Genesis 12:13

12:13 So tell them ¹  you are my sister ²  so that it may go well ³  for me because of you and my life will be spared ⁴  on account of you.”

Genesis 18:19

18:19 I have chosen him ⁵  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ⁶  the way of the Lord by doing ⁷  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ⁸  to Abraham what he promised ⁹  him.”

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 27:25

27:25 Isaac ¹¹  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ¹²  Then I will bless you.” ¹³  So Jacob ¹⁴  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ¹⁵  drank.

Genesis 50:20

50:20 As for you, you meant to harm me, ¹⁶  but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day. ¹⁷ 

Genesis 37:22

37:22 Reuben continued, ¹⁸  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ¹⁹  (Reuben said this ²⁰  so he could rescue Joseph ²¹  from them ²²  and take him back to his father.)

[12:13]  ¹ tn Heb “say.”

[12:13]  ² sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.

[12:13]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.

[12:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and my life will live.”

[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.”

[18:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

[27:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.

[27:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[50:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you devised against me evil.”

[50:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “God devised it for good in order to do, like this day, to preserve alive a great nation.”

[37:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”

[37:22]  ²² sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.

[37:22]  ²³ tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:22]  ²⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.