Discovery BoxGenesis 5:1--15:21
Context5:1 This is the record 1 of the family line 2 of Adam.
When God created humankind, 3 he made them 4 in the likeness of God. 5:2 He created them male and female; when they were created, he blessed them and named them “humankind.” 5
5:3 When 6 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 7 after he became the father of Seth was 800 years; during this time he had 8 other 9 sons and daughters. 5:5 The entire lifetime 10 of Adam was 930 years, and then he died. 11
5:6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father 12 of Enosh. 5:7 Seth lived 807 years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had 13 other 14 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 15 for 300 years, 16 and he had other 17 sons and daughters. 5:23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 5:24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared 18 because God took 19 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 20 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, 21 saying, “This one will bring us comfort 22 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 23 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 24 became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:1 When humankind 25 began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born 26 to them, 27 6:2 the sons of God 28 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 29 humankind indefinitely, 30 since 31 they 32 are mortal. 33 They 34 will remain for 120 more years.” 35
6:4 The Nephilim 36 were on the earth in those days (and also after this) 37 when the sons of God were having sexual relations with 38 the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children. 39 They were the mighty heroes 40 of old, the famous men. 41
6:5 But the Lord saw 42 that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination 43 of the thoughts 44 of their minds 45 was only evil 46 all the time. 47 6:6 The Lord regretted 48 that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended. 49 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, 50 including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them.”
6:8 But 51 Noah found favor 52 in the sight of 53 the Lord.
6:9 This is the account of Noah. 54
Noah was a godly man; he was blameless 55
among his contemporaries. 56 He 57 walked with 58 God. 6:10 Noah had 59 three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:11 The earth was ruined 60 in the sight of 61 God; the earth was filled with violence. 62 6:12 God saw the earth, and indeed 63 it was ruined, 64 for all living creatures 65 on the earth were sinful. 66 6:13 So God said 67 to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, 68 for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy 69 them and the earth. 6:14 Make 70 for yourself an ark of cypress 71 wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover 72 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. 73 6:16 Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches 74 from the top. 75 Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks. 6:17 I am about to bring 76 floodwaters 77 on the earth to destroy 78 from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. 79 Everything that is on the earth will die, 6:18 but I will confirm 80 my covenant with you. You will enter 81 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, 82 male and female, to keep them alive 83 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. 84 6:21 And you must take 85 for yourself every kind of food 86 that is eaten, 87 and gather it together. 88 It will be food for you and for them.
6:22 And Noah did all 89 that God commanded him – he did indeed. 90
7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. 91 7:2 You must take with you seven 92 of every kind of clean animal, 93 the male and its mate, 94 two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 7:3 and also seven 95 of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, 96 to preserve their offspring 97 on the face of the earth. 7:4 For in seven days 98 I will cause it to rain 99 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 100 that the Lord commanded him.
7:6 Noah 101 was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed 102 the earth. 7:7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because 103 of the floodwaters. 7:8 Pairs 104 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, 105 just as God had commanded him. 106 7:10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth. 107
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 108 burst open and the floodgates of the heavens 109 were opened. 7:12 And the rain fell 110 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. 111 7:14 They entered, 112 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. 113 7:15 Pairs 114 of all creatures 115 that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 7:16 Those that entered were male and female, 116 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 117 the earth, and the ark floated 118 on the surface of the waters. 7:19 The waters completely inundated 119 the earth so that even 120 all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 7:20 The waters rose more than twenty feet 121 above the mountains. 122 7:21 And all living things 123 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 124 in its nostrils died. 7:23 So the Lord 125 destroyed 126 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. 127 They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. 128 7:24 The waters prevailed over 129 the earth for 150 days.
8:1 But God remembered 130 Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over 131 the earth and the waters receded. 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed, 132 and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 8:3 The waters kept receding steadily 133 from the earth, so that they 134 had gone down 135 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. 136 8:5 The waters kept on receding 137 until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible. 138
8:6 At the end of forty days, 139 Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 140 8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying 141 back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.
8:8 Then Noah 142 sent out a dove 143 to see if the waters had receded 144 from the surface of the ground. 8:9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered 145 the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah 146 in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, 147 and brought it back into the ark. 148 8:10 He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. 8:11 When 149 the dove returned to him in the evening, there was 150 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, 151 but it did not return to him this time. 152
8:13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year, 153 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 154 the surface of the ground was dry. 8:14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth 155 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 156 every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase 157 and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!” 158
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. 159 8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma 160 and said 161 to himself, 162 “I will never again curse 163 the ground because of humankind, even though 164 the inclination of their minds 165 is evil from childhood on. 166 I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.
8:22 “While the earth continues to exist, 167
planting time 168 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. 169 Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. 170 9:3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. 171 As I gave you 172 the green plants, I now give 173 you everything.
9:4 But 174 you must not eat meat 175 with its life (that is, 176 its blood) in it. 177 9:5 For your lifeblood 178 I will surely exact punishment, 179 from 180 every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person 181 I will exact punishment for the life of the individual 182 since the man was his relative. 183
9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, 184
by other humans 185
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image 186
God 187 has made humankind.”
9:7 But as for you, 188 be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
9:8 God said to Noah and his sons, 189 9:9 “Look! I now confirm 190 my covenant with you and your descendants after you 191 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. 192 9:11 I confirm 193 my covenant with you: Never again will all living things 194 be wiped out 195 by the waters of a flood; 196 never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee 197 of the covenant I am making 198 with you 199 and every living creature with you, a covenant 200 for all subsequent 201 generations: 9:13 I will place 202 my rainbow 203 in the clouds, and it will become 204 a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 9:14 Whenever 205 I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you 206 and with all living creatures of all kinds. 207 Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy 208 all living things. 209 9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember 210 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 211 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.) 212 9:19 These were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated. 213
9:20 Noah, a man of the soil, 214 began to plant a vineyard. 215 9:21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself 216 inside his tent. 9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, 217 saw his father’s nakedness 218 and told his two brothers who were outside. 9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment 219 and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned 220 the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.
9:24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor 221 he learned 222 what his youngest son had done 223 to him. 9:25 So he said,
The lowest of slaves 226
he will be to his brothers.”
9:26 He also said,
“Worthy of praise is 227 the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem! 228
9:27 May God enlarge Japheth’s territory and numbers! 229
May he live 230 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 231 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 232 were born 233 to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 234 were Gomer, 235 Magog, 236 Madai, 237 Javan, 238 Tubal, 239 Meshech, 240 and Tiras. 241 10:3 The sons of Gomer were 242 Askenaz, 243 Riphath, 244 and Togarmah. 245 10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 246 Tarshish, 247 the Kittim, 248 and the Dodanim. 249 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, 250 Mizraim, 251 Put, 252 and Canaan. 253 10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, 254 Havilah, 255 Sabtah, 256 Raamah, 257 and Sabteca. 258 The sons of Raamah were Sheba 259 and Dedan. 260
10:8 Cush was the father of 261 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter 262 before the Lord. 263 (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10:10 The primary regions 264 of his kingdom were Babel, 265 Erech, 266 Akkad, 267 and Calneh 268 in the land of Shinar. 269 10:11 From that land he went 270 to Assyria, 271 where he built Nineveh, 272 Rehoboth-Ir, 273 Calah, 274 10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 275
10:13 Mizraim 276 was the father of 277 the Ludites, 278 Anamites, 279 Lehabites, 280 Naphtuhites, 281 10:14 Pathrusites, 282 Casluhites 283 (from whom the Philistines came), 284 and Caphtorites. 285
10:15 Canaan was the father of 286 Sidon his firstborn, 287 Heth, 288 10:16 the Jebusites, 289 Amorites, 290 Girgashites, 291 10:17 Hivites, 292 Arkites, 293 Sinites, 294 10:18 Arvadites, 295 Zemarites, 296 and Hamathites. 297 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended 298 from Sidon 299 all the way to 300 Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to 301 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 302 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 303 the father of all the sons of Eber.
10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, 304 Asshur, 305 Arphaxad, 306 Lud, 307 and Aram. 308 10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 309 10:24 Arphaxad was the father of 310 Shelah, 311 and Shelah was the father of Eber. 312 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, 313 and his brother’s name was Joktan. 10:26 Joktan was the father of 314 Almodad, 315 Sheleph, 316 Hazarmaveth, 317 Jerah, 318 10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, 319 Diklah, 320 10:28 Obal, 321 Abimael, 322 Sheba, 323 10:29 Ophir, 324 Havilah, 325 and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 10:30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to 326 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 327 over the earth after the flood.
11:1 The whole earth 328 had a common language and a common vocabulary. 329 11:2 When the people 330 moved eastward, 331 they found a plain in Shinar 332 and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, 333 “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” 334 (They had brick instead of stone and tar 335 instead of mortar.) 336 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens 337 so that 338 we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise 339 we will be scattered 340 across the face of the entire earth.”
11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people 341 had started 342 building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language 343 they have begun to do this, then 344 nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 345 11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse 346 their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 347
11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building 348 the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called 349 Babel 350 – 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 351 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 352 sons and daughters. 353
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 354 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, 355 while his father Terah was still alive. 356 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, 357 and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; 358 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 359 of Terah was 205 years, and he 360 died in Haran.
12:1 Now the Lord said 361 to Abram, 362
“Go out 363 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 364
12:2 Then I will make you 365 into a great nation, and I will bless you, 366
and I will make your name great, 367
so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 368
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, 369
but the one who treats you lightly 370 I must curse,
and all the families of the earth will bless one another 371 by your name.”
12:4 So Abram left, 372 just as the Lord had told him to do, 373 and Lot went with him. (Now 374 Abram was 75 years old 375 when he departed from Haran.) 12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew 376 Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired 377 in Haran, and they left for 378 the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree 379 of Moreh 380 at Shechem. 381 (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 382 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants 383 I will give this land.” So Abram 384 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 385 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. 386 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages 387 down to the Negev. 388
12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt 389 to stay for a while 390 because the famine was severe. 391 12:11 As he approached 392 Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, 393 I know that you are a beautiful woman. 394 12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 395 12:13 So tell them 396 you are my sister 397 so that it may go well 398 for me because of you and my life will be spared 399 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 400 was taken 401 into the household of Pharaoh, 402 12:16 and he did treat Abram well 403 on account of her. Abram received 404 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 405 because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this 406 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 407 to be my wife? 408 Here is your wife! 409 Take her and go!” 410 12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, 411 and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 412 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 413 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 414 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 415
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 416 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 417 He returned 418 to the place where he had pitched his tent 419 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 420 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 421
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 422 with Abram, also had 423 flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could 424 not support them while they were living side by side. 425 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 426 alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels 427 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 428 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 429
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. 430 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go 431 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 432 the whole region 433 of the Jordan. He noticed 434 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 435 Sodom and Gomorrah) 436 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 437 all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled 438 toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other. 439 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 440 and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now 441 the people 442 of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) 443
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 444 “Look 445 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 446 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. 447 13:17 Get up and 448 walk throughout 449 the land, 450 for I will give it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 451 by the oaks 452 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
14:1 At that time 453 Amraphel king of Shinar, 454 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 455 14:2 went to war 456 against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 457 14:3 These last five kings 458 joined forces 459 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 460 14:4 For twelve years 461 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 462 they rebelled. 463 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 464 the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. 465 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 466 and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met 467 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 468 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 469 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 470 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 471 but some survivors 472 fled to the hills. 473 14:11 The four victorious kings 474 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 475 Lot and his possessions when 476 they left, for Lot 477 was living in Sodom. 478
14:13 A fugitive 479 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 480 Now Abram was living by the oaks 481 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 482 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 483 with Abram.) 484 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 485 had been taken captive, he mobilized 486 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 487 as far as Dan. 488 14:15 Then, during the night, 489 Abram 490 divided his forces 491 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 492 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 493 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 494 the people.
14:17 After Abram 495 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 496 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 497 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 498 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 499 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 500 the Most High God,
Creator 501 of heaven and earth. 502
14:20 Worthy of praise is 503 the Most High God,
who delivered 504 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 505 a tenth of everything.
14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand 506 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 507 14:23 that I will take nothing 508 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 509 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 510 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 511 As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 512 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 513
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 514 what will you give me since 515 I continue to be 516 childless, and my heir 517 is 518 Eliezer of Damascus?” 519 15:3 Abram added, 520 “Since 521 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 522
15:4 But look, 523 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 524 will not be your heir, 525 but instead 526 a son 527 who comes from your own body will be 528 your heir.” 529 15:5 The Lord 530 took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
15:6 Abram believed 531 the Lord, and the Lord 532 considered his response of faith 533 as proof of genuine loyalty. 534
15:7 The Lord said 535 to him, “I am the Lord 536 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 537 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But 538 Abram 539 said, “O sovereign Lord, 540 by what 541 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 542 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 543 took all these for him and then cut them in two 544 and placed each half opposite the other, 545 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, 546 and great terror overwhelmed him. 547 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 548 that your descendants will be strangers 549 in a foreign country. 550 They will be enslaved and oppressed 551 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 552 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 553 you will go to your ancestors 554 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 555 15:16 In the fourth generation 556 your descendants 557 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 558
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 559 passed between the animal parts. 560 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 561 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 562 this land, from the river of Egypt 563 to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land 564 of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” 565
John 10:3
Context10:3 The doorkeeper 566 opens the door 567 for him, 568 and the sheep hear his voice. He 569 calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 570
Revelation 7:4-17
Context7:4 Now 571 I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal, 572 one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from all 573 the tribes of the people of Israel: 574
7:5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,
7:6 from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,
7:7 from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,
7:8 from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.
7:9 After these things I looked, and here was 575 an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, 576 people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. 7:10 They were shouting out in a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God, 577
to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
7:11 And all the angels stood 578 there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground 579 before the throne and worshiped God, 7:12 saying,
“Amen! Praise and glory,
and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
7:13 Then 580 one of the elders asked 581 me, “These dressed in long white robes – who are they and where have they come from?” 7:14 So 582 I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” 583 Then 584 he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They 585 have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve 586 him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. 587 7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, 588 7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 589
[5:1] 1 tn Heb “book” or “roll.” Cf. NIV “written account”; NRSV “list.”
[5:1] 2 tn Heb “generations.” See the note on the phrase “this is the account of” in 2:4.
[5:1] 3 tn The Hebrew text has אָדָם (’adam).
[5:1] 4 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] 5 tn The Hebrew word used here is אָדָם (’adam).
[5:3] 6 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] 7 tn Heb “The days of Adam.”
[5:4] 9 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[5:5] 10 tn Heb “all the days of Adam which he lived”
[5:5] 11 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] 12 tn Heb “he fathered.”
[5:7] 13 tn Heb “he fathered.”
[5:7] 14 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] 15 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] 16 tn Heb “and Enoch walked with God, after he became the father of Methuselah, [for] 300 years.”
[5:22] 17 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[5:24] 18 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] 19 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] 20 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[5:29] 21 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] 22 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] 23 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[5:32] 24 tn Heb “Noah.” The pronoun (“he”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[6:1] 25 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] 26 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] 27 tn The pronominal suffix is third masculine plural, indicating that the antecedent “humankind” is collective.
[6:2] 28 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] 29 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] 31 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] 32 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] 34 tn See the note on “they” earlier in this verse.
[6:3] 35 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] 36 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] 37 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] 38 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] 39 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] 40 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] 41 tn Heb “men of name” (i.e., famous men).
[6:5] 42 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] 43 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] 44 tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.
[6:5] 45 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] 46 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] 47 tn Heb “all the day.”
[6:6] 48 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] 49 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] 50 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] 51 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is contrastive here: God condemns the human race, but he is pleased with Noah.
[6:8] 52 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] 53 tn Heb “in the eyes of,” an anthropomorphic expression for God’s opinion or decision. The
[6:9] 54 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] 55 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] 56 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] 57 tn Heb “Noah.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[6:9] 58 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] 60 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] 62 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] 63 tn Or “God saw how corrupt the earth was.”
[6:12] 64 tn The repetition in the text (see v. 11) emphasizes the point.
[6:12] 65 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] 66 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] 67 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] 68 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] 69 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] 70 sn The Hebrew verb is an imperative. A motif of this section is that Noah did as the
[6:14] 71 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] 72 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] 73 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] 75 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] 76 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] 77 tn Heb “the flood, water.”
[6:17] 78 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] 79 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] 80 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] 81 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] 82 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] 83 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] 84 tn Heb “to keep alive.”
[6:21] 85 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] 86 tn Heb “from all food,” meaning “some of every kind of food.”
[6:21] 87 tn Or “will be eaten.”
[6:21] 88 tn Heb “and gather it to you.”
[6:22] 89 tn Heb “according to all.”
[6:22] 90 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] 91 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] 92 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
[7:2] 93 sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.
[7:2] 94 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] 95 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
[7:3] 96 tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).
[7:3] 97 tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”
[7:4] 98 tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”
[7:4] 99 tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.
[7:5] 100 tn Heb “according to all.”
[7:6] 101 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] 102 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] 103 tn The preposition מִן (min) is causal here, explaining why Noah and his family entered the ark.
[7:8] 104 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
[7:9] 105 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] 106 tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:10] 107 tn Heb “came upon.”
[7:11] 108 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] 109 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] 111 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] 112 tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:14] 113 tn Heb “every bird, every wing.”
[7:15] 114 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
[7:16] 116 tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”
[7:18] 117 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] 119 tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters.
[7:20] 121 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] 122 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] 124 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] 125 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[7:23] 126 tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).
[7:23] 127 tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”
[7:23] 128 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] 129 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] 130 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] 131 tn Heb “to pass over.”
[8:2] 132 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] 133 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] 134 tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:3] 135 tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.
[8:4] 136 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] 137 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] 138 tn Or “could be seen.”
[8:6] 139 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] 140 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] 141 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] 142 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:8] 143 tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
[8:8] 144 tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.
[8:9] 145 tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:9] 146 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 147 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 148 tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”
[8:11] 149 tn The clause introduced by vav (ו) consecutive is translated as a temporal clause subordinated to the following clause.
[8:11] 150 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] 151 tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:12] 152 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] 153 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] 154 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] 155 tn In v. 13 the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, ha’adamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, ha’arets) is dry.
[8:17] 156 tn The words “bring out” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:17] 157 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] 158 tn Heb “and let them swarm in the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
[8:20] 159 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] 160 tn The
[8:21] 161 tn Heb “and the
[8:21] 162 tn Heb “in his heart.”
[8:21] 163 tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.
[8:21] 164 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] 165 tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”
[8:21] 166 tn Heb “from his youth.”
[8:22] 167 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] 168 tn Heb “seed,” which stands here by metonymy for the time when seed is planted.
[9:2] 169 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] 170 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] 171 tn Heb “every moving thing that lives for you will be for food.”
[9:3] 172 tn The words “I gave you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:3] 173 tn The perfect verb form describes the action that accompanies the declaration.
[9:4] 176 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] 177 tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:5] 178 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] 179 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] 180 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] 181 tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.
[9:5] 182 tn Heb “of the man.”
[9:5] 183 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] 184 tn Heb “the blood of man.”
[9:6] 185 tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.
[9:6] 186 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] 187 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:7] 188 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] 189 tn Heb “to Noah and to his sons with him, saying.”
[9:9] 190 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] 191 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] 192 tn The verbal repetition is apparently for emphasis.
[9:11] 193 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] 194 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:11] 196 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
[9:12] 198 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] 199 tn Heb “between me and between you.”
[9:12] 200 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:12] 201 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
[9:13] 202 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] 203 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] 204 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.
[9:14] 205 tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vÿhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.
[9:15] 206 tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
[9:15] 207 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:15] 208 tn Heb “to destroy.”
[9:15] 209 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:16] 210 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] 211 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:18] 212 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] 213 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] 214 sn The epithet a man of the soil indicates that Noah was a farmer.
[9:20] 215 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] 216 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] 217 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] 218 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] 219 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] 220 tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”
[9:24] 221 tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.
[9:24] 223 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] 224 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] 225 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] 226 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] 227 tn Heb “blessed be.”
[9:26] 228 tn Heb “a slave to him”; the referent (Shem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:27] 229 tn Heb “may God enlarge Japheth.” The words “territory and numbers” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:27] 230 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] 231 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] 232 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] 233 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] 234 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
[10:2] 235 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] 236 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] 237 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
[10:2] 238 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
[10:2] 239 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] 240 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] 241 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
[10:3] 242 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
[10:3] 243 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] 244 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
[10:3] 245 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] 246 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
[10:4] 247 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] 248 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] 249 tc Most of the MT
[10:6] 250 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
[10:6] 251 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
[10:6] 252 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
[10:6] 253 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
[10:7] 254 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
[10:7] 255 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] 256 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
[10:7] 257 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 258 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
[10:7] 259 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 260 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
[10:8] 261 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] 262 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] 263 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
[10:10] 264 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] 266 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
[10:10] 267 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
[10:10] 268 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] 269 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
[10:11] 270 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] 272 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
[10:11] 273 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
[10:11] 274 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
[10:12] 275 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
[10:13] 276 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
[10:13] 277 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:13] 278 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
[10:13] 279 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
[10:13] 280 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
[10:13] 281 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
[10:14] 282 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
[10:14] 283 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
[10:14] 284 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] 285 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
[10:15] 286 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:15] 287 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
[10:15] 288 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] 289 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
[10:16] 290 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] 291 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] 292 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
[10:17] 293 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
[10:17] 294 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
[10:18] 295 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
[10:18] 296 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
[10:18] 297 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
[10:19] 299 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[10:19] 300 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:19] 301 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:21] 302 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
[10:21] 303 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] 304 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
[10:22] 305 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] 306 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
[10:22] 307 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
[10:22] 308 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
[10:23] 309 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
[10:24] 310 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:24] 311 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] 312 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
[10:25] 313 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] 314 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:26] 315 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
[10:26] 316 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
[10:26] 317 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
[10:26] 318 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
[10:27] 319 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
[10:27] 320 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
[10:28] 321 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
[10:28] 322 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
[10:28] 323 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
[10:29] 324 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] 325 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
[10:30] 326 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:32] 327 tn Or “separated.”
[11:1] 328 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] 329 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] 330 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:2] 331 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
[11:2] 332 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”
[11:3] 333 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
[11:3] 334 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] 335 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
[11:3] 336 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
[11:4] 337 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] 338 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] 339 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
[11:4] 340 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] 341 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] 342 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] 343 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
[11:6] 344 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] 345 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
[11:7] 346 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] 347 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
[11:8] 348 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] 349 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
[11:9] 350 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] 351 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 352 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 353 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] 354 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] 355 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] 356 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
[11:29] 357 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] 358 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] 359 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
[11:32] 360 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:1] 361 sn The
[12:1] 362 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] 363 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] 364 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
[12:2] 365 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] 366 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] 367 tn Or “I will make you famous.”
[12:2] 368 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] 369 tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the
[12:3] 370 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] 371 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] 372 sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).
[12:4] 373 tn Heb “just as the
[12:4] 374 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] 375 tn Heb “was the son of five years and seventy year[s].”
[12:5] 376 tn Heb “the son of his brother.”
[12:5] 377 tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.
[12:5] 378 tn Heb “went out to go.”
[12:6] 380 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] 381 tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”
[12:6] 382 tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.
[12:7] 383 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] 384 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:8] 385 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:8] 386 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[12:9] 387 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] 388 tn Or “the South [country].”
[12:10] 389 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] 390 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] 391 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] 392 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
[12:11] 393 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
[12:11] 394 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
[12:12] 395 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] 397 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] 398 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] 399 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
[12:15] 400 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] 401 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] 402 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] 403 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] 404 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[12:17] 405 tn The cognate accusative adds emphasis to the verbal sentence: “he plagued with great plagues,” meaning the
[12:18] 406 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] 407 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive here expresses consequence.
[12:19] 408 tn Heb “to me for a wife.”
[12:19] 409 tn Heb “Look, your wife!”
[12:19] 410 tn Heb “take and go.”
[12:20] 411 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:1] 412 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
[13:1] 413 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] 415 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.
[13:3] 416 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
[13:3] 417 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:3] 418 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:3] 419 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
[13:4] 420 tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).
[13:4] 421 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[13:5] 422 tn Heb “was going.”
[13:5] 423 tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.
[13:6] 424 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] 425 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] 426 tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.
[13:7] 427 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] 428 sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.
[13:7] 429 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] 430 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] 431 tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.
[13:10] 432 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] 433 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
[13:10] 434 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 435 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] 436 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] 437 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] 438 tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
[13:11] 439 tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”
[13:12] 440 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] 441 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] 442 tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.
[13:13] 443 tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the
[13:14] 444 tn Heb “and the
[13:14] 445 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”
[13:15] 446 tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”
[13:16] 447 tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.
[13:17] 448 tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.
[13:17] 449 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] 450 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] 451 tn Heb “he came and lived.”
[13:18] 452 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:1] 453 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”
[14:1] 454 sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
[14:1] 455 tn Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. NEB “Goyim”; NIV, NRSV “Goiim”).
[14:2] 457 sn On the geographical background of vv. 1-2 see J. P. Harland, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 1:41-75; and D. N. Freedman, “The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the Cities of the Plain,” BA 41 (1978): 143-64.
[14:3] 458 tn Heb “all these,” referring only to the last five kings named. The referent has been specified as “these last five kings” in the translation for clarity.
[14:3] 459 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to join together; to unite; to be allied.” It stresses close associations, especially of friendships, marriages, or treaties.
[14:3] 460 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
[14:4] 461 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
[14:4] 462 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.
[14:4] 463 sn The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east – to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats – that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.
[14:5] 464 tn The Hebrew verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to attack, to strike, to smite.” In this context it appears that the strike was successful, and so a translation of “defeated” is preferable.
[14:6] 465 sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.
[14:7] 466 tn Heb “they returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh).” The two verbs together form a verbal hendiadys, the first serving as the adverb: “they returned and came” means “they came again.” Most English translations do not treat this as a hendiadys, but translate “they turned back” or something similar. Since in the context, however, “came again to” does not simply refer to travel but an assault against the place, the present translation expresses this as “attacked…again.”
[14:9] 468 tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.
[14:9] 469 tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:10] 470 tn Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.”
[14:10] 471 tn Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם).
[14:10] 472 tn Heb “the rest.”
[14:10] 473 sn The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.
[14:11] 474 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 475 tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
[14:12] 477 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 478 tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
[14:13] 479 tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
[14:13] 480 sn E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14-16).
[14:13] 481 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:13] 482 tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
[14:13] 483 tn Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.
[14:13] 484 tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.
[14:14] 485 tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).
[14:14] 486 tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.
[14:14] 487 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:14] 488 sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.
[14:15] 489 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
[14:15] 490 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 491 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
[14:15] 492 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
[14:16] 493 tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:16] 494 tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:17] 495 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 496 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 497 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
[14:18] 498 sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the
[14:18] 499 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
[14:19] 500 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
[14:19] 501 tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”
[14:19] 502 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
[14:20] 503 tn Heb “blessed be.” For God to be “blessed” means that is praised. His reputation is enriched in the world as his name is praised.
[14:20] 504 sn Who delivered. The Hebrew verb מִגֵּן (miggen, “delivered”) foreshadows the statement by God to Abram in Gen 15:1, “I am your shield” (מָגֵן, magen). Melchizedek provided a theological interpretation of Abram’s military victory.
[14:20] 505 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:22] 506 tn Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”
[14:22] 507 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:23] 508 tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the
[14:23] 509 tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
[14:24] 510 tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:24] 511 tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
[15:1] 512 sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.
[15:1] 513 tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).
[15:2] 514 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
[15:2] 515 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
[15:2] 516 tn Heb “I am going.”
[15:2] 517 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
[15:2] 518 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
[15:2] 519 sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.
[15:3] 520 tn Heb “And Abram said.”
[15:3] 521 tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).
[15:3] 522 tn Heb “is inheriting me.”
[15:4] 523 tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.
[15:4] 524 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
[15:4] 525 tn Heb “inherit you.”
[15:4] 526 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
[15:4] 527 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:4] 528 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
[15:4] 529 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
[15:5] 530 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 531 tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50-98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.
[15:6] 532 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 533 tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440-41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him – [namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259-89.
[15:6] 534 tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12-13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962).
[15:7] 535 tn Heb “And he said.”
[15:7] 536 sn I am the
[15:7] 537 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
[15:8] 538 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
[15:8] 539 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:8] 540 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
[15:9] 542 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
[15:10] 543 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:10] 544 tn Heb “in the middle.”
[15:10] 545 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
[15:12] 546 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
[15:12] 547 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
[15:13] 548 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
[15:13] 549 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
[15:13] 550 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
[15:13] 551 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
[15:14] 552 tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
[15:15] 553 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
[15:15] 554 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
[15:15] 555 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
[15:16] 556 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
[15:16] 557 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[15:16] 558 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
[15:17] 559 sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).
[15:17] 560 tn Heb “these pieces.”
[15:18] 561 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[15:18] 562 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
[15:18] 563 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
[15:19] 564 tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:21] 565 tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.
[10:3] 566 tn Or “porter” (British English).
[10:3] 567 tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
[10:3] 568 tn Grk “For this one.”
[10:3] 569 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[10:3] 570 sn He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Some interpreters have suggested that there was more than one flock in the fold, and there would be a process of separation where each shepherd called out his own flock. This may also be suggested by the mention of a doorkeeper in v. 3 since only the larger sheepfolds would have such a guard. But the Gospel of John never mentions a distinction among the sheep in this fold; in fact (10:16) there are other sheep which are to be brought in, but they are to be one flock and one shepherd.
[7:4] 571 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of new but related material.
[7:4] 572 tn Grk “who were sealed.”
[7:4] 573 tn Normally, “every,” but since 144,000 is the total number, “all” is clearer here.
[7:4] 574 tn Grk “the sons of Israel,” normally an idiom for the Israelites as an ethnic entity (L&N 11.58). However, many scholars understand the expression in this context to refer to Christians rather than ethnic Israelites.
[7:9] 575 tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
[7:9] 576 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
[7:10] 577 tn The dative here has been translated as a dative of possession.
[7:11] 578 tn The verb is pluperfect, but the force is simple past. See ExSyn 586.
[7:11] 579 tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
[7:13] 580 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
[7:13] 581 tn Grk “spoke” or “declared to,” but in the context “asked” reads more naturally in English.
[7:14] 582 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.
[7:14] 583 tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.
[7:14] 584 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
[7:14] 585 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[7:15] 586 tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).
[7:15] 587 tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).
[7:16] 588 tn An allusion to Isa 49:10. The phrase “burning heat” is one word in Greek (καῦμα, kauma) that refers to a burning, intensely-felt heat. See BDAG 536 s.v.
