Genesis 24:6

24:6 “Be careful ¹  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ² 

Genesis 3:3

3:3 but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, ³  or else you will die.’” ⁴ 

Genesis 11:4

11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens ⁵  so that ⁶  we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise ⁷  we will be scattered ⁸  across the face of the entire earth.”

Genesis 31:24

31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ⁹  “Be careful ¹⁰  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ¹¹ 

Genesis 31:31

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ¹²  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ¹³  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 32:11

32:11 Rescue me, ¹⁵  I pray, from the hand ¹⁶  of my brother Esau, ¹⁷  for I am afraid he will come ¹⁸  and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. ¹⁹ 

Genesis 38:23

38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things ²⁰  for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. ²¹  I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”

Genesis 42:4

42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, ²²  for he said, ²³  “What if some accident ²⁴  happens ²⁵  to him?”

Genesis 44:34

44:34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see ²⁶  my father’s pain.” ²⁷ 

Genesis 45:11

45:11 I will provide you with food ²⁸  there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor – you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’

Genesis 3:22

3:22 And the Lord God said, “Now ²⁹  that the man has become like one of us, ³⁰  knowing ³¹  good and evil, he must not be allowed ³²  to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Genesis 19:15

19:15 At dawn ³³  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ³⁴  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ³⁵ 

Genesis 19:17

19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ³⁶  said, “Run ³⁷  for your lives! Don’t look ³⁸  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ³⁹  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

Genesis 19:19

19:19 Your ⁴⁰  servant has found favor with you, ⁴¹  and you have shown me great ⁴²  kindness ⁴³  by sparing ⁴⁴  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ⁴⁵  this disaster will overtake ⁴⁶  me and I’ll die. ⁴⁷ 

Genesis 26:7

26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” ⁴⁸  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ⁴⁹  “The men of this place will kill me to get ⁵⁰  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

Genesis 26:9

26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really ⁵¹  your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” ⁵² 

Genesis 38:11

38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, ⁵³  “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” ⁵⁴  So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

[24:6]  ¹ tn Heb “guard yourself.”

[24:6]  ² tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:3]  ³ sn And you must not touch it. The woman adds to God’s prohibition, making it say more than God expressed. G. von Rad observes that it is as though she wanted to set a law for herself by means of this exaggeration (Genesis [OTL], 86).

[3:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew construction is פֶּן (pen) with the imperfect tense, which conveys a negative purpose: “lest you die” = “in order that you not die.” By stating the warning in this way, the woman omits the emphatic infinitive used by God (“you shall surely die,” see 2:17).

[11:4]  ⁵ tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.

[11:4]  ⁶ tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.

[11:4]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”

[11:4]  ⁸ sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.

[31:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “said to him.”

[31:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29, is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.

[31:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27. Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for I said.”

[31:31]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”

[32:11]  ¹¹ tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.

[32:11]  ¹² tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”

[32:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”

[32:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”

[32:11]  ¹⁵ sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.

[38:23]  ¹³ tn The words “the things” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “we will become contemptible.” The Hebrew word בּוּז (buz) describes the contempt that a respectable person would have for someone who is worthless, foolish, or disreputable.

[42:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers.” The disjunctive clause highlights the contrast between Benjamin and the other ten.

[42:4]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) could also be translated “thought” (i.e., “he said to himself”) here, giving Jacob’s reasoning rather than spoken words.

[42:4]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew noun אָסוֹן (’ason) is a rare word meaning “accident, harm.” Apart from its use in these passages it occurs in Exodus 21:22-23 of an accident to a pregnant woman. The term is a rather general one, but Jacob was no doubt thinking of his loss of Joseph.

[42:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “encounters.”

[44:34]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text has “lest I see,” which expresses a negative purpose – “I cannot go up lest I see.”

[44:34]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the calamity which would find my father.”

[45:11]  ¹⁹ tn The verb כּוּל (kul) in the Pilpel stem means “to nourish, to support, to sustain.” As in 1 Kgs 20:27, it here means “to supply with food.”

[3:22]  ²¹ tn The particle הֵן (hen) introduces a foundational clause, usually beginning with “since, because, now.”

[3:22]  ²² sn The man has become like one of us. See the notes on Gen 1:26 and 3:5.

[3:22]  ²³ tn The infinitive explains in what way the man had become like God: “knowing good and evil.”

[3:22]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and now, lest he stretch forth.” Following the foundational clause, this clause forms the main point. It is introduced with the particle פֶּן (pen) which normally introduces a negative purpose, “lest….” The construction is elliptical; something must be done lest the man stretch forth his hand. The translation interprets the point intended.

[19:15]  ²³ tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

[19:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.

[19:15]  ²⁵ tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[19:17]  ²⁵ tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

[19:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

[19:17]  ²⁸ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:19]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ³² tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[26:7]  ²⁹ sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.

[26:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.

[26:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “kill me on account of.”

[26:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.

[26:9]  ³² tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).

[38:11]  ³³ tn Heb “said.”

[38:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Otherwise he will die, also he, like his brothers.”