Genesis 1:11

1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: ¹  plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, ²  and ³  trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so.

Genesis 1:30

1:30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give ⁴  every green plant for food.” It was so.

Genesis 38:9

38:9 But Onan knew that the child ⁵  would not be considered his. ⁶  So whenever ⁷  he had sexual relations with ⁸  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ⁹  so as not to give his brother a descendant.

Genesis 47:17

47:17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. ¹⁰  He got them through that year by giving them food in exchange for livestock.

¹ tn The Hebrew construction employs a cognate accusative, where the nominal object (“vegetation”) derives from the verbal root employed. It stresses the abundant productivity that God created.

² sn After their kinds. The Hebrew word translated “kind” (מִין, min) indicates again that God was concerned with defining and dividing time, space, and species. The point is that creation was with order, as opposed to chaos. And what God created and distinguished with boundaries was not to be confused (see Lev 19:19 and Deut 22:9-11).

³ tn The conjunction “and” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to clarify the relationship of the clauses.

⁴ tn The phrase “I give” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁷ tn Heb “offspring.”

⁸ tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.

⁹ tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.

¹⁰ tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

¹¹ tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.

¹⁰ tn The definite article is translated here as a possessive pronoun.