Genesis 37:29

37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! ¹  He tore his clothes,

Genesis 37:34

37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, ²  and mourned for his son many days.

Numbers 14:6

14:6 And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two of those who had investigated the land, tore their garments.

Numbers 14:2

14:2 And all the Israelites murmured ³  against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died ⁴  in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished ⁵  in this wilderness!

Numbers 13:31

13:31 But the men ⁶  who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against these people, because they are stronger than we are!”

Ezra 9:3-5

9:3 When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard. Then I sat down, quite devastated. 9:4 Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe ⁷  gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. ⁸  Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.

9:5 At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement, ⁹  with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the Lord my God.

Esther 4:1

Esther Decides to Risk Everything in order to Help Her People

4:1 Now when Mordecai became aware of all that had been done, he ¹⁰  tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the city, crying out in a loud ¹¹  and bitter voice.

Job 1:20

1:20 Then Job got up ¹²  and tore his robe. ¹³  He shaved his head, ¹⁴  and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground. ¹⁵ 

Acts 14:14

14:14 But when the apostles ¹⁶  Barnabas and Paul heard about ¹⁷  it, they tore ¹⁸  their clothes and rushed out ¹⁹  into the crowd, shouting, ²⁰ 

[37:29]  ¹ tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.

[37:34]  ² tn Heb “and put sackcloth on his loins.”

[14:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb “to murmur” is לוּן (lun). It is a strong word, signifying far more than complaining or grumbling, as some of the modern translations have it. The word is most often connected to the wilderness experience. It is paralleled in the literature with the word “to rebel.” The murmuring is like a parliamentary vote of no confidence, for they no longer trusted their leaders and wished to choose a new leader and return. This “return to Egypt” becomes a symbol of their lack of faith in the Lord.

[14:2]  ⁴ tn The optative is expressed by לוּ (lu) and then the verb, here the perfect tense מַתְנוּ (matnu) – “O that we had died….” Had they wanted to die in Egypt they should not have cried out to the Lord to deliver them from bondage. Here the people became consumed with the fear and worry of what lay ahead, and in their panic they revealed a lack of trust in God.

[14:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “died.”

[13:31]  ⁶ tn The vav (ו) disjunctive on the noun at the beginning of the clause forms a strong adversative clause here.

[9:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “who trembled at the words of the God of Israel.”

[9:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “the exile”; the words “the people” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew word used here is a hapax legomenon. It refers to the self-abasement that accompanies religious sorrow and fasting.

[4:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “great.”

[1:20]  ¹² tn The verb וַיָּקָם (vayyaqom, “and he arose”) indicates the intentionality and the rapidity of the actions to follow. It signals the beginning of his response to the terrible news. Therefore, the sentence could be translated, “Then Job immediately began to tear his robe.”

[1:20]  ¹³ sn It was the custom to tear the robe in a time of mourning, to indicate that the heart was torn (Joel 2:13). The “garment, mantel” here is the outer garment frequently worn over the basic tunic. See further D. R. Ap-Thomas, “Notes on Some Terms Relating to Prayer,” VT 6 (1956): 220-24.

[1:20]  ¹⁴ sn In mourning one normally put off every adornment that enhanced or embellished the person, including that which nature provided (Jer 7:29; Mic 1:16).

[1:20]  ¹⁵ tn This last verb is the Hishtaphel of the word חָוָה (khavah; BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחָה); it means “to prostrate oneself, to cause oneself to be low to the ground.” In the OT it is frequently translated “to worship” because that is usually why the individual would kneel down and then put his or her forehead to the ground at the knees. But the word essentially means “to bow down to the ground.” Here “worship” (although employed by several English translations, cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV) conveys more than what is taking place – although Job’s response is certainly worshipful. See G. I. Davies, “A Note on the Etymology of histah^awah,” VT 29 (1979): 493-95; and J. A. Emerton, “The Etymology of histah^awah,” OTS (1977): 41-55.

[14:14]  ¹⁶ sn The apostles Barnabas and Paul. This is one of only two places where Luke calls Paul an apostle, and the description here is shared with Barnabas. This is a nontechnical use here, referring to a commissioned messenger.

[14:14]  ¹⁷ tn The participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is taken temporally.

[14:14]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “tearing their clothes they rushed out.” The participle διαρρήξαντες (diarrhxante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. This action is a Jewish response to blasphemy (m. Sanhedrin 7.5; Jdt 14:16-17).

[14:14]  ¹⁹ tn So BDAG 307 s.v. ἐκπηδάω 1, “rush (lit. ‘leap’) out…εἰς τὸν ὄχλον into the crowd Ac 14:14.”

[14:14]  ²⁰ tn Grk “shouting and saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes, in v. 15) has not been translated because it is redundant.