Genesis 1:15

1:15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so.

Genesis 2:6

2:6 Springs ¹  would well up ²  from the earth and water ³  the whole surface of the ground. ⁴ 

Genesis 7:6

7:6 Noah ⁵  was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed ⁶  the earth.

Genesis 7:18

7:18 The waters completely overwhelmed ⁷  the earth, and the ark floated ⁸  on the surface of the waters.

Genesis 8:3

8:3 The waters kept receding steadily ⁹  from the earth, so that they ¹⁰  had gone down ¹¹  by the end of the 150 days.

Genesis 8:7

8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying ¹²  back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.

Genesis 9:13

9:13 I will place ¹³  my rainbow ¹⁴  in the clouds, and it will become ¹⁵  a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 11:8

11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building ¹⁶  the city.

Genesis 13:15

13:15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants ¹⁷  forever.

Genesis 18:18

18:18 After all, Abraham ¹⁸  will surely become ¹⁹  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²⁰  using his name.

Genesis 22:18

22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ²¹  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²²  using the name of your descendants.’”

Genesis 27:28

27:28 May God give you

the dew of the sky ²³ 

and the richness ²⁴  of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

Genesis 34:1

Dinah and the Shechemites

34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet ²⁵  the young women ²⁶  of the land.

Genesis 36:20

36:20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, ²⁷  who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

[2:6]  ¹ tn The conjunction vav (ו) introduces a third disjunctive clause. The Hebrew word אֵד (’ed) was traditionally translated “mist” because of its use in Job 36:27. However, an Akkadian cognate edu in Babylonian texts refers to subterranean springs or waterways. Such a spring would fit the description in this context, since this water “goes up” and waters the ground.

[2:6]  ² tn Heb “was going up.” The verb is an imperfect form, which in this narrative context carries a customary nuance, indicating continual action in past time.

[2:6]  ³ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same nuance as the preceding verb. Whenever it would well up, it would water the ground.

[2:6]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew word אֲדָמָה (’adamah) actually means “ground; fertile soil.”

[7:6]  ¹ tn Heb “Now Noah was.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate nominative after implied “to be” verb) provides background information. The age of Noah receives prominence.

[7:6]  ² tn Heb “and the flood was water upon.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial/temporal in relation to the preceding clause. The verb הָיָה (hayah) here carries the nuance “to come” (BDB 225 s.v. הָיָה). In this context the phrase “come upon” means “to engulf.”

[7:18]  ¹ tn Heb “and the waters were great and multiplied exceedingly.” The first verb in the sequence is וַיִּגְבְּרוּ (vayyigbÿru, from גָּבַר, gavar), meaning “to become great, mighty.” The waters did not merely rise; they “prevailed” over the earth, overwhelming it.

[7:18]  ² tn Heb “went.”

[8:3]  ¹ tn The construction combines a Qal preterite from שׁוּב (shuv) with its infinitive absolute to indicate continuous action. The infinitive absolute from הָלָךְ (halakh) is included for emphasis: “the waters returned…going and returning.”

[8:3]  ² tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:3]  ³ tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.

[8:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and it went out, going out and returning.” The Hebrew verb יָצָא (yatsa’), translated here “flying,” is modified by two infinitives absolute indicating that the raven went back and forth.

[9:13]  ¹ tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. NIV, NRSV) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. NEB).

[9:13]  ² sn The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:473, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:196.

[9:13]  ³ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.

[11:8]  ¹ tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.

[13:15]  ¹ tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”

[18:18]  ¹ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”

[18:18]  ² tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.

[18:18]  ³ tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings upon”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham 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.

[22:18]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.)

[27:28]  ¹ tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ² tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[34:1]  ¹ tn Heb “went out to see.” The verb “to see,” followed by the preposition בְּ (bÿ), here has the idea of “look over.” The young girl wanted to meet these women and see what they were like.

[34:1]  ² tn Heb “daughters.”

[36:20]  ¹ sn The same pattern of sons, grandsons, and chiefs is now listed for Seir the Horite. “Seir” is both the name of the place and the name of the ancestor of these tribes. The name “Horite” is probably not to be identified with “Hurrian.” The clan of Esau settled in this area, intermarried with these Horites and eventually dispossessed them, so that they all became known as Edomites (Deut 2:12 telescopes the whole development).