Genesis 4:25

4:25 And Adam had marital relations ¹  with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given ²  me another child ³  in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”

Genesis 16:11

16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,

“You are now ⁴  pregnant

and are about to give birth ⁵  to a son.

You are to name him Ishmael, ⁶ 

for the Lord has heard your painful groans. ⁷ 

Genesis 17:20

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ⁸  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ⁹  He will become the father of twelve princes; ¹⁰  I will make him into a great nation.

Genesis 27:41

27:41 So Esau hated ¹¹  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ¹²  Esau said privately, ¹³  “The time ¹⁴  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ¹⁵  my brother Jacob!”

Genesis 42:25

42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill ¹⁶  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. ¹⁷ 

[4:25]  ¹ tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:25]  ² sn The name Seth probably means something like “placed”; “appointed”; “set”; “granted,” assuming it is actually related to the verb that is used in the sentiment. At any rate, the name שֵׁת (shet) and the verb שָׁת (shat, “to place, to appoint, to set, to grant”) form a wordplay (paronomasia).

[4:25]  ³ tn Heb “offspring.”

[16:11]  ⁴ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”

[16:11]  ⁵ tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.

[16:11]  ⁶ sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”

[16:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.

[17:20]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

[17:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ⁹ tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

[27:41]  ¹⁰ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ¹¹ tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ¹² tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.

[27:41]  ¹³ tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ¹⁴ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[42:25]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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).