Genesis 18:12

18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ¹  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, ²  especially when my husband is old too?” ³ 

Genesis 18:1

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ⁴  by the oaks ⁵  of Mamre while ⁶  he was sitting at the entrance ⁷  to his tent during the hottest time of the day.

Genesis 3:6

3:6 When ⁸  the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, ⁹  was attractive ¹⁰  to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, ¹¹  she took some of its fruit and ate it. ¹²  She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. ¹³ 

[18:12]  ¹ tn Heb “saying.”

[18:12]  ² tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.

[18:12]  ³ tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁵ tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ⁶ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[3:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “And the woman saw.” The clause can be rendered as a temporal clause subordinate to the following verb in the sequence.

[3:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “that the tree was good for food.” The words “produced fruit that was” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[3:6]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew word תַּאֲוָה (ta’avah, translated “attractive” here) actually means “desirable.” This term and the later term נֶחְמָד (nekhmad, “desirable”) are synonyms.

[3:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “that good was the tree for food, and that desirable it was to the eyes, and desirable was the tree to make one wise.” On the connection between moral wisdom and the “knowledge of good and evil,” see the note on the word “evil” in 2:9.

[3:6]  ¹² tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied (here and also after “ate” at the end of this verse) for stylistic reasons.

[3:6]  ¹³ sn This pericope (3:1-7) is a fine example of Hebrew narrative structure. After an introductory disjunctive clause that introduces a new character and sets the stage (3:1), the narrative tension develops through dialogue, culminating in the action of the story. Once the dialogue is over, the action is told in a rapid sequence of verbs – she took, she ate, she gave, and he ate.