Genesis 4:1

The Story of Cain and Abel

4:1 Now ¹  the man had marital relations with ²  his wife Eve, and she became pregnant ³  and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created ⁴  a man just as the Lord did!” ⁵ 

Genesis 4:17

The Beginning of Civilization

4:17 Cain had marital relations ⁶  with his wife, and she became pregnant ⁷  and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after ⁸  his son Enoch.

Genesis 22:24

22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Genesis 24:36

24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him ⁹  when she was old, ¹⁰  and my master ¹¹  has given him everything he owns.

Genesis 25:2

25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Genesis 29:32

29:32 So Leah became pregnant ¹²  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ¹³  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ¹⁴  Surely my husband will love me now.”

Genesis 29:35

29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. ¹⁵  Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 30:3

30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ¹⁶  her so that she can bear ¹⁷  children ¹⁸  for me ¹⁹  and I can have a family through her.” ²⁰ 

Genesis 35:16

35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, ²¹  Rachel went into labor ²²  – and her labor was hard.

Genesis 36:12

36:12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons ²³  of Esau’s wife Adah.

Genesis 36:14

36:14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter ²⁴  of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.

Genesis 46:18

46:18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen in all.

Genesis 46:25

46:25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, seven in all.

[4:1]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:1]  ³ tn Or “she conceived.”

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “with the Lord.” The particle אֶת־ (’et) is not the accusative/object sign, but the preposition “with” as the ancient versions attest. Some take the preposition in the sense of “with the help of” (see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV), while others prefer “along with” in the sense of “like, equally with, in common with” (see Lev 26:39; Isa 45:9; Jer 23:28). Either works well in this context; the latter is reflected in the present translation. Some understand אֶת־ as the accusative/object sign and translate, “I have acquired a man – the Lord.” They suggest that the woman thought (mistakenly) that she had given birth to the incarnate Lord, the Messiah who would bruise the Serpent’s head. This fanciful suggestion is based on a questionable allegorical interpretation of Gen 3:15 (see the note there on the word “heel”).

[4:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:17]  ⁷ tn Or “she conceived.”

[4:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “according to the name of.”

[24:36]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to my master.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:36]  ¹² tn Heb “after her old age.”

[24:36]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:32]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ¹⁷ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:35]  ²¹ sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.

[30:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ²⁷ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ²⁸ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.

[30:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).

[35:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “and there was still a stretch of the land to go to Ephrath.”

[35:16]  ³² tn Normally the verb would be translated “she gave birth,” but because that obviously had not happened yet, it is better to translate the verb as ingressive, “began to give birth” (cf. NIV) or “went into labor.”

[36:12]  ³⁶ tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).

[36:14]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “daughter,” but see Gen 36:24-25.