Genesis 18:14

18:14 Is anything impossible ¹  for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” ² 

Genesis 37:33

37:33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! ³  Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”

Genesis 1:20

1:20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms ⁴  of living creatures and let birds fly ⁵  above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

Genesis 1:24

1:24 God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” ⁶  It was so.

Genesis 2:7

2:7 The Lord God formed ⁷  the man from the soil of the ground ⁸  and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, ⁹  and the man became a living being. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 9:5

9:5 For your lifeblood ¹¹  I will surely exact punishment, ¹²  from ¹³  every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person ¹⁴  I will exact punishment for the life of the individual ¹⁵  since the man was his relative. ¹⁶ 

Genesis 9:12

9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee ¹⁷  of the covenant I am making ¹⁸  with you ¹⁹  and every living creature with you, a covenant ²⁰  for all subsequent ²¹  generations:

Genesis 9:16

9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember ²²  the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”

Genesis 18:10

18:10 One of them ²³  said, “I will surely return ²⁴  to you when the season comes round again, ²⁵  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ²⁶  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ²⁷ 

Genesis 37:20

37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild ²⁸  animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” ²⁹ 

Genesis 1:28

1:28 God blessed ³⁰  them and said ³¹  to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! ³²  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” ³³ 

Genesis 1:30

1:30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give ³⁴  every green plant for food.” It was so.

Genesis 2:19

2:19 The Lord God formed ³⁵  out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would ³⁶  name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 9:15

9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you ³⁷  and with all living creatures of all kinds. ³⁸  Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy ³⁹  all living things. ⁴⁰ 

[18:14]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”

[18:14]  ² sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the Lord fixed an exact date for the birth of the child, the promise became rather overwhelming to Abraham and Sarah. But then this was the Lord of creation, the one they had come to trust. The point of these narratives is that the creation of Abraham’s offspring, which eventually became Israel, is no less a miraculous work of creation than the creation of the world itself.

[37:33]  ³ sn A wild animal has eaten him. Jacob draws this conclusion on his own without his sons actually having to lie with their words (see v. 20). Dipping the tunic in the goat’s blood was the only deception needed.

[1:20]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text again uses a cognate construction (“swarm with swarms”) to emphasize the abundant fertility. The idea of the verb is one of swift movement back and forth, literally swarming. This verb is used in Exod 1:7 to describe the rapid growth of the Israelite population in bondage.

[1:20]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses the Polel form of the verb instead of the simple Qal; it stresses a swarming flight again to underscore the abundant fruitfulness.

[1:24]  ⁷ tn There are three groups of land animals here: the cattle or livestock (mostly domesticated), things that creep or move close to the ground (such as reptiles or rodents), and the wild animals (all animals of the field). The three terms are general classifications without specific details.

[2:7]  ⁹ tn Or “fashioned.” The prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive initiates narrative sequence. The Hebrew word יָצַר (yatsar) means “to form” or “to fashion,” usually by plan or design (see the related noun יֵצֶר [yetser] in Gen 6:5). It is the term for an artist’s work (the Hebrew term יוֹצֵר [yotser] refers to a potter; see Jer 18:2-4.)

[2:7]  ¹⁰ tn The line literally reads “And Yahweh God formed the man, soil, from the ground.” “Soil” is an adverbial accusative, identifying the material from which the man was made.

[2:7]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah, “breath”) is used for God and for the life imparted to humans, not animals (see T. C. Mitchell, “The Old Testament Usage of Nÿshama,” VT 11 [1961]: 177-87). Its usage in the Bible conveys more than a breathing living organism (נֶפֶשׁ חַיַּה, nefesh khayyah). Whatever is given this breath of life becomes animated with the life from God, has spiritual understanding (Job 32:8), and has a functioning conscience (Prov 20:27).

[2:7]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person. The phrase נֶפֶשׁ חַיַּה (nefesh khayyah, “living being”) is used of both animals and human beings (see 1:20, 24, 30; 2:19).

[9:5]  ¹¹ tn Again the text uses apposition to clarify what kind of blood is being discussed: “your blood, [that is] for your life.” See C. L. Dewar, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 4 (1953): 204-8.

[9:5]  ¹² tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The verb דָּרָשׁ (darash) means “to require, to seek, to ask for, to exact.” Here it means that God will exact punishment for the taking of a life. See R. Mawdsley, “Capital Punishment in Gen. 9:6,” CentBib 18 (1975): 20-25.

[9:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the hand of,” which means “out of the hand of” or “out of the power of” and is nearly identical in sense to the preposition מִן (min) alone.

[9:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.

[9:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “of the man.”

[9:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from the hand of a man, his brother.” The point is that God will require the blood of someone who kills, since the person killed is a relative (“brother”) of the killer. The language reflects Noah’s situation (after the flood everyone would be part of Noah’s extended family), but also supports the concept of the brotherhood of humankind. According to the Genesis account the entire human race descended from Noah.

[9:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “sign.”

[9:12]  ¹⁴ sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.

[9:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “between me and between you.”

[9:12]  ¹⁶ tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:12]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.

[9:16]  ¹⁵ tn The translation assumes that the infinitive לִזְכֹּר (lizkor, “to remember”) here expresses the result of seeing the rainbow. Another option is to understand it as indicating purpose, in which case it could be translated, “I will look at it so that I may remember.”

[18:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV) based on vv. 1, 13, but the Hebrew text merely has “he said” at this point, referring to one of the three visitors. Aside from the introductory statement in v. 1, the incident is narrated from Abraham’s point of view, and the suspense is built up for the reader as Abraham’s elaborate banquet preparations in the preceding verses suggest he suspects these are important guests. But not until the promise of a son later in this verse does it become clear who is speaking. In v. 13 the Hebrew text explicitly mentions the Lord.

[18:10]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ²¹ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[37:20]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.

[37:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”

[1:28]  ²¹ tn As in v. 22 the verb “bless” here means “to endow with the capacity to reproduce and be fruitful,” as the following context indicates. As in v. 22, the statement directly precedes the command “be fruitful and multiply.” The verb carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); Gen 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).

[1:28]  ²² tn Heb “and God said.” For stylistic reasons “God” has not been repeated here in the translation.

[1:28]  ²³ tn Elsewhere the Hebrew verb translated “subdue” means “to enslave” (2 Chr 28:10; Neh 5:5; Jer 34:11, 16), “to conquer,” (Num 32:22, 29; Josh 18:1; 2 Sam 8:11; 1 Chr 22:18; Zech 9:13; and probably Mic 7:19), and “to assault sexually” (Esth 7:8). None of these nuances adequately meets the demands of this context, for humankind is not viewed as having an adversarial relationship with the world. The general meaning of the verb appears to be “to bring under one’s control for one’s advantage.” In Gen 1:28 one might paraphrase it as follows: “harness its potential and use its resources for your benefit.” In an ancient Israelite context this would suggest cultivating its fields, mining its mineral riches, using its trees for construction, and domesticating its animals.

[1:28]  ²⁴ sn The several imperatives addressed to both males and females together (plural imperative forms) actually form two commands: reproduce and rule. God’s word is not merely a form of blessing, but is now addressed to them personally; this is a distinct emphasis with the creation of human beings. But with the blessing comes the ability to be fruitful and to rule. In procreation they will share in the divine work of creating human life and passing on the divine image (see 5:1-3); in ruling they will serve as God’s vice-regents on earth. They together, the human race collectively, have the responsibility of seeing to the welfare of that which is put under them and the privilege of using it for their benefit.

[1:30]  ²³ tn The phrase “I give” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:19]  ²⁵ tn Or “fashioned.” To harmonize the order of events with the chronology of chapter one, some translate the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive as a past perfect (“had formed,” cf. NIV) here. (In chapter one the creation of the animals preceded the creation of man; here the animals are created after the man.) However, it is unlikely that the Hebrew construction can be translated in this way in the middle of this pericope, for the criteria for unmarked temporal overlay are not present here. See S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 84-88, and especially R. Buth, “Methodological Collision between Source Criticism and Discourse Analysis,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 138-54. For a contrary viewpoint see IBHS 552-53 §33.2.3 and C. J. Collins, “The Wayyiqtol as ‘Pluperfect’: When and Why,” TynBul 46 (1995): 117-40.

[2:19]  ²⁶ tn The imperfect verb form is future from the perspective of the past time narrative.

[9:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”

[9:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to destroy.”

[9:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “all flesh.”