Genesis 10:11

10:11 From that land he went ¹  to Assyria, ²  where he built Nineveh, ³  Rehoboth-Ir, ⁴  Calah, ⁵ 

Genesis 11:4

11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens ⁶  so that ⁷  we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise ⁸  we will be scattered ⁹  across the face of the entire earth.”

Genesis 18:24

18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare ¹⁰  the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it?

Genesis 18:26

18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Genesis 18:28

18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy ¹¹  the whole city because five are lacking?” ¹²  He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

Genesis 19:4

19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, ¹³  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 19:12

19:12 Then the two visitors ¹⁵  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ¹⁶  Do you have ¹⁷  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ¹⁸  Get them out of this ¹⁹  place

Genesis 19:16

19:16 When Lot ²⁰  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ²¹  They led them away and placed them ²²  outside the city.

Genesis 19:20-22

19:20 Look, this town ²³  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ²⁴  Let me go there. ²⁵  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ²⁶  Then I’ll survive.” ²⁷ 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ²⁸  “I will grant this request too ²⁹  and will not overthrow ³⁰  the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, ³¹  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ³² 

Genesis 23:10

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ³³  replied to Abraham in the hearing ³⁴  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ³⁵  of his city –

Genesis 34:28

34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ³⁶ 

Genesis 35:5

35:5 and they started on their journey. ³⁷  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ³⁸  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

Genesis 36:35

36:35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith.

Genesis 41:35

41:35 They should gather all the excess food ³⁹  during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority ⁴⁰  they should store up grain so the cities will have food, ⁴¹  and they should preserve it. ⁴² 

[10:11]  ¹ tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.

[10:11]  ² tn Heb “Asshur.”

[10:11]  ³ sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.

[10:11]  ⁴ sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.

[10:11]  ⁵ sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.

[11:4]  ⁶ tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.

[11:4]  ⁷ tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.

[11:4]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”

[11:4]  ⁹ sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.

[18:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

[18:28]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.

[18:28]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “because of five.”

[19:4]  ²¹ tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.

[19:4]  ²² tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.

[19:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ²⁸ tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ³² tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

[19:16]  ³³ tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

[19:20]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”

[19:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”

[19:20]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.

[19:20]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Is it not little?”

[19:20]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

[19:21]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

[19:21]  ⁴² tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ⁴³ tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).

[19:22]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.

[19:22]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).

[23:10]  ⁵¹ tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.

[23:10]  ⁵² tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.

[23:10]  ⁵³ sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.

[34:28]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”

[35:5]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

[35:5]  ⁶² tn Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. NRSV “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. NEB “were panic-stricken”; NASB “a great terror”).

[41:35]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “all the food.”

[41:35]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”

[41:35]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.

[41:35]  ⁶⁹ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.