18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 4 by the oaks 5 of Mamre while 6 he was sitting at the entrance 7 to his tent during the hottest time of the day.
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 8 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 9 have a child when I am old?’
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 13 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 14 or I’ll die!”
45:16 Now it was reported 22 in the household of Pharaoh, “Joseph’s brothers have arrived.” It pleased 23 Pharaoh and his servants.
48:1 After these things Joseph was told, 25 “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.
1 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
2 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
3 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
4 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Or “terebinths.”
6 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
7 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
7 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
8 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
10 tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.
13 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.
14 tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
16 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17 tn Heb “sons.”
19 sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.
20 tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.
21 tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.
22 tn Heb “and they sent the special tunic and they brought [it] to their father.” The text as it stands is problematic. It sounds as if they sent the tunic on ahead and then came and brought it to their father. Some emend the second verb to a Qal form and read “and they came.” In this case, they sent the tunic on ahead.
25 tn Heb “twelve [were] we, brothers, sons of our father [are] we.”
26 tn Heb “the one is not.”
27 tn Heb “today.”
28 tn Heb “and the sound was heard.”
29 tn Heb “was good in the eyes of.”
31 tn The words “to say” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
34 tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.