Genesis 3:11

3:11 And the Lord God ¹  said, “Who told you that you were naked? ²  Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” ³ 

Genesis 4:8

4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” ⁴  While they were in the field, Cain attacked ⁵  his brother ⁶  Abel and killed him.

Genesis 10:25

10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, ⁷  and his brother’s name was Joktan.

Genesis 36:7

36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled ⁸  was not able to support them because of their livestock.

Genesis 37:7

37:7 There we were, ⁹  binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down ¹⁰  to it!”

Genesis 39:20

39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, ¹¹  the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. ¹² 

Genesis 40:10

40:10 On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes.

Genesis 50:23

50:23 Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation. ¹³  He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph. ¹⁴ 

[3:11]  ¹ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (the Lord God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:11]  ² sn Who told you that you were naked? This is another rhetorical question, asking more than what it appears to ask. The second question in the verse reveals the Lord God’s real concern.

[3:11]  ³ sn The Hebrew word order (“Did you from the tree – which I commanded you not to eat from it – eat?”) is arranged to emphasize that the man’s and the woman’s eating of the fruit was an act of disobedience. The relative clause inserted immediately after the reference to the tree brings out this point very well.

[4:8]  ⁴ tc The MT has simply “and Cain said to Abel his brother,” omitting Cain’s words to Abel. It is possible that the elliptical text is original. Perhaps the author uses the technique of aposiopesis, “a sudden silence” to create tension. In the midst of the story the narrator suddenly rushes ahead to what happened in the field. It is more likely that the ancient versions (Samaritan Pentateuch, LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac), which include Cain’s words, “Let’s go out to the field,” preserve the original reading here. After writing אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”), a scribe’s eye may have jumped to the end of the form בַּשָּׂדֶה (basadeh, “to the field”) and accidentally omitted the quotation. This would be an error of virtual homoioteleuton. In older phases of the Hebrew script the sequence יו (yod-vav) on אָחִיו is graphically similar to the final ה (he) on בַּשָּׂדֶה.

[4:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “arose against” (in a hostile sense).

[4:8]  ⁶ sn The word “brother” appears six times in vv. 8-11, stressing the shocking nature of Cain’s fratricide (see 1 John 3:12).

[10:25]  ⁷ tn The expression “the earth was divided” may refer to dividing the land with canals, but more likely it anticipates the division of languages at Babel (Gen 11). The verb פָּלָג (palag, “separate, divide”) is used in Ps 55:9 for a division of languages.

[36:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “land of their settlements.”

[37:7]  ¹³ tn All three clauses in this dream report begin with וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), which lends vividness to the report. This is represented in the translation by the expression “there we were.”

[37:7]  ¹⁴ tn The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.

[39:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.

[39:20]  ¹⁷ sn The story of Joseph is filled with cycles and repetition: He has two dreams (chap. 37), he interprets two dreams in prison (chap. 40) and the two dreams of Pharaoh (chap. 41), his brothers make two trips to see him (chaps. 42-43), and here, for the second time (see 37:24), he is imprisoned for no good reason, with only his coat being used as evidence. For further discussion see H. Jacobsen, “A Legal Note on Potiphar’s Wife,” HTR 69 (1976): 177.

[50:23]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “saw Ephraim, the children of the third.”

[50:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they were born on the knees of Joseph.” This expression implies their adoption by Joseph, which meant that they received an inheritance from him.