Genesis 1:21

1:21 God created the great sea creatures ¹  and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:30

1:30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give ²  every green plant for food.” It was so.

Genesis 2:19

2:19 The Lord God formed ³  out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would ⁴  name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 9:15

9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you ⁵  and with all living creatures of all kinds. ⁶  Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy ⁷  all living things. ⁸ 

Genesis 12:5

12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew ⁹  Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired ¹⁰  in Haran, and they left for ¹¹  the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.

Genesis 19:17

19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ¹²  said, “Run ¹³  for your lives! Don’t look ¹⁴  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ¹⁵  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

Genesis 19:19

19:19 Your ¹⁶  servant has found favor with you, ¹⁷  and you have shown me great ¹⁸  kindness ¹⁹  by sparing ²⁰  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ²¹  this disaster will overtake ²²  me and I’ll die. ²³ 

Genesis 27:19

27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ²⁴  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ²⁵ 

Genesis 36:6

36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to a land some distance away from ²⁶  Jacob his brother

Genesis 42:21

42:21 They said to one other, ²⁷  “Surely we’re being punished ²⁸  because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was ²⁹  when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress ³⁰  has come on us!”

[1:21]  ¹ tn For the first time in the narrative proper the verb “create” (בָּרָא, bara’) appears. (It is used in the summary statement of v. 1.) The author wishes to underscore that these creatures – even the great ones – are part of God’s perfect creation. The Hebrew term תַנִּינִם (tanninim) is used for snakes (Exod 7:9), crocodiles (Ezek 29:3), or other powerful animals (Jer 51:34). In Isa 27:1 the word is used to describe a mythological sea creature that symbolizes God’s enemies.

[1:30]  ² tn The phrase “I give” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:19]  ³ tn Or “fashioned.” To harmonize the order of events with the chronology of chapter one, some translate the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive as a past perfect (“had formed,” cf. NIV) here. (In chapter one the creation of the animals preceded the creation of man; here the animals are created after the man.) However, it is unlikely that the Hebrew construction can be translated in this way in the middle of this pericope, for the criteria for unmarked temporal overlay are not present here. See S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 84-88, and especially R. Buth, “Methodological Collision between Source Criticism and Discourse Analysis,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 138-54. For a contrary viewpoint see IBHS 552-53 §33.2.3 and C. J. Collins, “The Wayyiqtol as ‘Pluperfect’: When and Why,” TynBul 46 (1995): 117-40.

[2:19]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verb form is future from the perspective of the past time narrative.

[9:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”

[9:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “to destroy.”

[9:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[12:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the son of his brother.”

[12:5]  ⁶ tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.

[12:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “went out to go.”

[19:17]  ⁶ tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

[19:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

[19:17]  ⁹ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:19]  ⁷ tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.

[19:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ¹⁰ sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

[19:19]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ¹² tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

[19:19]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[27:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.

[27:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.

[36:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “from before.”

[42:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”

[42:21]  ¹¹ tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”

[42:21]  ¹² tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”

[42:21]  ¹³ sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.