Genesis 33:5

33:5 When Esau ¹  looked up ²  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ³  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ⁴  your servant.”

Genesis 33:1

Jacob Meets Esau

33:1 Jacob looked up ⁵  and saw that Esau was coming ⁶  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants.

Genesis 2:20-21

2:20 So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam ⁷  no companion who corresponded to him was found. ⁸  2:21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, ⁹  and while he was asleep, ¹⁰  he took part of the man’s side ¹¹  and closed up the place with flesh. ¹² 

Genesis 2:2

2:2 By ¹³  the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, ¹⁴  and he ceased ¹⁵  on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.

Genesis 10:1

The Table of Nations

10:1 This is the account ¹⁶  of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons ¹⁷  were born ¹⁸  to them after the flood.

Genesis 10:1

The Table of Nations

10:1 This is the account ¹⁹  of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons ²⁰  were born ²¹  to them after the flood.

Genesis 28:5

28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Genesis 28:2

28:2 Leave immediately ²²  for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.

Genesis 11:21

11:21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

Esther 5:11

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ²³  his many sons, ²⁴  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants.

Psalms 127:4-5

127:4 Sons born during one’s youth

are like arrows in a warrior’s hand. ²⁵ 

127:5 How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

They will not be put to shame ²⁶  when they confront ²⁷  enemies at the city gate.

Proverbs 17:6

17:6 Grandchildren ²⁸  are like ²⁹  a crown ³⁰  to the elderly,

and the glory ³¹  of children is their parents. ³² 

[33:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ² tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[33:5]  ³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”

[33:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”

[33:1]  ⁶ tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[2:20]  ⁷ tn Here for the first time the Hebrew word אָדָם (’adam) appears without the article, suggesting that it might now be the name “Adam” rather than “[the] man.” Translations of the Bible differ as to where they make the change from “man” to “Adam” (e.g., NASB and NIV translate “Adam” here, while NEB and NRSV continue to use “the man”; the KJV uses “Adam” twice in v. 19).

[2:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “there was not found a companion who corresponded to him.” The subject of the third masculine singular verb form is indefinite. Without a formally expressed subject the verb may be translated as passive: “one did not find = there was not found.”

[2:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man.”

[2:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he slept.” In the sequence the verb may be subordinated to the following verb to indicate a temporal clause (“while…”).

[2:21]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally translated “rib,” the Hebrew word actually means “side.” The Hebrew text reads, “and he took one from his sides,” which could be rendered “part of his sides.” That idea may fit better the explanation by the man that the woman is his flesh and bone.

[2:21]  ¹² tn Heb “closed up the flesh under it.”

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “on/in the seventh day.”

[2:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his work which he did [or “made”].”

[2:2]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term שָׁבַּת (shabbat) can be translated “to rest” (“and he rested”) but it basically means “to cease.” This is not a rest from exhaustion; it is the cessation of the work of creation.

[10:1]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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.

[10:1]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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.

[28:2]  ²² tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.

[5:11]  ²³ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ²⁴ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[127:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so [are] sons of youth.” Arrows are used in combat to defend oneself against enemies; sons are viewed here as providing social security and protection (see v. 5). The phrase “sons of youth” is elliptical, meaning “sons [born during the father’s] youth.” Such sons will have grown up to be mature adults and will have children of their own by the time the father reaches old age and becomes vulnerable to enemies. Contrast the phrase “son of old age” in Gen 37:3 (see also 44:20), which refers to Jacob’s age when Joseph was born.

[127:5]  ²⁶ tn Being “put to shame” is here metonymic for being defeated, probably in a legal context, as the reference to the city gate suggests. One could be humiliated (Ps 69:12) or deprived of justice (Amos 5:12) at the gate, but with strong sons to defend the family interests this was less likely to happen.

[127:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “speak with.”

[17:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “children of children [sons of sons].”

[17:6]  ²⁹ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[17:6]  ³⁰ sn The metaphor signifies that grandchildren are like a crown, that is, they are the “crowning glory” of life. The proverb comes from a culture that places great importance on the family in society and that values its heritage.

[17:6]  ³¹ tn The noun תִּפְאָרָת (tif’arat) means “beauty; glory” (BDB 802 s.v.). In this passage “glory” seems to be identified with “glorying; boasting”; so a rendering that children are proud of their parents would be in order. Thus, “glory of children” would be a subjective genitive, the glorying that children do.”

[17:6]  ³² tc The LXX has inserted: “To the faithful belongs the whole world of wealth, but to the unfaithful not an obulus.” It was apparently some popular sentiment at the time.