Genesis 32:5

32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent ¹  this message ²  to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

Genesis 32:18

32:18 then you must say, ³  ‘They belong ⁴  to your servant Jacob. ⁵  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ⁶  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ⁷ 

Genesis 4:7

4:7 Is it not true ⁸  that if you do what is right, you will be fine? ⁹  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching ¹⁰  at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.” ¹¹ 

Genesis 23:6

23:6 “Listen, sir, ¹²  you are a mighty prince ¹³  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ¹⁴  from burying your dead.”

Genesis 27:29

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ¹⁵  lord ¹⁶  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ¹⁷ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

Genesis 27:37

27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”

Genesis 33:8

33:8 Esau ¹⁸  then asked, “What did you intend ¹⁹  by sending all these herds to meet me?” ²⁰  Jacob ²¹  replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.”

Exodus 32:22

32:22 Aaron said, “Do not let your anger burn hot, my lord; ²²  you know these people, that they tend to evil. ²³ 

Exodus 32:1

The Sin of the Golden Calf

32:1 ²⁴ When the people saw that Moses delayed ²⁵  in coming down ²⁶  from the mountain, they ²⁷  gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, ²⁸  make us gods ²⁹  that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, ³⁰  the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what ³¹  has become of him!”

Exodus 26:17

26:17 with two projections ³²  per frame parallel one to another. ³³  You are to make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.

Proverbs 6:3

6:3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself, ³⁴ 

because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power: ³⁵ 

go, humble yourself, ³⁶ 

and appeal firmly ³⁷  to your neighbor.

Proverbs 15:1

15:1 A gentle response ³⁸  turns away anger,

but a harsh word ³⁹  stirs up wrath. ⁴⁰ 

Luke 14:11

14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but ⁴¹  the one who humbles ⁴²  himself will be exalted.”

Luke 14:1

Healing Again on the Sabbath

14:1 Now ⁴³  one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine ⁴⁴  at the house of a leader ⁴⁵  of the Pharisees, ⁴⁶  they were watching ⁴⁷  him closely.

Luke 3:6

3:6 and all humanity ⁴⁸  will see the salvation of God.’” ⁴⁹ 

[32:5]  ¹ tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.

[32:5]  ² tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ³ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ⁴ tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ⁸ tn The introduction of the conditional clause with an interrogative particle prods the answer from Cain, as if he should have known this. It is not a condemnation, but an encouragement to do what is right.

[4:7]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text is difficult, because only one word occurs, שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et), which appears to be the infinitive construct from the verb “to lift up” (נָאָשׂ, na’as). The sentence reads: “If you do well, uplifting.” On the surface it seems to be the opposite of the fallen face. Everything will be changed if he does well. God will show him favor, he will not be angry, and his face will reflect that. But more may be intended since the second half of the verse forms the contrast: “If you do not do well, sin is crouching….” Not doing well leads to sinful attack; doing well leads to victory and God’s blessing.

[4:7]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “crouching” (רֹבֵץ, rovets) is an active participle. Sin is portrayed with animal imagery here as a beast crouching and ready to pounce (a figure of speech known as zoomorphism). An Akkadian cognate refers to a type of demon; in this case perhaps one could translate, “Sin is the demon at the door” (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 29, 32-33).

[4:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and toward you [is] its desire, but you must rule over it.” As in Gen 3:16, the Hebrew noun “desire” refers to an urge to control or dominate. Here the desire is that which sin has for Cain, a desire to control for the sake of evil, but Cain must have mastery over it. The imperfect is understood as having an obligatory sense. Another option is to understand it as expressing potential (“you can have [or “are capable of having”] mastery over it.”). It will be a struggle, but sin can be defeated by righteousness. In addition to this connection to Gen 3, other linguistic and thematic links between chaps. 3 and 4 are discussed by A. J. Hauser, “Linguistic and Thematic Links Between Genesis 4:1-6 and Genesis 2–3,” JETS 23 (1980): 297-306.

[23:6]  ¹² tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”

[23:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.

[23:6]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:29]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

[27:29]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

[27:29]  ¹⁷ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[33:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Who to you?”

[33:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”

[33:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:22]  ²² sn “My lord” refers to Moses.

[32:22]  ²³ tn Heb “that on evil it is.”

[32:1]  ²⁴ sn This narrative is an unhappy interlude in the flow of the argument of the book. After the giving of the Law and the instructions for the tabernacle, the people get into idolatry. So this section tells what the people were doing when Moses was on the mountain. Here is an instant violation of the covenant that they had just agreed to uphold. But through it all Moses shines as the great intercessor for the people. So the subject matter is the sin of idolatry, its effects and its remedy. Because of the similarities to Jeroboam’s setting up the calves in Dan and Bethel, modern critics have often said this passage was written at that time. U. Cassuto shows how the language of this chapter would not fit an Iron Age setting in Dan. Rather, he argues, this story was well enough known for Jeroboam to imitate the practice (Exodus, 407-10). This chapter can be divided into four parts for an easier exposition: idolatry (32:1-6), intercession (32:7-14), judgment (32:15-29), intercession again (32:30-33:6). Of course, these sections are far more complex than this, but this gives an overview. Four summary statements for expository points might be: I. Impatience often leads to foolish violations of the faith, II. Violations of the covenant require intercession to escape condemnation, III. Those spared of divine wrath must purge evil from their midst, and IV. Those who purge evil from their midst will find reinstatement through intercession. Several important studies are available for this. See, among others, D. R. Davis, “Rebellion, Presence, and Covenant: A Study in Exodus 32-34,” WTJ 44 (1982): 71-87; M. Greenberg, “Moses’ Intercessory Prayer,” Ecumenical Institute for Advanced Theological Studies (1978): 21-35; R. A. Hamer, “The New Covenant of Moses,” Judaism 27 (1978): 345-50; R. L. Honeycutt, Jr., “Aaron, the Priesthood, and the Golden Calf,” RevExp 74 (1977): 523-35; J. N. Oswalt, “The Golden Calves and the Egyptian Concept of Deity,” EvQ 45 (1973): 13-20.

[32:1]  ²⁵ tn The meaning of this verb is properly “caused shame,” meaning cause disappointment because he was not coming back (see also Judg 5:28 for the delay of Sisera’s chariots [S. R. Driver, Exodus, 349]).

[32:1]  ²⁶ tn The infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition is used here epexegetically, explaining the delay of Moses.

[32:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the people.”

[32:1]  ²⁸ tn The imperative means “arise.” It could be serving here as an interjection, getting Aaron’s attention. But it might also have the force of prompting him to get busy.

[32:1]  ²⁹ tn The plural translation is required here (although the form itself could be singular in meaning) because the verb that follows in the relative clause is a plural verb – that they go before us).

[32:1]  ³⁰ tn The text has “this Moses.” But this instance may find the demonstrative used in an earlier deictic sense, especially since there is no article with it.

[32:1]  ³¹ tn The interrogative is used in an indirect question (see GKC 443-44 §137.c).

[26:17]  ³² sn Heb “hands,” the reference is probably to projections that served as stays or supports. They may have been tenons, or pegs, projecting from the bottom of the frames to hold the frames in their sockets (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 286).

[26:17]  ³³ tn Or “being joined each to the other.”

[6:3]  ³⁴ tn The syntactical construction of imperative followed by an imperative + vav consecutive denotes purpose: “in order to be delivered.” The verb means “to deliver oneself, be delivered” in the Niphal. The image is one of being snatched or plucked quickly out of some danger or trouble, in the sense of a rescue, as in a “brand snatched [Hophal stem] from the fire” (Zech 3:2).

[6:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “have come into the hand of your neighbor” (so NASB; cf. KJV, ASV). The idiom using the “hand” means that the individual has come under the control or the power of someone else. This particular word for hand is used to play ironically on its first occurrence in v. 1.

[6:3]  ³⁶ tn In the Hitpael the verb רָפַס (rafas) means “to stamp oneself down” or “to humble oneself” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV). BDB 952 s.v. Hithp suggests “become a suppliant.” G. R. Driver related it to the Akkadian cognate rapasu, “trample,” and interpreted as trampling oneself, swallowing pride, being unremitting in effort (“Some Hebrew Verbs, Nouns, and Pronouns,” JTS 30 [1929]: 374).

[6:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “be bold.” The verb רָהַב (rahav) means “to act stormily; to act boisterously; to act arrogantly.” The idea here is a strong one: storm against (beset, importune) your neighbor. The meaning is that he should be bold and not take no for an answer. Cf. NIV “press your plea”; TEV “beg him to release you.”

[15:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “soft answer.” The adjective רַּךְ (rakh, “soft; tender; gentle”; BDB 940 s.v.) is more than a mild response; it is conciliatory, an answer that restores good temper and reasonableness (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 477). Gideon illustrates this kind of answer (Judg 8:1-3) that brings peace.

[15:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “word of harshness”; KJV “grievous words.” The noun עֶצֶב (’etsev, “pain, hurt”) functions as an attributive genitive. The term עֶצֶב refers to something that causes pain (BDB 780 s.v. I עֶצֶב). For example, Jephthah’s harsh answer led to war (Judg 12:1-6).

[15:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “raises anger.” A common response to painful words is to let one’s temper flare up.

[14:11]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context, which involves the reversal of expected roles.

[14:11]  ⁴² sn The point of the statement the one who humbles himself will be exalted is humility and the reversal imagery used to underline it is common: Luke 1:52-53; 6:21; 10:15; 18:14.

[14:1]  ⁴³ tn Grk “Now it happened that one.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “to eat bread,” an idiom for participating in a meal.

[14:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “a ruler of the Pharisees.” He was probably a synagogue official.

[14:1]  ⁴⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[14:1]  ⁴⁷ sn Watching…closely is a graphic term meaning to lurk and watch; see Luke 11:53-54.

[3:6]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “all flesh.”

[3:6]  ⁴⁹ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3-5. Though all the synoptic gospels use this citation from Isaiah, only Luke cites the material of vv. 5-6. His goal may well be to get to the declaration of v. 6, where all humanity (i.e., all nations) see God’s salvation (see also Luke 24:47).