet to the top of his head. 87
20:17 He will not look on the streams, 88
the rivers, which are the torrents 89
of honey and butter. 90
5:11 But may all who take shelter 91 in you be happy! 92
May they continually 93 shout for joy! 94
Shelter them 95 so that those who are loyal to you 96 may rejoice! 97
68:2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away. 98
As wax melts before fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
52:3 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger when he drove them out of his sight. 102 Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
13:1 Now 110 there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 111
1 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”
2 sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
3 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”).
4 tn Heb “made war.”
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
9 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
10 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.
11 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.
12 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.
13 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 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.”
15 tn Heb “against.”
16 tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.
17 tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
18 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.”
19 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).
20 tn Heb “the rest.”
21 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.
22 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
23 tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
24 tn Heb “and.”
25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
27 tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
28 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).
29 tn Or “terebinths.”
30 tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
31 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.
32 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.
33 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).
34 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.
35 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
36 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.
37 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
38 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
39 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
40 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
41 tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
42 tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
43 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
44 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
45 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
46 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
47 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
48 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
49 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.”
50 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
51 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.
52 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.
53 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
54 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.”
55 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
56 tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the
57 tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
58 tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
59 tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
60 tn The Hitpael participle of הָלָךְ (halakh, “to walk, to go”) here has an iterative sense, “moving” or “going about.” While a translation of “walking about” is possible, it assumes a theophany, the presence of the
61 tn The expression is traditionally rendered “cool of the day,” because the Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruakh) can mean “wind.” U. Cassuto (Genesis: From Adam to Noah, 152-54) concludes after lengthy discussion that the expression refers to afternoon when it became hot and the sun was beginning to decline. J. J. Niehaus (God at Sinai [SOTBT], 155-57) offers a different interpretation of the phrase, relating יוֹם (yom, usually understood as “day”) to an Akkadian cognate umu (“storm”) and translates the phrase “in the wind of the storm.” If Niehaus is correct, then God is not pictured as taking an afternoon stroll through the orchard, but as coming in a powerful windstorm to confront the man and woman with their rebellion. In this case קוֹל יְהוָה (qol yÿhvah, “sound of the
62 tn The verb used here is the Hitpael, giving the reflexive idea (“they hid themselves”). In v. 10, when Adam answers the
63 tn The participle is used here for durative action in the past time (GKC 359 §116.o).
64 tn The verb “to see” (רָאָה, ra’ah) refers to seeing with all the senses, or perceiving. W. C. Kaiser suggests that this is an example of the figure of speech called zeugma because the verb “saw” yokes together two objects, one that suits the verb and the other that does not. So, the verb “heard” is inserted here to clarify (“Exodus,” EBC 2:427).
65 tn The verb “saw” is supplied here because it is expected in English (see the previous note on “heard”).
66 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following clause, which receives the prominence.
67 tn The meaning of נוּעַ (nua’) is “to shake, sway to and fro” in fear. Compare Isa 7:2 – “and his heart shook…as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.”
68 tn Heb “and they stood from/at a distance.”
69 sn The revelation of Yahweh here begins with the personal pronoun. “I” – a person, a living personality, not an object or a mere thought. This enabled him to address “you” – Israel, and all his people, making the binding stipulations for them to conform to his will (B. Jacob, Exodus, 544).
70 tn Most English translations have “I am Yahweh your God.” But the preceding chapters have again and again demonstrated how he made himself known to them. Now, the emphasis is on “I am your God” – and what that would mean in their lives.
71 tn The suffix on the verb is second masculine singular. It is this person that will be used throughout the commandments for the whole nation. God addresses them all as his people, but he addresses them individually for their obedience. The masculine form is not, thereby, intended to exclude women.
72 tn Heb “the house of slaves” meaning “the land of slavery.”
73 sn This next section seems a little confusing at first glance: vv. 1 and 2 call for the dedication of the firstborn, then vv. 3-10 instruct concerning the ritual of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and then vv. 11-16 return to the firstborn. B. Jacob (Exodus, 360) explains that vv. 3-16 contain a sermon, in which Moses “began his speech by reminding the people of the events which had just occurred and how they would be recalled by them in the future,” and then he explained the rulings that went along with it. So the first two verses state the core of the sermon, a new command calling for the redeemed (firstborn) to be sanctified. The second portion stresses that God requires the redeemed to remember their redemption by purifying themselves (3-10). The third section (11-16) develops the theme of dedication to Yahweh. The point is that in view of God’s mighty redemption, the redeemed (represented by the firstborn) must be set apart for Yahweh’s service.
74 tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke.”
75 sn Exod 24 is the high point of the book in many ways, but most importantly, here Yahweh makes a covenant with the people – the Sinaitic Covenant. The unit not only serves to record the event in Israel’s becoming a nation, but it provides a paradigm of the worship of God’s covenant people – entering into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. See additionally W. A. Maier, “The Analysis of Exodus 24 According to Modern Literary, Form, and Redaction Critical Methodology,” Springfielder 37 (1973): 35-52. The passage may be divided into four parts for exposition: vv. 1-2, the call for worship; vv. 3-8, the consecration of the worshipers; vv. 9-11, the confirmation of the covenant; and vv. 12-18, the communication with Yahweh.
76 tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the
77 sn They were to come up to the
78 sn These seventy-four people were to go up the mountain to a certain point. Then they were to prostrate themselves and worship Yahweh as Moses went further up into the presence of Yahweh. Moses occupies the lofty position of mediator (as Christ in the NT), for he alone ascends “to Yahweh” while everyone waits for his return. The emphasis of “bowing down” and that from “far off” stresses again the ominous presence that was on the mountain. This was the holy God – only the designated mediator could draw near to him.
79 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) introduces a foundational clause upon which the following volitional clause is based.
80 tn The versions add a verb here: “delivered to” or “abandoned to” the hand of Satan.
81 tn Heb “in your hand.” The idiom means that it is now Satan’s to do with as he pleases.
82 tn The Hebrew word order emphatically holds out Job’s person as the exception: “only upon him do not stretch forth your hand.”
83 tn The Targum to Job adds “with permission” to show that he was granted leave from God’s presence.
84 sn So Satan, having received his permission to test Job’s sincerity, goes out from the
85 tn The verb is נָכָה (nakhah, “struck, smote”); it can be rendered in this context as “afflicted.”
86 sn The general consensus is that Job was afflicted with a leprosy known as elephantiasis, named because the rough skin and the swollen limbs are animal-like. The Hebrew word שְׁחִין (shÿkhin, “boil”) can indicate an ulcer as well. Leprosy begins with such, but so do other diseases. Leprosy normally begins in the limbs and spreads, but Job was afflicted everywhere at once. It may be some other disease also characterized by such a malignant ulcer. D. J. A. Clines has a thorough bibliography on all the possible diseases linked to this description (Job [WBC], 48). See also HALOT 1460 s.v. שְׁחִין.
87 tn Heb “crown.”
88 tn The word פְּלַגּוֹת (pÿlaggot) simply means “streams” or “channels.” Because the word is used elsewhere for “streams of oil” (cf. 29:6), and that makes a good parallelism here, some supply “oil” (cf. NAB, NLT). But the second colon of the verse is probably in apposition to the first. The verb “see” followed by the preposition bet, “to look on; to look over,” means “to enjoy as a possession,” an activity of the victor.
89 tn The construct nouns here have caused a certain amount of revision. It says “rivers of, torrents of.” The first has been emended by Klostermann to יִצְהָר (yitshar, “oil”) and connected to the first colon. Older editors argued for a נָהָר (nahar) that meant “oil” but that was not convincing. On the other hand, there is support for having more than one construct together serving as apposition (see GKC 422 §130.e). If the word “streams” in the last colon is a construct, that would mean three of them; but that one need not be construct. The reading would be “He will not see the streams, [that is] the rivers [which are] the torrents of honey and butter.” It is unusual, but workable.
90 sn This word is often translated “curds.” It is curdled milk, possibly a type of butter.
91 sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
92 tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer. The psalmist calls on God to reward his faithful followers.
93 tn Or perhaps more hyperbolically, “forever.”
94 tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer.
95 tn Heb “put a cover over them.” The verb form is a Hiphil imperfect from סָכַךְ (sakhakh, “cover, shut off”). The imperfect expresses the psalmist’s wish or request.
96 tn Heb “the lovers of your name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to the Lord. See Pss 69:36; 119:132; Isa 56:6.
97 tn The vav (ו) with prefixed verbal form following the volitional “shelter them” indicates purpose or result (“so that those…may rejoice).
98 tn Heb “as smoke is scattered, you scatter [them].”
99 tn The translation of v. 38 and the first part of v. 39 represents the restructuring of a long and complex Hebrew sentence: Heb “But if you say, ‘The burden of the
100 tc The translation follows a few Hebrew
101 tn Heb “throw you and the city that I gave you and your fathers out of my presence.” The English sentences have been broken down to conform to contemporary English style.
102 tn Heb “Surely (or “for”) because of the anger of the
103 tn Or “made”; Grk “came into existence.”
104 tn Or “made”; Grk “nothing came into existence.”
105 tc There is a major punctuation problem here: Should this relative clause go with v. 3 or v. 4? The earliest
106 tn Or “was made”; Grk “came into existence.”
107 tn Grk “and,” but in context this is an adversative use of καί (kai) and is thus translated “but.”
108 tn Or “know.”
109 sn This term refers to wide streets, and thus suggests the major streets of a city.
110 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
111 sn This is an event that otherwise is unattested, though several events similar to it are noted in Josephus (J. W. 2.9.2-4 [2.169-177]; Ant. 13.13.5 [13.372-73], 18.3.1-2 [18.55-62]; 18.4.1 [18.85-87]). It would have caused a major furor.
112 tn Grk “according to the custom of the priesthood it fell to him by lot.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation to make it clear that the prepositional phrase κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῆς ἱερατείας (kata to eqo" th" Jierateia", “according to the custom of the priesthood”) modifies the phrase “it fell to him by lot” rather than the preceding clause.
113 tn This is an aorist participle and is temporally related to the offering of incense, not to when the lot fell.
114 tn Or “temple.” Such sacrifices, which included the burning of incense, would have occurred in the holy place according to the Mishnah (m. Tamid 1.2; 3.1; 5-7). A priest would have given this sacrifice, which was offered for the nation, once in one’s career. It would be offered either at 9 a.m. or 3 p.m., since it was made twice a day.