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.”
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 422 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 423
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 424 what will you give me since 425 I continue to be 426 childless, and my heir 427 is 428 Eliezer of Damascus?” 429 15:3 Abram added, 430 “Since 431 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 432
15:4 But look, 433 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 434 will not be your heir, 435 but instead 436 a son 437 who comes from your own body will be 438 your heir.” 439 15:5 The Lord 440 took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
15:6 Abram believed 441 the Lord, and the Lord 442 considered his response of faith 443 as proof of genuine loyalty. 444
15:7 The Lord said 445 to him, “I am the Lord 446 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 447 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But 448 Abram 449 said, “O sovereign Lord, 450 by what 451 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 452 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 453 took all these for him and then cut them in two 454 and placed each half opposite the other, 455 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, 456 and great terror overwhelmed him. 457 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 458 that your descendants will be strangers 459 in a foreign country. 460 They will be enslaved and oppressed 461 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 462 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 463 you will go to your ancestors 464 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 465 15:16 In the fourth generation 466 your descendants 467 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 468
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 469 passed between the animal parts. 470 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 471 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 472 this land, from the river of Egypt 473 to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land 474 of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” 475
16:1 Now Sarai, 476 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 477 but she had an Egyptian servant 478 named Hagar. 479 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 480 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 481 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 482 Abram did what 483 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 484 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 485 to her husband to be his wife. 486 16:4 He had sexual relations with 487 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 488 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 489 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 490 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 491 but when she realized 492 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 493 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 494
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 495 servant is under your authority, 496 do to her whatever you think best.” 497 Then Sarai treated Hagar 498 harshly, 499 so she ran away from Sarai. 500
16:7 The Lord’s angel 501 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 502 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 503 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 504 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 505 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 506 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 507 pregnant
and are about to give birth 508 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 509
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 510
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 511 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 512
and everyone will be hostile to him. 513
He will live away from 514 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 515 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 516 16:14 That is why the well was called 517 Beer Lahai Roi. 518 (It is located 519 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 520 16:16 (Now 521 Abram was 86 years old 522 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 523
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 524 the Lord appeared to him and said, 525 “I am the sovereign God. 526 Walk 527 before me 528 and be blameless. 529 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 530 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 531
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 532 and God said to him, 533 17:4 “As for me, 534 this 535 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 536 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 537 because I will make you 538 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 539 extremely 540 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 541 17:7 I will confirm 542 my covenant as a perpetual 543 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 544 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 545 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 546 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 547 the covenantal requirement 548 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 549 Every male among you must be circumcised. 550 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 551 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 552 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 553 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 554 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 555 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 556 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 557 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 558
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 559 Sarah 560 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 561 Kings of countries 562 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 563 as he said to himself, 564 “Can 565 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 566 Can Sarah 567 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 568 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 569 Ishmael might live before you!” 570
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 571 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 572 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 573 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 574 He will become the father of twelve princes; 575 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 576
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 577 and circumcised them 578 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 579 when he was circumcised; 580 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 581 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 582 by the oaks 583 of Mamre while 584 he was sitting at the entrance 585 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 586 looked up 587 and saw 588 three men standing across 589 from him. When he saw them 590 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 591 to the ground. 592
18:3 He said, “My lord, 593 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 594 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 595 you may all 596 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 597 a bit of food 598 so that you may refresh yourselves 599 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 600 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 601 three measures 602 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 603 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 604 who quickly prepared it. 605 18:8 Abraham 606 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 607 before them. They ate while 608 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 609 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 610 said, “I will surely return 611 to you when the season comes round again, 612 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 613 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 614 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 615 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 616 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 617 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 618 especially when my husband is old too?” 619
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 620 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 621 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 622 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 623 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 624
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 625 they looked out over 626 Sodom. (Now 627 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 628 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 629 18:18 After all, Abraham 630 will surely become 631 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 632 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 633 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 634 the way of the Lord by doing 635 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 636 to Abraham what he promised 637 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 638 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 639 18:21 that I must go down 640 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 641 If not, 642 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 643 and headed 644 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 645 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 646 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 647 of the whole earth do what is right?” 648
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 649 (although I am but dust and ashes), 650 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 651 the whole city because five are lacking?” 652 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 653 spoke to him again, 654 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 655 said, “May the Lord not be angry 656 so that I may speak! 657 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 658 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 659 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 660 when he had finished speaking 661 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 662
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 663 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 664 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 665 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 666 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 667
19:3 But he urged 668 them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, 669 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 670 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 671 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 672 with them!”
19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 673 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 674 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 675 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 676 of my roof.” 677
19:9 “Out of our way!” 678 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 679 and now he dares to judge us! 680 We’ll do more harm 681 to you than to them!” They kept 682 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 683 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 684 reached out 685 and pulled Lot back into the house 686 as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, 687 with blindness. The men outside 688 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 689 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 690 Do you have 691 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 692 Get them out of this 693 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 694 it. The outcry against this place 695 is so great before the Lord that he 696 has sent us to destroy it.”
19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. 697 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 698 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 699
19:15 At dawn 700 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 701 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 702 19:16 When Lot 703 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 704 They led them away and placed them 705 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 706 said, “Run 707 for your lives! Don’t look 708 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 709 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 710 19:19 Your 711 servant has found favor with you, 712 and you have shown me great 713 kindness 714 by sparing 715 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 716 this disaster will overtake 717 me and I’ll die. 718 19:20 Look, this town 719 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 720 Let me go there. 721 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 722 Then I’ll survive.” 723
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 724 “I will grant this request too 725 and will not overthrow 726 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 727 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 728
19:23 The sun had just risen 729 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 730 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 731 sulfur and fire 732 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 733 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 734 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 735 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 736 wife looked back longingly 737 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 738 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 739 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 740 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 741
19:29 So when God destroyed 742 the cities of the region, 743 God honored 744 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 745 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 746 the cities Lot had lived in.
19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said 747 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 748 to have sexual relations with us, 749 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 750 so we can have sexual relations 751 with him and preserve 752 our family line through our father.” 753
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 754 and the older daughter 755 came and had sexual relations with her father. 756 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 757 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 758 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 759 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 760 19:35 So they made their father drunk 761 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 762 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 763
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 764 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 765 He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. 766 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
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 sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.
423 tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).
424 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
425 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
426 tn Heb “I am going.”
427 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
428 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
429 sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.
430 tn Heb “And Abram said.”
431 tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).
432 tn Heb “is inheriting me.”
433 tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.
434 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
435 tn Heb “inherit you.”
436 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
437 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
438 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
439 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
440 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
441 tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50-98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.
442 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
443 tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440-41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him – [namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259-89.
444 tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12-13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962).
445 tn Heb “And he said.”
446 sn I am the
447 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
448 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
449 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
450 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
451 tn Or “how.”
452 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
453 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
454 tn Heb “in the middle.”
455 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
456 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
457 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
458 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
459 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
460 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
461 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
462 tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
463 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
464 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
465 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
466 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
467 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
468 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
469 sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).
470 tn Heb “these pieces.”
471 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
472 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
473 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
474 tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
475 tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.
476 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
477 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.
478 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
479 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.)
480 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
481 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
482 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
483 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
484 tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.
485 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
486 sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.
487 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.
488 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)
489 tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.
490 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
491 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
492 tn Heb “saw.”
493 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.
494 tn Heb “me and you.”
495 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
496 tn Heb “in your hand.”
497 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
498 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
499 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
500 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
501 tn Heb “the messenger of the
502 tn Heb “And the angel of the
503 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
504 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.
505 tn Heb “The
506 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
507 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
508 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
509 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.”
510 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
511 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.
512 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.
513 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
514 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).
515 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”).
516 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
517 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
518 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.
519 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
520 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
521 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.
522 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”
523 tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.
524 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
525 tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
526 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew
527 tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”
528 tn Or “in my presence.”
529 tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the
530 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
531 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
532 tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.
533 tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
534 tn Heb “I.”
535 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
536 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
537 sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.
538 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
539 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
540 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
541 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
542 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).
543 tn Or “as an eternal.”
544 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
545 tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.
546 tn Or “as an eternal.”
547 tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.
548 tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.
549 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
550 sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.
551 tn Or “sign.”
552 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
553 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
554 tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
555 tn Or “an eternal.”
556 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
557 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
558 tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
559 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
560 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
561 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
562 tn Heb “peoples.”
563 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
564 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
565 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
566 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
567 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
568 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
569 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
570 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
571 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
572 tn Or “as an eternal.”
573 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
574 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
575 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
576 tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
577 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
578 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
579 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
580 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
581 tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”
582 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
583 tn Or “terebinths.”
584 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
585 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
586 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
587 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
588 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
589 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
590 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
591 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
592 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
593 tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the
594 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
595 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
596 tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.
597 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
598 tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.
599 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
600 tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”
601 tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.
602 sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.
603 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
604 tn Heb “the young man.”
605 tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”
606 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
607 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
608 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
609 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
610 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
611 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
612 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
613 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
614 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
615 tn Heb “days.”
616 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
617 tn Heb “saying.”
618 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.
619 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
620 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
621 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
622 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
623 sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the
624 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
625 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
626 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
627 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
628 tn The Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to lead out, to send out, to expel”; here it is used in the friendly sense of seeing the visitors on their way.
629 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
630 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”
631 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
632 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 upon”] 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 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham 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.
633 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
634 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
635 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
636 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
637 tn Heb “spoke to.”
638 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
639 tn Heb “heavy.”
640 tn The cohortative indicates the
641 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
642 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
643 tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the
644 tn Heb “went.”
645 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
646 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
647 tn Or “ruler.”
648 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
649 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
650 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
651 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
652 tn Heb “because of five.”
653 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
654 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
655 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
656 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
657 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
658 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
659 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
660 tn Heb “And the
661 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
662 tn Heb “to his place.”
663 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
664 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
665 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
666 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
667 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
668 tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.
669 tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.
670 tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.
671 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
672 tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.
673 tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”
674 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
675 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
676 tn Heb “shadow.”
677 sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.
678 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
679 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
680 tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”
681 tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.
682 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
683 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
684 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
685 tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.
686 tn Heb “to them into the house.”
687 tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”
688 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
689 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
690 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
691 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
692 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
693 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
694 tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
695 tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
696 tn Heb “the
697 sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.
698 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
699 tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.
700 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
701 tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.
702 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
703 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
704 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
705 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).
706 tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.
707 tn Heb “escape.”
708 tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.
709 tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
710 tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
711 tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.
712 tn Heb “in your eyes.”
713 tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
714 sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.
715 tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
716 tn Heb “lest.”
717 tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.
718 tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.
719 tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”
720 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
721 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
722 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
723 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
724 tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the
725 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”
726 tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).
727 tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.
728 tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).
729 sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).
730 tn The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.
731 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
732 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
733 tn Heb “from the
734 tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
735 tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”
736 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
737 tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).
738 tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
739 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
740 tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
741 tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”
742 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
743 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
744 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
745 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
746 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
747 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
748 tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.
749 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
750 tn Heb “drink wine.”
751 tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.
752 tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.
753 tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
754 tn Heb “drink wine.”
755 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
756 tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.
757 tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”
758 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
759 tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”
760 tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
761 tn Heb “drink wine.”
762 tn Heb “lied down with him.”
763 tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”
764 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
765 sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.
766 sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.