Genesis 12:10

The Promised Blessing Jeopardized

12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt ¹  to stay for a while ²  because the famine was severe. ³ 

Genesis 12:18

12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this ⁴  you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?

Genesis 14:23

14:23 that I will take nothing ⁵  belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I ⁶  who made Abram rich.’

Genesis 19:5

19:5 They shouted to Lot, ⁷  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ⁸  with them!”

Genesis 21:10

21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ⁹  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

Genesis 21:32

21:32 So they made a treaty ¹⁰  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ¹¹  to the land of the Philistines. ¹² 

Genesis 23:15

23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ¹³  400 pieces of silver, ¹⁴  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

Genesis 24:49

24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” ¹⁵ 

Genesis 30:3

30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ¹⁶  her so that she can bear ¹⁷  children ¹⁸  for me ¹⁹  and I can have a family through her.” ²⁰ 

Genesis 32:30

32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ²¹  explaining, ²²  “Certainly ²³  I have seen God face to face ²⁴  and have survived.” ²⁵ 

Genesis 35:5

35:5 and they started on their journey. ²⁶  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ²⁷  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

Genesis 41:49

41:49 Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, ²⁸  until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure.

[12:10]  ¹ sn Abram went down to Egypt. The Abrahamic narrative foreshadows some of the events in the life of the nation of Israel. This sojourn in Egypt is typological of Israel’s bondage there. In both stories there is a famine that forces the family to Egypt, death is a danger to the males while the females are preserved alive, great plagues bring about their departure, there is a summons to stand before Pharaoh, and there is a return to the land of Canaan with great wealth.

[12:10]  ² tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” means “to stay for a while.” The “stranger” (traditionally “sojourner”) is one who is a temporary resident, a visitor, one who is passing through. Abram had no intention of settling down in Egypt or owning property. He was only there to wait out the famine.

[12:10]  ³ tn Heb “heavy in the land.” The words “in the land,” which also occur at the beginning of the verse in the Hebrew text, have not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:18]  ⁴ tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[14:23]  ⁷ tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the Lord deal with me] if I take,” meaning, “I will surely not take.” The positive oath would add the negative adverb and be the reverse: “[God will deal with me] if I do not take,” meaning, “I certainly will.”

[14:23]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.

[19:5]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:5]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.

[21:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.

[21:32]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ¹⁸ sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.

[23:15]  ¹⁹ tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:15]  ²⁰ sn Four hundred pieces of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).

[24:49]  ²² tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.

[30:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ²⁶ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ²⁷ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.

[30:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).

[32:30]  ²⁸ sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

[32:30]  ²⁹ tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:30]  ³⁰ tn Or “because.”

[32:30]  ³¹ sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

[32:30]  ³² tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

[35:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

[35:5]  ³² 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”).

[41:49]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and Joseph gathered grain like the sand of the sea, multiplying much.” To emphasize the vast amount of grain he stored up, the Hebrew text modifies the verb “gathered” with an infinitive absolute and an adverb.