7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. 1 7:2 You must take with you seven 2 of every kind of clean animal, 3 the male and its mate, 4 two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 7:3 and also seven 5 of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, 6 to preserve their offspring 7 on the face of the earth. 7:4 For in seven days 8 I will cause it to rain 9 on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”
7:5 And Noah did all 10 that the Lord commanded him.
7:6 Noah 11 was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed 12 the earth. 7:7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because 13 of the floodwaters. 7:8 Pairs 14 of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground, 7:9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah, 15 just as God had commanded him. 16 7:10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth. 17
7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month – on that day all the fountains of the great deep 18 burst open and the floodgates of the heavens 19 were opened. 7:12 And the rain fell 20 on the earth forty days and forty nights.
7:13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives. 21 7:14 They entered, 22 along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. 23 7:15 Pairs 24 of all creatures 25 that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 7:16 Those that entered were male and female, 26 just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.
7:17 The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 7:18 The waters completely overwhelmed 27 the earth, and the ark floated 28 on the surface of the waters. 7:19 The waters completely inundated 29 the earth so that even 30 all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 7:20 The waters rose more than twenty feet 31 above the mountains. 32 7:21 And all living things 33 that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 7:22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life 34 in its nostrils died. 7:23 So the Lord 35 destroyed 36 every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. 37 They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. 38 7:24 The waters prevailed over 39 the earth for 150 days.
8:1 But God remembered 40 Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over 41 the earth and the waters receded. 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed, 42 and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 8:3 The waters kept receding steadily 43 from the earth, so that they 44 had gone down 45 by the end of the 150 days. 8:4 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat. 46 8:5 The waters kept on receding 47 until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible. 48
8:6 At the end of forty days, 49 Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 50 8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying 51 back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.
8:8 Then Noah 52 sent out a dove 53 to see if the waters had receded 54 from the surface of the ground. 8:9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered 55 the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah 56 in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, 57 and brought it back into the ark. 58 8:10 He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. 8:11 When 59 the dove returned to him in the evening, there was 60 a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak! Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 8:12 He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, 61 but it did not return to him this time. 62
8:13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year, 63 in the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that 64 the surface of the ground was dry. 8:14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth 65 was dry.
8:15 Then God spoke to Noah and said, 8:16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 8:17 Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you. Bring out 66 every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase 67 and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!” 68
8:18 Noah went out along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. 8:19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.
8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 69 8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma 70 and said 71 to himself, 72 “I will never again curse 73 the ground because of humankind, even though 74 the inclination of their minds 75 is evil from childhood on. 76 I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.
8:22 “While the earth continues to exist, 77
planting time 78 and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
and day and night will not cease.”
9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 9:2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. 79 Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. 80 9:3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. 81 As I gave you 82 the green plants, I now give 83 you everything.
9:4 But 84 you must not eat meat 85 with its life (that is, 86 its blood) in it. 87 9:5 For your lifeblood 88 I will surely exact punishment, 89 from 90 every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person 91 I will exact punishment for the life of the individual 92 since the man was his relative. 93
9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, 94
by other humans 95
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image 96
God 97 has made humankind.”
9:7 But as for you, 98 be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
9:8 God said to Noah and his sons, 99 9:9 “Look! I now confirm 100 my covenant with you and your descendants after you 101 9:10 and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you – every living creature of the earth. 102 9:11 I confirm 103 my covenant with you: Never again will all living things 104 be wiped out 105 by the waters of a flood; 106 never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee 107 of the covenant I am making 108 with you 109 and every living creature with you, a covenant 110 for all subsequent 111 generations: 9:13 I will place 112 my rainbow 113 in the clouds, and it will become 114 a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 9:14 Whenever 115 I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you 116 and with all living creatures of all kinds. 117 Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy 118 all living things. 119 9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember 120 the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”
9:17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things 121 that are on the earth.”
9:18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Now Ham was the father of Canaan.) 122 9:19 These were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated. 123
9:20 Noah, a man of the soil, 124 began to plant a vineyard. 125 9:21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself 126 inside his tent. 9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, 127 saw his father’s nakedness 128 and told his two brothers who were outside. 9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment 129 and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned 130 the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.
9:24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor 131 he learned 132 what his youngest son had done 133 to him. 9:25 So he said,
“Cursed 134 be Canaan! 135
The lowest of slaves 136
he will be to his brothers.”
9:26 He also said,
“Worthy of praise is 137 the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem! 138
9:27 May God enlarge Japheth’s territory and numbers! 139
May he live 140 in the tents of Shem
and may Canaan be his slave!”
9:28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 9:29 The entire lifetime of Noah was 950 years, and then he died.
10:1 This is the account 141 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 142 were born 143 to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 144 were Gomer, 145 Magog, 146 Madai, 147 Javan, 148 Tubal, 149 Meshech, 150 and Tiras. 151 10:3 The sons of Gomer were 152 Askenaz, 153 Riphath, 154 and Togarmah. 155 10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 156 Tarshish, 157 the Kittim, 158 and the Dodanim. 159 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, 160 Mizraim, 161 Put, 162 and Canaan. 163 10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, 164 Havilah, 165 Sabtah, 166 Raamah, 167 and Sabteca. 168 The sons of Raamah were Sheba 169 and Dedan. 170
10:8 Cush was the father of 171 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter 172 before the Lord. 173 (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10:10 The primary regions 174 of his kingdom were Babel, 175 Erech, 176 Akkad, 177 and Calneh 178 in the land of Shinar. 179 10:11 From that land he went 180 to Assyria, 181 where he built Nineveh, 182 Rehoboth-Ir, 183 Calah, 184 10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 185
10:13 Mizraim 186 was the father of 187 the Ludites, 188 Anamites, 189 Lehabites, 190 Naphtuhites, 191 10:14 Pathrusites, 192 Casluhites 193 (from whom the Philistines came), 194 and Caphtorites. 195
10:15 Canaan was the father of 196 Sidon his firstborn, 197 Heth, 198 10:16 the Jebusites, 199 Amorites, 200 Girgashites, 201 10:17 Hivites, 202 Arkites, 203 Sinites, 204 10:18 Arvadites, 205 Zemarites, 206 and Hamathites. 207 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended 208 from Sidon 209 all the way to 210 Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to 211 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 212 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 213 the father of all the sons of Eber.
10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, 214 Asshur, 215 Arphaxad, 216 Lud, 217 and Aram. 218 10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 219 10:24 Arphaxad was the father of 220 Shelah, 221 and Shelah was the father of Eber. 222 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, 223 and his brother’s name was Joktan. 10:26 Joktan was the father of 224 Almodad, 225 Sheleph, 226 Hazarmaveth, 227 Jerah, 228 10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, 229 Diklah, 230 10:28 Obal, 231 Abimael, 232 Sheba, 233 10:29 Ophir, 234 Havilah, 235 and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 10:30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to 236 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 237 over the earth after the flood.
11:1 The whole earth 238 had a common language and a common vocabulary. 239 11:2 When the people 240 moved eastward, 241 they found a plain in Shinar 242 and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, 243 “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” 244 (They had brick instead of stone and tar 245 instead of mortar.) 246 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens 247 so that 248 we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise 249 we will be scattered 250 across the face of the entire earth.”
11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people 251 had started 252 building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language 253 they have begun to do this, then 254 nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 255 11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse 256 their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 257
11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building 258 the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called 259 Babel 260 – 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 261 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 262 sons and daughters. 263
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 264 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, 265 while his father Terah was still alive. 266 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, 267 and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; 268 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 269 of Terah was 205 years, and he 270 died in Haran.
12:1 Now the Lord said 271 to Abram, 272
“Go out 273 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 274
12:2 Then I will make you 275 into a great nation, and I will bless you, 276
and I will make your name great, 277
so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 278
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, 279
but the one who treats you lightly 280 I must curse,
and all the families of the earth will bless one another 281 by your name.”
12:4 So Abram left, 282 just as the Lord had told him to do, 283 and Lot went with him. (Now 284 Abram was 75 years old 285 when he departed from Haran.) 12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew 286 Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired 287 in Haran, and they left for 288 the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree 289 of Moreh 290 at Shechem. 291 (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 292 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants 293 I will give this land.” So Abram 294 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 295 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. 296 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages 297 down to the Negev. 298
12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt 299 to stay for a while 300 because the famine was severe. 301 12:11 As he approached 302 Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, 303 I know that you are a beautiful woman. 304 12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 305 12:13 So tell them 306 you are my sister 307 so that it may go well 308 for me because of you and my life will be spared 309 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 310 was taken 311 into the household of Pharaoh, 312 12:16 and he did treat Abram well 313 on account of her. Abram received 314 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 315 because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this 316 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 317 to be my wife? 318 Here is your wife! 319 Take her and go!” 320 12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, 321 and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 322 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 323 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 324 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 325
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 326 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 327 He returned 328 to the place where he had pitched his tent 329 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 330 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 331
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 332 with Abram, also had 333 flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could 334 not support them while they were living side by side. 335 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 336 alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels 337 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 338 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 339
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. 340 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go 341 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 342 the whole region 343 of the Jordan. He noticed 344 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 345 Sodom and Gomorrah) 346 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 347 all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled 348 toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other. 349 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 350 and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now 351 the people 352 of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) 353
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 354 “Look 355 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 356 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. 357 13:17 Get up and 358 walk throughout 359 the land, 360 for I will give it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 361 by the oaks 362 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
14:1 At that time 363 Amraphel king of Shinar, 364 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 365 14:2 went to war 366 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). 367 14:3 These last five kings 368 joined forces 369 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 370 14:4 For twelve years 371 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 372 they rebelled. 373 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 374 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. 375 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 376 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 377 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 378 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 379 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 380 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 381 but some survivors 382 fled to the hills. 383 14:11 The four victorious kings 384 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 385 Lot and his possessions when 386 they left, for Lot 387 was living in Sodom. 388
14:13 A fugitive 389 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 390 Now Abram was living by the oaks 391 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 392 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 393 with Abram.) 394 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 395 had been taken captive, he mobilized 396 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 397 as far as Dan. 398 14:15 Then, during the night, 399 Abram 400 divided his forces 401 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 402 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 403 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 404 the people.
14:17 After Abram 405 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 406 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 407 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 408 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 409 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 410 the Most High God,
Creator 411 of heaven and earth. 412
14:20 Worthy of praise is 413 the Most High God,
who delivered 414 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 415 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 416 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 417 14:23 that I will take nothing 418 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 419 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 420 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 421 As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
6:6 Now the one who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with the one who teaches 428 it.
6:1 Brothers and sisters, 429 if a person 430 is discovered in some sin, 431 you who are spiritual 432 restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. 433 Pay close attention 434 to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.
2:6 But from those who were influential 435 (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people 436 ) – those influential leaders 437 added 438 nothing to my message. 439
3:1 You 450 foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell 451 on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed 452 as crucified!
1 tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.
2 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
3 sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.
4 tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.
5 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
6 tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).
7 tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”
8 tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”
9 tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.
10 tn Heb “according to all.”
11 tn Heb “Now Noah was.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate nominative after implied “to be” verb) provides background information. The age of Noah receives prominence.
12 tn Heb “and the flood was water upon.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial/temporal in relation to the preceding clause. The verb הָיָה (hayah) here carries the nuance “to come” (BDB 225 s.v. הָיָה). In this context the phrase “come upon” means “to engulf.”
13 tn The preposition מִן (min) is causal here, explaining why Noah and his family entered the ark.
14 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
15 tn The Hebrew text of vv. 8-9a reads, “From the clean animal[s] and from the animal[s] which are not clean and from the bird[s] and everything that creeps on the ground, two two they came to Noah to the ark, male and female.”
16 tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17 tn Heb “came upon.”
18 tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 1:2).
19 sn On the prescientific view of the sky reflected here, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 46.
20 tn Heb “was.”
21 tn Heb “On that very day Noah entered, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah, and the three wives of his sons with him into the ark.”
22 tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
23 tn Heb “every bird, every wing.”
24 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
25 tn Heb “flesh.”
26 tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”
27 tn Heb “and the waters were great and multiplied exceedingly.” The first verb in the sequence is וַיִּגְבְּרוּ (vayyigbÿru, from גָּבַר, gavar), meaning “to become great, mighty.” The waters did not merely rise; they “prevailed” over the earth, overwhelming it.
28 tn Heb “went.”
29 tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters.
30 tn Heb “and.”
31 tn Heb “rose fifteen cubits.” Since a cubit is considered by most authorities to be about eighteen inches, this would make the depth 22.5 feet. This figure might give the modern reader a false impression of exactness, however, so in the translation the phrase “fifteen cubits” has been rendered “more than twenty feet.”
32 tn Heb “the waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward and they covered the mountains.” Obviously, a flood of twenty feet did not cover the mountains; the statement must mean the flood rose about twenty feet above the highest mountain.
33 tn Heb “flesh.”
34 tn Heb “everything which [has] the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils from all which is in the dry land.”
35 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
36 tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).
37 tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”
38 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁאָר (sha’ar) means “to be left over; to survive” in the Niphal verb stem. It is the word used in later biblical texts for the remnant that escapes judgment. See G. F. Hasel, “Semantic Values of Derivatives of the Hebrew Root só’r,” AUSS 11 (1973): 152-69.
39 sn The Hebrew verb translated “prevailed over” suggests that the waters were stronger than the earth. The earth and everything in it were no match for the return of the chaotic deep.
40 tn The Hebrew word translated “remembered” often carries the sense of acting in accordance with what is remembered, i.e., fulfilling covenant promises (see B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel [SBT], especially p. 34).
41 tn Heb “to pass over.”
42 tn Some (e.g., NIV) translate the preterite verb forms in this verse as past perfects (e.g., “had been closed”), for it seems likely that the sources of the water would have stopped before the waters receded.
43 tn The construction combines a Qal preterite from שׁוּב (shuv) with its infinitive absolute to indicate continuous action. The infinitive absolute from הָלָךְ (halakh) is included for emphasis: “the waters returned…going and returning.”
44 tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
45 tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.
46 tn Heb “on the mountains of Ararat.” Obviously a boat (even one as large as the ark) cannot rest on multiple mountains. Perhaps (1) the preposition should be translated “among,” or (2) the plural “mountains” should be understood in the sense of “mountain range” (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 53). A more probable option (3) is that the plural indicates an indefinite singular, translated “one of the mountains” (see GKC 400 §124.o).
47 tn Heb “the waters were going and lessening.” The perfect verb form הָיָה (hayah) is used as an auxiliary verb with the infinitive absolute חָסוֹר (khasor, “lessening”), while the infinitive absolute הָלוֹךְ (halokh) indicates continuous action.
48 tn Or “could be seen.”
49 tn The introductory verbal form וַיְהִי (vayÿhi), traditionally rendered “and it came to pass,” serves as a temporal indicator and has not been translated here.
50 tn Heb “opened the window in the ark which he had made.” The perfect tense (“had made”) refers to action preceding the opening of the window, and is therefore rendered as a past perfect. Since in English “had made” could refer to either the ark or the window, the order of the phrases was reversed in the translation to clarify that the window is the referent.
51 tn Heb “and it went out, going out and returning.” The Hebrew verb יָצָא (yatsa’), translated here “flying,” is modified by two infinitives absolute indicating that the raven went back and forth.
52 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
53 tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
54 tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.
55 tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
56 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
57 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
58 tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”
59 tn The clause introduced by vav (ו) consecutive is translated as a temporal clause subordinated to the following clause.
60 tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to the olive leaf. It invites readers to enter into the story, as it were, and look at the olive leaf with their own eyes.
61 tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
62 tn Heb “it did not again return to him still.” For a study of this section of the flood narrative, see W. O. E. Oesterley, “The Dove with the Olive Leaf (Gen VIII 8–11),” ExpTim 18 (1906/07): 377-78.
63 tn Heb In the six hundred and first year.” Since this refers to the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, the word “Noah’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
64 tn Heb “and saw and look.” As in v. 11, the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites readers to enter into the story, as it were, and look at the dry ground with their own eyes.
65 tn In v. 13 the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, ha’adamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, ha’arets) is dry.
66 tn The words “bring out” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
67 tn Following the Hiphil imperative, “bring out,” the three perfect verb forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry an imperatival nuance. For a discussion of the Hebrew construction here and the difficulty of translating it into English, see S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 124-25.
68 tn Heb “and let them swarm in the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
69 sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the
70 tn The
71 tn Heb “and the
72 tn Heb “in his heart.”
73 tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.
74 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.
75 tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”
76 tn Heb “from his youth.”
77 tn Heb “yet all the days of the earth.” The idea is “[while there are] yet all the days of the earth,” meaning, “as long as the earth exists.”
78 tn Heb “seed,” which stands here by metonymy for the time when seed is planted.
79 tn Heb “and fear of you and dread of you will be upon every living creature of the earth and upon every bird of the sky.” The suffixes on the nouns “fear” and “dread” are objective genitives. The animals will fear humans from this time forward.
80 tn Heb “into your hand are given.” The “hand” signifies power. To say the animals have been given into the hands of humans means humans have been given authority over them.
81 tn Heb “every moving thing that lives for you will be for food.”
82 tn The words “I gave you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
83 tn The perfect verb form describes the action that accompanies the declaration.
84 tn Heb “only.”
85 tn Or “flesh.”
86 tn Heb “its life, its blood.” The second word is in apposition to the first, explaining what is meant by “its life.” Since the blood is equated with life, meat that had the blood in it was not to be eaten.
87 tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
88 tn Again the text uses apposition to clarify what kind of blood is being discussed: “your blood, [that is] for your life.” See C. L. Dewar, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 4 (1953): 204-8.
89 tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The verb דָּרָשׁ (darash) means “to require, to seek, to ask for, to exact.” Here it means that God will exact punishment for the taking of a life. See R. Mawdsley, “Capital Punishment in Gen. 9:6,” CentBib 18 (1975): 20-25.
90 tn Heb “from the hand of,” which means “out of the hand of” or “out of the power of” and is nearly identical in sense to the preposition מִן (min) alone.
91 tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.
92 tn Heb “of the man.”
93 tn Heb “from the hand of a man, his brother.” The point is that God will require the blood of someone who kills, since the person killed is a relative (“brother”) of the killer. The language reflects Noah’s situation (after the flood everyone would be part of Noah’s extended family), but also supports the concept of the brotherhood of humankind. According to the Genesis account the entire human race descended from Noah.
94 tn Heb “the blood of man.”
95 tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.
96 sn See the notes on the words “humankind” and “likeness” in Gen 1:26, as well as J. Barr, “The Image of God in the Book of Genesis – A Study of Terminology,” BJRL 51 (1968/69): 11-26.
97 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
98 sn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + pronominal subject + verb) here indicates a strong contrast to what has preceded. Against the backdrop of the warnings about taking life, God now instructs the people to produce life, using terms reminiscent of the mandate given to Adam (Gen 1:28).
99 tn Heb “to Noah and to his sons with him, saying.”
100 tn Heb “I, look, I confirm.” The particle הִנְנִי (hinni) used with the participle מֵקִים (meqim) gives the sense of immediacy or imminence, as if to say, “Look! I am now confirming.”
101 tn The three pronominal suffixes (translated “you,” “your,” and “you”) are masculine plural. As v. 8 indicates, Noah and his sons are addressed.
102 tn The verbal repetition is apparently for emphasis.
103 tn The verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is a perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive and should be translated with the English present tense, just as the participle at the beginning of the speech was (v. 9). Another option is to translate both forms with the English future tense (“I will confirm”).
104 tn Heb “all flesh.”
105 tn Heb “cut off.”
106 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
107 tn Heb “sign.”
108 sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.
109 tn Heb “between me and between you.”
110 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
111 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
112 tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. NIV, NRSV) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. NEB).
113 sn The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:473, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:196.
114 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.
115 tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vÿhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.
116 tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
117 tn Heb “all flesh.”
118 tn Heb “to destroy.”
119 tn Heb “all flesh.”
120 tn The translation assumes that the infinitive לִזְכֹּר (lizkor, “to remember”) here expresses the result of seeing the rainbow. Another option is to understand it as indicating purpose, in which case it could be translated, “I will look at it so that I may remember.”
121 tn Heb “all flesh.”
122 sn The concluding disjunctive clause is parenthetical. It anticipates the following story, which explains that the Canaanites, Ham’s descendants through Canaan, were cursed because they shared the same moral abandonment that their ancestor displayed. See A. van Selms, “The Canaanites in the Book of Genesis,” OTS 12 (1958): 182-213.
123 tn Heb “was scattered.” The verb פָּצָה (patsah, “to scatter” [Niphal, “to be scattered”]) figures prominently in story of the dispersion of humankind in chap. 11.
124 sn The epithet a man of the soil indicates that Noah was a farmer.
125 tn Or “Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard”; Heb “and Noah, a man of the ground, began and he planted a vineyard.”
126 tn The Hebrew verb גָּלָה (galah) in the Hitpael verbal stem (וַיִּתְגַּל, vayyitggal) means “to uncover oneself” or “to be uncovered.” Noah became overheated because of the wine and uncovered himself in the tent.
127 sn For the second time (see v. 18) the text informs the reader of the relationship between Ham and Canaan. Genesis 10 will explain that Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes living in the promised land.
128 tn Some would translate “had sexual relations with,” arguing that Ham committed a homosexual act with his drunken father for which he was cursed. However, the expression “see nakedness” usually refers to observation of another’s nakedness, not a sexual act (see Gen 42:9, 12 where “nakedness” is used metaphorically to convey the idea of “weakness” or “vulnerability”; Deut 23:14 where “nakedness” refers to excrement; Isa 47:3; Ezek 16:37; Lam 1:8). The following verse (v. 23) clearly indicates that visual observation, not a homosexual act, is in view here. In Lev 20:17 the expression “see nakedness” does appear to be a euphemism for sexual intercourse, but the context there, unlike that of Gen 9:22, clearly indicates that in that passage sexual contact is in view. The expression “see nakedness” does not in itself suggest a sexual connotation. Some relate Gen 9:22 to Lev 18:6-11, 15-19, where the expression “uncover [another’s] nakedness” (the Piel form of גָּלָה, galah) refers euphemistically to sexual intercourse. However, Gen 9:22 does not say Ham “uncovered” the nakedness of his father. According to the text, Noah uncovered himself; Ham merely saw his father naked. The point of the text is that Ham had no respect for his father. Rather than covering his father up, he told his brothers. Noah then gave an oracle that Ham’s descendants, who would be characterized by the same moral abandonment, would be cursed. Leviticus 18 describes that greater evil of the Canaanites (see vv. 24-28).
129 tn The word translated “garment” has the Hebrew definite article on it. The article may simply indicate that the garment is definite and vivid in the mind of the narrator, but it could refer instead to Noah’s garment. Did Ham bring it out when he told his brothers?
130 tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”
131 tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.
132 tn Heb “he knew.”
133 tn The Hebrew verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) carries too general a sense to draw the conclusion that Ham had to have done more than look on his father’s nakedness and tell his brothers.
134 sn For more on the curse, see H. C. Brichto, The Problem of “Curse” in the Hebrew Bible (JBLMS), and J. Scharbert, TDOT 1:405-18.
135 sn Cursed be Canaan. The curse is pronounced on Canaan, not Ham. Noah sees a problem in Ham’s character, and on the basis of that he delivers a prophecy about the future descendants who will live in slavery to such things and then be controlled by others. (For more on the idea of slavery in general, see E. M. Yamauchi, “Slaves of God,” BETS 9 [1966]: 31-49). In a similar way Jacob pronounced oracles about his sons based on their revealed character (see Gen 49).
136 tn Heb “a servant of servants” (עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים, ’eved ’avadim), an example of the superlative genitive. It means Canaan will become the most abject of slaves.
137 tn Heb “blessed be.”
138 tn Heb “a slave to him”; the referent (Shem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
139 tn Heb “may God enlarge Japheth.” The words “territory and numbers” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
140 tn In this context the prefixed verbal form is a jussive (note the distinct jussive forms both before and after this in vv. 26 and 27).
141 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.
142 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.
143 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.
144 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
145 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.
146 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
147 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
148 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
149 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.
150 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.
151 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
152 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
153 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.
154 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
155 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.
156 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
157 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.
158 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.
159 tc Most of the MT
160 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
161 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
162 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
163 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
164 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
165 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
166 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
167 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
168 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
169 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
170 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
171 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.
172 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).
173 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
174 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.
175 tn Or “Babylon.”
176 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
177 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
178 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).
179 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
180 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.
181 tn Heb “Asshur.”
182 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
183 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
184 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
185 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
186 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
187 tn Heb “fathered.”
188 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
189 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
190 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
191 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
192 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
193 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
194 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.
195 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
196 tn Heb “fathered.”
197 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
198 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.
199 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
200 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.
201 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).
202 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
203 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
204 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
205 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
206 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
207 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
208 tn Heb “were.”
209 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
210 tn Heb “as you go.”
211 tn Heb “as you go.”
212 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
213 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.
214 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
215 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.
216 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
217 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
218 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
219 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
220 tn Heb “fathered.”
221 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.
222 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
223 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.
224 tn Heb “fathered.”
225 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
226 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
227 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
228 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
229 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
230 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
231 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
232 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
233 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
234 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).
235 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
236 tn Heb “as you go.”
237 tn Or “separated.”
238 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.
239 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.
240 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
241 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
242 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”
243 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
244 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).
245 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
246 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
247 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.
248 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.
249 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
250 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.
251 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.
252 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.
253 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
254 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.”
255 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
256 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
257 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
258 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.
259 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
260 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).
261 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
262 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
263 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.
264 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.
265 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
266 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
267 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.
268 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.
269 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
270 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
271 sn The
272 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.
273 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.”
274 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
275 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.
276 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.
277 tn Or “I will make you famous.”
278 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.
279 tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the
280 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
281 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.
282 sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).
283 tn Heb “just as the
284 tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + implied “to be” verb) is parenthetical, telling the age of Abram when he left Haran.
285 tn Heb “was the son of five years and seventy year[s].”
286 tn Heb “the son of his brother.”
287 tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.
288 tn Heb “went out to go.”
289 tn Or “terebinth.”
290 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.
291 tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”
292 tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.
293 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.
294 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
295 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
296 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
297 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.”
298 tn Or “the South [country].”
299 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.
300 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.
301 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.
302 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
303 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
304 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
305 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.
306 tn Heb “say.”
307 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.
308 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.
309 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
310 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.
311 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.
312 tn The Hebrew text simply has “house of Pharaoh.” The word “house” refers to the household in general, more specifically to the royal harem.
313 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.
314 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
315 tn The cognate accusative adds emphasis to the verbal sentence: “he plagued with great plagues,” meaning the
316 tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
317 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive here expresses consequence.
318 tn Heb “to me for a wife.”
319 tn Heb “Look, your wife!”
320 tn Heb “take and go.”
321 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
322 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
323 tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”
324 tn Heb “heavy.”
325 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.
326 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
327 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
328 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
329 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
330 tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).
331 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
332 tn Heb “was going.”
333 tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.
334 tn The potential nuance for the perfect tense is necessary here, and supported by the parallel clause that actually uses “to be able.”
335 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.
336 tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.
337 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.
338 sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.
339 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.
340 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.
341 tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.
342 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.
343 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
344 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
345 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).
346 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.
347 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
348 tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
349 tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”
350 tn Or “the cities of the plain”; Heb “[the cities of] the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
351 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.
352 tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.
353 tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the
354 tn Heb “and the
355 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”
356 tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”
357 tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.
358 tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.
359 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.
360 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).
361 tn Heb “he came and lived.”
362 tn Or “terebinths.”
363 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”
364 sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
365 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”).
366 tn Heb “made war.”
367 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.
368 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.
369 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.
370 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
371 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
372 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.
373 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.
374 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.
375 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.
376 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.”
377 tn Heb “against.”
378 tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.
379 tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
380 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.”
381 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).
382 tn Heb “the rest.”
383 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.
384 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
385 tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
386 tn Heb “and.”
387 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
388 tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
389 tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
390 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).
391 tn Or “terebinths.”
392 tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
393 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.
394 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.
395 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).
396 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.
397 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
398 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.
399 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
400 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
401 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
402 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
403 tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
404 tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
405 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
406 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
407 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
408 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
409 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
410 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
411 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.”
412 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
413 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.
414 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.
415 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
416 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.”
417 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
418 tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the
419 tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
420 tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
421 tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
422 tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).
423 tn Grk “two tunics.” See the note on the word “tunic” in Matt 5:40.
424 sn Mark 6:8 allows one staff. It might be that Matthew’s summary (cf. Luke 9:3) means not taking an extra staff or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.
425 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
426 tn Grk “eating and drinking the things from them” (an idiom for what the people in the house provide the guests).
427 sn On the phrase the worker deserves his pay see 1 Tim 5:18 and 1 Cor 9:14.
428 tn Or “instructs,” “imparts.”
429 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.
430 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.
431 tn Or “some transgression” (L&N 88.297).
432 sn Who are spiritual refers to people who are controlled and directed by God’s Spirit.
433 tn Or “with a gentle spirit” or “gently.”
434 tn Grk “taking careful notice.”
435 tn Or “influential leaders.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a.β has “the influential men Gal 2:2, 6b. A fuller expr. w. the same mng., w. inf. added…vss. 6a, 9.” This refers to the leadership of the Jerusalem church.
436 tn Grk “God does not receive the face of man,” an idiom for showing favoritism or partiality (BDAG 887-88 s.v. πρόσωπον 1.b.α; L&N 88.238).
437 tn Or “influential people”; here “leaders” was used rather than “people” for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy with the word “people” in the previous parenthetical remark. See also the note on the word “influential” at the beginning of this verse.
438 tn Or “contributed.” This is the same word translated “go to ask advice from” in 1:16, but it has a different meaning here; see L&N 59.72.
439 tn Or “added nothing to my authority.” Grk “added nothing to me,” with what was added (“message,” etc.) implied.
440 tn Grk “I went up”; one always spoke idiomatically of going “up” to Jerusalem.
441 tn Or “in accordance with.” According to BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.5.a.δ, “Oft. the norm is at the same time the reason, so that in accordance with and because of are merged…Instead of ‘in accordance w.’ κ. can mean simply because of, as a result of, on the basis of…κ. ἀποκάλυψιν Gal 2:2.”
442 tn Or “set before them.”
443 tn Grk “Gentiles, but only privately…to make sure.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with “But” and the words “I did so,” an implied repetition from the previous clause, were supplied to make a complete English sentence.
444 tn L&N 87.42 has “important persons, influential persons, prominent persons” for οἱ δοκοῦντες and translates this phrase in Gal 2:2 as “in a private meeting with the prominent persons.” The “prominent people” referred to here are the leaders of the Jerusalem church.
445 tn Here the first verb (τρέχω, trecw, “was not running”) is present subjunctive, while the second (ἔδραμον, edramon, “had not run”) is aorist indicative.
446 tn For the Greek verb προευαγγελίζομαι (proeuangelizomai) translated as “proclaim the gospel ahead of time,” compare L&N 33.216.
447 tn The same plural Greek word, τὰ ἔθνη (ta eqnh), can be translated as “nations” or “Gentiles.”
448 sn A quotation from Gen 12:3; 18:18.
449 tn Grk “those who are by faith,” with the Greek expression “by faith” (ἐκ πίστεως, ek pistew") the same as the expression in v. 8.
450 tn Grk “O” (an interjection used both in address and emotion). In context the following section is highly charged emotionally.
451 tn Or “deceived”; the verb βασκαίνω (baskainw) can be understood literally here in the sense of bewitching by black magic, but could also be understood figuratively to refer to an act of deception (see L&N 53.98 and 88.159).
452 tn Or “publicly placarded,” “set forth in a public proclamation” (BDAG 867 s.v. προγράφω 2).
453 tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.
454 tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1).