Genesis 2:15

2:15 The Lord God took the man and placed ¹  him in the orchard in ²  Eden to care for it and to maintain it. ³ 

Genesis 3:23

3:23 So the Lord God expelled him ⁴  from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.

Genesis 14:4

14:4 For twelve years ⁵  they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year ⁶  they rebelled. ⁷ 

Genesis 15:14

15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ⁸  Afterward they will come out with many possessions.

Genesis 29:15

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ⁹  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ¹⁰  Tell me what your wages should be.”

Genesis 29:18

29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ¹¹  Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.”

Genesis 29:20

29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ¹²  But they seemed like only a few days to him ¹³  because his love for her was so great. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 30:29

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ¹⁵  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ¹⁶ 

¹ tn The Hebrew verb נוּחַ (nuakh, translated here as “placed”) is a different verb than the one used in 2:8.

² tn Traditionally translated “the Garden of Eden,” the context makes it clear that the garden (or orchard) was in Eden (making “Eden” a genitive of location).

³ tn Heb “to work it and to keep it.”

⁴ tn The verb is the Piel preterite of שָׁלַח (shalakh), forming a wordplay with the use of the same verb (in the Qal stem) in v. 22: To prevent the man’s “sending out” his hand, the Lord “sends him out.”

⁷ tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.

⁸ tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ 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.

¹³ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

¹⁴ tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

¹⁶ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

²⁰ sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.

²¹ tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

²² tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²³ tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”