Genesis 3:4

3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, ¹ 

Genesis 26:11

26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ²  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ³ 

Genesis 2:17

2:17 but ⁴  you must not eat ⁵  from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when ⁶  you eat from it you will surely die.” ⁷ 

Genesis 25:11

25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ⁸  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ⁹ 

Genesis 20:7

20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹⁰  he is a prophet ¹¹  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ¹²  But if you don’t give her back, ¹³  know that you will surely die ¹⁴  along with all who belong to you.”

Genesis 26:18

26:18 Isaac reopened ¹⁵  the wells that had been dug ¹⁶  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ¹⁷  after Abraham died. Isaac ¹⁸  gave these wells ¹⁹  the same names his father had given them. ²⁰ 

[3:4]  ¹ tn The response of the serpent includes the infinitive absolute with a blatant negation equal to saying: “Not – you will surely die” (לֹא מוֹת תִּמֻתען, lo’ mot tÿmutun). The construction makes this emphatic because normally the negative particle precedes the finite verb. The serpent is a liar, denying that there is a penalty for sin (see John 8:44).

[26:11]  ² tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.

[26:11]  ³ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[2:17]  ³ tn The disjunctive clause here indicates contrast: “but from the tree of the knowledge….”

[2:17]  ⁴ tn The negated imperfect verb form indicates prohibition, “you must not eat.”

[2:17]  ⁵ tn Or “in the very day, as soon as.” If one understands the expression to have this more precise meaning, then the following narrative presents a problem, for the man does not die physically as soon as he eats from the tree. In this case one may argue that spiritual death is in view. If physical death is in view here, there are two options to explain the following narrative: (1) The following phrase “You will surely die” concerns mortality which ultimately results in death (a natural paraphrase would be, “You will become mortal”), or (2) God mercifully gave man a reprieve, allowing him to live longer than he deserved.

[2:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “dying you will die.” The imperfect verb form here has the nuance of the specific future because it is introduced with the temporal clause, “when you eat…you will die.” That certainty is underscored with the infinitive absolute, “you will surely die.”

[25:11]  ⁴ sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).

[25:11]  ⁵ sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.

[20:7]  ⁵ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ⁶ sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ⁷ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ⁹ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[26:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”