Genesis 1:16

1:16 God made two great lights ¹  – the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. ² 

Genesis 10:19

10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended ³  from Sidon ⁴  all the way to ⁵  Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to ⁶  Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

Genesis 13:16

13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. ⁷ 

Genesis 19:31

19:31 Later the older daughter said ⁸  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ⁹  to have sexual relations with us, ¹⁰  according to the way of all the world.

Genesis 24:63

24:63 He ¹¹  went out to relax ¹²  in the field in the early evening. ¹³  Then he looked up ¹⁴  and saw that ¹⁵  there were camels approaching.

Genesis 25:18

25:18 His descendants ¹⁶  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ¹⁷  to Egypt all the way ¹⁸  to Asshur. ¹⁹  They settled ²⁰  away from all their relatives. ²¹ 

Genesis 32:16

32:16 He entrusted them to ²²  his servants, who divided them into herds. ²³  He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.”

Genesis 39:22

39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. ²⁴ 

Genesis 44:5

44:5 Doesn’t my master drink from this cup ²⁵  and use it for divination? ²⁶  You have done wrong!’” ²⁷ 

Genesis 44:10

44:10 He replied, “You have suggested your own punishment! ²⁸  The one who has it will become my slave, ²⁹  but the rest of ³⁰  you will go free.” ³¹ 

Genesis 48:1

Manasseh and Ephraim

48:1 After these things Joseph was told, ³²  “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.

[1:16]  ¹ sn Two great lights. The text goes to great length to discuss the creation of these lights, suggesting that the subject was very important to the ancients. Since these “lights” were considered deities in the ancient world, the section serves as a strong polemic (see G. Hasel, “The Polemical Nature of the Genesis Cosmology,” EvQ 46 [1974]: 81-102). The Book of Genesis is affirming they are created entities, not deities. To underscore this the text does not even give them names. If used here, the usual names for the sun and moon [Shemesh and Yarih, respectively] might have carried pagan connotations, so they are simply described as greater and lesser lights. Moreover, they serve in the capacity that God gives them, which would not be the normal function the pagans ascribed to them. They merely divide, govern, and give light in God’s creation.

[1:16]  ² tn Heb “and the stars.” Now the term “stars” is added as a third object of the verb “made.” Perhaps the language is phenomenological, meaning that the stars appeared in the sky from this time forward.

[10:19]  ³ tn Heb “were.”

[10:19]  ⁴ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[10:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “as you go.”

[10:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “as you go.”

[13:16]  ⁵ tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.

[19:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

[19:31]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.

[19:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[24:63]  ⁹ tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:63]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).

[24:63]  ¹¹ tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”

[24:63]  ¹² tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.

[24:63]  ¹³ tn Heb “and look.” The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.

[25:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ¹² tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ¹⁴ sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.

[32:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”

[32:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.

[39:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison.

[44:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Is this not what my master drinks from.” The word “cup” is not in the Hebrew text, but is obviously the referent of “this,” and so has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[44:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he, divining, divines with it.” The infinitive absolute is emphatic, stressing the importance of the cup to Joseph.

[44:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “you have caused to be evil what you have done.”

[44:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Also now, according to your words, so it is.” As the next statement indicates, this does mean that he will do exactly as they say. He does agree with them the culprit should be punished, but not as harshly as they suggest. Furthermore, the innocent parties will not be punished.

[44:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “The one with whom it is found will become my slave.”

[44:10]  ²¹ tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[44:10]  ²² tn The Hebrew word נָקִי (naqi) means “acquitted,” that is, free of guilt and the responsibility for it.

[48:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.