Genesis 14:14

14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew ¹  had been taken captive, he mobilized ²  his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders ³  as far as Dan. ⁴ 

Genesis 17:20

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ⁵  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ⁶  He will become the father of twelve princes; ⁷  I will make him into a great nation.

Genesis 28:22

28:22 Then this stone ⁸  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ⁹  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ¹⁰ 

Genesis 42:13

42:13 They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. ¹¹  We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, ¹²  and one is no longer alive.” ¹³ 

Genesis 42:32

42:32 We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father. ¹⁴  One is no longer alive, ¹⁵  and the youngest is with our father at this time ¹⁶  in the land of Canaan.’

Genesis 49:28

49:28 These ¹⁷  are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing. ¹⁸ 

[14:14]  ¹ tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).

[14:14]  ² tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.

[14:14]  ³ tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:14]  ⁴ sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.

[17:20]  ⁵ sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

[17:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ⁷ tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

[28:22]  ⁹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.

[42:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “twelve [were] your servants, brothers [are] we.”

[42:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “today.”

[42:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the one is not.”

[42:32]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “twelve [were] we, brothers, sons of our father [are] we.”

[42:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the one is not.”

[42:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “today.”

[49:28]  ²¹ tn Heb “All these.”

[49:28]  ²² tn Heb “and he blessed them, each of whom according to his blessing, he blessed them.”