Discovery BoxGenesis 7:1--9:29
Context7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. 1 7:2 You must take with you seven 2 of every kind of clean animal, 3 the male and its mate, 4 two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 7:3 and also seven 5 of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, 6 to preserve their offspring 7 on the face of the earth. 7:4 For in seven days 8 I will cause it to rain 9 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 10 that the Lord commanded him.
7:6 Noah 11 was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed 12 the earth. 7:7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because 13 of the floodwaters. 7:8 Pairs 14 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, 15 just as God had commanded him. 16 7:10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth. 17
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 18 burst open and the floodgates of the heavens 19 were opened. 7:12 And the rain fell 20 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. 21 7:14 They entered, 22 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. 23 7:15 Pairs 24 of all creatures 25 that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 7:16 Those that entered were male and female, 26 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 27 the earth, and the ark floated 28 on the surface of the waters. 7:19 The waters completely inundated 29 the earth so that even 30 all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 7:20 The waters rose more than twenty feet 31 above the mountains. 32 7:21 And all living things 33 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 34 in its nostrils died. 7:23 So the Lord 35 destroyed 36 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. 37 They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. 38 7:24 The waters prevailed over 39 the earth for 150 days.
8:1 But God remembered 40 Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over 41 the earth and the waters receded. 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed, 42 and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 8:3 The waters kept receding steadily 43 from the earth, so that they 44 had gone down 45 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. 46 8:5 The waters kept on receding 47 until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible. 48
8:6 At the end of forty days, 49 Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 50 8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying 51 back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.
8:8 Then Noah 52 sent out a dove 53 to see if the waters had receded 54 from the surface of the ground. 8:9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered 55 the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah 56 in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, 57 and brought it back into the ark. 58 8:10 He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. 8:11 When 59 the dove returned to him in the evening, there was 60 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, 61 but it did not return to him this time. 62
8:13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year, 63 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 64 the surface of the ground was dry. 8:14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth 65 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 66 every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase 67 and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!” 68
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. 69 8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma 70 and said 71 to himself, 72 “I will never again curse 73 the ground because of humankind, even though 74 the inclination of their minds 75 is evil from childhood on. 76 I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.
8:22 “While the earth continues to exist, 77
planting time 78 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. 79 Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. 80 9:3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. 81 As I gave you 82 the green plants, I now give 83 you everything.
9:4 But 84 you must not eat meat 85 with its life (that is, 86 its blood) in it. 87 9:5 For your lifeblood 88 I will surely exact punishment, 89 from 90 every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person 91 I will exact punishment for the life of the individual 92 since the man was his relative. 93
9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, 94
by other humans 95
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image 96
God 97 has made humankind.”
9:7 But as for you, 98 be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
9:8 God said to Noah and his sons, 99 9:9 “Look! I now confirm 100 my covenant with you and your descendants after you 101 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. 102 9:11 I confirm 103 my covenant with you: Never again will all living things 104 be wiped out 105 by the waters of a flood; 106 never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee 107 of the covenant I am making 108 with you 109 and every living creature with you, a covenant 110 for all subsequent 111 generations: 9:13 I will place 112 my rainbow 113 in the clouds, and it will become 114 a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 9:14 Whenever 115 I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you 116 and with all living creatures of all kinds. 117 Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy 118 all living things. 119 9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember 120 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 121 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.) 122 9:19 These were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated. 123
9:20 Noah, a man of the soil, 124 began to plant a vineyard. 125 9:21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself 126 inside his tent. 9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, 127 saw his father’s nakedness 128 and told his two brothers who were outside. 9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment 129 and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned 130 the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.
9:24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor 131 he learned 132 what his youngest son had done 133 to him. 9:25 So he said,
The lowest of slaves 136
he will be to his brothers.”
9:26 He also said,
“Worthy of praise is 137 the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem! 138
9:27 May God enlarge Japheth’s territory and numbers! 139
May he live 140 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.
Genesis 23:1--24:67
Context23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 141 23:2 Then she 142 died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 143
23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife 144 and said to the sons of Heth, 145 23:4 “I am a temporary settler 146 among you. Grant 147 me ownership 148 of a burial site among you so that I may 149 bury my dead.” 150
23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 151 23:6 “Listen, sir, 152 you are a mighty prince 153 among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you 154 from burying your dead.”
23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, 155 the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree 156 that I may bury my dead, 157 then hear me out. 158 Ask 159 Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell 160 me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly 161 for the full price, 162 so that I may own it as a burial site.”
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 163 replied to Abraham in the hearing 164 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 165 of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell 166 you both the field and the cave that is in it. 167 In the presence of my people 168 I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”
23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay 169 to you the price 170 of the field. Take it from me so that I may 171 bury my dead there.”
23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 172 400 pieces of silver, 173 but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price 174 and weighed 175 out for him 176 the price 177 that Ephron had quoted 178 in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 179
23:17 So Abraham secured 180 Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. 181
23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site 182 from the sons of Heth.
24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, 183 and the Lord had blessed him 184 in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one 185 in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh 186 24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise 187 by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire 188 a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives 189 to find 190 a wife for my son Isaac.”
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 191 to this land? Must I then 192 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful 193 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 194 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 195 promised me with a solemn oath, 196 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 197 before you so that you may find 198 a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, 199 you will be free 200 from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. 201
24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. 202 He journeyed 203 to the region of Aram Naharaim 204 and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well 205 outside the city. It was evening, 206 the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. 207 Be faithful 208 to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, 209 and the daughters of the people 210 who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ 211 In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” 212
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 213 with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 214 24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. 215 She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant 216 ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering 217 her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, 218 she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied 219 her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine 220 if the Lord had made his journey successful 221 or not.
24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka 222 and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels 223 and gave them to her. 224 24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. 225 “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. 226 24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, 227 “and room for you 228 to spend the night.”
24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love 229 for my master! The Lord has led me 230 to the house 231 of my master’s relatives!” 232
24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about 233 these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) 234 Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring 235 and heard his sister Rebekah say, 236 “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing 237 by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, 238 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! 239 Why are you standing out here when I have prepared 240 the house and a place for the camels?”
24:32 So Abraham’s servant 241 went to the house and unloaded 242 the camels. Straw and feed were given 243 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 244 24:33 When food was served, 245 he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” 246 “Tell us,” Laban said. 247
24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. 248 The Lord 249 has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him 250 when she was old, 251 and my master 252 has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find 253 a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go 254 with me?’ 255 24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, 256 will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath 257 if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, 258 may events unfold as follows: 259 24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. 260 When 261 the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, 262 along came Rebekah 263 with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ 264 I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter 265 of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” 266
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. 267 Our wishes are of no concern. 268 24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become 269 the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” 270
24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he 271 brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. 272
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” 273 24:55 But Rebekah’s 274 brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord 275 has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return 276 to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” 277 24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want 278 to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”
24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: 279
“Our sister, may you become the mother 280 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 281 of their enemies.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 282 the man. So Abraham’s servant 283 took Rebekah and left.
24:62 Now 284 Isaac came from 285 Beer Lahai Roi, 286 for 287 he was living in the Negev. 288 24:63 He 289 went out to relax 290 in the field in the early evening. 291 Then he looked up 292 and saw that 293 there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up 294 and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked 295 Abraham’s servant, 296 “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. 297 So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah 298 into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her 299 as his wife and loved her. 300 So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 301
[7:1] 1 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] 2 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
[7:2] 3 sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.
[7:2] 4 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] 5 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
[7:3] 6 tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).
[7:3] 7 tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”
[7:4] 8 tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”
[7:4] 9 tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.
[7:5] 10 tn Heb “according to all.”
[7:6] 11 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] 12 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] 13 tn The preposition מִן (min) is causal here, explaining why Noah and his family entered the ark.
[7:8] 14 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
[7:9] 15 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] 16 tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:11] 18 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] 19 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] 21 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] 22 tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:14] 23 tn Heb “every bird, every wing.”
[7:15] 24 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
[7:16] 26 tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”
[7:18] 27 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] 29 tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters.
[7:20] 31 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] 32 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] 34 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] 35 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[7:23] 36 tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).
[7:23] 37 tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”
[7:23] 38 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] 39 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] 40 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] 41 tn Heb “to pass over.”
[8:2] 42 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] 43 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] 44 tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:3] 45 tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.
[8:4] 46 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] 47 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] 48 tn Or “could be seen.”
[8:6] 49 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] 50 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] 51 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] 52 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:8] 53 tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
[8:8] 54 tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.
[8:9] 55 tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:9] 56 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 57 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 58 tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”
[8:11] 59 tn The clause introduced by vav (ו) consecutive is translated as a temporal clause subordinated to the following clause.
[8:11] 60 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] 61 tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:12] 62 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] 63 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] 64 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] 65 tn In v. 13 the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, ha’adamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, ha’arets) is dry.
[8:17] 66 tn The words “bring out” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:17] 67 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] 68 tn Heb “and let them swarm in the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
[8:20] 69 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] 70 tn The
[8:21] 71 tn Heb “and the
[8:21] 72 tn Heb “in his heart.”
[8:21] 73 tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.
[8:21] 74 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] 75 tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”
[8:21] 76 tn Heb “from his youth.”
[8:22] 77 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] 78 tn Heb “seed,” which stands here by metonymy for the time when seed is planted.
[9:2] 79 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] 80 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] 81 tn Heb “every moving thing that lives for you will be for food.”
[9:3] 82 tn The words “I gave you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:3] 83 tn The perfect verb form describes the action that accompanies the declaration.
[9:4] 86 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] 87 tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:5] 88 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] 89 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] 90 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] 91 tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.
[9:5] 93 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] 94 tn Heb “the blood of man.”
[9:6] 95 tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.
[9:6] 96 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] 97 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:7] 98 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] 99 tn Heb “to Noah and to his sons with him, saying.”
[9:9] 100 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] 101 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] 102 tn The verbal repetition is apparently for emphasis.
[9:11] 103 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] 104 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:11] 106 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
[9:12] 108 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] 109 tn Heb “between me and between you.”
[9:12] 110 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:12] 111 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
[9:13] 112 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] 113 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] 114 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.
[9:14] 115 tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vÿhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.
[9:15] 116 tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
[9:15] 117 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:15] 118 tn Heb “to destroy.”
[9:15] 119 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:16] 120 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] 121 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:18] 122 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] 123 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] 124 sn The epithet a man of the soil indicates that Noah was a farmer.
[9:20] 125 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] 126 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] 127 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] 128 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] 129 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] 130 tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”
[9:24] 131 tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.
[9:24] 133 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] 134 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] 135 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] 136 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] 137 tn Heb “blessed be.”
[9:26] 138 tn Heb “a slave to him”; the referent (Shem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:27] 139 tn Heb “may God enlarge Japheth.” The words “territory and numbers” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:27] 140 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).
[23:1] 141 tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”
[23:2] 142 tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.
[23:2] 143 sn Mourn…weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD3 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah’s tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (v. 3).
[23:3] 144 tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”
[23:3] 145 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
[23:4] 146 tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”
[23:4] 147 tn Heb “give,” which is used here as an idiom for “sell” (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.
[23:4] 148 tn Or “possession.”
[23:4] 149 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.
[23:4] 150 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:5] 151 tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”
[23:6] 152 tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”
[23:6] 153 tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.
[23:6] 154 tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:7] 155 tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).
[23:8] 156 tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).
[23:8] 157 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:8] 159 tn Heb “intercede for me with.”
[23:9] 160 tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.
[23:9] 161 tn Heb “in your presence.”
[23:10] 163 tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
[23:10] 164 tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
[23:10] 165 sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.
[23:11] 166 tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.
[23:11] 167 tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[23:11] 168 tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”
[23:13] 171 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.
[23:15] 172 tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:15] 173 sn Four hundred pieces of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).
[23:16] 174 tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”
[23:16] 175 tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”
[23:16] 176 tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:16] 178 tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[23:16] 179 tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.
[23:17] 180 tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:18] 181 tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:20] 182 tn Heb “possession of a grave.”
[24:1] 184 tn Heb “Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
[24:2] 185 tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).
[24:2] 186 sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.
[24:3] 187 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.
[24:3] 188 tn Heb “because you must not take.”
[24:4] 189 tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”
[24:5] 191 tn Heb “to go after me.”
[24:5] 192 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
[24:6] 193 tn Heb “guard yourself.”
[24:6] 194 tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:7] 195 tn Or “the land of my birth.”
[24:7] 196 tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”
[24:7] 197 tn Or “his messenger.”
[24:7] 198 tn Heb “before you and you will take.”
[24:8] 199 tn Heb “ to go after you.”
[24:8] 200 sn You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.
[24:9] 201 tn Heb “and he swore to him concerning this matter.”
[24:10] 202 tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.
[24:10] 203 tn Heb “and he arose and went.”
[24:10] 204 tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[24:11] 205 tn Heb “well of water.”
[24:11] 206 tn Heb “at the time of evening.”
[24:12] 207 tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).
[24:12] 208 tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”
[24:13] 209 tn Heb “the spring of water.”
[24:14] 211 sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.
[24:14] 212 tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”
[24:15] 213 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.
[24:15] 214 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:16] 215 tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.
[24:17] 216 tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:18] 217 tn Heb “and she hurried and lowered.”
[24:19] 218 tn Heb “when she had finished giving him a drink.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:20] 219 tn Heb “and she hurried and emptied.”
[24:21] 221 tn The Hebrew term צָלָה (tsalah), meaning “to make successful” in the Hiphil verbal stem, is a key term in the story (see vv. 40, 42, 56).
[24:22] 222 sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).
[24:22] 223 sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).
[24:22] 224 tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
[24:23] 225 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:24] 226 tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:25] 227 tn Heb “and she said, ‘We have plenty of both straw and feed.’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:25] 228 tn Heb The words “for you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
[24:27] 229 tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”
[24:27] 230 tn Heb “As for me – in the way the
[24:27] 231 tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.
[24:27] 232 tn Heb “brothers.”
[24:28] 233 tn Heb “according to.”
[24:29] 234 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.
[24:30] 235 tn Heb “And it was when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister.” The word order is altered in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[24:30] 236 tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”
[24:30] 237 tn Heb “and look, he was standing.” The disjunctive clause with the participle following the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites the audience to view the scene through Laban’s eyes.
[24:31] 238 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.
[24:31] 239 sn Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the
[24:31] 240 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.
[24:32] 241 tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:32] 242 tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).
[24:32] 243 tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.
[24:32] 244 tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”
[24:33] 245 tn Heb “and food was placed before him.”
[24:33] 246 tn Heb “my words.”
[24:33] 247 tc Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, “and they said.”
[24:35] 248 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.
[24:35] 249 tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the
[24:36] 250 tn Heb “to my master.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:36] 251 tn Heb “after her old age.”
[24:36] 252 tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:38] 253 tn Heb “but to the house of my father you must go and to my family and you must take a wife for my son.”
[24:39] 254 tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.
[24:39] 255 tn Heb “after me.”
[24:40] 256 tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the
[24:41] 257 tn Heb “my oath” (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).
[24:42] 258 tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”
[24:42] 259 tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[24:43] 260 tn Heb “the spring of water.”
[24:43] 261 tn Heb “and it will be.”
[24:45] 262 tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.
[24:45] 263 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.
[24:47] 264 tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:48] 265 tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).
[24:49] 266 tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.
[24:50] 267 tn Heb “From the
[24:50] 268 tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.
[24:51] 269 tn Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[24:51] 270 tn Heb “as the
[24:53] 271 tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:54] 272 tn Heb “And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night.”
[24:54] 273 tn Heb “Send me away to my master.”
[24:55] 274 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:56] 275 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.
[24:56] 276 tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[24:57] 277 tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”
[24:58] 278 tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.
[24:60] 279 tn Heb “and said to her.”
[24:60] 280 tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”
[24:60] 281 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.
[24:61] 282 tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”
[24:61] 283 tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:62] 284 tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.
[24:62] 285 tn Heb “from the way of.”
[24:62] 286 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” See Gen 16:14.
[24:62] 287 tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.
[24:62] 288 tn Or “the South [country].”
[24:63] 289 tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:63] 290 tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).
[24:63] 291 tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”
[24:63] 292 tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.
[24:63] 293 tn Heb “and look.” The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.
[24:64] 294 tn Heb “lifted up her eyes.”
[24:65] 295 tn Heb “and she said to.”
[24:65] 296 tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[24:65] 297 tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:67] 298 tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.
[24:67] 299 tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:67] 300 tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”
[24:67] 301 tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.
