46:22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob, fourteen in all.
49:28 These 19 are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing. 20
7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month – on that day all the fountains of the great deep 21 burst open and the floodgates of the heavens 22 were opened.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 23 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 24 to her husband to be his wife. 25
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 26 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 27 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 28
Jacob had twelve sons:
37:9 Then he had another dream, 30 and told it to his brothers. “Look,” 31 he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
1 tn Heb “on the mountains of Ararat.” Obviously a boat (even one as large as the ark) cannot rest on multiple mountains. Perhaps (1) the preposition should be translated “among,” or (2) the plural “mountains” should be understood in the sense of “mountain range” (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 53). A more probable option (3) is that the plural indicates an indefinite singular, translated “one of the mountains” (see GKC 400 §124.o).
1 tn Or “tribal chieftains.”
1 tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).
2 tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.
3 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
4 sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.
1 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
2 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
3 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
1 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
2 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
3 tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.
1 tn Heb “twelve [were] your servants, brothers [are] we.”
2 tn Heb “today.”
3 tn Heb “and the one is not.”
1 tn Heb “twelve [were] we, brothers, sons of our father [are] we.”
2 tn Heb “the one is not.”
3 tn Heb “today.”
1 tn Heb “All these.”
2 tn Heb “and he blessed them, each of whom according to his blessing, he blessed them.”
1 tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 1:2).
2 sn On the prescientific view of the sky reflected here, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 46.
1 tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.
2 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
3 sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.
1 tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.
2 tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).
3 sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.
1 tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.
1 tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”
2 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.