Genesis 1:11

1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: ¹  plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, ²  and ³  trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so.

Genesis 4:25

4:25 And Adam had marital relations ⁴  with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given ⁵  me another child ⁶  in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”

Genesis 19:34

19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ⁷  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ⁸  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ⁹ 

Genesis 21:12

21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ¹⁰  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ¹¹  all that Sarah is telling ¹²  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ¹³ 

Genesis 38:9

38:9 But Onan knew that the child ¹⁴  would not be considered his. ¹⁵  So whenever ¹⁶  he had sexual relations with ¹⁷  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ¹⁸  so as not to give his brother a descendant.

Genesis 47:19

47:19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become ¹⁹  Pharaoh’s slaves. ²⁰  Give us seed that we may live ²¹  and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” ²² 

[1:11]  ¹ tn The Hebrew construction employs a cognate accusative, where the nominal object (“vegetation”) derives from the verbal root employed. It stresses the abundant productivity that God created.

[1:11]  ² sn After their kinds. The Hebrew word translated “kind” (מִין, min) indicates again that God was concerned with defining and dividing time, space, and species. The point is that creation was with order, as opposed to chaos. And what God created and distinguished with boundaries was not to be confused (see Lev 19:19 and Deut 22:9-11).

[1:11]  ³ tn The conjunction “and” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to clarify the relationship of the clauses.

[4:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:25]  ⁵ sn The name Seth probably means something like “placed”; “appointed”; “set”; “granted,” assuming it is actually related to the verb that is used in the sentiment. At any rate, the name שֵׁת (shet) and the verb שָׁת (shat, “to place, to appoint, to set, to grant”) form a wordplay (paronomasia).

[4:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “offspring.”

[19:34]  ⁷ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ⁸ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ⁹ tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[21:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

[21:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.

[21:12]  ¹² tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.

[38:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “offspring.”

[38:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.

[38:9]  ¹⁵ tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.

[38:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.

[47:19]  ¹⁶ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.

[47:19]  ¹⁷ sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.

[47:19]  ¹⁸ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.

[47:19]  ¹⁹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.