Genesis 19:9

19:9 “Out of our way!” ¹  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ²  and now he dares to judge us! ³  We’ll do more harm ⁴  to you than to them!” They kept ⁵  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ⁶  to break down the door.

Genesis 31:53

31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ⁷  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ⁸ 

Genesis 16:5

16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! ⁹  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, ¹⁰  but when she realized ¹¹  that she was pregnant, she despised me. ¹²  May the Lord judge between you and me!” ¹³ 

Genesis 18:25

18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge ¹⁴  of the whole earth do what is right?” ¹⁵ 

[19:9]  ¹ tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”

[19:9]  ² tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”

[19:9]  ³ tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”

[19:9]  ⁴ tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.

[19:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”

[19:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they drew near.”

[31:53]  ⁷ tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.

[31:53]  ⁸ tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.

[16:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”

[16:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”

[16:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “saw.”

[16:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.

[16:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “me and you.”

[18:25]  ¹⁹ tn Or “ruler.”

[18:25]  ²⁰ sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.