19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 12 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 13 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.”
14:17 After Abram 18 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 19 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 20
1 tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “in the middle.”
4 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
5 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
6 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
7 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
8 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
9 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
4 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
5 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “and she said to.”
6 tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Heb “and he appeared to him.”
7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).
9 tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.
10 tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.
11 tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.