Genesis 10:20

10:20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.

Genesis 10:31

10:31 These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.

Genesis 10:5

10:5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.

Genesis 10:18

10:18 Arvadites, ¹  Zemarites, ²  and Hamathites. ³  Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered

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 12:3

12:3 I will bless those who bless you, ⁵ 

but the one who treats you lightly ⁶  I must curse,

and all the families of the earth will bless one another ⁷  by your name.”

Genesis 24:38

24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find ⁸  a wife for my son.’

Genesis 8:19

8:19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.

Genesis 24:40-41

24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ⁹  will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath ¹⁰  if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’

Genesis 28:14

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ¹¹  and you will spread out ¹²  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹³  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 36:40

36:40 These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth,

[10:18]  ¹ sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.

[10:18]  ² sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.

[10:18]  ³ sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.

[10:32]  ¹ tn Or “separated.”

[12:3]  ¹ tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the Lord binds himself to Abram by covenant, those who enrich Abram in any way share in the blessings.

[12:3]  ² tn In this part of God’s statement there are two significant changes that often go unnoticed. First, the parallel and contrasting participle מְקַלֶּלְךָ (mÿqallelkha) is now singular and not plural. All the versions and a few Masoretic mss read the plural. But if it had been plural, there would be no reason to change it to the singular and alter the parallelism. On the other hand, if it was indeed singular, it is easy to see why the versions would change it to match the first participle. The MT preserves the original reading: “the one who treats you lightly.” The point would be a contrast with the lavish way that God desires to bless many. The second change is in the vocabulary. The English usually says, “I will curse those who curse you.” But there are two different words for curse here. The first is קָלַל (qalal), which means “to be light” in the Qal, and in the Piel “to treat lightly, to treat with contempt, to curse.” The second verb is אָרַר (’arar), which means “to banish, to remove from the blessing.” The point is simple: Whoever treats Abram and the covenant with contempt as worthless God will banish from the blessing. It is important also to note that the verb is not a cohortative, but a simple imperfect. Since God is binding himself to Abram, this would then be an obligatory imperfect: “but the one who treats you with contempt I must curse.”

[12:3]  ³ tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings on”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[24:38]  ¹ tn Heb “but to the house of my father you must go and to my family and you must take a wife for my son.”

[24:40]  ¹ tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the Lord or it may have a more positive moral connotation (“serve faithfully”).

[24:41]  ¹ tn Heb “my oath” (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).

[28:14]  ¹ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ² tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ³ tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”