Genesis 3:13

3:13 So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this ¹  you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent ²  tricked ³  me, and I ate.”

Genesis 4:10

4:10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? ⁴  The voice ⁵  of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!

Genesis 20:10

20:10 Then Abimelech asked ⁶  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ⁷ 

[3:13]  ¹ tn The use of the demonstrative pronoun is enclitic, serving as an undeclined particle for emphasis. It gives the sense of “What in the world have you done?” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[3:13]  ² sn The Hebrew word order puts the subject (“the serpent”) before the verb here, giving prominence to it.

[3:13]  ³ tn This verb (the Hiphil of נָשָׁא, nasha) is used elsewhere of a king or god misleading his people into false confidence (2 Kgs 18:29 = 2 Chr 32:15 = Isa 36:14; 2 Kgs 19:10 = Isa 37:10), of an ally deceiving a partner (Obad 7), of God deceiving his sinful people as a form of judgment (Jer 4:10), of false prophets instilling their audience with false hope (Jer 29:8), and of pride and false confidence producing self-deception (Jer 37:9; 49:16; Obad 3).

[4:10]  ⁴ sn What have you done? Again the Lord’s question is rhetorical (see Gen 3:13), condemning Cain for his sin.

[4:10]  ⁵ tn The word “voice” is a personification; the evidence of Abel’s shed blood condemns Cain, just as a human eyewitness would testify in court. For helpful insights, see G. von Rad, Biblical Interpretations in Preaching; and L. Morris, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 6 (1955/56): 77-82.

[20:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”

[20:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.