1:31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! 1 There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.
15:4 But look, 5 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 6 will not be your heir, 7 but instead 8 a son 9 who comes from your own body will be 10 your heir.” 11
36:24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs 17 in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).
47:23 Joseph said to the people, “Since I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivate 25 the land.
1 tn The Hebrew text again uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) for the sake of vividness. It is a particle that goes with the gesture of pointing, calling attention to something.
2 tn Heb “But Abel brought, also he….” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) stresses the contrast between Cain’s offering and Abel’s.
3 tn Two prepositional phrases are used to qualify the kind of sacrifice that Abel brought: “from the firstborn” and “from the fattest of them.” These also could be interpreted as a hendiadys: “from the fattest of the firstborn of the flock.” Another option is to understand the second prepositional phrase as referring to the fat portions of the sacrificial sheep. In this case one may translate, “some of the firstborn of his flock, even some of their fat portions” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
4 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁעָה (sha’ah) simply means “to gaze at, to have regard for, to look on with favor [or “with devotion”].” The text does not indicate how this was communicated, but it indicates that Cain and Abel knew immediately. Either there was some manifestation of divine pleasure given to Abel and withheld from Cain (fire consuming the sacrifice?), or there was an inner awareness of divine response.
3 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.
4 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
5 tn Heb “inherit you.”
6 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
7 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
9 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
4 tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”
5 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
6 tn Heb “as the
6 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
7 tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain; Syriac reads “water” and Vulgate reads “hot water.”
8 tn Heb “and buy for us from there.” The word “grain,” the direct object of “buy,” has been supplied for clarity, and the words “from there” have been omitted in the translation for stylistic reasons.
9 tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result.
10 tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.
9 sn You are spies. Joseph wanted to see how his brothers would react if they were accused of spying.
10 tn Heb “to see the nakedness of the land you have come.”
10 tn Heb “for his affection boiled up concerning his brother.” The same expression is used in 1 Kgs 3:26 for the mother’s feelings for her endangered child.
11 tn Heb “and he sought to weep.”
11 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive is equivalent to a command here.