Genesis 15:4

15:4 But look, ¹  the word of the Lord came to him: “This man ²  will not be your heir, ³  but instead ⁴  a son ⁵  who comes from your own body will be ⁶  your heir.” ⁷ 

Genesis 24:33

24:33 When food was served, ⁸  he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” ⁹  “Tell us,” Laban said. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 29:7

29:7 Then Jacob ¹¹  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ¹²  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ¹³ 

Genesis 34:8

34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. ¹⁴  Please give her to him as his wife.

Genesis 38:8

38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with ¹⁵  your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise ¹⁶  up a descendant for your brother.” ¹⁷ 

[15:4]  ¹ tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.

[15:4]  ² tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the Lord does not mention him by name is significant; often in ancient times the use of the name would bring legitimacy to inheritance and adoption cases.

[15:4]  ³ tn Heb “inherit you.”

[15:4]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.

[15:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:4]  ⁶ tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”

[15:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “will inherit you.”

[24:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “and food was placed before him.”

[24:33]  ⁹ tn Heb “my words.”

[24:33]  ¹⁰ tc Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, “and they said.”

[29:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.

[34:8]  ²² tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).

[38:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:8]  ³⁰ tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.

[38:8]  ³¹ sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.