Genesis 19:4

19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, ¹  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ² 

Genesis 19:31

19:31 Later the older daughter said ³  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ⁴  to have sexual relations with us, ⁵  according to the way of all the world.

Genesis 24:2

24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ⁶  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ⁷ 

Genesis 27:1

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ⁸  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ⁹  he called his older ¹⁰  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ¹¹  replied.

Genesis 35:29

35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. ¹²  He died an old man who had lived a full life. ¹³  His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Genesis 44:20

44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. ¹⁴  The boy’s ¹⁵  brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, ¹⁶  and his father loves him.’

[19:4]  ¹ tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.

[19:4]  ² tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.

[19:31]  ³ tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

[19:31]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.

[19:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[24:2]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).

[24:2]  ⁶ sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.

[27:1]  ⁷ tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.

[27:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[35:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Isaac expired and died and he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[35:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “old and full of years.”

[44:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.

[44:20]  ¹² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”