Discovery BoxGenesis 16:1-16
Context16:1 Now Sarai, 1 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 2 but she had an Egyptian servant 3 named Hagar. 4 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 5 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 6 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 7 Abram did what 8 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 9 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 10 to her husband to be his wife. 11 16:4 He had sexual relations with 12 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 13 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 14 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 15 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 16 but when she realized 17 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 18 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 19
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 20 servant is under your authority, 21 do to her whatever you think best.” 22 Then Sarai treated Hagar 23 harshly, 24 so she ran away from Sarai. 25
16:7 The Lord’s angel 26 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 27 16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from 28 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 29 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 30 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 31 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 32 pregnant
and are about to give birth 33 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 34
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 35
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 36 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 37
and everyone will be hostile to him. 38
He will live away from 39 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 40 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 41 16:14 That is why the well was called 42 Beer Lahai Roi. 43 (It is located 44 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 45 16:16 (Now 46 Abram was 86 years old 47 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 48
Genesis 7:1
Context7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. 49
Genesis 7:6
Context7:6 Noah 50 was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed 51 the earth.
Genesis 10:17-18
Context10:17 Hivites, 52 Arkites, 53 Sinites, 54 10:18 Arvadites, 55 Zemarites, 56 and Hamathites. 57 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered
Genesis 22:1-16
Context22:1 Some time after these things God tested 58 Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham 59 replied. 22:2 God 60 said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac 61 – and go to the land of Moriah! 62 Offer him up there as a burnt offering 63 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to 64 you.”
22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 65 He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out 66 for the place God had spoken to him about.
22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of 67 the place in the distance. 22:5 So he 68 said to his servants, “You two stay 69 here with the donkey while 70 the boy and I go up there. We will worship 71 and then return to you.” 72
22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 73 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 74 “My father?” “What is it, 75 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 76 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide 77 for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 78 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 79 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter 80 his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel 81 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 82 the angel said. 83 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 84 that you fear 85 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
22:13 Abraham looked up 86 and saw 87 behind him 88 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 89 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” 90 It is said to this day, 91 “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” 92
22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ 93 decrees the Lord, 94 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
Genesis 24:5-9
Context24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 95 to this land? Must I then 96 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful 97 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 98 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 99 promised me with a solemn oath, 100 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 101 before you so that you may find 102 a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, 103 you will be free 104 from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. 105
Genesis 27:9-33
Context27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 106 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 107 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 108 and 109 bless you before he dies.”
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 110 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 111 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 112 my son! Just obey me! 113 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 114 and brought them to his mother. She 115 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 116 on his hands 117 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 118 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 119 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 120 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 121 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 122 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 123 did you find it so quickly, 124 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 125 he replied. 126 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 127 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 128 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 129 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 130 replied. 27:25 Isaac 131 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 132 Then I will bless you.” 133 So Jacob 134 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 135 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 136 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 137 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 138 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 139
and the richness 140 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 141 lord 142 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 143
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 144 his father’s 145 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 146 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 147 said to him, “My father, get up 148 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 149 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 150 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 151 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 152 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 153 He will indeed be blessed!”
Numbers 18:9-32
Context18:9 Of all the most holy offerings reserved 154 from the fire this will be yours: Every offering of theirs, whether from every grain offering or from every purification offering or from every reparation offering which they bring to me, will be most holy for you and for your sons. 18:10 You are to eat it as a most holy offering; every male may eat it. It will be holy to you.
18:11 “And this is yours: the raised offering of their gift, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual ordinance. Everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it.
18:12 “All the best of the olive oil and all the best of the wine and of the wheat, the first fruits of these things that they give to the Lord, I have given to you. 155 18:13 And whatever first ripe fruit in their land they bring to the Lord will be yours; everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it.
18:14 “Everything devoted 156 in Israel will be yours. 18:15 The firstborn of every womb which they present to the Lord, whether human or animal, will be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn sons you must redeem, 157 and the firstborn males of unclean animals you must redeem. 18:16 And those that must be redeemed you are to redeem when they are a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of silver according to the sanctuary shekel (which is twenty gerahs). 18:17 But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow or a sheep or a goat; they are holy. You must splash 158 their blood on the altar and burn their fat for an offering made by fire for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 18:18 And their meat will be yours, just as the breast and the right hip of the raised offering is yours. 18:19 All the raised offerings of the holy things that the Israelites offer to the Lord, I have given to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt 159 forever before the Lord for you and for your descendants with you.”
18:20 The Lord spoke to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion of property 160 among them – I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites. 18:21 See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting. 18:22 No longer may the Israelites approach the tent of meeting, or else they will bear their sin 161 and die. 18:23 But the Levites must perform the service 162 of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. 163 It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites 164 have no inheritance. 165 18:24 But I have given 166 to the Levites for an inheritance the tithes of the Israelites that are offered 167 to the Lord as a raised offering. That is why I said to them that among the Israelites they are to have no inheritance.”
18:25 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18:26 “You are to speak to the Levites, and you must tell them, ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you are to offer up 168 from it as a raised offering to the Lord a tenth of the tithe. 18:27 And your raised offering will be credited 169 to you as though it were grain from the threshing floor or as new wine 170 from the winepress. 18:28 Thus you are to offer up a raised offering to the Lord of all your tithes which you receive from the Israelites; and you must give the Lord’s raised offering from it to Aaron the priest. 18:29 From all your gifts you must offer up every raised offering due 171 the Lord, from all the best of it, and the holiest part of it.’ 172
18:30 “Therefore you will say to them, 173 ‘When you offer up 174 the best of it, then it will be credited to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor and as the product of the winepress. 18:31 And you may 175 eat it in any place, you and your household, because it is your wages for your service in the tent of meeting. 18:32 And you will bear no sin concerning it when you offer up the best of it. And you must not profane the holy things of the Israelites, or else you will die.’” 176
Deuteronomy 12:5-12
Context12:5 But you must seek only the place he 177 chooses from all your tribes to establish his name as his place of residence, 178 and you must go there. 12:6 And there you must take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared, 179 your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 12:7 Both you and your families 180 must feast there before the Lord your God and rejoice in all the output of your labor with which he 181 has blessed you. 12:8 You must not do like we are doing here today, with everyone 182 doing what seems best to him, 12:9 for you have not yet come to the final stop 183 and inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 12:10 When you do go across the Jordan River 184 and settle in the land he 185 is granting you as an inheritance and you find relief from all the enemies who surround you, you will live in safety. 186 12:11 Then you must come to the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to reside, bringing 187 everything I am commanding you – your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared, 188 and all your choice votive offerings which you devote to him. 189 12:12 You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages 190 (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you). 191
Deuteronomy 12:26
Context12:26 Only the holy things and votive offerings that belong to you, you must pick up and take to the place the Lord will choose. 192
Deuteronomy 15:19-20
Context15:19 You must set apart 193 for the Lord your God every firstborn male born to your herds and flocks. You must not work the firstborn of your bulls or shear the firstborn of your flocks. 15:20 You and your household must eat them annually before the Lord your God in the place he 194 chooses.
Deuteronomy 26:1-15
Context26:1 When 195 you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you occupy it and live in it, 26:2 you must take the first of all the ground’s produce you harvest from the land the Lord your God is giving you, place it in a basket, and go to the place where he 196 chooses to locate his name. 197 26:3 You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, “I declare today to the Lord your 198 God that I have come into the land that the Lord 199 promised 200 to our ancestors 201 to give us.” 26:4 The priest will then take the basket from you 202 and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. 26:5 Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering 203 Aramean 204 was my ancestor, 205 and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, 206 but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people. 26:6 But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, forcing us to do burdensome labor. 26:7 So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he 207 heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression. 26:8 Therefore the Lord brought us out of Egypt with tremendous strength and power, 208 as well as with great awe-inspiring signs and wonders. 26:9 Then he brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 26:10 So now, look! I have brought the first of the ground’s produce that you, Lord, have given me.” Then you must set it down before the Lord your God and worship before him. 209 26:11 You will celebrate all the good things that the Lord your God has given you and your family, 210 along with the Levites and the resident foreigners among you.
26:12 When you finish tithing all 211 your income in the third year (the year of tithing), you must give it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows 212 so that they may eat to their satisfaction in your villages. 213 26:13 Then you shall say before the Lord your God, “I have removed the sacred offering 214 from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me. 215 I have not violated or forgotten your commandments. 26:14 I have not eaten anything when I was in mourning, or removed any of it while ceremonially unclean, or offered any of it to the dead; 216 I have obeyed you 217 and have done everything you have commanded me. 26:15 Look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors – a land flowing with milk and honey.”
[16:1] 1 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
[16:1] 2 sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.
[16:1] 3 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
[16:1] 4 sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)
[16:2] 5 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
[16:2] 6 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
[16:2] 7 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
[16:2] 8 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
[16:3] 9 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.
[16:3] 10 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
[16:3] 11 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.
[16:4] 12 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.
[16:4] 13 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)
[16:4] 14 tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.
[16:5] 15 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
[16:5] 16 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
[16:5] 18 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.
[16:5] 19 tn Heb “me and you.”
[16:6] 20 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
[16:6] 21 tn Heb “in your hand.”
[16:6] 22 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
[16:6] 23 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:6] 24 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
[16:6] 25 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:7] 26 tn Heb “the messenger of the
[16:7] 27 tn Heb “And the angel of the
[16:8] 28 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
[16:9] 29 tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.
[16:10] 30 tn Heb “The
[16:10] 31 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
[16:11] 32 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
[16:11] 33 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
[16:11] 34 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”
[16:11] 35 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
[16:12] 36 sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.
[16:12] 37 tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.
[16:12] 38 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
[16:12] 39 tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).
[16:13] 40 tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).
[16:13] 41 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
[16:14] 42 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
[16:14] 43 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.
[16:14] 44 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:15] 45 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
[16:16] 46 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.
[16:16] 47 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”
[16:16] 48 tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.
[7:1] 49 tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.
[7:6] 50 tn Heb “Now Noah was.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate nominative after implied “to be” verb) provides background information. The age of Noah receives prominence.
[7:6] 51 tn Heb “and the flood was water upon.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial/temporal in relation to the preceding clause. The verb הָיָה (hayah) here carries the nuance “to come” (BDB 225 s.v. הָיָה). In this context the phrase “come upon” means “to engulf.”
[10:17] 52 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
[10:17] 53 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
[10:17] 54 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
[10:18] 55 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
[10:18] 56 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
[10:18] 57 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
[22:1] 58 sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.
[22:1] 59 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 60 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 61 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
[22:2] 62 sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
[22:2] 63 sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.
[22:2] 64 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
[22:3] 65 tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”
[22:3] 66 tn Heb “he arose and he went.”
[22:4] 67 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”
[22:5] 68 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
[22:5] 69 tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.
[22:5] 70 tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.
[22:5] 71 tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”
[22:5] 72 sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.
[22:6] 73 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
[22:7] 74 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[22:7] 75 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
[22:7] 76 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:8] 77 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
[22:9] 78 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
[22:9] 79 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
[22:10] 80 tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”
[22:11] 81 sn Heb “the messenger of the
[22:12] 82 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
[22:12] 83 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:12] 84 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
[22:12] 85 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
[22:13] 86 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
[22:13] 87 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
[22:13] 88 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
[22:13] 89 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:14] 90 tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.
[22:14] 91 sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
[22:14] 92 sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.
[22:16] 93 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
[22:16] 94 tn Heb “the oracle of the
[24:5] 95 tn Heb “to go after me.”
[24:5] 96 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
[24:6] 97 tn Heb “guard yourself.”
[24:6] 98 tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:7] 99 tn Or “the land of my birth.”
[24:7] 100 tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”
[24:7] 101 tn Or “his messenger.”
[24:7] 102 tn Heb “before you and you will take.”
[24:8] 103 tn Heb “ to go after you.”
[24:8] 104 sn You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.
[24:9] 105 tn Heb “and he swore to him concerning this matter.”
[27:9] 106 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:10] 107 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.
[27:10] 108 tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.
[27:10] 109 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:11] 110 tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:12] 111 tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”
[27:13] 112 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
[27:13] 113 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
[27:14] 114 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:14] 115 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:16] 116 tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.
[27:16] 117 tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”
[27:17] 118 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
[27:18] 119 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:18] 120 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
[27:19] 121 tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.
[27:19] 122 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.
[27:20] 123 tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”
[27:20] 124 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
[27:20] 125 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
[27:20] 126 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
[27:21] 127 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:21] 128 tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.
[27:23] 129 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:24] 130 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 131 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 132 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:25] 133 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
[27:25] 134 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 135 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 136 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 137 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:28] 139 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
[27:28] 140 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
[27:29] 141 tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.
[27:29] 142 tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”
[27:29] 143 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:30] 144 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
[27:30] 145 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
[27:30] 146 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
[27:31] 147 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
[27:31] 148 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
[27:31] 149 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
[27:32] 151 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
[27:33] 152 tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.
[27:33] 153 tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”
[18:9] 154 tn Heb “from the fire.” It probably refers to those parts that were not burned.
[18:12] 155 tn This form may be classified as a perfect of resolve – he has decided to give them to them, even though this is a listing of what they will receive.
[18:14] 156 tn The “ban” (חֵרֶם, kherem) in Hebrew describes that which is exclusively the
[18:15] 157 tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of the verb “to redeem” in order to stress the point – they were to be redeemed. N. H. Snaith suggests that the verb means to get by payment what was not originally yours, whereas the other root גָאַל (ga’al) means to get back what was originally yours (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 268).
[18:17] 158 tn Or “throw, toss.”
[18:19] 159 sn Salt was used in all the offerings; its importance as a preservative made it a natural symbol for the covenant which was established by sacrifice. Even general agreements were attested by sacrifice, and the phrase “covenant of salt” speaks of such agreements as binding and irrevocable. Note the expression in Ezra 4:14, “we have been salted with the salt of the palace.” See further J. F. Ross, IDB 4:167.
[18:20] 160 tn The phrase “of property” is supplied as a clarification.
[18:22] 161 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive construct of the verb “to bear” with the lamed (ל) preposition to express the result of such an action. “To bear their sin” would mean that they would have to suffer the consequences of their sin.
[18:23] 162 tn The verse begins with the perfect tense of עָבַד (’avad) with vav (ו) consecutive, making the form equal to the instructions preceding it. As its object the verb has the cognate accusative “service.”
[18:23] 163 sn The Levites have the care of the tent of meeting, and so they are responsible for any transgressions against it.
[18:23] 164 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Levites) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[18:23] 165 tn The Hebrew text uses both the verb and the object from the same root to stress the point: They will not inherit an inheritance. The inheritance refers to land.
[18:24] 166 tn The classification of the perfect tense here too could be the perfect of resolve, since this law is declaring what will be their portion – “I have decided to give.”
[18:24] 167 tn In the Hebrew text the verb has no expressed subject (although the “Israelites” is certainly intended), and so it can be rendered as a passive.
[18:26] 168 tn The verb in this clause is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it has the same force as an imperfect of instruction: “when…then you are to offer up.”
[18:27] 169 tn The verb is חָשַׁב (khashav, “to reckon; to count; to think”); it is the same verb used for “crediting” Abram with righteousness. Here the tithe of the priests will be counted as if it were a regular tithe.
[18:27] 170 tn Heb “fullness,” meaning the fullness of the harvest, i.e., a full harvest.
[18:29] 171 tn The construction is “every raised offering of the
[18:29] 172 tn Or “its hallowed thing.”
[18:30] 173 tn The wording of this verse is confusing; it may be that it is addressed to the priests, telling them how to deal with the offerings of the Levites.
[18:30] 174 tn The clause begins with the infinitive construct with its preposition and suffixed subject serving to indicate the temporal clause.
[18:31] 175 tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it functions as the equivalent of the imperfect of permission.
[18:32] 176 tn The final clause could also be rendered “in order that you do not die.” The larger section can also be interpreted differently; rather than take it as a warning, it could be taken as an assurance that when they do all of this they will not be profaning it and so will not die (R. K. Harrison, Numbers [WEC], 253).
[12:5] 177 tn Heb “the
[12:5] 178 tc Some scholars, on the basis of v. 11, emend the MT reading שִׁכְנוֹ (shikhno, “his residence”) to the infinitive construct לְשָׁכֵן (lÿshakhen, “to make [his name] to dwell”), perhaps with the 3rd person masculine singular sf לְשַׁכְּנוֹ (lÿshakÿno, “to cause it to dwell”). Though the presupposed nounשֵׁכֶן (shekhen) is nowhere else attested, the parallel here with שַׁמָּה (shammah, “there”) favors retaining the MT as it stands.
[12:6] 179 tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”
[12:7] 180 tn Heb “and your houses,” referring to entire households. The pronouns “you” and “your” are plural in the Hebrew text.
[12:7] 181 tn Heb “the
[12:10] 184 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[12:10] 185 tn Heb “the
[12:10] 186 tn In the Hebrew text vv. 10-11 are one long, complex sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides this into two sentences.
[12:11] 187 tn Heb “and it will be (to) the place where the Lord your God chooses to cause his name to dwell you will bring.”
[12:11] 188 tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”
[12:11] 189 tn Heb “the
[12:12] 190 tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”
[12:12] 191 sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.
[12:26] 192 tc Again, to complete a commonly attested wording the LXX adds after “choose” the phrase “to place his name there.” This shows insensitivity to deliberate departures from literary stereotypes. The MT reading is to be preferred.
[15:19] 193 tn Heb “sanctify” (תַּקְדִּישׁ, taqdish), that is, put to use on behalf of the
[15:20] 194 tn Heb “the Lord.” The translation uses a pronoun for stylistic reasons. See note on “he” in 15:4.
[26:1] 195 tn Heb “and it will come to pass that.”
[26:2] 196 tn Heb “the
[26:2] 197 sn The place where he chooses to locate his name. This is a circumlocution for the central sanctuary, first the tabernacle and later the Jerusalem temple. See Deut 12:1-14 and especially the note on the word “you” in v. 14.
[26:3] 198 tc For the MT reading “your God,” certain LXX
[26:3] 199 tc The Syriac adds “your God” to complete the usual formula.
[26:3] 200 tn Heb “swore on oath.”
[26:3] 201 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 15).
[26:4] 202 tn Heb “your hand.”
[26:5] 203 tn Though the Hebrew term אָבַד (’avad) generally means “to perish” or the like (HALOT 2-3 s.v.; BDB 1-2 s.v.; cf. KJV “a Syrian ready to perish”), a meaning “to go astray” or “to be lost” is also attested. The ambivalence in the Hebrew text is reflected in the versions where LXX Vaticanus reads ἀπέβαλεν (apebalen, “lose”) for a possibly metathesized reading found in Alexandrinus, Ambrosianus, ἀπέλαβεν (apelaben, “receive”); others attest κατέλειπεν (kateleipen, “leave, abandon”). “Wandering” seems to suit best the contrast with the sedentary life Israel would enjoy in Canaan (v. 9) and is the meaning followed by many English versions.
[26:5] 204 sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42).
[26:5] 206 tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.
[26:7] 207 tn Heb “the
[26:8] 208 tn Heb “by a powerful hand and an extended arm.” These are anthropomorphisms designed to convey God’s tremendously great power in rescuing Israel from their Egyptian bondage. They are preserved literally in many English versions (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[26:10] 209 tn Heb “the
[26:11] 210 tn Or “household” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); Heb “house” (so KJV, NRSV).
[26:12] 211 tn Heb includes “the tithes of.” This has not been included in the translation to avoid redundancy.
[26:12] 212 tn The terms “Levite, resident foreigner, orphan, and widow” are collective singulars in the Hebrew text (also in v. 13).
[26:13] 214 tn Heb “the sacred thing.” The term הַקֹּדֶשׁ (haqqodesh) likely refers to an offering normally set apart for the
[26:13] 215 tn Heb “according to all your commandment that you commanded me.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:14] 216 sn These practices suggest overtones of pagan ritual, all of which the confessor denies having undertaken. In Canaan they were connected with fertility practices associated with harvest time. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 335-36.
[26:14] 217 tn Heb “the
