Genesis 1:8

1:8 God called the expanse “sky.” ¹  There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

Genesis 5:20

5:20 The entire lifetime of Jared was 962 years, and then he died.

Genesis 5:24

5:24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared ²  because God took ³  him away.

Genesis 5:27

5:27 The entire lifetime of Methuselah was 969 years, and then he died.

Genesis 9:29

9:29 The entire lifetime of Noah was 950 years, and then he died.

Genesis 10:32

10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread ⁴  over the earth after the flood.

Genesis 13:18

13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live ⁵  by the oaks ⁶  of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

Genesis 17:27

17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Genesis 21:21

21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. ⁷  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ⁸ 

Genesis 36:30

36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chief lists in the land of Seir.

Genesis 37:36

37:36 Now ⁹  in Egypt the Midianites ¹⁰  sold Joseph ¹¹  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ¹² 

Genesis 47:31

47:31 Jacob ¹³  said, “Swear to me that you will do so.” ¹⁴  So Joseph ¹⁵  gave him his word. ¹⁶  Then Israel bowed down ¹⁷  at the head of his bed. ¹⁸ 

Genesis 49:4

49:4 You are destructive ¹⁹  like water and will not excel, ²⁰ 

for you got on your father’s bed, ²¹ 

then you defiled it – he got on my couch! ²² 

[1:8]  ¹ tn Though the Hebrew word can mean “heaven,” it refers in this context to “the sky.”

[5:24]  ² tn The Hebrew construction has the negative particle אֵין (’en, “there is not,” “there was not”) with a pronominal suffix, “he was not.” Instead of saying that Enoch died, the text says he no longer was present.

[5:24]  ³ sn The text simply states that God took Enoch. Similar language is used of Elijah’s departure from this world (see 2 Kgs 2:10). The text implies that God overruled death for this man who walked with him.

[10:32]  ³ tn Or “separated.”

[13:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “he came and lived.”

[13:18]  ⁵ tn Or “terebinths.”

[21:21]  ⁵ sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.

[21:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”

[37:36]  ⁶ tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.

[37:36]  ⁷ tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (mÿdanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the MT is corrupt at this point, with the letter yod (י) being accidentally omitted. The LXX, Vulgate, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”

[37:36]  ⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:36]  ⁹ sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner.

[47:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “swear on oath to me.” The words “that you will do so” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “swore on oath to him.”

[47:31]  ¹¹ sn The Hebrew verb normally means “bow down,” especially in worship or prayer. Here it might simply mean “bend low,” perhaps from weakness or approaching death. The narrative is ambiguous at this point and remains open to all these interpretations.

[47:31]  ¹² tc The MT reads מִטָּה (mittah, “bed, couch”). The LXX reads the word as מַטֶּה (matteh, “staff, rod”) and interprets this to mean that Jacob bowed down in worship while leaning on the top of his staff. The LXX reading was used in turn by the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 11:21).

[49:4]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew noun פַּחַז (pakhaz) only occurs here in the OT. A related verb occurs twice in the prophets (Jer 23:32; Zeph 3:4) for false prophets inventing their messages, and once in Judges for unscrupulous men bribed to murder (Judg 9:4). It would describe Reuben as being “frothy, boiling, turbulent” as water. The LXX has “run riot,” the Vulgate has “poured out,” and Tg. Onq. has “you followed your own direction.” It is a reference to Reuben’s misconduct in Gen 35, but the simile and the rare word invite some speculation. H. Pehlke suggests “destructive like water,” for Reuben acted with pride and presumption; see his “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985).

[49:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “Do not excel!” The Hiphil of the verb יָתַר (yatar) has this meaning only here. The negated jussive is rhetorical here. Rather than being a command, it anticipates what will transpire. The prophecy says that because of the character of the ancestor, the tribe of Reuben would not have the character to lead (see 1 Chr 5:1).

[49:4]  ¹⁰ sn This is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse with Jacob’s wives (see Gen 35:22).

[49:4]  ¹¹ tn The last verb is third masculine singular, as if for the first time Jacob told the brothers, or let them know that he knew. For a discussion of this passage see S. Gevirtz, “The Reprimand of Reuben,” JNES 30 (1971): 87-98.