Genesis 27:27

27:27 So Jacob ¹  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ²  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ³  my son smells

like the scent of an open field

which the Lord has blessed.

Genesis 8:21

8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ⁴  and said ⁵  to himself, ⁶  “I will never again curse ⁷  the ground because of humankind, even though ⁸  the inclination of their minds ⁹  is evil from childhood on. ¹⁰  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

[27:27]  ¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ² tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ³ tn Heb “see.”

[8:21]  ⁴ tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיהֹחַ, reakh hannihoakh). The object forms a cognate accusative with the verb. The language is anthropomorphic. The offering had a sweet aroma that pleased or soothed. The expression in Lev 1 signifies that God accepts the offering with pleasure, and in accepting the offering he accepts the worshiper.

[8:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

[8:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “in his heart.”

[8:21]  ⁷ tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

[8:21]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.

[8:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

[8:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from his youth.”