Genesis 4:15

4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, ¹  if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” ²  Then the Lord put a special mark ³  on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. ⁴ 

Genesis 15:5

15:5 The Lord ⁵  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

Genesis 24:46

24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water.

Genesis 26:28

26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ⁶  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ⁷  a pact between us ⁸  – between us ⁹  and you. Allow us to make ¹⁰  a treaty with you

Genesis 27:25

27:25 Isaac ¹¹  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ¹²  Then I will bless you.” ¹³  So Jacob ¹⁴  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ¹⁵  drank.

Genesis 30:16

30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep ¹⁶  with me because I have paid for your services ¹⁷  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ¹⁸  with her that night.

Genesis 48:20

48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you ¹⁹  will Israel bless, ²⁰  saying,

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ 

[4:15]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) in this context carries the sense of “Okay,” or “in that case then I will do this.”

[4:15]  ² sn The symbolic number seven is used here to emphasize that the offender will receive severe punishment. For other rhetorical and hyperbolic uses of the expression “seven times over,” see Pss 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.

[4:15]  ³ tn Heb “sign”; “reminder.” The term “sign” is not used in the translation because it might imply to an English reader that God hung a sign on Cain. The text does not identify what the “sign” was. It must have been some outward, visual reminder of Cain’s special protected status.

[4:15]  ⁴ sn God becomes Cain’s protector. Here is common grace – Cain and his community will live on under God’s care, but without salvation.

[15:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:28]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:28]  ¹¹ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ¹² tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ¹³ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”

[27:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.

[27:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.

[30:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.

[30:16]  ¹⁹ tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.

[48:20]  ²¹ tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.

[48:20]  ²² tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”

[48:20]  ²³ sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.