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. 1 Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. 2 9:3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. 3 As I gave you 4 the green plants, I now give 5 you everything.
9:4 But 6 you must not eat meat 7 with its life (that is, 8 its blood) in it. 9 9:5 For your lifeblood 10 I will surely exact punishment, 11 from 12 every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person 13 I will exact punishment for the life of the individual 14 since the man was his relative. 15
9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, 16
by other humans 17
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image 18
God 19 has made humankind.”
9:7 But as for you, 20 be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
9:8 God said to Noah and his sons, 21 9:9 “Look! I now confirm 22 my covenant with you and your descendants after you 23 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. 24 9:11 I confirm 25 my covenant with you: Never again will all living things 26 be wiped out 27 by the waters of a flood; 28 never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee 29 of the covenant I am making 30 with you 31 and every living creature with you, a covenant 32 for all subsequent 33 generations: 9:13 I will place 34 my rainbow 35 in the clouds, and it will become 36 a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 9:14 Whenever 37 I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you 38 and with all living creatures of all kinds. 39 Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy 40 all living things. 41 9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember 42 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 43 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.) 44 9:19 These were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated. 45
9:20 Noah, a man of the soil, 46 began to plant a vineyard. 47 9:21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself 48 inside his tent. 9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, 49 saw his father’s nakedness 50 and told his two brothers who were outside. 9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment 51 and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned 52 the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.
9:24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor 53 he learned 54 what his youngest son had done 55 to him. 9:25 So he said,
“Cursed 56 be Canaan! 57
The lowest of slaves 58
he will be to his brothers.”
9:26 He also said,
“Worthy of praise is 59 the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem! 60
9:27 May God enlarge Japheth’s territory and numbers! 61
May he live 62 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 63 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 64 were born 65 to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 66 were Gomer, 67 Magog, 68 Madai, 69 Javan, 70 Tubal, 71 Meshech, 72 and Tiras. 73 10:3 The sons of Gomer were 74 Askenaz, 75 Riphath, 76 and Togarmah. 77 10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 78 Tarshish, 79 the Kittim, 80 and the Dodanim. 81 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, 82 Mizraim, 83 Put, 84 and Canaan. 85 10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, 86 Havilah, 87 Sabtah, 88 Raamah, 89 and Sabteca. 90 The sons of Raamah were Sheba 91 and Dedan. 92
10:8 Cush was the father of 93 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter 94 before the Lord. 95 (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10:10 The primary regions 96 of his kingdom were Babel, 97 Erech, 98 Akkad, 99 and Calneh 100 in the land of Shinar. 101 10:11 From that land he went 102 to Assyria, 103 where he built Nineveh, 104 Rehoboth-Ir, 105 Calah, 106 10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 107
10:13 Mizraim 108 was the father of 109 the Ludites, 110 Anamites, 111 Lehabites, 112 Naphtuhites, 113 10:14 Pathrusites, 114 Casluhites 115 (from whom the Philistines came), 116 and Caphtorites. 117
10:15 Canaan was the father of 118 Sidon his firstborn, 119 Heth, 120 10:16 the Jebusites, 121 Amorites, 122 Girgashites, 123 10:17 Hivites, 124 Arkites, 125 Sinites, 126 10:18 Arvadites, 127 Zemarites, 128 and Hamathites. 129 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended 130 from Sidon 131 all the way to 132 Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to 133 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 134 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 135 the father of all the sons of Eber.
10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, 136 Asshur, 137 Arphaxad, 138 Lud, 139 and Aram. 140 10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 141 10:24 Arphaxad was the father of 142 Shelah, 143 and Shelah was the father of Eber. 144 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, 145 and his brother’s name was Joktan. 10:26 Joktan was the father of 146 Almodad, 147 Sheleph, 148 Hazarmaveth, 149 Jerah, 150 10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, 151 Diklah, 152 10:28 Obal, 153 Abimael, 154 Sheba, 155 10:29 Ophir, 156 Havilah, 157 and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 10:30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to 158 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 159 over the earth after the flood.
11:1 The whole earth 160 had a common language and a common vocabulary. 161 11:2 When the people 162 moved eastward, 163 they found a plain in Shinar 164 and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, 165 “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” 166 (They had brick instead of stone and tar 167 instead of mortar.) 168 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens 169 so that 170 we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise 171 we will be scattered 172 across the face of the entire earth.”
11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people 173 had started 174 building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language 175 they have begun to do this, then 176 nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 177 11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse 178 their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 179
11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building 180 the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called 181 Babel 182 – 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 183 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 184 sons and daughters. 185
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 186 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, 187 while his father Terah was still alive. 188 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, 189 and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; 190 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 191 of Terah was 205 years, and he 192 died in Haran.
12:1 Now the Lord said 193 to Abram, 194
“Go out 195 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 196
12:2 Then I will make you 197 into a great nation, and I will bless you, 198
and I will make your name great, 199
so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 200
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, 201
but the one who treats you lightly 202 I must curse,
and all the families of the earth will bless one another 203 by your name.”
12:4 So Abram left, 204 just as the Lord had told him to do, 205 and Lot went with him. (Now 206 Abram was 75 years old 207 when he departed from Haran.) 12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew 208 Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired 209 in Haran, and they left for 210 the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree 211 of Moreh 212 at Shechem. 213 (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 214 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants 215 I will give this land.” So Abram 216 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 217 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. 218 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages 219 down to the Negev. 220
12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt 221 to stay for a while 222 because the famine was severe. 223 12:11 As he approached 224 Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, 225 I know that you are a beautiful woman. 226 12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 227 12:13 So tell them 228 you are my sister 229 so that it may go well 230 for me because of you and my life will be spared 231 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 232 was taken 233 into the household of Pharaoh, 234 12:16 and he did treat Abram well 235 on account of her. Abram received 236 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 237 because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this 238 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 239 to be my wife? 240 Here is your wife! 241 Take her and go!” 242 12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, 243 and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
14:1 At that time 244 Amraphel king of Shinar, 245 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 246 14:2 went to war 247 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). 248 14:3 These last five kings 249 joined forces 250 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 251 14:4 For twelve years 252 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 253 they rebelled. 254 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 255 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. 256 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 257 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 258 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 259 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 260 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 261 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 262 but some survivors 263 fled to the hills. 264 14:11 The four victorious kings 265 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 266 Lot and his possessions when 267 they left, for Lot 268 was living in Sodom. 269
14:13 A fugitive 270 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 271 Now Abram was living by the oaks 272 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 273 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 274 with Abram.) 275 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 276 had been taken captive, he mobilized 277 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 278 as far as Dan. 279 14:15 Then, during the night, 280 Abram 281 divided his forces 282 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 283 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 284 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 285 the people.
14:17 After Abram 286 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 287 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 288 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 289 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 290 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 291 the Most High God,
Creator 292 of heaven and earth. 293
14:20 Worthy of praise is 294 the Most High God,
who delivered 295 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 296 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 297 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 298 14:23 that I will take nothing 299 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 300 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 301 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 302 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 303 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 304
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 305 what will you give me since 306 I continue to be 307 childless, and my heir 308 is 309 Eliezer of Damascus?” 310 15:3 Abram added, 311 “Since 312 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 313
15:4 But look, 314 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 315 will not be your heir, 316 but instead 317 a son 318 who comes from your own body will be 319 your heir.” 320 15:5 The Lord 321 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 322 the Lord, and the Lord 323 considered his response of faith 324 as proof of genuine loyalty. 325
15:7 The Lord said 326 to him, “I am the Lord 327 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 328 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But 329 Abram 330 said, “O sovereign Lord, 331 by what 332 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 333 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 334 took all these for him and then cut them in two 335 and placed each half opposite the other, 336 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, 337 and great terror overwhelmed him. 338 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 339 that your descendants will be strangers 340 in a foreign country. 341 They will be enslaved and oppressed 342 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 343 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 344 you will go to your ancestors 345 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 346 15:16 In the fourth generation 347 your descendants 348 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 349
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 350 passed between the animal parts. 351 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 352 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 353 this land, from the river of Egypt 354 to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land 355 of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” 356
16:1 Now Sarai, 357 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 358 but she had an Egyptian servant 359 named Hagar. 360 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 361 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 362 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 363 Abram did what 364 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 365 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 366 to her husband to be his wife. 367 16:4 He had sexual relations with 368 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 369 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 370 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 371 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 372 but when she realized 373 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 374 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 375
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 376 servant is under your authority, 377 do to her whatever you think best.” 378 Then Sarai treated Hagar 379 harshly, 380 so she ran away from Sarai. 381
16:7 The Lord’s angel 382 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 383 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 384 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 385 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 386 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 387 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 388 pregnant
and are about to give birth 389 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 390
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 391
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 392 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 393
and everyone will be hostile to him. 394
He will live away from 395 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 396 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 397 16:14 That is why the well was called 398 Beer Lahai Roi. 399 (It is located 400 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 401 16:16 (Now 402 Abram was 86 years old 403 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 404
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 405 the Lord appeared to him and said, 406 “I am the sovereign God. 407 Walk 408 before me 409 and be blameless. 410 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 411 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 412
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 413 and God said to him, 414 17:4 “As for me, 415 this 416 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 417 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 418 because I will make you 419 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 420 extremely 421 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 422 17:7 I will confirm 423 my covenant as a perpetual 424 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. 425 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 426 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 427 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 428 the covenantal requirement 429 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: 430 Every male among you must be circumcised. 431 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 432 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 433 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, 434 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 435 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 436 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 437 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 438 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 439
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 440 Sarah 441 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. 442 Kings of countries 443 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 444 as he said to himself, 445 “Can 446 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 447 Can Sarah 448 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 449 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 450 Ishmael might live before you!” 451
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 452 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 453 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 454 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 455 He will become the father of twelve princes; 456 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. 457
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 458 and circumcised them 459 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 460 when he was circumcised; 461 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 462 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.
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 463 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 464 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 465 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 466 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 467
19:3 But he urged 468 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, 469 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 470 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 471 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 472 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! 473 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 474 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 475 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 476 of my roof.” 477
19:9 “Out of our way!” 478 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 479 and now he dares to judge us! 480 We’ll do more harm 481 to you than to them!” They kept 482 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 483 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 484 reached out 485 and pulled Lot back into the house 486 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, 487 with blindness. The men outside 488 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 489 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 490 Do you have 491 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 492 Get them out of this 493 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 494 it. The outcry against this place 495 is so great before the Lord that he 496 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. 497 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 498 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 499
19:15 At dawn 500 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 501 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 502 19:16 When Lot 503 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 504 They led them away and placed them 505 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 506 said, “Run 507 for your lives! Don’t look 508 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 509 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 510 19:19 Your 511 servant has found favor with you, 512 and you have shown me great 513 kindness 514 by sparing 515 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 516 this disaster will overtake 517 me and I’ll die. 518 19:20 Look, this town 519 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 520 Let me go there. 521 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 522 Then I’ll survive.” 523
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 524 “I will grant this request too 525 and will not overthrow 526 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 527 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 528
19:23 The sun had just risen 529 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 530 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 531 sulfur and fire 532 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 533 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 534 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 535 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 536 wife looked back longingly 537 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 538 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 539 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 540 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 541
19:29 So when God destroyed 542 the cities of the region, 543 God honored 544 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 545 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 546 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 547 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 548 to have sexual relations with us, 549 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 550 so we can have sexual relations 551 with him and preserve 552 our family line through our father.” 553
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 554 and the older daughter 555 came and had sexual relations with her father. 556 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 557 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 558 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 559 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 560 19:35 So they made their father drunk 561 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 562 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 563
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 564 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 565 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. 566 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 567 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 568 in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
20:3 But God appeared 569 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 570 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 571
20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 572 would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 573 20:5 Did Abraham 574 not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 575 ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 576 and with innocent hands!”
20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. 577 That is why I have kept you 578 from sinning against me and why 579 I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed 580 he is a prophet 581 and he will pray for you; thus you will live. 582 But if you don’t give her back, 583 know that you will surely die 584 along with all who belong to you.”
20:8 Early in the morning 585 Abimelech summoned 586 all his servants. When he told them about all these things, 587 they 588 were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 589 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 590 20:10 Then Abimelech asked 591 Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” 592
20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, 593 ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of 594 my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, 595 she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander 596 from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: 597 Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
20:14 So Abimelech gave 598 sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” 599
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 600 to your ‘brother.’ 601 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 602
20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord 603 had caused infertility to strike every woman 604 in the household of Abimelech because he took 605 Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
1 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.
2 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.
3 tn Heb “every moving thing that lives for you will be for food.”
4 tn The words “I gave you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn The perfect verb form describes the action that accompanies the declaration.
6 tn Heb “only.”
7 tn Or “flesh.”
8 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.
9 tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
13 tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.
14 tn Heb “of the man.”
15 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.
16 tn Heb “the blood of man.”
17 tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.
18 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.
19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 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).
21 tn Heb “to Noah and to his sons with him, saying.”
22 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.”
23 tn The three pronominal suffixes (translated “you,” “your,” and “you”) are masculine plural. As v. 8 indicates, Noah and his sons are addressed.
24 tn The verbal repetition is apparently for emphasis.
25 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”).
26 tn Heb “all flesh.”
27 tn Heb “cut off.”
28 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
29 tn Heb “sign.”
30 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.
31 tn Heb “between me and between you.”
32 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
33 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
34 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).
35 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.
36 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.
37 tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vÿhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.
38 tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
39 tn Heb “all flesh.”
40 tn Heb “to destroy.”
41 tn Heb “all flesh.”
42 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.”
43 tn Heb “all flesh.”
44 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.
45 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.
46 sn The epithet a man of the soil indicates that Noah was a farmer.
47 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.”
48 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.
49 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.
50 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).
51 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?
52 tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”
53 tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.
54 tn Heb “he knew.”
55 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.
56 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.
57 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).
58 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.
59 tn Heb “blessed be.”
60 tn Heb “a slave to him”; the referent (Shem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
61 tn Heb “may God enlarge Japheth.” The words “territory and numbers” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
62 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).
63 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.
64 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.
65 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.
66 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
67 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.
68 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
69 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
70 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
71 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.
72 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.
73 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
74 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
75 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.
76 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
77 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.
78 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
79 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.
80 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.
81 tc Most of the MT
82 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
83 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
84 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
85 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
86 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
87 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
88 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
89 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
90 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
91 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
92 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
93 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.
94 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).
95 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
96 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.
97 tn Or “Babylon.”
98 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
99 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
100 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).
101 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
102 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.
103 tn Heb “Asshur.”
104 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
105 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
106 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
107 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
108 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
109 tn Heb “fathered.”
110 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
111 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
112 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
113 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
114 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
115 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
116 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.
117 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
118 tn Heb “fathered.”
119 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
120 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.
121 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
122 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.
123 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).
124 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
125 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
126 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
127 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
128 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
129 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
130 tn Heb “were.”
131 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
132 tn Heb “as you go.”
133 tn Heb “as you go.”
134 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
135 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.
136 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
137 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.
138 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
139 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
140 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
141 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
142 tn Heb “fathered.”
143 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.
144 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
145 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.
146 tn Heb “fathered.”
147 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
148 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
149 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
150 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
151 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
152 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
153 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
154 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
155 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
156 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).
157 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
158 tn Heb “as you go.”
159 tn Or “separated.”
160 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.
161 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.
162 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
163 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
164 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”
165 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
166 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).
167 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
168 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
169 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.
170 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.
171 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
172 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.
173 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.
174 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.
175 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
176 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.”
177 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
178 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
179 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
180 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.
181 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
182 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).
183 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
184 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
185 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.
186 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.
187 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
188 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
189 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.
190 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.
191 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
192 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
193 sn The
194 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.
195 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.”
196 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
197 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.
198 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.
199 tn Or “I will make you famous.”
200 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.
201 tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the
202 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
203 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.
204 sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).
205 tn Heb “just as the
206 tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + implied “to be” verb) is parenthetical, telling the age of Abram when he left Haran.
207 tn Heb “was the son of five years and seventy year[s].”
208 tn Heb “the son of his brother.”
209 tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.
210 tn Heb “went out to go.”
211 tn Or “terebinth.”
212 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.
213 tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”
214 tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.
215 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.
216 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
217 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
218 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
219 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.”
220 tn Or “the South [country].”
221 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.
222 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.
223 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.
224 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
225 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
226 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
227 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.
228 tn Heb “say.”
229 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.
230 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.
231 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
232 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.
233 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.
234 tn The Hebrew text simply has “house of Pharaoh.” The word “house” refers to the household in general, more specifically to the royal harem.
235 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.
236 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
237 tn The cognate accusative adds emphasis to the verbal sentence: “he plagued with great plagues,” meaning the
238 tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
239 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive here expresses consequence.
240 tn Heb “to me for a wife.”
241 tn Heb “Look, your wife!”
242 tn Heb “take and go.”
243 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
244 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”
245 sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
246 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”).
247 tn Heb “made war.”
248 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.
249 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.
250 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.
251 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
252 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
253 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.
254 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.
255 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.
256 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.
257 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.”
258 tn Heb “against.”
259 tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.
260 tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
261 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.”
262 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).
263 tn Heb “the rest.”
264 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.
265 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
266 tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
267 tn Heb “and.”
268 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
269 tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
270 tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
271 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).
272 tn Or “terebinths.”
273 tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
274 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.
275 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.
276 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).
277 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.
278 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
279 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.
280 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
281 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
282 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
283 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
284 tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
285 tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
286 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
287 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
288 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
289 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
290 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
291 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
292 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.”
293 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
294 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.
295 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.
296 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
297 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.”
298 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
299 tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the
300 tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
301 tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
302 tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
303 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.
304 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).
305 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
306 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
307 tn Heb “I am going.”
308 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
309 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
310 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.
311 tn Heb “And Abram said.”
312 tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).
313 tn Heb “is inheriting me.”
314 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.
315 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
316 tn Heb “inherit you.”
317 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
318 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
319 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
320 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
321 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
322 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.
323 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
324 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.
325 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).
326 tn Heb “And he said.”
327 sn I am the
328 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
329 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
330 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
331 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
332 tn Or “how.”
333 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
334 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
335 tn Heb “in the middle.”
336 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
337 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
338 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
339 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.
340 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.
341 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
342 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.
343 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.
344 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
345 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
346 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
347 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.
348 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
349 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
350 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).
351 tn Heb “these pieces.”
352 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
353 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”).
354 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
355 tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
356 tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.
357 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
358 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.
359 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
360 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.)
361 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
362 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
363 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
364 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
365 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.
366 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
367 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.
368 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.
369 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)
370 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.
371 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
372 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
373 tn Heb “saw.”
374 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.
375 tn Heb “me and you.”
376 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
377 tn Heb “in your hand.”
378 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
379 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
380 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
381 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
382 tn Heb “the messenger of the
383 tn Heb “And the angel of the
384 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
385 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.
386 tn Heb “The
387 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
388 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
389 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
390 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.”
391 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
392 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.
393 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.
394 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
395 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).
396 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”).
397 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
398 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
399 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.
400 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
401 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
402 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.
403 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”
404 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.
405 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
406 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.
407 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
408 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.”
409 tn Or “in my presence.”
410 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
411 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
412 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
413 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.
414 tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
415 tn Heb “I.”
416 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
417 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
418 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.
419 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
420 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
421 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
422 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
423 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).
424 tn Or “as an eternal.”
425 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
426 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.
427 tn Or “as an eternal.”
428 tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.
429 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.
430 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
431 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.
432 tn Or “sign.”
433 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
434 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
435 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.
436 tn Or “an eternal.”
437 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
438 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
439 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.
440 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
441 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.
442 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
443 tn Heb “peoples.”
444 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.
445 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
446 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
447 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
448 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).
449 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
450 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
451 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
452 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).
453 tn Or “as an eternal.”
454 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.
455 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
456 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.
457 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.
458 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.”
459 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
460 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
461 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
462 tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”
463 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
464 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
465 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
466 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
467 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
468 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.
469 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.
470 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.
471 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
472 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.
473 tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”
474 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
475 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
476 tn Heb “shadow.”
477 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.
478 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
479 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
480 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.”
481 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.
482 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
483 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
484 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
485 tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.
486 tn Heb “to them into the house.”
487 tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”
488 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
489 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
490 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
491 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
492 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
493 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
494 tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
495 tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
496 tn Heb “the
497 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.
498 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
499 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.
500 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
501 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.
502 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
503 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
504 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
505 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”).
506 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.
507 tn Heb “escape.”
508 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.
509 tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
510 tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
511 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.
512 tn Heb “in your eyes.”
513 tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
514 sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.
515 tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
516 tn Heb “lest.”
517 tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.
518 tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.
519 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.”
520 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
521 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
522 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
523 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
524 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
525 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”
526 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”).
527 tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.
528 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).
529 sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).
530 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.
531 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
532 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
533 tn Heb “from the
534 tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
535 tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”
536 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
537 tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).
538 tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
539 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
540 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.
541 tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”
542 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
543 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
544 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
545 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
546 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
547 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
548 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.
549 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
550 tn Heb “drink wine.”
551 tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.
552 tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.
553 tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
554 tn Heb “drink wine.”
555 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
556 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.
557 tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”
558 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
559 tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”
560 tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
561 tn Heb “drink wine.”
562 tn Heb “lied down with him.”
563 tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”
564 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
565 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.
566 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.
567 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
568 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
569 tn Heb “came.”
570 tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.
571 tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.
572 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
573 tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.
574 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
575 tn Heb “and she, even she.”
576 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
577 tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”
578 tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”
579 tn Heb “therefore.”
580 tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.
581 sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.
582 tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.
583 tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.
584 tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.
585 tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”
586 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”
587 tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”
588 tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
589 tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.
590 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
591 tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”
592 tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.
593 tn Heb “Because I said.”
594 tn Heb “over the matter of.”
595 tn Heb “but also.”
596 tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”
597 tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”
598 tn Heb “took and gave.”
599 tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”
600 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).
601 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).
602 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).
603 tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”
604 tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
605 tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
606 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
607 tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
608 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The construction in Greek is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ request.
609 tn In this context the verb προσκυνέω (proskunew), which often describes worship, probably means simply bowing down to the ground in an act of reverence or supplication (see L&N 17.21).
610 tn Grk “she bowed down to him, saying.”
611 tn Grk “And answering, he said, ‘It is not right.’” The introductory phrase “answering, he said” has been simplified and placed at the end of the English sentence for stylistic reasons. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
612 tn Or “lap dogs, house dogs,” as opposed to dogs on the street. The diminutive form originally referred to puppies or little dogs, then to house pets. In some Hellenistic uses κυνάριον (kunarion) simply means “dog.”
613 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.