Genesis 15:12

15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, ¹  and great terror overwhelmed him. ² 

Genesis 18:2

18:2 Abraham ³  looked up ⁴  and saw ⁵  three men standing across ⁶  from him. When he saw them ⁷  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁸  to the ground. ⁹ 

Genesis 19:16

19:16 When Lot ¹⁰  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ¹¹  They led them away and placed them ¹²  outside the city.

Genesis 37:23

37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him ¹³  of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore.

[15:12]  ¹ tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”

[15:12]  ² tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”

[18:2]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.

[18:2]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

[18:2]  ⁷ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ⁸ tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).

[18:2]  ⁹ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

[19:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

[19:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

[37:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.