Genesis 11:9

11:9 That is why its name was called ¹  Babel ²  – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.

Genesis 13:10

13:10 Lot looked up and saw ³  the whole region ⁴  of the Jordan. He noticed ⁵  that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated ⁶  Sodom and Gomorrah) ⁷  like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, ⁸  all the way to Zoar.

Genesis 18:19

18:19 I have chosen him ⁹  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ¹⁰  the way of the Lord by doing ¹¹  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ¹²  to Abraham what he promised ¹³  him.”

Genesis 24:27

24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love ¹⁴  for my master! The Lord has led me ¹⁵  to the house ¹⁶  of my master’s relatives!” ¹⁷ 

Genesis 28:13

28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. ¹⁸  I will give you and your descendants the ground ¹⁹  you are lying on.

Genesis 39:5

39:5 From the time ²⁰  Potiphar ²¹  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ²²  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ²³  in his house and in his fields. ²⁴ 

[11:9]  ¹ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.

[11:9]  ² sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

[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.

[18:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the Lord.

[18:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).

[18:19]  ⁷ tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the Lord.

[18:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.

[18:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “spoke to.”

[24:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”

[24:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “As for me – in the way the Lord led me.”

[24:27]  ⁹ tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.

[24:27]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “brothers.”

[28:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.

[28:13]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.

[39:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and it was from then.”

[39:5]  ¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:5]  ¹³ sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).

[39:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:5]  ¹⁵ sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.