5:1 This is the record 1 of the family line 2 of Adam.
When God created humankind, 3 he made them 4 in the likeness of God. 5:2 He created them male and female; when they were created, he blessed them and named them “humankind.” 5
5:3 When 6 Adam had lived 130 years he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and he named him Seth. 5:4 The length of time Adam lived 7 after he became the father of Seth was 800 years; during this time he had 8 other 9 sons and daughters. 5:5 The entire lifetime 10 of Adam was 930 years, and then he died. 11
5:6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father 12 of Enosh. 5:7 Seth lived 807 years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had 13 other 14 sons and daughters. 5:8 The entire lifetime of Seth was 912 years, and then he died.
5:9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 5:10 Enosh lived 815 years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:11 The entire lifetime of Enosh was 905 years, and then he died.
5:12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 5:13 Kenan lived 840 years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:14 The entire lifetime of Kenan was 910 years, and then he died.
5:15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 5:16 Mahalalel lived 830 years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:17 The entire lifetime of Mahalalel was 895 years, and then he died.
5:18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 5:19 Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:20 The entire lifetime of Jared was 962 years, and then he died.
5:21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 5:22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 15 for 300 years, 16 and he had other 17 sons and daughters. 5:23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 5:24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared 18 because God took 19 him away.
5:25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 5:26 Methuselah lived 782 years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other 20 sons and daughters. 5:27 The entire lifetime of Methuselah was 969 years, and then he died.
5:28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 5:29 He named him Noah, 21 saying, “This one will bring us comfort 22 from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.” 5:30 Lamech lived 595 years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other 23 sons and daughters. 5:31 The entire lifetime of Lamech was 777 years, and then he died.
5:32 After Noah was 500 years old, he 24 became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
16:1 Now Sarai, 25 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 26 but she had an Egyptian servant 27 named Hagar. 28 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 29 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 30 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 31 Abram did what 32 Sarai told him.
16:7 The Lord’s angel 33 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 34 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 35 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 36 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 37 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 38 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 39 pregnant
and are about to give birth 40 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 41
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 42
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 43 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 44
and everyone will be hostile to him. 45
He will live away from 46 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 47 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 48 16:14 That is why the well was called 49 Beer Lahai Roi. 50 (It is located 51 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 52
28:16 Then Jacob woke up 57 and thought, 58 “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!”
1 tn Heb “book” or “roll.” Cf. NIV “written account”; NRSV “list.”
2 tn Heb “generations.” See the note on the phrase “this is the account of” in 2:4.
3 tn The Hebrew text has אָדָם (’adam).
4 tn Heb “him.” The Hebrew text uses the third masculine singular pronominal suffix on the accusative sign. The pronoun agrees grammatically with its antecedent אָדָם (’adam). However, the next verse makes it clear that אָדָם is collective here and refers to “humankind,” so it is preferable to translate the pronoun with the English plural.
5 tn The Hebrew word used here is אָדָם (’adam).
6 tn Heb “and Adam lived 130 years.” In the translation the verb is subordinated to the following verb, “and he fathered,” and rendered as a temporal clause.
7 tn Heb “The days of Adam.”
8 tn Heb “he fathered.”
9 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “all the days of Adam which he lived”
11 sn The genealogy traces the line from Adam to Noah and forms a bridge between the earlier accounts and the flood story. Its constant theme of the reign of death in the human race is broken once with the account of Enoch, but the genealogy ends with hope for the future through Noah. See further G. F. Hasel, “The Genealogies of Gen. 5 and 11 and their Alleged Babylonian Background,” AUSS 16 (1978): 361-74; idem, “Genesis 5 and 11,” Origins 7 (1980): 23-37.
12 tn Heb “he fathered.”
13 tn Heb “he fathered.”
14 tn Here and in vv. 10, 13, 16, 19 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
15 sn With the seventh panel there is a digression from the pattern. Instead of simply saying that Enoch lived, the text observes that he “walked with God.” The rare expression “walked with” (the Hitpael form of the verb הָלָךְ, halakh, “to walk” collocated with the preposition אֶת, ’et, “with”) is used in 1 Sam 25:15 to describe how David’s men maintained a cordial and cooperative relationship with Nabal’s men as they worked and lived side by side in the fields. In Gen 5:22 the phrase suggests that Enoch and God “got along.” This may imply that Enoch lived in close fellowship with God, leading a life of devotion and piety. An early Jewish tradition, preserved in 1 En. 1:9 and alluded to in Jude 14, says that Enoch preached about the coming judgment. See F. S. Parnham, “Walking with God,” EvQ 46 (1974): 117-18.
16 tn Heb “and Enoch walked with God, after he became the father of Methuselah, [for] 300 years.”
17 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
18 tn The Hebrew construction has the negative particle אֵין (’en, “there is not,” “there was not”) with a pronominal suffix, “he was not.” Instead of saying that Enoch died, the text says he no longer was present.
19 sn The text simply states that God took Enoch. Similar language is used of Elijah’s departure from this world (see 2 Kgs 2:10). The text implies that God overruled death for this man who walked with him.
20 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
21 sn The name Noah appears to be related to the Hebrew word נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”). There are several wordplays on the name “Noah” in the story of the flood.
22 tn The Hebrew verb יְנַחֲמֵנוּ (yÿnakhamenu) is from the root נָחָם (nakham), which means “to comfort” in the Piel verbal stem. The letters נ (nun) and ח (heth) pick up the sounds in the name “Noah,” forming a paronomasia on the name. They are not from the same verbal root, and so the connection is only by sound. Lamech’s sentiment reflects the oppression of living under the curse on the ground, but also expresses the hope for relief in some way through the birth of Noah. His words proved to be ironic but prophetic. The relief would come with a new beginning after the flood. See E. G. Kraeling, “The Interpretations of the Name Noah in Genesis 5:29,” JBL 48 (1929): 138-43.
23 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
24 tn Heb “Noah.” The pronoun (“he”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
25 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
26 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.
27 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
28 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.)
29 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
30 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
31 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
32 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
33 tn Heb “the messenger of the
34 tn Heb “And the angel of the
35 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
36 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.
37 tn Heb “The
38 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
39 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
40 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
41 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.”
42 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
43 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.
44 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.
45 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
46 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).
47 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”).
48 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
49 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
50 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.
51 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
52 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
53 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
54 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
55 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
56 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
57 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
58 tn Heb “said.”