9:20 Noah, a man of the soil, 1 began to plant a vineyard. 2
1 sn The epithet a man of the soil indicates that Noah was a farmer.
2 tn Or “Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard”; Heb “and Noah, a man of the ground, began and he planted a vineyard.”
3 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.
4 sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.
5 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.
6 tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.