Genesis 2:22

2:22 Then the Lord God made ¹  a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Genesis 8:20

8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ² 

Genesis 10:11

10:11 From that land he went ³  to Assyria, ⁴  where he built Nineveh, ⁵  Rehoboth-Ir, ⁶  Calah, ⁷ 

Genesis 12:7

12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants ⁸  I will give this land.” So Abram ⁹  built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 26:25

26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ¹⁰  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ¹¹ 

Genesis 33:17

33:17 But ¹²  Jacob traveled to Succoth ¹³  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ¹⁴  Succoth. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 35:7

35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ¹⁶  because there God had revealed himself ¹⁷  to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

¹ tn The Hebrew verb is בָּנָה (banah, “to make, to build, to construct”). The text states that the Lord God built the rib into a woman. Again, the passage gives no indication of precisely how this was done.

² sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the Lord. After the flood Noah could see that God was not only a God of wrath, but a God of redemption and restoration. The one who escaped the catastrophe could best express his gratitude and submission through sacrificial worship, acknowledging God as the sovereign of the universe.

³ tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.

⁴ tn Heb “Asshur.”

⁵ sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.

⁶ sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.

⁷ sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.

⁴ tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁵ tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.

⁶ tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

⁶ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.

⁷ sn But Jacob traveled to Succoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau.

⁸ tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive.

⁹ sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.

⁷ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

⁸ tn Heb “revealed themselves.” The verb נִגְלוּ (niglu), translated “revealed himself,” is plural, even though one expects the singular form with the plural of majesty. Perhaps אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a numerical plural, referring both to God and the angelic beings that appeared to Jacob. See the note on the word “know” in Gen 3:5.