Genesis 3:22

3:22 And the Lord God said, “Now ¹  that the man has become like one of us, ²  knowing ³  good and evil, he must not be allowed ⁴  to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Genesis 19:19

19:19 Your ⁵  servant has found favor with you, ⁶  and you have shown me great ⁷  kindness ⁸  by sparing ⁹  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ¹⁰  this disaster will overtake ¹¹  me and I’ll die. ¹² 

Genesis 22:9

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ¹³  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ¹⁴  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.

Genesis 23:11

23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ¹⁵  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ¹⁶  In the presence of my people ¹⁷  I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”

Genesis 24:54

24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. ¹⁸ 

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” ¹⁹ 

Genesis 34:21

34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough ²⁰  for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. ²¹ 

Genesis 38:9

38:9 But Onan knew that the child ²²  would not be considered his. ²³  So whenever ²⁴  he had sexual relations with ²⁵  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ²⁶  so as not to give his brother a descendant.

Genesis 38:16

38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” ²⁷  (He did not realize ²⁸  it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” ²⁹ 

Genesis 42:21

42:21 They said to one other, ³⁰  “Surely we’re being punished ³¹  because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was ³²  when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress ³³  has come on us!”

Genesis 43:14

43:14 May the sovereign God ³⁴  grant you mercy before the man so that he may release ³⁵  your other brother ³⁶  and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” ³⁷ 

Genesis 44:1

The Final Test

44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.

Genesis 44:31

44:31 When he sees the boy is not with us, ³⁸  he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave.

[3:22]  ¹ tn The particle הֵן (hen) introduces a foundational clause, usually beginning with “since, because, now.”

[3:22]  ² sn The man has become like one of us. See the notes on Gen 1:26 and 3:5.

[3:22]  ³ tn The infinitive explains in what way the man had become like God: “knowing good and evil.”

[3:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “and now, lest he stretch forth.” Following the foundational clause, this clause forms the main point. It is introduced with the particle פֶּן (pen) which normally introduces a negative purpose, “lest….” The construction is elliptical; something must be done lest the man stretch forth his hand. The translation interprets the point intended.

[19:19]  ⁵ tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.

[19:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ⁸ sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

[19:19]  ⁹ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

[19:19]  ¹² tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[22:9]  ⁹ sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?

[22:9]  ¹⁰ sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.

[23:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.

[23:11]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[23:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”

[24:54]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night.”

[24:54]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Send me away to my master.”

[34:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.

[34:21]  ²² tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[38:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “offspring.”

[38:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.

[38:9]  ²⁷ tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.

[38:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.

[38:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for he did not know that.”

[38:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[42:21]  ³³ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”

[42:21]  ³⁴ tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”

[42:21]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”

[42:21]  ³⁶ sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.

[43:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[43:14]  ³⁸ tn Heb “release to you.” After the jussive this perfect verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) probably indicates logical consequence, as well as temporal sequence.

[43:14]  ³⁹ sn Several Jewish commentators suggest that the expression your other brother refers to Joseph. This would mean that Jacob prophesied unwittingly. However, it is much more likely that Simeon is the referent of the phrase “your other brother” (see Gen 42:24).

[43:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “if I am bereaved I am bereaved.” With this fatalistic sounding statement Jacob resolves himself to the possibility of losing both Benjamin and Simeon.

[44:31]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “when he sees that there is no boy.”