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 8:13

8:13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year, ²  in the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that ³  the surface of the ground was dry.

Genesis 13:10

13:10 Lot looked up and saw ⁴  the whole region ⁵  of the Jordan. He noticed ⁶  that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated ⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah) ⁸  like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, ⁹  all the way to Zoar.

Genesis 17:1

The Sign of the Covenant

17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, ¹⁰  the Lord appeared to him and said, ¹¹  “I am the sovereign God. ¹²  Walk ¹³  before me ¹⁴  and be blameless. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 22:13

22:13 Abraham looked up ¹⁶  and saw ¹⁷  behind him ¹⁸  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ¹⁹  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Genesis 26:8

26:8 After Isaac ²⁰  had been there a long time, ²¹  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ²²  Isaac caressing ²³  his wife Rebekah.

Genesis 26:24

26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

Genesis 28:6

28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. ²⁴  As he blessed him, ²⁵  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ²⁶ 

Genesis 29:2

29:2 He saw ²⁷  in the field a well with ²⁸  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ²⁹  a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

Genesis 33:1

Jacob Meets Esau

33:1 Jacob looked up ³⁰  and saw that Esau was coming ³¹  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants.

Genesis 33:5

33:5 When Esau ³²  looked up ³³  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ³⁴  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ³⁵  your servant.”

Genesis 42:7

42:7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger ³⁶  to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered, ³⁷  “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.” ³⁸ 

Genesis 43:16

43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.”

Genesis 43:29

43:29 When Joseph looked up ³⁹  and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” ⁴⁰ 

Genesis 45:27

45:27 But when they related to him everything Joseph had said to them, ⁴¹  and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, their father Jacob’s spirit revived.

Genesis 48:17

48:17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him. ⁴²  So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

Genesis 50:11

50:11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion ⁴³  for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called ⁴⁴  Abel Mizraim, ⁴⁵  which is beyond the Jordan.

[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.

[8:13]  ² tn Heb In the six hundred and first year.” Since this refers to the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, the word “Noah’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:13]  ³ tn Heb “and saw and look.” As in v. 11, the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites readers to enter into the story, as it were, and look at the dry ground with their own eyes.

[13:10]  ³ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.

[13:10]  ⁴ tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”

[13:10]  ⁵ tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ⁶ sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).

[13:10]  ⁷ tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ⁸ sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the Lord and to the land of Egypt for comparison. Just as the tree in the garden of Eden had awakened Eve’s desire, so the fertile valley attracted Lot. And just as certain memories of Egypt would cause the Israelites to want to turn back and abandon the trek to the promised land, so Lot headed for the good life.

[17:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”

[17:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[17:1]  ⁶ tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew mss, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the LXX, and Syriac) as the one who provides abundant blessings, including “blessings of the breast and womb” (49:25). (The direct association of the name with “breasts” suggests the name might mean “the one of the breast” [i.e., the one who gives fertility], but the juxtaposition is probably better explained as wordplay. Note the wordplay involving the name and the root שָׁדַד, shadad, “destroy”] in Isa 13:6 and in Joel 1:15.) Outside Genesis the name Shaddai (minus the element “El” [“God”]) is normally used when God is viewed as the sovereign king who blesses/protects or curses/brings judgment. The name appears in the introduction to two of Balaam’s oracles (Num 24:4, 16) of blessing upon Israel. Naomi employs the name when accusing the Lord of treating her bitterly by taking the lives of her husband and sons (Ruth 1:20-21). In Ps 68:14; Isa 13:6; and Joel 1:15 Shaddai judges his enemies through warfare, while Ps 91:1 depicts him as the protector of his people. (In Ezek 1:24 and 10:5 the sound of the cherubs’ wings is compared to Shaddai’s powerful voice. The reference may be to the mighty divine warrior’s battle cry which accompanies his angry judgment.) Finally, the name occurs 31 times in the Book of Job. Job and his “friends” assume that Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world (11:7; 37:23a) who is the source of life (33:4b) and is responsible for maintaining justice (8:3; 34:10-12; 37:23b). He provides abundant blessings, including children (22:17-18; 29:4-6), but he can also discipline, punish, and destroy (5:17; 6:4; 21:20; 23:16). It is not surprising to see the name so often in this book, where the theme of God’s justice is primary and even called into question (24:1; 27:2). The most likely proposal is that the name means “God, the one of the mountain” (an Akkadian cognate means “mountain,” to which the Hebrew שַׁד, shad, “breast”] is probably related). For a discussion of proposed derivations see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 70-71. The name may originally have depicted God as the sovereign judge who, in Canaanite style, ruled from a sacred mountain. Isa 14:13 and Ezek 28:14, 16 associate such a mountain with God, while Ps 48:2 refers to Zion as “Zaphon,” the Canaanite Olympus from which the high god El ruled. (In Isa 14 the Canaanite god El may be in view. Note that Isaiah pictures pagan kings as taunting the king of Babylon, suggesting that pagan mythology may provide the background for the language and imagery.)

[17:1]  ⁷ tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”

[17:1]  ⁸ tn Or “in my presence.”

[17:1]  ⁹ tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the Lord, then the second imperative is likely sequential. (2) But if it has a positive moral connotation (“serve me faithfully”), then the second imperative probably indicates purpose (or result). For other uses of the idiom see 1 Sam 2:30, 35 and 12:2 (where it occurs twice).

[22:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”

[22:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.

[22:13]  ⁷ tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Samaritan Pentateuch read “one” (אֶחָד, ’ekhad) instead of “behind him” (אַחַר, ’akhar).

[22:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”

[26:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.

[26:8]  ⁹ tn Or “fondling.”

[28:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”

[28:6]  ⁸ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.

[28:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[29:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.

[29:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ¹⁰ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[33:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”

[33:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[33:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[33:5]  ¹² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”

[42:7]  ¹¹ sn But pretended to be a stranger. Joseph intends to test his brothers to see if they have changed and have the integrity to be patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. He will do this by putting them in the same situations that they and he were in before. The first test will be to awaken their conscience.

[42:7]  ¹² tn Heb “said.”

[42:7]  ¹³ tn The verb is denominative, meaning “to buy grain”; the word “food” could simply be the direct object, but may also be an adverbial accusative.

[43:29]  ¹² tn Heb “and he lifted his eyes.” The referent of “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:29]  ¹³ sn Joseph’s language here becomes warmer and more personal, culminating in calling Benjamin my son.

[45:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “and they spoke to him all the words of Joseph which he had spoke to them.”

[48:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “it was bad in his eyes.”

[50:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “this is heavy mourning for Egypt.”

[50:11]  ¹⁶ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so it may be translated as passive.

[50:11]  ¹⁷ sn The name Abel Mizraim means “the mourning of Egypt.”