Genesis 37:18-19

37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers ¹  saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams! ² 

Genesis 37:1

Joseph’s Dreams

37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, ³  in the land of Canaan. ⁴ 

Genesis 19:3-15

19:3 But he urged ⁵  them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, ⁶  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ⁷  19:5 They shouted to Lot, ⁸  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ⁹  with them!”

19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! ¹⁰  19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ¹¹  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ¹²  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ¹³  of my roof.” ¹⁴ 

19:9 “Out of our way!” ¹⁵  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ¹⁶  and now he dares to judge us! ¹⁷  We’ll do more harm ¹⁸  to you than to them!” They kept ¹⁹  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ²⁰  to break down the door.

19:10 So the men inside ²¹  reached out ²²  and pulled Lot back into the house ²³  as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, ²⁴  with blindness. The men outside ²⁵  wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors ²⁶  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ²⁷  Do you have ²⁸  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ²⁹  Get them out of this ³⁰  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ³¹  it. The outcry against this place ³²  is so great before the Lord that he ³³  has sent us to destroy it.”

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ³⁴  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ³⁵  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ³⁶ 

19:15 At dawn ³⁷  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ³⁸  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ³⁹ 

Genesis 20:1

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ⁴⁰  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ⁴¹  in Gerar,

Genesis 22:14-19

22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ⁴²  It is said to this day, ⁴³  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ⁴⁴ 

22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ⁴⁵  decrees the Lord, ⁴⁶  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ⁴⁷  and I will greatly multiply ⁴⁸  your descendants ⁴⁹  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ⁵⁰  of the strongholds ⁵¹  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ⁵²  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁵³  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ⁵⁴  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ⁵⁵ 

[37:18]  ¹ tn Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:19]  ² tn Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.

[37:1]  ³ tn Heb “the land of the sojournings of his father.”

[37:1]  ⁴ sn The next section begins with the heading This is the account of Jacob in Gen 37:2, so this verse actually forms part of the preceding section as a concluding contrast with Esau and his people. In contrast to all the settled and expanded population of Esau, Jacob was still moving about in the land without a permanent residence and without kings. Even if the Edomite king list was added later (as the reference to kings in Israel suggests), its placement here in contrast to Jacob and his descendants is important. Certainly the text deals with Esau before dealing with Jacob – that is the pattern. But the detail is so great in chap. 36 that the contrast cannot be missed.

[19:3]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.

[19:4]  ⁶ tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.

[19:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.

[19:5]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:5]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.

[19:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”

[19:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[19:8]  ¹² tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”

[19:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “shadow.”

[19:8]  ¹⁴ sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.

[19:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”

[19:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”

[19:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”

[19:9]  ¹⁸ tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.

[19:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”

[19:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and they drew near.”

[19:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:10]  ²² tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:10]  ²³ tn Heb “to them into the house.”

[19:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”

[19:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ²⁸ tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:13]  ³¹ tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

[19:13]  ³² tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:13]  ³³ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[19:14]  ³⁴ sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

[19:14]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

[19:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

[19:15]  ³⁸ tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.

[19:15]  ³⁹ tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[20:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[22:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.

[22:14]  ⁴³ sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[22:14]  ⁴⁴ sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.

[22:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

[22:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

[22:17]  ⁴⁷ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ⁴⁸ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[22:18]  ⁵² tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  ⁵³ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to 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. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[22:19]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”

[22:19]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.