1:27 God created humankind 1 in his own image,
in the image of God he created them, 2
male and female he created them. 3
34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate 18 agreed with 19 Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate 20 was circumcised.
1 tn The Hebrew text has the article prefixed to the noun (הָאָדָם, ha’adam). The article does not distinguish man from woman here (“the man” as opposed to “the woman”), but rather indicates previous reference (see v. 26, where the noun appears without the article). It has the same function as English “the aforementioned.”
2 tn The third person suffix on the particle אֵת (’et) is singular here, but collective.
3 sn The distinction of “humankind” as “male” and “female” is another point of separation in God’s creation. There is no possibility that the verse is teaching that humans were first androgynous (having both male and female physical characteristics) and afterward were separated. The mention of male and female prepares for the blessing to follow.
4 tn Heb “from all life, from all flesh, two from all you must bring.” The disjunctive clause at the beginning of the verse (note the conjunction with prepositional phrase, followed by two more prepositional phrases in apposition and then the imperfect verb form) signals a change in mood from announcement (vv. 17-18) to instruction.
5 tn The Piel infinitive construct לְהַחֲיוֹת (lÿhakhayot, here translated as “to keep them alive”) shows the purpose of bringing the animals into the ark – saving life. The Piel of this verb means here “to preserve alive.”
7 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
8 tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).
9 tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”
10 tn The Hebrew text of vv. 8-9a reads, “From the clean animal[s] and from the animal[s] which are not clean and from the bird[s] and everything that creeps on the ground, two two they came to Noah to the ark, male and female.”
11 tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
13 tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”
16 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
17 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.
19 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
20 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
21 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.
22 tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”
25 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”
26 tn Heb “listened to.”
27 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”