Discovery BoxGenesis 13:1-18
Context13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 1 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 2 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 3 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 4
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 5 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 6 He returned 7 to the place where he had pitched his tent 8 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 9 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 10
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 11 with Abram, also had 12 flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could 13 not support them while they were living side by side. 14 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 15 alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels 16 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 17 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 18
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. 19 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go 20 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 21 the whole region 22 of the Jordan. He noticed 23 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 24 Sodom and Gomorrah) 25 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 26 all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled 27 toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other. 28 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 29 and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now 30 the people 31 of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) 32
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 33 “Look 34 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 35 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. 36 13:17 Get up and 37 walk throughout 38 the land, 39 for I will give it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 40 by the oaks 41 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
Genesis 7:4
Context7:4 For in seven days 42 I will cause it to rain 43 on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”
Genesis 7:21-23
Context7:21 And all living things 44 that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 7:22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life 45 in its nostrils died. 7:23 So the Lord 46 destroyed 47 every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. 48 They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. 49
Genesis 9:9
Context9:9 “Look! I now confirm 50 my covenant with you and your descendants after you 51
Exodus 14:17
Context14:17 And as for me, I am going to harden 52 the hearts of the Egyptians so that 53 they will come after them, that I may be honored 54 because 55 of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen.
Leviticus 26:28
Context26:28 I will walk in hostile rage against you 56 and I myself will also discipline you seven times on account of your sins.
Deuteronomy 32:39
Context32:39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, 57
“and there is no other god besides me.
I kill and give life,
I smash and I heal,
and none can resist 58 my power.
Psalms 29:10
Context29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, 59
the Lord sits enthroned 60 as the eternal king.
Isaiah 51:12
Context51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. 61
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? 62
Ezekiel 5:8
Context5:8 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: I – even I – am against you, 63 and I will execute judgment 64 among you while the nations watch. 65
Ezekiel 6:3
Context6:3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, 66 Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! 67 This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing 68 a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 69
Ezekiel 34:11
Context34:11 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.
Ezekiel 34:20
Context34:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
Hosea 5:14
Context5:14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear them to pieces,
then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!
Hosea 5:2
Context5:2 Those who revolt are knee-deep in slaughter, 70
but I will discipline them all. 71
Hosea 2:5
Context2:5 For their mother has committed adultery;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, “I will seek out 72 my lovers; 73
they are the ones who give me my bread and my water,
my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine. 74
[13:1] 1 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
[13:1] 2 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] 4 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.
[13:3] 5 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
[13:3] 6 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:3] 7 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:3] 8 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
[13:4] 9 tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).
[13:4] 10 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[13:5] 12 tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.
[13:6] 13 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] 14 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] 15 tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.
[13:7] 16 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] 17 sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.
[13:7] 18 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] 19 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] 20 tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.
[13:10] 21 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] 22 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
[13:10] 23 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 24 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] 25 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] 26 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] 27 tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
[13:11] 28 tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”
[13:12] 29 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] 30 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] 31 tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.
[13:13] 32 tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the
[13:14] 33 tn Heb “and the
[13:14] 34 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”
[13:15] 35 tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”
[13:16] 36 tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.
[13:17] 37 tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.
[13:17] 38 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] 39 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] 40 tn Heb “he came and lived.”
[13:18] 41 tn Or “terebinths.”
[7:4] 42 tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”
[7:4] 43 tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.
[7:22] 45 tn Heb “everything which [has] the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils from all which is in the dry land.”
[7:23] 46 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[7:23] 47 tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).
[7:23] 48 tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”
[7:23] 49 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁאָר (sha’ar) means “to be left over; to survive” in the Niphal verb stem. It is the word used in later biblical texts for the remnant that escapes judgment. See G. F. Hasel, “Semantic Values of Derivatives of the Hebrew Root só’r,” AUSS 11 (1973): 152-69.
[9:9] 50 tn Heb “I, look, I confirm.” The particle הִנְנִי (hinni) used with the participle מֵקִים (meqim) gives the sense of immediacy or imminence, as if to say, “Look! I am now confirming.”
[9:9] 51 tn The three pronominal suffixes (translated “you,” “your,” and “you”) are masculine plural. As v. 8 indicates, Noah and his sons are addressed.
[14:17] 52 tn הִנְנִי (hinni) before the participle gives it the force of a futur instans participle, meaning “I am about to harden” or “I am going to harden” their heart.
[14:17] 53 tn The form again is the imperfect tense with vav (ו) to express the purpose or the result of the hardening. The repetition of the verb translated “come” is interesting: Moses is to divide the sea in order that the people may cross, but God will harden the Egyptians’ hearts in order that they may follow.
[14:17] 54 tn For the comments on this verb see the discussion in v. 4. God would get glory by defeating Egypt.
[14:17] 55 tn Or “I will get glory over.”
[26:28] 56 tn Heb “in rage of hostility with you”; NASB “with wrathful hostility”; NRSV “I will continue hostile to you in fury”; CEV “I’ll get really furious.”
[32:39] 57 tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the
[32:39] 58 tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).
[29:10] 59 tn The noun מַּבּוּל (mabbul, “flood”) appears only here and in Gen 6-11, where it refers to the Noahic flood. Some see a reference to that event here. The presence of the article (perhaps indicating uniqueness) and the switch to the perfect verbal form (which could be taken as describing a past situation) might support this. However, the immediate context indicates that the referent of מַּבּוּל is the “surging waters” mentioned in v. 3. The article indicates waters that are definite in the mind of the speaker and the perfect is probably descriptive in function, like “thunders” in v. 3. However, even though the historical flood is not the primary referent here, there may be a literary allusion involved. The psalmist views the threatening chaotic sea as a contemporary manifestation of the destructive waters of old.
[29:10] 60 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding perfect.
[51:12] 61 tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.
[51:12] 62 tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.
[5:8] 63 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8. The Hebrew text switches to a second feminine singular form here, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed (see vv. 5-6a). The address to Jerusalem continues through v. 15. In vv. 16-17 the second masculine plural is used, as the people are addressed.
[5:8] 64 tn The Hebrew text uses wordplay here to bring out the appropriate nature of God’s judgment. “Execute” translates the same Hebrew verb translated “carried out” (literally meaning “do”) in v. 7, while “judgment” in v. 8 and “regulations” in v. 7 translate the same Hebrew noun (meaning “regulations” or in some cases “judgments” executed on those who break laws). The point seems to be this: God would “carry out judgments” against those who refused to “carry out” his “laws.”
[5:8] 65 tn Heb “in the sight of the nations.”
[6:3] 66 tn The phrase “mountains of Israel” occurs only in the book of Ezekiel (6:2, 3; 19:9; 33:28; 34:13, 14; 35:12; 36:1, 4, 8; 37:22; 38:8; 39:2, 4, 17). The expression refers to the whole land of Israel.
[6:3] 67 tn The introductory formula “Hear the word of the sovereign
[6:3] 68 tn Heb “Look I, I am bringing.” The repetition of the pronoun draws attention to the speaker. The construction also indicates that the action is soon to come; the Lord is “about to bring a sword against” them.
[6:3] 69 tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.
[5:2] 70 tc The MT reads וְשַׁחֲטָה שֵׂטִים הֶעְמִיקוּ (vÿshakhatah setim he’miqu): “and rebels have made deep the slaughter.” The BHS editors propose ושַׁחַת הַשִּׁטִּים הֶעְמִיקוּ (vÿshakhat hashittim he’miqu): “they have made the pit of Shittim [place of idolatry] deep” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT; see BDB 1006 s.v. שַׁחֲטָּה). This involves: (1) phonological confusion between the similar sounding consonants ת (tav) and ט (tet), (2) redivision of words to take ה (hey) as the article with הַשִּׁטִּים rather than feminine noun ending of וְשַׁחֲטָה, and (3) revocalization of הַשִּׁטִּים with the two daghesh fortes. Retaining the reading of the MT is preferable here.
[5:2] 71 tn Heb “but I am discipline to all of them”; ASV “but I am a rebuker of them all.”
[2:5] 72 tn Heb “I will go after” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[2:5] 73 sn This statement alludes to the practice of sexual rites in the Canaanite fertility cult which attempted to secure agricultural fertility from the Canaanite gods (note the following reference to wool, flax, olive oil, and wine).
[2:5] 74 tn Heb “my drinks.” Many English versions use the singular “drink” here, but cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “wine.”
