Genesis 3:24

3:24 When he drove ¹  the man out, he placed on the eastern side ²  of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries ³  who used the flame of a whirling sword ⁴  to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 6:12

6:12 God saw the earth, and indeed ⁵  it was ruined, ⁶  for all living creatures ⁷  on the earth were sinful. ⁸ 

Genesis 19:31

19:31 Later the older daughter said ⁹  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ¹⁰  to have sexual relations with us, ¹¹  according to the way of all the world.

Genesis 24:40

24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ¹²  will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.

Genesis 24:42

24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, ¹³  may events unfold as follows: ¹⁴ 

Genesis 30:36

30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ¹⁵  while ¹⁶  Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Genesis 31:23

31:23 So he took his relatives ¹⁷  with him and pursued Jacob ¹⁸  for seven days. ¹⁹  He caught up with ²⁰  him in the hill country of Gilead.

Genesis 35:3

35:3 Let us go up at once ²¹  to Bethel. Then I will make ²²  an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress ²³  and has been with me wherever I went.” ²⁴ 

Genesis 38:21

38:21 He asked the men who were there, ²⁵  “Where is the cult prostitute ²⁶  who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.”

Genesis 42:25

42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill ²⁷  their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out. ²⁸ 

Genesis 45:21

45:21 So the sons of Israel did as he said. ²⁹  Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, ³⁰  and he gave them provisions for the journey.

Genesis 45:23

45:23 To his father he sent the following: ³¹  ten donkeys loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, food, and provisions for his father’s journey.

Genesis 49:17

49:17 May Dan be a snake beside the road,

a viper by the path,

that bites the heels of the horse

so that its rider falls backward. ³² 

[3:24]  ¹ tn The verb with the vav (ו) consecutive is made subordinate to the next verb forming a temporal clause. This avoids any tautology with the previous verse that already stated that the Lord expelled the man.

[3:24]  ² tn Or “placed in front.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.

[3:24]  ³ tn The Hebrew word is traditionally transliterated “the cherubim.”

[3:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “the flame of the sword that turns round and round.” The noun “flame” is qualified by the genitive of specification, “the sword,” which in turn is modified by the attributive participle “whirling.” The Hitpael of the verb “turn” has an iterative function here, indicating repeated action. The form is used in Job 37:12 of swirling clouds and in Judg 7:13 of a tumbling roll of bread. Verse 24 depicts the sword as moving from side to side to prevent anyone from passing or as whirling around, ready to cut to shreds anyone who tries to pass.

[6:12]  ⁵ tn Or “God saw how corrupt the earth was.”

[6:12]  ⁶ tn The repetition in the text (see v. 11) emphasizes the point.

[6:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “flesh.” Since moral corruption is in view here, most modern western interpreters understand the referent to be humankind. However, the phrase “all flesh” is used consistently of humankind and the animals in Gen 6-9 (6:17, 19; 7:15-16, 21; 8:17; 9:11, 15-17), suggesting that the author intends to picture all living creatures, humankind and animals, as guilty of moral failure. This would explain why the animals, not just humankind, are victims of the ensuing divine judgment. The OT sometimes views animals as morally culpable (Gen 9:5; Exod 21:28-29; Jonah 3:7-8). The OT also teaches that a person’s sin can contaminate others (people and animals) in the sinful person’s sphere (see the story of Achan, especially Josh 7:10). So the animals could be viewed here as morally contaminated because of their association with sinful humankind.

[6:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “had corrupted its way.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “way” refers to the collective “all flesh.” The construction “corrupt one’s way” occurs only here (though Ezek 16:47 uses the Hiphil in an intransitive sense with the preposition בְּ [bet, “in”] followed by “ways”). The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) means “to ruin, to destroy, to corrupt,” often as here in a moral/ethical sense. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to behavior or moral character, a sense that it frequently carries (see BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a).

[19:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

[19:31]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.

[19:31]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[24:40]  ¹³ tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the Lord or it may have a more positive moral connotation (“serve faithfully”).

[24:42]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”

[24:42]  ¹⁸ tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:36]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  ²² tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.

[31:23]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[31:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”

[31:23]  ²⁸ tn Heb “drew close to.”

[35:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.

[35:3]  ³⁰ tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.

[35:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.

[35:3]  ³² tn Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).

[38:21]  ³³ tn Heb “the men of her place,” that is, who lived at the place where she had been.

[38:21]  ³⁴ sn The Hebrew noun translated “cult prostitute” is derived from a verb meaning “to be set apart; to be distinct.” Thus the term refers to a woman who did not marry, but was dedicated to temple service as a cult prostitute. The masculine form of this noun is used for male cult prostitutes. Judah thought he had gone to an ordinary prostitute (v. 15); but Hirah went looking for a cult prostitute, perhaps because it had been a sheep-shearing festival. For further discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, “Cultic Prostitution,” Orient and Occident (AOAT), 213-23.

[42:25]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and they filled.” The clause appears to be elliptical; one expects “Joseph gave orders to fill…and they filled.” See GKC 386 §120.f.

[42:25]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and he did for them so.” Joseph would appear to be the subject of the singular verb. If the text is retained, the statement seems to be a summary of the preceding, more detailed statement. However, some read the verb as plural, “and they did for them so.” In this case the statement indicates that Joseph’s subordinates carried out his orders. Another alternative is to read the singular verb as passive (with unspecified subject), “and this was done for them so” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[45:21]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel did so.”

[45:21]  ⁴² tn Heb “according to the mouth of Pharaoh.”

[45:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “according to this.”

[49:17]  ⁴⁹ sn The comparison of the tribe of Dan to a venomous serpent is meant to say that Dan, though small, would be potent, gaining victory through its skill and shrewdness. Jewish commentators have linked the image in part with Samson. That link at least illustrates the point: Though a minority tribe, Dan would gain the upper hand over others.