Discovery BoxGenesis 11:1--14:24
Context11:1 The whole earth 1 had a common language and a common vocabulary. 2 11:2 When the people 3 moved eastward, 4 they found a plain in Shinar 5 and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, 6 “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” 7 (They had brick instead of stone and tar 8 instead of mortar.) 9 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens 10 so that 11 we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise 12 we will be scattered 13 across the face of the entire earth.”
11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people 14 had started 15 building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language 16 they have begun to do this, then 17 nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 18 11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse 19 their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 20
11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building 21 the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called 22 Babel 23 – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.
11:10 This is the account of Shem.
Shem was 100 old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood. 11:11 And after becoming the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other 24 sons and daughters.
11:12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 11:13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other 25 sons and daughters. 26
11:14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 11:15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other 27 sons and daughters.
11:16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 11:17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 11:19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 11:21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 11:23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 11:25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
11:27 This is the account of Terah.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 11:28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, 28 while his father Terah was still alive. 29 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, 30 and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; 31 she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there. 11:32 The lifetime 32 of Terah was 205 years, and he 33 died in Haran.
12:1 Now the Lord said 34 to Abram, 35
“Go out 36 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 37
12:2 Then I will make you 38 into a great nation, and I will bless you, 39
and I will make your name great, 40
so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 41
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, 42
but the one who treats you lightly 43 I must curse,
and all the families of the earth will bless one another 44 by your name.”
12:4 So Abram left, 45 just as the Lord had told him to do, 46 and Lot went with him. (Now 47 Abram was 75 years old 48 when he departed from Haran.) 12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew 49 Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired 50 in Haran, and they left for 51 the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree 52 of Moreh 53 at Shechem. 54 (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 55 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants 56 I will give this land.” So Abram 57 built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel 58 and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. 59 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages 60 down to the Negev. 61
12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt 62 to stay for a while 63 because the famine was severe. 64 12:11 As he approached 65 Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, 66 I know that you are a beautiful woman. 67 12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 68 12:13 So tell them 69 you are my sister 70 so that it may go well 71 for me because of you and my life will be spared 72 on account of you.”
12:14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 12:15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife 73 was taken 74 into the household of Pharaoh, 75 12:16 and he did treat Abram well 76 on account of her. Abram received 77 sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
12:17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases 78 because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this 79 you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 12:19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her 80 to be my wife? 81 Here is your wife! 82 Take her and go!” 83 12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, 84 and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 85 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 86 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 87 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 88
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 89 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 90 He returned 91 to the place where he had pitched his tent 92 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 93 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 94
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 95 with Abram, also had 96 flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could 97 not support them while they were living side by side. 98 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 99 alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels 100 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 101 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 102
13:8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. 103 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go 104 to the left, then I’ll go to the right, but if you go to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
13:10 Lot looked up and saw 105 the whole region 106 of the Jordan. He noticed 107 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 108 Sodom and Gomorrah) 109 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 110 all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled 111 toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other. 112 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 113 and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now 114 the people 115 of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) 116
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 117 “Look 118 from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. 13:15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants 119 forever. 13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. 120 13:17 Get up and 121 walk throughout 122 the land, 123 for I will give it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 124 by the oaks 125 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
14:1 At that time 126 Amraphel king of Shinar, 127 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 128 14:2 went to war 129 against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 130 14:3 These last five kings 131 joined forces 132 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 133 14:4 For twelve years 134 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 135 they rebelled. 136 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 137 the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. 138 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 139 and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met 140 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 141 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 142 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 143 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 144 but some survivors 145 fled to the hills. 146 14:11 The four victorious kings 147 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 148 Lot and his possessions when 149 they left, for Lot 150 was living in Sodom. 151
14:13 A fugitive 152 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 153 Now Abram was living by the oaks 154 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 155 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 156 with Abram.) 157 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 158 had been taken captive, he mobilized 159 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 160 as far as Dan. 161 14:15 Then, during the night, 162 Abram 163 divided his forces 164 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 165 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 166 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 167 the people.
14:17 After Abram 168 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 169 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 170 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 171 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 172 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 173 the Most High God,
Creator 174 of heaven and earth. 175
14:20 Worthy of praise is 176 the Most High God,
who delivered 177 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 178 a tenth of everything.
14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand 179 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 180 14:23 that I will take nothing 181 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 182 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 183 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 184 As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
[11:1] 1 sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1-9,” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.
[11:1] 2 tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.
[11:2] 3 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:2] 4 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
[11:2] 5 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”
[11:3] 6 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
[11:3] 7 tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbbÿnah lÿvenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisrÿfah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).
[11:3] 8 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
[11:3] 9 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
[11:4] 10 tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.
[11:4] 11 tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.
[11:4] 12 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
[11:4] 13 sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.
[11:5] 14 tn Heb “the sons of man.” The phrase is intended in this polemic to portray the builders as mere mortals, not the lesser deities that the Babylonians claimed built the city.
[11:5] 15 tn The Hebrew text simply has בָּנוּ (banu), but since v. 8 says they left off building the city, an ingressive idea (“had started building”) should be understood here.
[11:6] 16 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
[11:6] 17 tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”
[11:6] 18 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
[11:7] 19 tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the
[11:7] 20 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
[11:8] 21 tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.
[11:9] 22 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
[11:9] 23 sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
[11:11] 24 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 25 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 26 tc The reading of the MT is followed in vv. 11-12; the LXX reads, “And [= when] Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan, Arphaxad lived four hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died. And [= when] Cainan had lived one hundred and thirty years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah]. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah], Cainan lived three hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died.” See also the note on “Shelah” in Gen 10:24; the LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
[11:15] 27 tn Here and in vv. 16, 19, 21, 23, 25 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:28] 28 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
[11:28] 29 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
[11:29] 30 sn The name Sarai (a variant spelling of “Sarah”) means “princess” (or “lady”). Sharratu was the name of the wife of the moon god Sin. The original name may reflect the culture out of which the patriarch was called, for the family did worship other gods in Mesopotamia.
[11:29] 31 sn The name Milcah means “Queen.” But more to the point here is the fact that Malkatu was a title for Ishtar, the daughter of the moon god. If the women were named after such titles (and there is no evidence that this was the motivation for naming the girls “Princess” or “Queen”), that would not necessarily imply anything about the faith of the two women themselves.
[11:32] 32 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
[11:32] 33 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:1] 34 sn The
[12:1] 35 tn The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.
[12:1] 36 tn The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”
[12:1] 37 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
[12:2] 38 tn The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative.
[12:2] 39 sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.
[12:2] 40 tn Or “I will make you famous.”
[12:2] 41 tn Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.
[12:3] 42 tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the
[12:3] 43 tn In this part of God’s statement there are two significant changes that often go unnoticed. First, the parallel and contrasting participle מְקַלֶּלְךָ (mÿqallelkha) is now singular and not plural. All the versions and a few Masoretic
[12:3] 44 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings on”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
[12:4] 45 sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).
[12:4] 46 tn Heb “just as the
[12:4] 47 tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + implied “to be” verb) is parenthetical, telling the age of Abram when he left Haran.
[12:4] 48 tn Heb “was the son of five years and seventy year[s].”
[12:5] 49 tn Heb “the son of his brother.”
[12:5] 50 tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.
[12:5] 51 tn Heb “went out to go.”
[12:6] 53 sn The Hebrew word Moreh (מוֹרֶה, moreh) means “teacher.” It may well be that the place of this great oak tree was a Canaanite shrine where instruction took place.
[12:6] 54 tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”
[12:6] 55 tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.
[12:7] 56 tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
[12:7] 57 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:8] 58 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:8] 59 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[12:9] 60 tn The Hebrew verb נָסַע (nasa’) means “to journey”; more specifically it means to pull up the tent and move to another place. The construction here uses the preterite of this verb with its infinitive absolute to stress the activity of traveling. But it also adds the infinitive absolute of הָלַךְ (halakh) to stress that the traveling was continually going on. Thus “Abram journeyed, going and journeying” becomes “Abram continually journeyed by stages.”
[12:9] 61 tn Or “the South [country].”
[12:10] 62 sn Abram went down to Egypt. The Abrahamic narrative foreshadows some of the events in the life of the nation of Israel. This sojourn in Egypt is typological of Israel’s bondage there. In both stories there is a famine that forces the family to Egypt, death is a danger to the males while the females are preserved alive, great plagues bring about their departure, there is a summons to stand before Pharaoh, and there is a return to the land of Canaan with great wealth.
[12:10] 63 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” means “to stay for a while.” The “stranger” (traditionally “sojourner”) is one who is a temporary resident, a visitor, one who is passing through. Abram had no intention of settling down in Egypt or owning property. He was only there to wait out the famine.
[12:10] 64 tn Heb “heavy in the land.” The words “in the land,” which also occur at the beginning of the verse in the Hebrew text, have not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:11] 65 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
[12:11] 66 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
[12:11] 67 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
[12:12] 68 tn The Piel of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) means “to keep alive, to preserve alive,” and in some places “to make alive.” See D. Marcus, “The Verb ‘to Live’ in Ugaritic,” JSS 17 (1972): 76-82.
[12:13] 70 sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.
[12:13] 71 tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.
[12:13] 72 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
[12:15] 73 tn Heb “and the woman.” The word also means “wife”; the Hebrew article can express the possessive pronoun (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §86). Here the proper name (Abram) has been used in the translation instead of a possessive pronoun (“his”) for clarity.
[12:15] 74 tn The Hebrew term וַתֻּקַּח (vattuqqakh, “was taken”) is a rare verbal form, an old Qal passive preterite from the verb “to take.” It is pointed as a Hophal would be by the Masoretes, but does not have a Hophal meaning.
[12:15] 75 tn The Hebrew text simply has “house of Pharaoh.” The word “house” refers to the household in general, more specifically to the royal harem.
[12:16] 76 sn He did treat Abram well. The construction of the parenthetical disjunctive clause, beginning with the conjunction on the prepositional phrase, draws attention to the irony of the story. Abram wanted Sarai to lie “so that it would go well” with him. Though he lost Sarai to Pharaoh, it did go well for him – he received a lavish bride price. See also G. W. Coats, “Despoiling the Egyptians,” VT 18 (1968): 450-57.
[12:16] 77 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[12:17] 78 tn The cognate accusative adds emphasis to the verbal sentence: “he plagued with great plagues,” meaning the
[12:18] 79 tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[12:19] 80 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive here expresses consequence.
[12:19] 81 tn Heb “to me for a wife.”
[12:19] 82 tn Heb “Look, your wife!”
[12:19] 83 tn Heb “take and go.”
[12:20] 84 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:1] 85 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
[13:1] 86 tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”
[13:2] 88 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.
[13:3] 89 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
[13:3] 90 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:3] 91 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:3] 92 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
[13:4] 93 tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).
[13:4] 94 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[13:5] 96 tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.
[13:6] 97 tn The potential nuance for the perfect tense is necessary here, and supported by the parallel clause that actually uses “to be able.”
[13:6] 98 tn The infinitive construct לָשֶׁבֶת (lashevet, from יָשַׁב, yashav) explains what it was that the land could not support: “the land could not support them to live side by side.” See further J. C. de Moor, “Lexical Remarks Concerning Yahad and Yahdaw,” VT 7 (1957): 350-55.
[13:6] 99 tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.
[13:7] 100 tn The Hebrew term רִיב (riv) means “strife, conflict, quarreling.” In later texts it has the meaning of “legal controversy, dispute.” See B. Gemser, “The rîb – or Controversy – Pattern in Hebrew Mentality,” Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East [VTSup], 120-37.
[13:7] 101 sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.
[13:7] 102 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced with the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), again provides critical information. It tells in part why the land cannot sustain these two bedouins, and it also hints of the danger of weakening the family by inner strife.
[13:8] 103 tn Heb “men, brothers [are] we.” Here “brothers” describes the closeness of the relationship, but could be misunderstood if taken literally, since Abram was Lot’s uncle.
[13:9] 104 tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.
[13:10] 105 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.
[13:10] 106 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
[13:10] 107 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 108 sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).
[13:10] 109 tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 110 sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the
[13:11] 111 tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
[13:11] 112 tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”
[13:12] 113 tn Or “the cities of the plain”; Heb “[the cities of] the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[13:13] 114 tn Here is another significant parenthetical clause in the story, signaled by the vav (וו) disjunctive (translated “now”) on the noun at the beginning of the clause.
[13:13] 115 tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.
[13:13] 116 tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the
[13:14] 117 tn Heb “and the
[13:14] 118 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”
[13:15] 119 tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”
[13:16] 120 tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.
[13:17] 121 tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.
[13:17] 122 tn The Hitpael form הִתְהַלֵּךְ (hithallekh) means “to walk about”; it also can carry the ideas of moving about, traversing, going back and forth, or living in an area. It here has the connotation of traversing the land to survey it, to look it over.
[13:17] 123 tn Heb “the land to its length and to its breadth.” This phrase has not been included in the translation because it is somewhat redundant (see the note on the word “throughout” in this verse).
[13:18] 124 tn Heb “he came and lived.”
[13:18] 125 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:1] 126 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”
[14:1] 127 sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
[14:1] 128 tn Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. NEB “Goyim”; NIV, NRSV “Goiim”).
[14:2] 130 sn On the geographical background of vv. 1-2 see J. P. Harland, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 1:41-75; and D. N. Freedman, “The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the Cities of the Plain,” BA 41 (1978): 143-64.
[14:3] 131 tn Heb “all these,” referring only to the last five kings named. The referent has been specified as “these last five kings” in the translation for clarity.
[14:3] 132 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to join together; to unite; to be allied.” It stresses close associations, especially of friendships, marriages, or treaties.
[14:3] 133 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
[14:4] 134 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
[14:4] 135 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.
[14:4] 136 sn The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east – to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats – that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.
[14:5] 137 tn The Hebrew verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to attack, to strike, to smite.” In this context it appears that the strike was successful, and so a translation of “defeated” is preferable.
[14:6] 138 sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.
[14:7] 139 tn Heb “they returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh).” The two verbs together form a verbal hendiadys, the first serving as the adverb: “they returned and came” means “they came again.” Most English translations do not treat this as a hendiadys, but translate “they turned back” or something similar. Since in the context, however, “came again to” does not simply refer to travel but an assault against the place, the present translation expresses this as “attacked…again.”
[14:9] 141 tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.
[14:9] 142 tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:10] 143 tn Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.”
[14:10] 144 tn Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם).
[14:10] 145 tn Heb “the rest.”
[14:10] 146 sn The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.
[14:11] 147 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 148 tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
[14:12] 150 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 151 tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
[14:13] 152 tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
[14:13] 153 sn E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14-16).
[14:13] 154 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:13] 155 tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
[14:13] 156 tn Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.
[14:13] 157 tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.
[14:14] 158 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).
[14:14] 159 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.
[14:14] 160 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:14] 161 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.
[14:15] 162 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
[14:15] 163 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 164 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
[14:15] 165 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
[14:16] 166 tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:16] 167 tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:17] 168 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 169 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 170 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
[14:18] 171 sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the
[14:18] 172 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
[14:19] 173 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
[14:19] 174 tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”
[14:19] 175 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
[14:20] 176 tn Heb “blessed be.” For God to be “blessed” means that is praised. His reputation is enriched in the world as his name is praised.
[14:20] 177 sn Who delivered. The Hebrew verb מִגֵּן (miggen, “delivered”) foreshadows the statement by God to Abram in Gen 15:1, “I am your shield” (מָגֵן, magen). Melchizedek provided a theological interpretation of Abram’s military victory.
[14:20] 178 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:22] 179 tn Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”
[14:22] 180 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:23] 181 tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the
[14:23] 182 tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
[14:24] 183 tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:24] 184 tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
