Discovery BoxGenesis 4:1--13:18
Context4:1 Now 1 the man had marital relations with 2 his wife Eve, and she became pregnant 3 and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created 4 a man just as the Lord did!” 5 4:2 Then she gave birth 6 to his brother Abel. 7 Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. 8
4:3 At the designated time 9 Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering 10 to the Lord. 4:4 But Abel brought 11 some of the firstborn of his flock – even the fattest 12 of them. And the Lord was pleased with 13 Abel and his offering, 4:5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. 14 So Cain became very angry, 15 and his expression was downcast. 16
4:6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 4:7 Is it not true 17 that if you do what is right, you will be fine? 18 But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching 19 at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.” 20
4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” 21 While they were in the field, Cain attacked 22 his brother 23 Abel and killed him.
4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” 24 And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” 25 4:10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? 26 The voice 27 of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 4:11 So now, you are banished 28 from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 4:12 When you try to cultivate 29 the
ground it will no longer yield 30 its best 31 for you. You will be a homeless wanderer 32 on the earth.” 4:13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment 33 is too great to endure! 34 4:14 Look! You are driving me off the land 35 today, and I must hide from your presence. 36 I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me will kill me.” 4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, 37 if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” 38 Then the Lord put a special mark 39 on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. 40 4:16 So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod, 41 east of Eden.
4:17 Cain had marital relations 42 with his wife, and she became pregnant 43 and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after 44 his son Enoch. 4:18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father 45 of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
4:19 Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 4:20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first 46 of those who live in tents and keep 47 livestock. 4:21 The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute. 4:22 Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who heated metal and shaped 48 all kinds of tools made of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
4:23 Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah! Listen to me!
You wives of Lamech, hear my words!
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man 49 for hurting me.
4:24 If Cain is to be avenged seven times as much,
then Lamech seventy-seven times!” 50
4:25 And Adam had marital relations 51 with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given 52 me another child 53 in place of Abel because Cain killed him.” 4:26 And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people 54 began to worship 55 the Lord.
5:1 This is the record 56 of the family line 57 of Adam.
When God created humankind, 58 he made them 59 in the likeness of God. 5:2 He created them male and female; when they were created, he blessed them and named them “humankind.” 60
5:3 When 61 Adam had lived 130 years he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and he named him Seth. 5:4 The length of time Adam lived 62 after he became the father of Seth was 800 years; during this time he had 63 other 64 sons and daughters. 5:5 The entire lifetime 65 of Adam was 930 years, and then he died. 66
5:6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father 67 of Enosh. 5:7 Seth lived 807 years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had 68 other 69 sons and daughters. 5:8 The entire lifetime of Seth was 912 years, and then he died.
5:9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 5:10 Enosh lived 815 years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:11 The entire lifetime of Enosh was 905 years, and then he died.
5:12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 5:13 Kenan lived 840 years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:14 The entire lifetime of Kenan was 910 years, and then he died.
5:15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 5:16 Mahalalel lived 830 years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:17 The entire lifetime of Mahalalel was 895 years, and then he died.
5:18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 5:19 Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:20 The entire lifetime of Jared was 962 years, and then he died.
5:21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 5:22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 70 for 300 years, 71 and he had other 72 sons and daughters. 5:23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 5:24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared 73 because God took 74 him away.
5:25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 5:26 Methuselah lived 782 years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other 75 sons and daughters. 5:27 The entire lifetime of Methuselah was 969 years, and then he died.
5:28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 5:29 He named him Noah, 76 saying, “This one will bring us comfort 77 from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.” 5:30 Lamech lived 595 years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other 78 sons and daughters. 5:31 The entire lifetime of Lamech was 777 years, and then he died.
5:32 After Noah was 500 years old, he 79 became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:1 When humankind 80 began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born 81 to them, 82 6:2 the sons of God 83 saw that the daughters of humankind were beautiful. Thus they took wives for themselves from any they chose. 6:3 So the Lord said, “My spirit will not remain in 84 humankind indefinitely, 85 since 86 they 87 are mortal. 88 They 89 will remain for 120 more years.” 90
6:4 The Nephilim 91 were on the earth in those days (and also after this) 92 when the sons of God were having sexual relations with 93 the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children. 94 They were the mighty heroes 95 of old, the famous men. 96
6:5 But the Lord saw 97 that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination 98 of the thoughts 99 of their minds 100 was only evil 101 all the time. 102 6:6 The Lord regretted 103 that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended. 104 6:7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – everything from humankind to animals, 105 including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them.”
6:8 But 106 Noah found favor 107 in the sight of 108 the Lord.
6:9 This is the account of Noah. 109
Noah was a godly man; he was blameless 110
among his contemporaries. 111 He 112 walked with 113 God. 6:10 Noah had 114 three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:11 The earth was ruined 115 in the sight of 116 God; the earth was filled with violence. 117 6:12 God saw the earth, and indeed 118 it was ruined, 119 for all living creatures 120 on the earth were sinful. 121 6:13 So God said 122 to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, 123 for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy 124 them and the earth. 6:14 Make 125 for yourself an ark of cypress 126 wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover 127 it with pitch inside and out. 6:15 This is how you should make it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 128 6:16 Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches 129 from the top. 130 Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks. 6:17 I am about to bring 131 floodwaters 132 on the earth to destroy 133 from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. 134 Everything that is on the earth will die, 6:18 but I will confirm 135 my covenant with you. You will enter 136 the ark – you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 6:19 You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh, 137 male and female, to keep them alive 138 with you. 6:20 Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive. 139 6:21 And you must take 140 for yourself every kind of food 141 that is eaten, 142 and gather it together. 143 It will be food for you and for them.
6:22 And Noah did all 144 that God commanded him – he did indeed. 145
7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. 146 7:2 You must take with you seven 147 of every kind of clean animal, 148 the male and its mate, 149 two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 7:3 and also seven 150 of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, 151 to preserve their offspring 152 on the face of the earth. 7:4 For in seven days 153 I will cause it to rain 154 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.”
7:5 And Noah did all 155 that the Lord commanded him.
7:6 Noah 156 was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed 157 the earth. 7:7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because 158 of the floodwaters. 7:8 Pairs 159 of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground, 7:9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah, 160 just as God had commanded him. 161 7:10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth. 162
7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month – on that day all the fountains of the great deep 163 burst open and the floodgates of the heavens 164 were opened. 7:12 And the rain fell 165 on the earth forty days and forty nights.
7:13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives. 166 7:14 They entered, 167 along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. 168 7:15 Pairs 169 of all creatures 170 that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 7:16 Those that entered were male and female, 171 just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.
7:17 The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 7:18 The waters completely overwhelmed 172 the earth, and the ark floated 173 on the surface of the waters. 7:19 The waters completely inundated 174 the earth so that even 175 all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 7:20 The waters rose more than twenty feet 176 above the mountains. 177 7:21 And all living things 178 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 179 in its nostrils died. 7:23 So the Lord 180 destroyed 181 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. 182 They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. 183 7:24 The waters prevailed over 184 the earth for 150 days.
8:1 But God remembered 185 Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over 186 the earth and the waters receded. 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed, 187 and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 8:3 The waters kept receding steadily 188 from the earth, so that they 189 had gone down 190 by the end of the 150 days. 8:4 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat. 191 8:5 The waters kept on receding 192 until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible. 193
8:6 At the end of forty days, 194 Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 195 8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying 196 back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.
8:8 Then Noah 197 sent out a dove 198 to see if the waters had receded 199 from the surface of the ground. 8:9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered 200 the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah 201 in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, 202 and brought it back into the ark. 203 8:10 He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. 8:11 When 204 the dove returned to him in the evening, there was 205 a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak! Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 8:12 He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, 206 but it did not return to him this time. 207
8:13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year, 208 in the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that 209 the surface of the ground was dry. 8:14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth 210 was dry.
8:15 Then God spoke to Noah and said, 8:16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 8:17 Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you. Bring out 211 every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase 212 and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!” 213
8:18 Noah went out along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. 8:19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.
8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 214 8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma 215 and said 216 to himself, 217 “I will never again curse 218 the ground because of humankind, even though 219 the inclination of their minds 220 is evil from childhood on. 221 I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.
8:22 “While the earth continues to exist, 222
planting time 223 and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
and day and night will not cease.”
9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 9:2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. 224 Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. 225 9:3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. 226 As I gave you 227 the green plants, I now give 228 you everything.
9:4 But 229 you must not eat meat 230 with its life (that is, 231 its blood) in it. 232 9:5 For your lifeblood 233 I will surely exact punishment, 234 from 235 every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person 236 I will exact punishment for the life of the individual 237 since the man was his relative. 238
9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, 239
by other humans 240
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image 241
God 242 has made humankind.”
9:7 But as for you, 243 be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
9:8 God said to Noah and his sons, 244 9:9 “Look! I now confirm 245 my covenant with you and your descendants after you 246 9:10 and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you – every living creature of the earth. 247 9:11 I confirm 248 my covenant with you: Never again will all living things 249 be wiped out 250 by the waters of a flood; 251 never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee 252 of the covenant I am making 253 with you 254 and every living creature with you, a covenant 255 for all subsequent 256 generations: 9:13 I will place 257 my rainbow 258 in the clouds, and it will become 259 a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 9:14 Whenever 260 I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you 261 and with all living creatures of all kinds. 262 Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy 263 all living things. 264 9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember 265 the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”
9:17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things 266 that are on the earth.”
9:18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Now Ham was the father of Canaan.) 267 9:19 These were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated. 268
9:20 Noah, a man of the soil, 269 began to plant a vineyard. 270 9:21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself 271 inside his tent. 9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, 272 saw his father’s nakedness 273 and told his two brothers who were outside. 9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment 274 and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned 275 the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.
9:24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor 276 he learned 277 what his youngest son had done 278 to him. 9:25 So he said,
The lowest of slaves 281
he will be to his brothers.”
9:26 He also said,
“Worthy of praise is 282 the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem! 283
9:27 May God enlarge Japheth’s territory and numbers! 284
May he live 285 in the tents of Shem
and may Canaan be his slave!”
9:28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 9:29 The entire lifetime of Noah was 950 years, and then he died.
10:1 This is the account 286 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 287 were born 288 to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 289 were Gomer, 290 Magog, 291 Madai, 292 Javan, 293 Tubal, 294 Meshech, 295 and Tiras. 296 10:3 The sons of Gomer were 297 Askenaz, 298 Riphath, 299 and Togarmah. 300 10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 301 Tarshish, 302 the Kittim, 303 and the Dodanim. 304 10:5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.
10:6 The sons of Ham were Cush, 305 Mizraim, 306 Put, 307 and Canaan. 308 10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, 309 Havilah, 310 Sabtah, 311 Raamah, 312 and Sabteca. 313 The sons of Raamah were Sheba 314 and Dedan. 315
10:8 Cush was the father of 316 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter 317 before the Lord. 318 (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10:10 The primary regions 319 of his kingdom were Babel, 320 Erech, 321 Akkad, 322 and Calneh 323 in the land of Shinar. 324 10:11 From that land he went 325 to Assyria, 326 where he built Nineveh, 327 Rehoboth-Ir, 328 Calah, 329 10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 330
10:13 Mizraim 331 was the father of 332 the Ludites, 333 Anamites, 334 Lehabites, 335 Naphtuhites, 336 10:14 Pathrusites, 337 Casluhites 338 (from whom the Philistines came), 339 and Caphtorites. 340
10:15 Canaan was the father of 341 Sidon his firstborn, 342 Heth, 343 10:16 the Jebusites, 344 Amorites, 345 Girgashites, 346 10:17 Hivites, 347 Arkites, 348 Sinites, 349 10:18 Arvadites, 350 Zemarites, 351 and Hamathites. 352 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended 353 from Sidon 354 all the way to 355 Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to 356 Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.
10:21 And sons were also born 357 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 358 the father of all the sons of Eber.
10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, 359 Asshur, 360 Arphaxad, 361 Lud, 362 and Aram. 363 10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 364 10:24 Arphaxad was the father of 365 Shelah, 366 and Shelah was the father of Eber. 367 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, 368 and his brother’s name was Joktan. 10:26 Joktan was the father of 369 Almodad, 370 Sheleph, 371 Hazarmaveth, 372 Jerah, 373 10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, 374 Diklah, 375 10:28 Obal, 376 Abimael, 377 Sheba, 378 10:29 Ophir, 379 Havilah, 380 and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 10:30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to 381 Sephar in the eastern hills. 10:31 These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.
10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread 382 over the earth after the flood.
11:1 The whole earth 383 had a common language and a common vocabulary. 384 11:2 When the people 385 moved eastward, 386 they found a plain in Shinar 387 and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, 388 “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” 389 (They had brick instead of stone and tar 390 instead of mortar.) 391 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens 392 so that 393 we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise 394 we will be scattered 395 across the face of the entire earth.”
11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people 396 had started 397 building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language 398 they have begun to do this, then 399 nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 400 11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse 401 their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 402
11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building 403 the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called 404 Babel 405 – 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 406 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 407 sons and daughters. 408
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 409 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, 410 while his father Terah was still alive. 411 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, 412 and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; 413 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 414 of Terah was 205 years, and he 415 died in Haran.
12:1 Now the Lord said 416 to Abram, 417
“Go out 418 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 419
12:2 Then I will make you 420 into a great nation, and I will bless you, 421
and I will make your name great, 422
so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 423
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, 424
but the one who treats you lightly 425 I must curse,
and all the families of the earth will bless one another 426 by your name.”
12:4 So Abram left, 427 just as the Lord had told him to do, 428 and Lot went with him. (Now 429 Abram was 75 years old 430 when he departed from Haran.) 12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew 431 Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired 432 in Haran, and they left for 433 the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree 434 of Moreh 435 at Shechem. 436 (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 437 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants 438 I will give this land.” So Abram 439 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 440 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. 441 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages 442 down to the Negev. 443
12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt 444 to stay for a while 445 because the famine was severe. 446 12:11 As he approached 447 Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, 448 I know that you are a beautiful woman. 449 12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 450 12:13 So tell them 451 you are my sister 452 so that it may go well 453 for me because of you and my life will be spared 454 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 455 was taken 456 into the household of Pharaoh, 457 12:16 and he did treat Abram well 458 on account of her. Abram received 459 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 460 because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this 461 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 462 to be my wife? 463 Here is your wife! 464 Take her and go!” 465 12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, 466 and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 467 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 468 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 469 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 470
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 471 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 472 He returned 473 to the place where he had pitched his tent 474 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 475 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 476
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 477 with Abram, also had 478 flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could 479 not support them while they were living side by side. 480 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 481 alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels 482 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 483 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 484
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. 485 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go 486 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 487 the whole region 488 of the Jordan. He noticed 489 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 490 Sodom and Gomorrah) 491 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 492 all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled 493 toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other. 494 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 495 and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now 496 the people 497 of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) 498
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 499 “Look 500 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 501 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. 502 13:17 Get up and 503 walk throughout 504 the land, 505 for I will give it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 506 by the oaks 507 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
Ezekiel 34:17
Context34:17 “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.
Galatians 4:20
Context4:20 I wish I could be with you now and change my tone of voice, 508 because I am perplexed about you.
Galatians 6:1
Context6:1 Brothers and sisters, 509 if a person 510 is discovered in some sin, 511 you who are spiritual 512 restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. 513 Pay close attention 514 to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.
Hebrews 6:4-8
Context6:4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 6:5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, 6:6 and then have committed apostasy, 515 to renew them again to repentance, since 516 they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again 517 and holding him up to contempt. 6:7 For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on 518 it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God. 6:8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed; 519 its fate is to be burned.
James 5:19-20
Context5:19 My brothers and sisters, 520 if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 5:20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path 521 will save that person’s 522 soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
James 5:1
Context5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud 523 over the miseries that are coming on you.
James 5:16-18
Context5:16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. 524 5:17 Elijah was a human being 525 like us, and he prayed earnestly 526 that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 5:18 Then 527 he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.
[4:1] 1 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.
[4:1] 2 tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
[4:1] 3 tn Or “she conceived.”
[4:1] 4 tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.
[4:1] 5 tn Heb “with the
[4:2] 6 tn Heb “And she again gave birth.”
[4:2] 7 sn The name Abel is not defined here in the text, but the tone is ominous. Abel’s name, the Hebrew word הֶבֶל (hevel), means “breath, vapor, vanity,” foreshadowing Abel’s untimely and premature death.
[4:2] 8 tn Heb “and Abel was a shepherd of the flock, and Cain was a worker of the ground.” The designations of the two occupations are expressed with active participles, רֹעֵה (ro’eh, “shepherd”) and עֹבֵד (’oved, “worker”). Abel is occupied with sheep, whereas Cain is living under the curse, cultivating the ground.
[4:3] 9 tn Heb “And it happened at the end of days.” The clause indicates the passing of a set period of time leading up to offering sacrifices.
[4:3] 10 tn The Hebrew term מִנְחָה (minkhah, “offering”) is a general word for tribute, a gift, or an offering. It is the main word used in Lev 2 for the dedication offering. This type of offering could be comprised of vegetables. The content of the offering (vegetables, as opposed to animals) was not the critical issue, but rather the attitude of the offerer.
[4:4] 11 tn Heb “But Abel brought, also he….” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) stresses the contrast between Cain’s offering and Abel’s.
[4:4] 12 tn Two prepositional phrases are used to qualify the kind of sacrifice that Abel brought: “from the firstborn” and “from the fattest of them.” These also could be interpreted as a hendiadys: “from the fattest of the firstborn of the flock.” Another option is to understand the second prepositional phrase as referring to the fat portions of the sacrificial sheep. In this case one may translate, “some of the firstborn of his flock, even some of their fat portions” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
[4:4] 13 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁעָה (sha’ah) simply means “to gaze at, to have regard for, to look on with favor [or “with devotion”].” The text does not indicate how this was communicated, but it indicates that Cain and Abel knew immediately. Either there was some manifestation of divine pleasure given to Abel and withheld from Cain (fire consuming the sacrifice?), or there was an inner awareness of divine response.
[4:5] 14 sn The Letter to the Hebrews explains the difference between the brothers as one of faith – Abel by faith offered a better sacrifice. Cain’s offering as well as his reaction to God’s displeasure did not reflect faith. See further B. K. Waltke, “Cain and His Offering,” WTJ 48 (1986): 363-72.
[4:5] 15 tn Heb “and it was hot to Cain.” This Hebrew idiom means that Cain “burned” with anger.
[4:5] 16 tn Heb “And his face fell.” The idiom means that the inner anger is reflected in Cain’s facial expression. The fallen or downcast face expresses anger, dejection, or depression. Conversely, in Num 6 the high priestly blessing speaks of the
[4:7] 17 tn The introduction of the conditional clause with an interrogative particle prods the answer from Cain, as if he should have known this. It is not a condemnation, but an encouragement to do what is right.
[4:7] 18 tn The Hebrew text is difficult, because only one word occurs, שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et), which appears to be the infinitive construct from the verb “to lift up” (נָאָשׂ, na’as). The sentence reads: “If you do well, uplifting.” On the surface it seems to be the opposite of the fallen face. Everything will be changed if he does well. God will show him favor, he will not be angry, and his face will reflect that. But more may be intended since the second half of the verse forms the contrast: “If you do not do well, sin is crouching….” Not doing well leads to sinful attack; doing well leads to victory and God’s blessing.
[4:7] 19 tn The Hebrew term translated “crouching” (רֹבֵץ, rovets) is an active participle. Sin is portrayed with animal imagery here as a beast crouching and ready to pounce (a figure of speech known as zoomorphism). An Akkadian cognate refers to a type of demon; in this case perhaps one could translate, “Sin is the demon at the door” (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 29, 32-33).
[4:7] 20 tn Heb “and toward you [is] its desire, but you must rule over it.” As in Gen 3:16, the Hebrew noun “desire” refers to an urge to control or dominate. Here the desire is that which sin has for Cain, a desire to control for the sake of evil, but Cain must have mastery over it. The imperfect is understood as having an obligatory sense. Another option is to understand it as expressing potential (“you can have [or “are capable of having”] mastery over it.”). It will be a struggle, but sin can be defeated by righteousness. In addition to this connection to Gen 3, other linguistic and thematic links between chaps. 3 and 4 are discussed by A. J. Hauser, “Linguistic and Thematic Links Between Genesis 4:1-6 and Genesis 2–3,” JETS 23 (1980): 297-306.
[4:8] 21 tc The MT has simply “and Cain said to Abel his brother,” omitting Cain’s words to Abel. It is possible that the elliptical text is original. Perhaps the author uses the technique of aposiopesis, “a sudden silence” to create tension. In the midst of the story the narrator suddenly rushes ahead to what happened in the field. It is more likely that the ancient versions (Samaritan Pentateuch, LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac), which include Cain’s words, “Let’s go out to the field,” preserve the original reading here. After writing אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”), a scribe’s eye may have jumped to the end of the form בַּשָּׂדֶה (basadeh, “to the field”) and accidentally omitted the quotation. This would be an error of virtual homoioteleuton. In older phases of the Hebrew script the sequence יו (yod-vav) on אָחִיו is graphically similar to the final ה (he) on בַּשָּׂדֶה.
[4:8] 22 tn Heb “arose against” (in a hostile sense).
[4:8] 23 sn The word “brother” appears six times in vv. 8-11, stressing the shocking nature of Cain’s fratricide (see 1 John 3:12).
[4:9] 24 sn Where is Abel your brother? Again the
[4:9] 25 tn Heb “The one guarding my brother [am] I?”
[4:10] 26 sn What have you done? Again the
[4:10] 27 tn The word “voice” is a personification; the evidence of Abel’s shed blood condemns Cain, just as a human eyewitness would testify in court. For helpful insights, see G. von Rad, Biblical Interpretations in Preaching; and L. Morris, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 6 (1955/56): 77-82.
[4:11] 28 tn Heb “cursed are you from the ground.” As in Gen 3:14, the word “cursed,” a passive participle from אָרָר (’arar), either means “punished” or “banished,” depending on how one interprets the following preposition. If the preposition is taken as indicating source, then the idea is “cursed (i.e., punished) are you from [i.e., “through the agency of”] the ground” (see v. 12a). If the preposition is taken as separative, then the idea is “cursed and banished from the ground.” In this case the ground rejects Cain’s efforts in such a way that he is banished from the ground and forced to become a fugitive out in the earth (see vv. 12b, 14).
[4:12] 30 tn Heb “it will not again (תֹסֵף, tosef) give (תֵּת, tet),” meaning the ground will no longer yield. In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb, and the imperfect verb form becomes adverbial.
[4:12] 31 tn Heb “its strength.”
[4:12] 32 tn Two similar sounding synonyms are used here: נָע וָנָד (na’ vanad, “a wanderer and a fugitive”). This juxtaposition of synonyms emphasizes the single idea. In translation one can serve as the main description, the other as a modifier. Other translation options include “a wandering fugitive” and a “ceaseless wanderer” (cf. NIV).
[4:13] 33 tn The primary meaning of the Hebrew word עָוֹן (’avon) is “sin, iniquity.” But by metonymy it can refer to the “guilt” of sin, or to “punishment” for sin. The third meaning applies here. Just before this the
[4:13] 34 tn Heb “great is my punishment from bearing.” The preposition מִן (min, “from”) is used here in a comparative sense.
[4:14] 35 tn Heb “from upon the surface of the ground.”
[4:14] 36 sn I must hide from your presence. The motif of hiding from the
[4:15] 37 tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) in this context carries the sense of “Okay,” or “in that case then I will do this.”
[4:15] 38 sn The symbolic number seven is used here to emphasize that the offender will receive severe punishment. For other rhetorical and hyperbolic uses of the expression “seven times over,” see Pss 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.
[4:15] 39 tn Heb “sign”; “reminder.” The term “sign” is not used in the translation because it might imply to an English reader that God hung a sign on Cain. The text does not identify what the “sign” was. It must have been some outward, visual reminder of Cain’s special protected status.
[4:15] 40 sn God becomes Cain’s protector. Here is common grace – Cain and his community will live on under God’s care, but without salvation.
[4:16] 41 sn The name Nod means “wandering” in Hebrew (see vv. 12, 14).
[4:17] 42 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
[4:17] 43 tn Or “she conceived.”
[4:17] 44 tn Heb “according to the name of.”
[4:18] 45 tn Heb “and Irad fathered.”
[4:20] 46 tn Heb “father.” In this passage the word “father” means “founder,” referring to the first to establish such lifestyles and occupations.
[4:20] 47 tn The word “keep” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation. Other words that might be supplied instead are “tend,” “raise” (NIV), or “have” (NRSV).
[4:22] 48 tn The traditional rendering here, “who forged” (or “a forger of”) is now more commonly associated with counterfeit or fraud (e.g., “forged copies” or “forged checks”) than with the forging of metal. The phrase “heated metal and shaped [it]” has been used in the translation instead.
[4:23] 49 tn The Hebrew term יֶלֶד (yeled) probably refers to a youthful warrior here, not a child.
[4:24] 50 sn Seventy-seven times. Lamech seems to reason this way: If Cain, a murderer, is to be avenged seven times (see v. 15), then how much more one who has been unjustly wronged! Lamech misses the point of God’s merciful treatment of Cain. God was not establishing a principle of justice when he warned he would avenge Cain’s murder. In fact he was trying to limit the shedding of blood, something Lamech wants to multiply instead. The use of “seventy-seven,” a multiple of seven, is hyperbolic, emphasizing the extreme severity of the vengeance envisioned by Lamech.
[4:25] 51 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
[4:25] 52 sn The name Seth probably means something like “placed”; “appointed”; “set”; “granted,” assuming it is actually related to the verb that is used in the sentiment. At any rate, the name שֵׁת (shet) and the verb שָׁת (shat, “to place, to appoint, to set, to grant”) form a wordplay (paronomasia).
[4:26] 54 tn The word “people” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation. The construction uses a passive verb without an expressed subject. “To call was begun” can be interpreted to mean that people began to call.
[4:26] 55 tn Heb “call in the name.” The expression refers to worshiping the
[5:1] 56 tn Heb “book” or “roll.” Cf. NIV “written account”; NRSV “list.”
[5:1] 57 tn Heb “generations.” See the note on the phrase “this is the account of” in 2:4.
[5:1] 58 tn The Hebrew text has אָדָם (’adam).
[5:1] 59 tn Heb “him.” The Hebrew text uses the third masculine singular pronominal suffix on the accusative sign. The pronoun agrees grammatically with its antecedent אָדָם (’adam). However, the next verse makes it clear that אָדָם is collective here and refers to “humankind,” so it is preferable to translate the pronoun with the English plural.
[5:2] 60 tn The Hebrew word used here is אָדָם (’adam).
[5:3] 61 tn Heb “and Adam lived 130 years.” In the translation the verb is subordinated to the following verb, “and he fathered,” and rendered as a temporal clause.
[5:4] 62 tn Heb “The days of Adam.”
[5:4] 63 tn Heb “he fathered.”
[5:4] 64 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[5:5] 65 tn Heb “all the days of Adam which he lived”
[5:5] 66 sn The genealogy traces the line from Adam to Noah and forms a bridge between the earlier accounts and the flood story. Its constant theme of the reign of death in the human race is broken once with the account of Enoch, but the genealogy ends with hope for the future through Noah. See further G. F. Hasel, “The Genealogies of Gen. 5 and 11 and their Alleged Babylonian Background,” AUSS 16 (1978): 361-74; idem, “Genesis 5 and 11,” Origins 7 (1980): 23-37.
[5:6] 67 tn Heb “he fathered.”
[5:7] 68 tn Heb “he fathered.”
[5:7] 69 tn Here and in vv. 10, 13, 16, 19 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[5:22] 70 sn With the seventh panel there is a digression from the pattern. Instead of simply saying that Enoch lived, the text observes that he “walked with God.” The rare expression “walked with” (the Hitpael form of the verb הָלָךְ, halakh, “to walk” collocated with the preposition אֶת, ’et, “with”) is used in 1 Sam 25:15 to describe how David’s men maintained a cordial and cooperative relationship with Nabal’s men as they worked and lived side by side in the fields. In Gen 5:22 the phrase suggests that Enoch and God “got along.” This may imply that Enoch lived in close fellowship with God, leading a life of devotion and piety. An early Jewish tradition, preserved in 1 En. 1:9 and alluded to in Jude 14, says that Enoch preached about the coming judgment. See F. S. Parnham, “Walking with God,” EvQ 46 (1974): 117-18.
[5:22] 71 tn Heb “and Enoch walked with God, after he became the father of Methuselah, [for] 300 years.”
[5:22] 72 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[5:24] 73 tn The Hebrew construction has the negative particle אֵין (’en, “there is not,” “there was not”) with a pronominal suffix, “he was not.” Instead of saying that Enoch died, the text says he no longer was present.
[5:24] 74 sn The text simply states that God took Enoch. Similar language is used of Elijah’s departure from this world (see 2 Kgs 2:10). The text implies that God overruled death for this man who walked with him.
[5:26] 75 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[5:29] 76 sn The name Noah appears to be related to the Hebrew word נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”). There are several wordplays on the name “Noah” in the story of the flood.
[5:29] 77 tn The Hebrew verb יְנַחֲמֵנוּ (yÿnakhamenu) is from the root נָחָם (nakham), which means “to comfort” in the Piel verbal stem. The letters נ (nun) and ח (heth) pick up the sounds in the name “Noah,” forming a paronomasia on the name. They are not from the same verbal root, and so the connection is only by sound. Lamech’s sentiment reflects the oppression of living under the curse on the ground, but also expresses the hope for relief in some way through the birth of Noah. His words proved to be ironic but prophetic. The relief would come with a new beginning after the flood. See E. G. Kraeling, “The Interpretations of the Name Noah in Genesis 5:29,” JBL 48 (1929): 138-43.
[5:30] 78 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[5:32] 79 tn Heb “Noah.” The pronoun (“he”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[6:1] 80 tn The Hebrew text has the article prefixed to the noun. Here the article indicates the generic use of the word אָדָם (’adam): “humankind.”
[6:1] 81 tn This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial to the initial temporal clause. It could be rendered, “with daughters being born to them.” For another example of such a disjunctive clause following the construction וַיְהִיכִּי (vayÿhiki, “and it came to pass when”), see 2 Sam 7:1.
[6:1] 82 tn The pronominal suffix is third masculine plural, indicating that the antecedent “humankind” is collective.
[6:2] 83 sn The Hebrew phrase translated “sons of God” (בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, bÿne-ha’elohim) occurs only here (Gen 6:2, 4) and in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. There are three major interpretations of the phrase here. (1) In the Book of Job the phrase clearly refers to angelic beings. In Gen 6 the “sons of God” are distinct from “humankind,” suggesting they were not human. This is consistent with the use of the phrase in Job. Since the passage speaks of these beings cohabiting with women, they must have taken physical form or possessed the bodies of men. An early Jewish tradition preserved in 1 En. 6-7 elaborates on this angelic revolt and even names the ringleaders. (2) Not all scholars accept the angelic interpretation of the “sons of God,” however. Some argue that the “sons of God” were members of Seth’s line, traced back to God through Adam in Gen 5, while the “daughters of humankind” were descendants of Cain. But, as noted above, the text distinguishes the “sons of God” from humankind (which would include the Sethites as well as the Cainites) and suggests that the “daughters of humankind” are human women in general, not just Cainites. (3) Others identify the “sons of God” as powerful tyrants, perhaps demon-possessed, who viewed themselves as divine and, following the example of Lamech (see Gen 4:19), practiced polygamy. But usage of the phrase “sons of God” in Job militates against this view. For literature on the subject see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:135.
[6:3] 84 tn The verb form יָדוֹן (yadon) only occurs here. Some derive it from the verbal root דִּין (din, “to judge”) and translate “strive” or “contend with” (so NIV), but in this case one expects the form to be יָדִין (yadin). The Old Greek has “remain with,” a rendering which may find support from an Arabic cognate (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:375). If one interprets the verb in this way, then it is possible to understand רוּחַ (ruakh) as a reference to the divine life-giving spirit or breath, rather than the
[6:3] 86 tn The form בְּשַׁגַּם (bÿshagam) appears to be a compound of the preposition בְּ (beth, “in”), the relative שֶׁ (she, “who” or “which”), and the particle גַּם (gam, “also, even”). It apparently means “because even” (see BDB 980 s.v. שֶׁ).
[6:3] 87 tn Heb “he”; the plural pronoun has been used in the translation since “man” earlier in the verse has been understood as a collective (“humankind”).
[6:3] 89 tn See the note on “they” earlier in this verse.
[6:3] 90 tn Heb “his days will be 120 years.” Some interpret this to mean that the age expectancy of people from this point on would be 120, but neither the subsequent narrative nor reality favors this. It is more likely that this refers to the time remaining between this announcement of judgment and the coming of the flood.
[6:4] 91 tn The Hebrew word נְפִילִים (nÿfilim) is simply transliterated here, because the meaning of the term is uncertain. According to the text, the Nephilim became mighty warriors and gained great fame in the antediluvian world. The text may imply they were the offspring of the sexual union of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of humankind” (v. 2), but it stops short of saying this in a direct manner. The Nephilim are mentioned in the OT only here and in Num 13:33, where it is stated that they were giants (thus KJV, TEV, NLT “giants” here). The narrator observes that the Anakites of Canaan were descendants of the Nephilim. Certainly these later Anakite Nephilim could not be descendants of the antediluvian Nephilim (see also the following note on the word “this”).
[6:4] 92 tn This observation is parenthetical, explaining that there were Nephilim even after the flood. If all humankind, with the exception of Noah and his family, died in the flood, it is difficult to understand how the postdiluvian Nephilim could be related to the antediluvian Nephilim or how the Anakites of Canaan could be their descendants (see Num 13:33). It is likely that the term Nephilim refers generally to “giants” (see HALOT 709 s.v. נְפִילִים) without implying any ethnic connection between the antediluvian and postdiluvian varieties.
[6:4] 93 tn Heb “were entering to,” referring euphemistically to sexual intercourse here. The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the ongoing nature of such sexual unions during the time before the flood.
[6:4] 94 tn Heb “and they gave birth to them.” The masculine plural suffix “them” refers to the “sons of God,” to whom the “daughters of humankind” bore children. After the Qal form of the verb יָלָד (yalad, “to give birth”) the preposition לְ (lÿ, “to”) introduces the father of the child(ren). See Gen 16:1, 15; 17:19, 21; 21:2-3, 9; 22:23; 24:24, 47; 25:2, etc.
[6:4] 95 tn The parenthetical/explanatory clause uses the word הַגִּבֹּרִים (haggibborim) to describe these Nephilim. The word means “warriors; mighty men; heroes.” The appositional statement further explains that they were “men of renown.” The text refers to superhuman beings who held the world in their power and who lived on in ancient lore outside the Bible. See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 45-46; C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:379-80; and Anne D. Kilmer, “The Mesopotamian Counterparts of the Biblical Nephilim,” Perspectives on Language and Text, 39-43.
[6:4] 96 tn Heb “men of name” (i.e., famous men).
[6:5] 97 sn The Hebrew verb translated “saw” (רָאָה, ra’ah), used here of God’s evaluation of humankind’s evil deeds, contrasts with God’s evaluation of creative work in Gen 1, when he observed that everything was good.
[6:5] 98 tn The noun יֵצֶר (yetser) is related to the verb יָצָר (yatsar, “to form, to fashion [with a design]”). Here it refers to human plans or intentions (see Gen 8:21; 1 Chr 28:9; 29:18). People had taken their God-given capacities and used them to devise evil. The word יֵצֶר (yetser) became a significant theological term in Rabbinic literature for what might be called the sin nature – the evil inclination (see also R. E. Murphy, “Yeser in the Qumran Literature,” Bib 39 [1958]: 334-44).
[6:5] 99 tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.
[6:5] 100 tn Heb “his heart” (referring to collective “humankind”). The Hebrew term לֵב (lev, “heart”) frequently refers to the seat of one’s thoughts (see BDB 524 s.v. לֵב). In contemporary English this is typically referred to as the “mind.”
[6:5] 101 sn Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil. There is hardly a stronger statement of the wickedness of the human race than this. Here is the result of falling into the “knowledge of good and evil”: Evil becomes dominant, and the good is ruined by the evil.
[6:5] 102 tn Heb “all the day.”
[6:6] 103 tn Or “was grieved”; “was sorry.” In the Niphal stem the verb נָחָם (nakham) can carry one of four semantic meanings, depending on the context: (1) “to experience emotional pain or weakness,” “to feel regret,” often concerning a past action (see Exod 13:17; Judg 21:6, 15; 1 Sam 15:11, 35; Job 42:6; Jer 31:19). In several of these texts כִּי (ki, “because”) introduces the cause of the emotional sorrow. (2) Another meaning is “to be comforted” or “to comfort oneself” (sometimes by taking vengeance). See Gen 24:67; 38:12; 2 Sam 13:39; Ps 77:3; Isa 1:24; Jer 31:15; Ezek 14:22; 31:16; 32:31. (This second category represents a polarization of category one.) (3) The meaning “to relent from” or “to repudiate” a course of action which is already underway is also possible (see Judg 2:18; 2 Sam 24:16 = 1 Chr 21:15; Pss 90:13; 106:45; Jer 8:6; 20:16; 42:10). (4) Finally, “to retract” (a statement) or “to relent or change one’s mind concerning,” “to deviate from” (a stated course of action) is possible (see Exod 32:12, 14; 1 Sam 15:29; Ps 110:4; Isa 57:6; Jer 4:28; 15:6; 18:8, 10; 26:3, 13, 19; Ezek 24:14; Joel 2:13-14; Am 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9-10; 4:2; Zech 8:14). See R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 388. The first category applies here because the context speaks of God’s grief and emotional pain (see the following statement in v. 6) as a result of a past action (his making humankind). For a thorough study of the word נָחָם, see H. Van Dyke Parunak, “A Semantic Survey of NHM,” Bib 56 (1975): 512-32.
[6:6] 104 tn Heb “and he was grieved to his heart.” The verb עָצָב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic senses, depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain”; “to be depressed emotionally”; “to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed”; “to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself); “to be insulted” (Gen 34:7; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 34:7). The third category fits best in Gen 6:6 because humankind’s sin does not merely wound God emotionally. On the contrary, it prompts him to strike out in judgment against the source of his distress (see v. 7). The verb וַיִּתְעַצֵּב (vayyit’atsev), a Hitpael from עָצָב, alludes to the judgment oracles in Gen 3:16-19. Because Adam and Eve sinned, their life would be filled with pain; but sin in the human race also brought pain to God. The wording of v. 6 is ironic when compared to Gen 5:29. Lamech anticipated relief (נָחָם, nakham) from their work (מַעֲשֶׂה, ma’aseh) and their painful toil (עִצְּבֹן, ’itsÿvon), but now we read that God was sorry (נָחָם, nakham) that he had made (עָשָׂה, ’asah) humankind for it brought him great pain (עָצָב, ’atsav).
[6:7] 105 tn The text simply has “from man to beast, to creatures, and to birds of the air.” The use of the prepositions עַד…מִן (min...’ad) stresses the extent of the judgment in creation.
[6:8] 106 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is contrastive here: God condemns the human race, but he is pleased with Noah.
[6:8] 107 tn The Hebrew expression “find favor [in the eyes of]” is an idiom meaning “to be an object of another’s favorable disposition or action,” “to be a recipient of another’s favor, kindness, mercy.” The favor/kindness is often earned, coming in response to an action or condition (see Gen 32:5; 39:4; Deut 24:1; 1 Sam 25:8; Prov 3:4; Ruth 2:10). This is the case in Gen 6:8, where v. 9 gives the basis (Noah’s righteous character) for the divine favor.
[6:8] 108 tn Heb “in the eyes of,” an anthropomorphic expression for God’s opinion or decision. The
[6:9] 109 sn There is a vast body of scholarly literature about the flood story. The following studies are particularly helpful: A. Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic and the Old Testament Parallels; M. Kessler, “Rhetorical Criticism of Genesis 7,” Rhetorical Criticism: Essays in Honor of James Muilenburg (PTMS), 1-17; I. M. Kikawada and A. Quinn, Before Abraham Was; A. R. Millard, “A New Babylonian ‘Genesis Story’,” TynBul 18 (1967): 3-18; G. J. Wenham, “The Coherence of the Flood Narrative,” VT 28 (1978): 336-48.
[6:9] 110 tn The Hebrew term תָּמִים (tamim, “blameless”) is used of men in Gen 17:1 (associated with the idiom “walk before,” which means “maintain a proper relationship with,” see 24:40); Deut 18:13 (where it means “blameless” in the sense of not guilty of the idolatrous practices listed before this; see Josh 24:14); Pss 18:23, 26 (“blameless” in the sense of not having violated God’s commands); 37:18 (in contrast to the wicked); 101:2, 6 (in contrast to proud, deceitful slanderers; see 15:2); Prov 2:21; 11:5 (in contrast to the wicked); 28:10; Job 12:4.
[6:9] 111 tn Heb “Noah was a godly man, blameless in his generations.” The singular “generation” can refer to one’s contemporaries, i.e., those living at a particular point in time. The plural “generations” can refer to successive generations in the past or the future. Here, where it is qualified by “his” (i.e., Noah’s), it refers to Noah’s contemporaries, comprised of the preceding generation (his father’s generation), those of Noah’s generation, and the next generation (those the same age as his children). In other words, “his generations” means the generations contemporary with him. See BDB 190 s.v. דוֹר.
[6:9] 112 tn Heb “Noah.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[6:9] 113 tn The construction translated “walked with” is used in Gen 5:22, 24 (see the note on this phrase in 5:22) and in 1 Sam 25:15, where it refers to David’s and Nabal’s men “rubbing shoulders” in the fields. Based on the use in 1 Sam 25:15, the expression seems to mean “live in close proximity to,” which may, by metonymy, mean “maintain cordial relations with.”
[6:11] 115 tn Apart from Gen 6:11-12, the Niphal form of this verb occurs in Exod 8:20 HT (8:24 ET), where it describes the effect of the swarms of flies on the land of Egypt; Jer 13:7 and 18:4, where it is used of a “ruined” belt and “marred” clay pot, respectively; and Ezek 20:44, where it describes Judah’s morally “corrupt” actions. The sense “morally corrupt” fits well in Gen 6:11 because of the parallelism (note “the earth was filled with violence”). In this case “earth” would stand by metonymy for its sinful inhabitants. However, the translation “ruined” works just as well, if not better. In this case humankind’s sin is viewed has having an adverse effect upon the earth. Note that vv. 12b-13 make a distinction between the earth and the living creatures who live on it.
[6:11] 117 tn The Hebrew word translated “violence” refers elsewhere to a broad range of crimes, including unjust treatment (Gen 16:5; Amos 3:10), injurious legal testimony (Deut 19:16), deadly assault (Gen 49:5), murder (Judg 9:24), and rape (Jer 13:22).
[6:12] 118 tn Or “God saw how corrupt the earth was.”
[6:12] 119 tn The repetition in the text (see v. 11) emphasizes the point.
[6:12] 120 tn Heb “flesh.” Since moral corruption is in view here, most modern western interpreters understand the referent to be humankind. However, the phrase “all flesh” is used consistently of humankind and the animals in Gen 6-9 (6:17, 19; 7:15-16, 21; 8:17; 9:11, 15-17), suggesting that the author intends to picture all living creatures, humankind and animals, as guilty of moral failure. This would explain why the animals, not just humankind, are victims of the ensuing divine judgment. The OT sometimes views animals as morally culpable (Gen 9:5; Exod 21:28-29; Jonah 3:7-8). The OT also teaches that a person’s sin can contaminate others (people and animals) in the sinful person’s sphere (see the story of Achan, especially Josh 7:10). So the animals could be viewed here as morally contaminated because of their association with sinful humankind.
[6:12] 121 tn Heb “had corrupted its way.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “way” refers to the collective “all flesh.” The construction “corrupt one’s way” occurs only here (though Ezek 16:47 uses the Hiphil in an intransitive sense with the preposition בְּ [bet, “in”] followed by “ways”). The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) means “to ruin, to destroy, to corrupt,” often as here in a moral/ethical sense. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to behavior or moral character, a sense that it frequently carries (see BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a).
[6:13] 122 sn On the divine style utilized here, see R. Lapointe, “The Divine Monologue as a Channel of Revelation,” CBQ 32 (1970): 161-81.
[6:13] 123 tn Heb “the end of all flesh is coming [or “has come”] before me.” (The verb form is either a perfect or a participle.) The phrase “end of all flesh” occurs only here. The term “end” refers here to the end of “life,” as v. 3 and the following context (which describes how God destroys all flesh) make clear. The statement “the end has come” occurs in Ezek 7:2, 6, where it is used of divine judgment. The phrase “come before” occurs in Exod 28:30, 35; 34:34; Lev 15:14; Num 27:17; 1 Sam 18:13, 16; 2 Sam 19:8; 20:8; 1 Kgs 1:23, 28, 32; Ezek 46:9; Pss 79:11 (groans come before God); 88:3 (a prayer comes before God); 100:2; 119:170 (prayer comes before God); Lam 1:22 (evil doing comes before God); Esth 1:19; 8:1; 9:25; 1 Chr 16:29. The expression often means “have an audience with” or “appear before.” But when used metaphorically, it can mean “get the attention of” or “prompt a response.” This is probably the sense in Gen 6:13. The necessity of ending the life of all flesh on earth is an issue that has gotten the attention of God. The term “end” may even be a metonymy for that which has prompted it – violence (see the following clause).
[6:13] 124 tn The participle, especially after הִנֵּה (hinneh) has an imminent future nuance. The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) here has the sense “to destroy” (in judgment). Note the wordplay involving this verb in vv. 11-13: The earth is “ruined” because all flesh has acted in a morally “corrupt” manner. Consequently, God will “destroy” all flesh (the referent of the suffix “them”) along with the ruined earth. They had ruined themselves and the earth with violence, and now God would ruin them with judgment. For other cases where “earth” occurs as the object of the Hiphil of שָׁחָת, see 1 Sam 6:5; 1 Chr 20:1; Jer 36:29; 51:25.
[6:14] 125 sn The Hebrew verb is an imperative. A motif of this section is that Noah did as the
[6:14] 126 tn A transliteration of the Hebrew term yields “gopher (גֹּפֶר, gofer) wood” (so KJV, NAB, NASB). While the exact nature of the wood involved is uncertain (cf. NLT “resinous wood”), many modern translations render the Hebrew term as “cypress” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).
[6:14] 127 tn The Hebrew term כָּפָר (kafar, “to cover, to smear” [= to caulk]) appears here in the Qal stem with its primary, nonmetaphorical meaning. The Piel form כִּפֶּר (kipper), which has the metaphorical meaning “to atone, to expiate, to pacify,” is used in Levitical texts (see HALOT 493-94 s.v. כפר). Some authorities regard the form in v. 14 as a homonym of the much more common Levitical term (see BDB 498 s.v. כָּפָר).
[6:15] 128 tn Heb “300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about 18 inches (45 cm) long.
[6:16] 130 tn Heb “to a cubit you shall finish it from above.” The idea is that Noah was to leave an 18-inch opening from the top for a window for light.
[6:17] 131 tn The Hebrew construction uses the independent personal pronoun, followed by a suffixed form of הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) and the a participle used with an imminent future nuance: “As for me, look, I am going to bring.”
[6:17] 132 tn Heb “the flood, water.”
[6:17] 133 tn The verb שָׁחָת (shakhat, “to destroy”) is repeated yet again, only now in an infinitival form expressing the purpose of the flood.
[6:17] 134 tn The Hebrew construction here is different from the previous two; here it is רוּחַ חַיִּים (ruakh khayyim) rather than נֶפֶשׁ הַיָּה (nefesh khayyah) or נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים (nishmat khayyim). It refers to everything that breathes.
[6:18] 135 tn The Hebrew verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive (picking up the future sense from the participles) from קוּם (qum, “to rise up”). This may refer to the confirmation or fulfillment of an earlier promise, but it is more likely that it anticipates the unconditional promise made to humankind following the flood (see Gen 9:9, 11, 17).
[6:18] 136 tn The perfect verb form with vav (ו) consecutive is best understood as specific future, continuing God’s description of what will happen (see vv. 17-18a).
[6:19] 137 tn Heb “from all life, from all flesh, two from all you must bring.” The disjunctive clause at the beginning of the verse (note the conjunction with prepositional phrase, followed by two more prepositional phrases in apposition and then the imperfect verb form) signals a change in mood from announcement (vv. 17-18) to instruction.
[6:19] 138 tn The Piel infinitive construct לְהַחֲיוֹת (lÿhakhayot, here translated as “to keep them alive”) shows the purpose of bringing the animals into the ark – saving life. The Piel of this verb means here “to preserve alive.”
[6:20] 139 tn Heb “to keep alive.”
[6:21] 140 tn The verb is a direct imperative: “And you, take for yourself.” The form stresses the immediate nature of the instruction; the pronoun underscores the directness.
[6:21] 141 tn Heb “from all food,” meaning “some of every kind of food.”
[6:21] 142 tn Or “will be eaten.”
[6:21] 143 tn Heb “and gather it to you.”
[6:22] 144 tn Heb “according to all.”
[6:22] 145 tn The last clause seems redundant: “and thus (כֵּן, ken) he did.” It underscores the obedience of Noah to all that God had said.
[7:1] 146 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.
[7:2] 147 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
[7:2] 148 sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.
[7:2] 149 tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.
[7:3] 150 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
[7:3] 151 tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).
[7:3] 152 tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”
[7:4] 153 tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”
[7:4] 154 tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.
[7:5] 155 tn Heb “according to all.”
[7:6] 156 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] 157 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.”
[7:7] 158 tn The preposition מִן (min) is causal here, explaining why Noah and his family entered the ark.
[7:8] 159 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
[7:9] 160 tn The Hebrew text of vv. 8-9a reads, “From the clean animal[s] and from the animal[s] which are not clean and from the bird[s] and everything that creeps on the ground, two two they came to Noah to the ark, male and female.”
[7:9] 161 tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:10] 162 tn Heb “came upon.”
[7:11] 163 tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 1:2).
[7:11] 164 sn On the prescientific view of the sky reflected here, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 46.
[7:13] 166 tn Heb “On that very day Noah entered, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah, and the three wives of his sons with him into the ark.”
[7:14] 167 tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:14] 168 tn Heb “every bird, every wing.”
[7:15] 169 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
[7:16] 171 tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”
[7:18] 172 tn Heb “and the waters were great and multiplied exceedingly.” The first verb in the sequence is וַיִּגְבְּרוּ (vayyigbÿru, from גָּבַר, gavar), meaning “to become great, mighty.” The waters did not merely rise; they “prevailed” over the earth, overwhelming it.
[7:19] 174 tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters.
[7:20] 176 tn Heb “rose fifteen cubits.” Since a cubit is considered by most authorities to be about eighteen inches, this would make the depth 22.5 feet. This figure might give the modern reader a false impression of exactness, however, so in the translation the phrase “fifteen cubits” has been rendered “more than twenty feet.”
[7:20] 177 tn Heb “the waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward and they covered the mountains.” Obviously, a flood of twenty feet did not cover the mountains; the statement must mean the flood rose about twenty feet above the highest mountain.
[7:22] 179 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] 180 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[7:23] 181 tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).
[7:23] 182 tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”
[7:23] 183 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.
[7:24] 184 sn The Hebrew verb translated “prevailed over” suggests that the waters were stronger than the earth. The earth and everything in it were no match for the return of the chaotic deep.
[8:1] 185 tn The Hebrew word translated “remembered” often carries the sense of acting in accordance with what is remembered, i.e., fulfilling covenant promises (see B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel [SBT], especially p. 34).
[8:1] 186 tn Heb “to pass over.”
[8:2] 187 tn Some (e.g., NIV) translate the preterite verb forms in this verse as past perfects (e.g., “had been closed”), for it seems likely that the sources of the water would have stopped before the waters receded.
[8:3] 188 tn The construction combines a Qal preterite from שׁוּב (shuv) with its infinitive absolute to indicate continuous action. The infinitive absolute from הָלָךְ (halakh) is included for emphasis: “the waters returned…going and returning.”
[8:3] 189 tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:3] 190 tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.
[8:4] 191 tn Heb “on the mountains of Ararat.” Obviously a boat (even one as large as the ark) cannot rest on multiple mountains. Perhaps (1) the preposition should be translated “among,” or (2) the plural “mountains” should be understood in the sense of “mountain range” (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 53). A more probable option (3) is that the plural indicates an indefinite singular, translated “one of the mountains” (see GKC 400 §124.o).
[8:5] 192 tn Heb “the waters were going and lessening.” The perfect verb form הָיָה (hayah) is used as an auxiliary verb with the infinitive absolute חָסוֹר (khasor, “lessening”), while the infinitive absolute הָלוֹךְ (halokh) indicates continuous action.
[8:5] 193 tn Or “could be seen.”
[8:6] 194 tn The introductory verbal form וַיְהִי (vayÿhi), traditionally rendered “and it came to pass,” serves as a temporal indicator and has not been translated here.
[8:6] 195 tn Heb “opened the window in the ark which he had made.” The perfect tense (“had made”) refers to action preceding the opening of the window, and is therefore rendered as a past perfect. Since in English “had made” could refer to either the ark or the window, the order of the phrases was reversed in the translation to clarify that the window is the referent.
[8:7] 196 tn Heb “and it went out, going out and returning.” The Hebrew verb יָצָא (yatsa’), translated here “flying,” is modified by two infinitives absolute indicating that the raven went back and forth.
[8:8] 197 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:8] 198 tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
[8:8] 199 tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.
[8:9] 200 tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:9] 201 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 202 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 203 tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”
[8:11] 204 tn The clause introduced by vav (ו) consecutive is translated as a temporal clause subordinated to the following clause.
[8:11] 205 tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to the olive leaf. It invites readers to enter into the story, as it were, and look at the olive leaf with their own eyes.
[8:12] 206 tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:12] 207 tn Heb “it did not again return to him still.” For a study of this section of the flood narrative, see W. O. E. Oesterley, “The Dove with the Olive Leaf (Gen VIII 8–11),” ExpTim 18 (1906/07): 377-78.
[8:13] 208 tn Heb In the six hundred and first year.” Since this refers to the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, the word “Noah’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[8:13] 209 tn Heb “and saw and look.” As in v. 11, the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites readers to enter into the story, as it were, and look at the dry ground with their own eyes.
[8:14] 210 tn In v. 13 the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, ha’adamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, ha’arets) is dry.
[8:17] 211 tn The words “bring out” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:17] 212 tn Following the Hiphil imperative, “bring out,” the three perfect verb forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry an imperatival nuance. For a discussion of the Hebrew construction here and the difficulty of translating it into English, see S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 124-25.
[8:17] 213 tn Heb “and let them swarm in the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
[8:20] 214 sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the
[8:21] 215 tn The
[8:21] 216 tn Heb “and the
[8:21] 217 tn Heb “in his heart.”
[8:21] 218 tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.
[8:21] 219 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.
[8:21] 220 tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”
[8:21] 221 tn Heb “from his youth.”
[8:22] 222 tn Heb “yet all the days of the earth.” The idea is “[while there are] yet all the days of the earth,” meaning, “as long as the earth exists.”
[8:22] 223 tn Heb “seed,” which stands here by metonymy for the time when seed is planted.
[9:2] 224 tn Heb “and fear of you and dread of you will be upon every living creature of the earth and upon every bird of the sky.” The suffixes on the nouns “fear” and “dread” are objective genitives. The animals will fear humans from this time forward.
[9:2] 225 tn Heb “into your hand are given.” The “hand” signifies power. To say the animals have been given into the hands of humans means humans have been given authority over them.
[9:3] 226 tn Heb “every moving thing that lives for you will be for food.”
[9:3] 227 tn The words “I gave you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:3] 228 tn The perfect verb form describes the action that accompanies the declaration.
[9:4] 231 tn Heb “its life, its blood.” The second word is in apposition to the first, explaining what is meant by “its life.” Since the blood is equated with life, meat that had the blood in it was not to be eaten.
[9:4] 232 tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:5] 233 tn Again the text uses apposition to clarify what kind of blood is being discussed: “your blood, [that is] for your life.” See C. L. Dewar, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 4 (1953): 204-8.
[9:5] 234 tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The verb דָּרָשׁ (darash) means “to require, to seek, to ask for, to exact.” Here it means that God will exact punishment for the taking of a life. See R. Mawdsley, “Capital Punishment in Gen. 9:6,” CentBib 18 (1975): 20-25.
[9:5] 235 tn Heb “from the hand of,” which means “out of the hand of” or “out of the power of” and is nearly identical in sense to the preposition מִן (min) alone.
[9:5] 236 tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.
[9:5] 237 tn Heb “of the man.”
[9:5] 238 tn Heb “from the hand of a man, his brother.” The point is that God will require the blood of someone who kills, since the person killed is a relative (“brother”) of the killer. The language reflects Noah’s situation (after the flood everyone would be part of Noah’s extended family), but also supports the concept of the brotherhood of humankind. According to the Genesis account the entire human race descended from Noah.
[9:6] 239 tn Heb “the blood of man.”
[9:6] 240 tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.
[9:6] 241 sn See the notes on the words “humankind” and “likeness” in Gen 1:26, as well as J. Barr, “The Image of God in the Book of Genesis – A Study of Terminology,” BJRL 51 (1968/69): 11-26.
[9:6] 242 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:7] 243 sn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + pronominal subject + verb) here indicates a strong contrast to what has preceded. Against the backdrop of the warnings about taking life, God now instructs the people to produce life, using terms reminiscent of the mandate given to Adam (Gen 1:28).
[9:8] 244 tn Heb “to Noah and to his sons with him, saying.”
[9:9] 245 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] 246 tn The three pronominal suffixes (translated “you,” “your,” and “you”) are masculine plural. As v. 8 indicates, Noah and his sons are addressed.
[9:10] 247 tn The verbal repetition is apparently for emphasis.
[9:11] 248 tn The verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is a perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive and should be translated with the English present tense, just as the participle at the beginning of the speech was (v. 9). Another option is to translate both forms with the English future tense (“I will confirm”).
[9:11] 249 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:11] 251 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
[9:12] 253 sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.
[9:12] 254 tn Heb “between me and between you.”
[9:12] 255 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:12] 256 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
[9:13] 257 tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. NIV, NRSV) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. NEB).
[9:13] 258 sn The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:473, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:196.
[9:13] 259 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.
[9:14] 260 tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vÿhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.
[9:15] 261 tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
[9:15] 262 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:15] 263 tn Heb “to destroy.”
[9:15] 264 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:16] 265 tn The translation assumes that the infinitive לִזְכֹּר (lizkor, “to remember”) here expresses the result of seeing the rainbow. Another option is to understand it as indicating purpose, in which case it could be translated, “I will look at it so that I may remember.”
[9:17] 266 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:18] 267 sn The concluding disjunctive clause is parenthetical. It anticipates the following story, which explains that the Canaanites, Ham’s descendants through Canaan, were cursed because they shared the same moral abandonment that their ancestor displayed. See A. van Selms, “The Canaanites in the Book of Genesis,” OTS 12 (1958): 182-213.
[9:19] 268 tn Heb “was scattered.” The verb פָּצָה (patsah, “to scatter” [Niphal, “to be scattered”]) figures prominently in story of the dispersion of humankind in chap. 11.
[9:20] 269 sn The epithet a man of the soil indicates that Noah was a farmer.
[9:20] 270 tn Or “Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard”; Heb “and Noah, a man of the ground, began and he planted a vineyard.”
[9:21] 271 tn The Hebrew verb גָּלָה (galah) in the Hitpael verbal stem (וַיִּתְגַּל, vayyitggal) means “to uncover oneself” or “to be uncovered.” Noah became overheated because of the wine and uncovered himself in the tent.
[9:22] 272 sn For the second time (see v. 18) the text informs the reader of the relationship between Ham and Canaan. Genesis 10 will explain that Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes living in the promised land.
[9:22] 273 tn Some would translate “had sexual relations with,” arguing that Ham committed a homosexual act with his drunken father for which he was cursed. However, the expression “see nakedness” usually refers to observation of another’s nakedness, not a sexual act (see Gen 42:9, 12 where “nakedness” is used metaphorically to convey the idea of “weakness” or “vulnerability”; Deut 23:14 where “nakedness” refers to excrement; Isa 47:3; Ezek 16:37; Lam 1:8). The following verse (v. 23) clearly indicates that visual observation, not a homosexual act, is in view here. In Lev 20:17 the expression “see nakedness” does appear to be a euphemism for sexual intercourse, but the context there, unlike that of Gen 9:22, clearly indicates that in that passage sexual contact is in view. The expression “see nakedness” does not in itself suggest a sexual connotation. Some relate Gen 9:22 to Lev 18:6-11, 15-19, where the expression “uncover [another’s] nakedness” (the Piel form of גָּלָה, galah) refers euphemistically to sexual intercourse. However, Gen 9:22 does not say Ham “uncovered” the nakedness of his father. According to the text, Noah uncovered himself; Ham merely saw his father naked. The point of the text is that Ham had no respect for his father. Rather than covering his father up, he told his brothers. Noah then gave an oracle that Ham’s descendants, who would be characterized by the same moral abandonment, would be cursed. Leviticus 18 describes that greater evil of the Canaanites (see vv. 24-28).
[9:23] 274 tn The word translated “garment” has the Hebrew definite article on it. The article may simply indicate that the garment is definite and vivid in the mind of the narrator, but it could refer instead to Noah’s garment. Did Ham bring it out when he told his brothers?
[9:23] 275 tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”
[9:24] 276 tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.
[9:24] 278 tn The Hebrew verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) carries too general a sense to draw the conclusion that Ham had to have done more than look on his father’s nakedness and tell his brothers.
[9:25] 279 sn For more on the curse, see H. C. Brichto, The Problem of “Curse” in the Hebrew Bible (JBLMS), and J. Scharbert, TDOT 1:405-18.
[9:25] 280 sn Cursed be Canaan. The curse is pronounced on Canaan, not Ham. Noah sees a problem in Ham’s character, and on the basis of that he delivers a prophecy about the future descendants who will live in slavery to such things and then be controlled by others. (For more on the idea of slavery in general, see E. M. Yamauchi, “Slaves of God,” BETS 9 [1966]: 31-49). In a similar way Jacob pronounced oracles about his sons based on their revealed character (see Gen 49).
[9:25] 281 tn Heb “a servant of servants” (עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים, ’eved ’avadim), an example of the superlative genitive. It means Canaan will become the most abject of slaves.
[9:26] 282 tn Heb “blessed be.”
[9:26] 283 tn Heb “a slave to him”; the referent (Shem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:27] 284 tn Heb “may God enlarge Japheth.” The words “territory and numbers” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:27] 285 tn In this context the prefixed verbal form is a jussive (note the distinct jussive forms both before and after this in vv. 26 and 27).
[10:1] 286 tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (’elle tolÿdot, here translated as “This is the account”) here covers 10:1–11:9, which contains the so-called Table of Nations and the account of how the nations came to be dispersed.
[10:1] 287 sn Sons were born to them. A vertical genealogy such as this encompasses more than the names of sons. The list includes cities, tribes, and even nations. In a loose way, the names in the list have some derivation or connection to the three ancestors.
[10:1] 288 tn It appears that the Table of Nations is a composite of at least two ancient sources: Some sections begin with the phrase “the sons of” (בְּנֵי, bÿne) while other sections use “begot” (יָלָד, yalad). It may very well be that the “sons of” list was an old, “bare bones” list that was retained in the family records, while the “begot” sections were editorial inserts by the writer of Genesis, reflecting his special interests. See A. P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Structure,” BSac 137 (1980): 340-53; idem, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Content,” BSac 138 (1981): 22-34.
[10:2] 289 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
[10:2] 290 sn Gomer was the ancestor of the Cimmerians. For a discussion of the Cimmerians see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 49-61.
[10:2] 291 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
[10:2] 292 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
[10:2] 293 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
[10:2] 294 sn Tubal was the ancestor of militaristic tribes that lived north of the Black Sea. For a discussion of ancient references to Tubal see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
[10:2] 295 sn Meshech was the ancestor of the people known in Assyrian records as the Musku. For a discussion of ancient references to them see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
[10:2] 296 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
[10:3] 297 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
[10:3] 298 sn Askenaz was the ancestor of a northern branch of Indo-Germanic tribes, possibly Scythians. For discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 63.
[10:3] 299 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
[10:3] 300 sn Togarmah is also mentioned in Ezek 38:6, where it refers to Til-garimmu, the capital of Kammanu, which bordered Tabal in eastern Turkey. See E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 26, n. 28.
[10:4] 301 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
[10:4] 302 sn The descendants of Tarshish settled along the southern coast of what is modern Turkey. However, some identify the site Tarshish (see Jonah 1:3) with Sardinia or Spain.
[10:4] 303 sn The name Kittim is associated with Cyprus, as well as coastlands east of Rhodes. It is used in later texts to refer to the Romans.
[10:4] 304 tc Most of the MT
[10:6] 305 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
[10:6] 306 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
[10:6] 307 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
[10:6] 308 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
[10:7] 309 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
[10:7] 310 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
[10:7] 311 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
[10:7] 312 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 313 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
[10:7] 314 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 315 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
[10:8] 316 tn Heb “fathered.” Embedded within Cush’s genealogy is an account of Nimrod, a mighty warrior. There have been many attempts to identify him, but none are convincing.
[10:9] 317 tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).
[10:9] 318 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
[10:10] 319 tn Heb “beginning.” E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 67, suggests “mainstays,” citing Jer 49:35 as another text where the Hebrew noun is so used.
[10:10] 321 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
[10:10] 322 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
[10:10] 323 tn No such place is known in Shinar (i.e., Babylonia). Therefore some have translated the Hebrew term כַלְנֵה (khalneh) as “all of them,” referring to the three previous names (cf. NRSV).
[10:10] 324 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
[10:11] 325 tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.
[10:11] 327 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
[10:11] 328 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
[10:11] 329 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
[10:12] 330 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
[10:13] 331 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
[10:13] 332 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:13] 333 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
[10:13] 334 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
[10:13] 335 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
[10:13] 336 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
[10:14] 337 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
[10:14] 338 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
[10:14] 339 tn Several commentators prefer to reverse the order of the words to put this clause after the next word, since the Philistines came from Crete (where the Caphtorites lived). But the table may suggest migration rather than lineage, and the Philistines, like the Israelites, came through the Nile Delta region of Egypt. For further discussion of the origin and migration of the Philistines, see D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 232.
[10:14] 340 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
[10:15] 341 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:15] 342 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
[10:15] 343 tn Some see a reference to “Hittites” here (cf. NIV), but this seems unlikely. See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
[10:16] 344 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
[10:16] 345 sn Here Amorites refers to smaller groups of Canaanite inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Palestine, rather than the large waves of Amurru, or western Semites, who migrated to the region.
[10:16] 346 sn The Girgashites are an otherwise unknown Canaanite tribe, though the name is possibly mentioned in Ugaritic texts (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 1:226).
[10:17] 347 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
[10:17] 348 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
[10:17] 349 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
[10:18] 350 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
[10:18] 351 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
[10:18] 352 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
[10:19] 354 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[10:19] 355 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:19] 356 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:21] 357 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
[10:21] 358 tn Or “whose older brother was Japheth.” Some translations render Japheth as the older brother, understanding the adjective הַגָּדוֹל (haggadol, “older”) as modifying Japheth. However, in Hebrew when a masculine singular definite attributive adjective follows the sequence masculine singular construct noun + proper name, the adjective invariably modifies the noun in construct, not the proper name. Such is the case here. See Deut 11:7; Judg 1:13; 2:7; 3:9; 9:5; 2 Kgs 15:35; 2 Chr 27:3; Neh 3:30; Jer 13:9; 36:10; Ezek 10:19; 11:1.
[10:22] 359 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
[10:22] 360 sn Asshur is the name for the Assyrians. Asshur was the region in which Nimrod expanded his power (see v. 11, where the name is also mentioned). When names appear in both sections of a genealogical list, it probably means that there were both Hamites and Shemites living in that region in antiquity, especially if the name is a place name.
[10:22] 361 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
[10:22] 362 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
[10:22] 363 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
[10:23] 364 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
[10:24] 365 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:24] 366 tc The MT reads “Arphaxad fathered Shelah”; the LXX reads “Arphaxad fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered Sala [= Shelah].” The LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
[10:24] 367 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
[10:25] 368 tn The expression “the earth was divided” may refer to dividing the land with canals, but more likely it anticipates the division of languages at Babel (Gen 11). The verb פָּלָג (palag, “separate, divide”) is used in Ps 55:9 for a division of languages.
[10:26] 369 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:26] 370 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
[10:26] 371 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
[10:26] 372 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
[10:26] 373 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
[10:27] 374 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
[10:27] 375 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
[10:28] 376 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
[10:28] 377 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
[10:28] 378 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
[10:29] 379 sn Ophir became the name of a territory in South Arabia. Many of the references to Ophir are connected with gold (e.g., 1 Kgs 9:28, 10:11, 22:48; 1 Chr 29:4; 2 Chr 8:18, 9:10; Job 22:24, 28:16; Ps 45:9; Isa 13:12).
[10:29] 380 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
[10:30] 381 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:32] 382 tn Or “separated.”
[11:1] 383 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] 384 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] 385 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:2] 386 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
[11:2] 387 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”
[11:3] 388 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
[11:3] 389 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] 390 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
[11:3] 391 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
[11:4] 392 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] 393 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] 394 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
[11:4] 395 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] 396 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] 397 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] 398 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
[11:6] 399 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] 400 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
[11:7] 401 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] 402 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
[11:8] 403 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] 404 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
[11:9] 405 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] 406 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 407 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 408 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] 409 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] 410 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] 411 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
[11:29] 412 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] 413 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] 414 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
[11:32] 415 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:1] 416 sn The
[12:1] 417 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] 418 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] 419 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
[12:2] 420 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] 421 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] 422 tn Or “I will make you famous.”
[12:2] 423 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] 424 tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the
[12:3] 425 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] 426 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] 427 sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).
[12:4] 428 tn Heb “just as the
[12:4] 429 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] 430 tn Heb “was the son of five years and seventy year[s].”
[12:5] 431 tn Heb “the son of his brother.”
[12:5] 432 tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.
[12:5] 433 tn Heb “went out to go.”
[12:6] 435 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] 436 tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”
[12:6] 437 tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.
[12:7] 438 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] 439 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:8] 440 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:8] 441 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[12:9] 442 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] 443 tn Or “the South [country].”
[12:10] 444 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] 445 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] 446 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] 447 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
[12:11] 448 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
[12:11] 449 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
[12:12] 450 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] 452 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] 453 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] 454 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
[12:15] 455 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] 456 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] 457 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] 458 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] 459 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[12:17] 460 tn The cognate accusative adds emphasis to the verbal sentence: “he plagued with great plagues,” meaning the
[12:18] 461 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] 462 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive here expresses consequence.
[12:19] 463 tn Heb “to me for a wife.”
[12:19] 464 tn Heb “Look, your wife!”
[12:19] 465 tn Heb “take and go.”
[12:20] 466 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:1] 467 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
[13:1] 468 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] 470 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.
[13:3] 471 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
[13:3] 472 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:3] 473 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:3] 474 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
[13:4] 475 tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).
[13:4] 476 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[13:5] 477 tn Heb “was going.”
[13:5] 478 tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.
[13:6] 479 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] 480 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] 481 tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.
[13:7] 482 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] 483 sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.
[13:7] 484 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] 485 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] 486 tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.
[13:10] 487 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] 488 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
[13:10] 489 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 490 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] 491 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] 492 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] 493 tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
[13:11] 494 tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”
[13:12] 495 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] 496 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] 497 tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.
[13:13] 498 tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the
[13:14] 499 tn Heb “and the
[13:14] 500 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”
[13:15] 501 tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”
[13:16] 502 tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.
[13:17] 503 tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.
[13:17] 504 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] 505 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] 506 tn Heb “he came and lived.”
[13:18] 507 tn Or “terebinths.”
[4:20] 508 tn Grk “voice” or “tone.” The contemporary English expression “tone of voice” is a good approximation to the meaning here.
[6:1] 509 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.
[6:1] 510 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.
[6:1] 511 tn Or “some transgression” (L&N 88.297).
[6:1] 512 sn Who are spiritual refers to people who are controlled and directed by God’s Spirit.
[6:1] 513 tn Or “with a gentle spirit” or “gently.”
[6:1] 514 tn Grk “taking careful notice.”
[6:6] 515 tn Or “have fallen away.”
[6:6] 516 tn Or “while”; Grk “crucifying…and holding.” The Greek participles here (“crucifying…and holding”) can be understood as either causal (“since”) or temporal (“while”).
[6:6] 517 tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”
[6:7] 518 tn Grk “comes upon.”
[6:8] 519 tn Grk “near to a curse.”
[5:19] 520 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
[5:20] 521 tn Grk “from the error of his way” (using the same root as the verb “to wander, to err” in the first part of the verse).
[5:20] 522 tn Grk “his soul”; the referent (the sinner mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:1] 523 tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”
[5:16] 524 tn Or “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful”; Grk “is very powerful in its working.”
[5:17] 525 tn Although it is certainly true that Elijah was a “man,” here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") has been translated as “human being” because the emphasis in context is not on Elijah’s masculine gender, but on the common humanity he shared with the author and the readers.
[5:17] 526 tn Grk “he prayed with prayer” (using a Hebrew idiom to show intensity).
[5:18] 527 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events.
