20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord 1 had caused infertility to strike every woman 2 in the household of Abimelech because he took 3 Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 10 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 11 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 12
4:1 Now 14 the man had marital relations with 15 his wife Eve, and she became pregnant 16 and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created 17 a man just as the Lord did!” 18
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. 19 The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, 20 Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard 21 the boy’s voice right where he is crying.
1 tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”
2 tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
3 tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
5 tn Or “ruler.”
6 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
7 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
8 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
9 tn Heb “from the
10 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
11 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
12 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
13 tn Heb “cursed are you from the ground.” As in Gen 3:14, the word “cursed,” a passive participle from אָרָר (’arar), either means “punished” or “banished,” depending on how one interprets the following preposition. If the preposition is taken as indicating source, then the idea is “cursed (i.e., punished) are you from [i.e., “through the agency of”] the ground” (see v. 12a). If the preposition is taken as separative, then the idea is “cursed and banished from the ground.” In this case the ground rejects Cain’s efforts in such a way that he is banished from the ground and forced to become a fugitive out in the earth (see vv. 12b, 14).
14 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.
15 tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
16 tn Or “she conceived.”
17 tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.
18 tn Heb “with the
19 sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the
20 tn Heb “What to you?”
21 sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.