Genesis 8:3

8:3 The waters kept receding steadily ¹  from the earth, so that they ²  had gone down ³  by the end of the 150 days.

Genesis 11:2

11:2 When the people ⁴  moved eastward, ⁵  they found a plain in Shinar ⁶  and settled there.

Genesis 34:23

34:23 If we do so, ⁷  won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

Genesis 43:33

43:33 They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. ⁸  The men looked at each other in astonishment. ⁹ 

¹ tn The construction combines a Qal preterite from שׁוּב (shuv) with its infinitive absolute to indicate continuous action. The infinitive absolute from הָלָךְ (halakh) is included for emphasis: “the waters returned…going and returning.”

² tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.

⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”

⁶ tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”

⁷ tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰ tn Heb “the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth.”

¹¹ sn The brothers’ astonishment indicates that Joseph arranged them in this way. They were astonished because there was no way, as far as they were concerned, that Joseph could have known the order of their birth.