Genesis 19:19

19:19 Your ¹  servant has found favor with you, ²  and you have shown me great ³  kindness ⁴  by sparing ⁵  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ⁶  this disaster will overtake ⁷  me and I’ll die. ⁸ 

Genesis 20:13

20:13 When God made me wander ⁹  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ¹⁰  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

[19:19]  ¹ tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.

[19:19]  ² tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ³ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ⁴ sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

[19:19]  ⁵ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

[19:19]  ⁸ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[20:13]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”

[20:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”