Genesis 27:12

27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ¹  and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.”

Genesis 18:24

18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare ²  the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it?

Genesis 18:28-32

18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy ³  the whole city because five are lacking?” ⁴  He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

18:29 Abraham ⁵  spoke to him again, ⁶  “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

18:30 Then Abraham ⁷  said, “May the Lord not be angry ⁸  so that I may speak! ⁹  What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

18:31 Abraham ¹⁰  said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

18:32 Finally Abraham ¹¹  said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

Genesis 43:12

43:12 Take double the money with you; ¹²  you must take back ¹³  the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks – perhaps it was an oversight.

Genesis 16:2

16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since ¹⁴  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with ¹⁵  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” ¹⁶  Abram did what ¹⁷  Sarai told him.

Genesis 24:5

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ¹⁸  to this land? Must I then ¹⁹  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

Genesis 32:20

32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ²⁰  Jacob thought, ²¹  “I will first appease him ²²  by sending a gift ahead of me. ²³  After that I will meet him. ²⁴  Perhaps he will accept me.” ²⁵ 

[27:12]  ¹ tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”

[18:24]  ² tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

[18:28]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.

[18:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “because of five.”

[18:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ⁵ tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”

[18:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “let it not be hot to the Lord.” This is an idiom which means “may the Lord not be angry.”

[18:30]  ⁷ tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.

[18:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “in your hand.”

[43:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “take back in your hand.” The imperfect verbal form probably has an injunctive or obligatory force here, since Jacob is instructing his sons.

[16:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.

[16:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).

[16:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.

[16:2]  ¹² tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”

[24:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to go after me.”

[24:5]  ¹¹ tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.

[32:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ¹² tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.