Genesis 3:16

3:16 To the woman he said,

“I will greatly increase ¹  your labor pains; ² 

with pain you will give birth to children.

You will want to control your husband, ³ 

but he will dominate ⁴  you.”

Genesis 14:13

14:13 A fugitive ⁵  came and told Abram the Hebrew. ⁶  Now Abram was living by the oaks ⁷  of Mamre the Amorite, the brother ⁸  of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty ⁹  with Abram.) ¹⁰ 

Genesis 16:12

16:12 He will be a wild donkey ¹¹  of a man.

He will be hostile to everyone, ¹² 

and everyone will be hostile to him. ¹³ 

He will live away from ¹⁴  his brothers.”

Genesis 18:8

18:8 Abraham ¹⁵  then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food ¹⁶  before them. They ate while ¹⁷  he was standing near them under a tree.

Genesis 18:10

18:10 One of them ¹⁸  said, “I will surely return ¹⁹  to you when the season comes round again, ²⁰  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ²¹  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ²² 

Genesis 20:3

20:3 But God appeared ²³  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ²⁴  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ²⁵ 

Genesis 34:19

34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ²⁶  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ²⁷  badly. (Now he was more important ²⁸  than anyone in his father’s household.) ²⁹ 

Genesis 44:5

44:5 Doesn’t my master drink from this cup ³⁰  and use it for divination? ³¹  You have done wrong!’” ³² 

[3:16]  ¹ tn The imperfect verb form is emphasized and intensified by the infinitive absolute from the same verb.

[3:16]  ² tn Heb “your pain and your conception,” suggesting to some interpreters that having a lot of children was a result of the judgment (probably to make up for the loss through death). But the next clause shows that the pain is associated with conception and childbirth. The two words form a hendiadys (where two words are joined to express one idea, like “good and angry” in English), the second explaining the first. “Conception,” if the correct meaning of the noun, must be figurative here since there is no pain in conception; it is a synecdoche, representing the entire process of childbirth and child rearing from the very start. However, recent etymological research suggests the noun is derived from a root הרר (hrr), not הרה (hrh), and means “trembling, pain” (see D. Tsumura, “A Note on הרוֹן (Gen 3,16),” Bib 75 [1994]: 398-400). In this case “pain and trembling” refers to the physical effects of childbirth. The word עִצְּבוֹן (’itsÿvon, “pain”), an abstract noun related to the verb (עָצַב, ’atsav), includes more than physical pain. It is emotional distress as well as physical pain. The same word is used in v. 17 for the man’s painful toil in the field.

[3:16]  ³ tn Heb “and toward your husband [will be] your desire.” The nominal sentence does not have a verb; a future verb must be supplied, because the focus of the oracle is on the future struggle. The precise meaning of the noun תְּשׁוּקָה (tÿshuqah, “desire”) is debated. Many interpreters conclude that it refers to sexual desire here, because the subject of the passage is the relationship between a wife and her husband, and because the word is used in a romantic sense in Song 7:11 HT (7:10 ET). However, this interpretation makes little sense in Gen 3:16. First, it does not fit well with the assertion “he will dominate you.” Second, it implies that sexual desire was not part of the original creation, even though the man and the woman were told to multiply. And third, it ignores the usage of the word in Gen 4:7 where it refers to sin’s desire to control and dominate Cain. (Even in Song of Songs it carries the basic idea of “control,” for it describes the young man’s desire to “have his way sexually” with the young woman.) In Gen 3:16 the Lord announces a struggle, a conflict between the man and the woman. She will desire to control him, but he will dominate her instead. This interpretation also fits the tone of the passage, which is a judgment oracle. See further Susan T. Foh, “What is the Woman’s Desire?” WTJ 37 (1975): 376-83.

[3:16]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb מָשַׁל (mashal) means “to rule over,” but in a way that emphasizes powerful control, domination, or mastery. This also is part of the baser human nature. The translation assumes the imperfect verb form has an objective/indicative sense here. Another option is to understand it as having a modal, desiderative nuance, “but he will want to dominate you.” In this case, the Lord simply announces the struggle without indicating who will emerge victorious.

[14:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.

[14:13]  ⁶ sn E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14-16).

[14:13]  ⁷ tn Or “terebinths.”

[14:13]  ⁸ tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”

[14:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.

[14:13]  ¹⁰ tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.

[16:12]  ⁹ sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.

[16:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.

[16:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”

[16:12]  ¹² tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).

[18:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:8]  ¹⁴ tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:8]  ¹⁵ tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.

[18:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV) based on vv. 1, 13, but the Hebrew text merely has “he said” at this point, referring to one of the three visitors. Aside from the introductory statement in v. 1, the incident is narrated from Abraham’s point of view, and the suspense is built up for the reader as Abraham’s elaborate banquet preparations in the preceding verses suggest he suspects these are important guests. But not until the promise of a son later in this verse does it become clear who is speaking. In v. 13 the Hebrew text explicitly mentions the Lord.

[18:10]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ²¹ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[20:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “came.”

[20:3]  ²² tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.

[20:3]  ²³ tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.

[34:19]  ²⁵ tn Heb “doing the thing.”

[34:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:19]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).

[34:19]  ²⁸ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).

[44:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Is this not what my master drinks from.” The word “cup” is not in the Hebrew text, but is obviously the referent of “this,” and so has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[44:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and he, divining, divines with it.” The infinitive absolute is emphatic, stressing the importance of the cup to Joseph.

[44:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “you have caused to be evil what you have done.”