Genesis 24:31

24:31 Laban said to him, ¹  “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! ²  Why are you standing out here when I have prepared ³  the house and a place for the camels?”

Genesis 19:17

19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁴  said, “Run ⁵  for your lives! Don’t look ⁶  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁷  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

Genesis 45:9

45:9 Now go up to my father quickly ⁸  and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay!

¹ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.

² sn Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the Lord. Already the author is laying the foundation for subsequent events in the narrative, where Laban’s greed becomes his dominant characteristic.

³ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.

⁴ tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

⁵ tn Heb “escape.”

⁶ tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

⁷ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

⁷ tn Heb “hurry and go up.”