18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
20:8 Early in the morning 4 Abimelech summoned 5 all his servants. When he told them about all these things, 6 they 7 were terrified.
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 8 to your ‘brother.’ 9 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 10
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 11 replied to Abraham in the hearing 12 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 13 of his city –
42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. 15 Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down 16 before him with 17 their faces to the ground.
40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” 19 the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.
45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, 21 so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained 22 with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.
1 tn Here for the first time the Hebrew word אָדָם (’adam) appears without the article, suggesting that it might now be the name “Adam” rather than “[the] man.” Translations of the Bible differ as to where they make the change from “man” to “Adam” (e.g., NASB and NIV translate “Adam” here, while NEB and NRSV continue to use “the man”; the KJV uses “Adam” twice in v. 19).
2 tn Heb “there was not found a companion who corresponded to him.” The subject of the third masculine singular verb form is indefinite. Without a formally expressed subject the verb may be translated as passive: “one did not find = there was not found.”
1 tn The verbal repetition is apparently for emphasis.
1 tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”
2 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”
3 tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”
4 tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).
2 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).
3 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).
1 tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
2 tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
3 sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.
1 tn Heb “and she hurried and emptied.”
1 tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.
2 sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).
3 tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.
1 tn Heb “a father.” The term is used here figuratively of one who gives advice, as a father would to his children.
1 tn The translation puts the verb in quotation marks because it is used rhetorically here and has a double meaning. With respect to the cup bearer it means “reinstate” (see v. 13), but with respect to the baker it means “decapitate” (see v. 19).
1 tn Heb “to all Egypt.” The name of the country is used by metonymy for the inhabitants.
1 tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”
2 tn Heb “stood.”
1 tn Heb “hurry and go up.”