Discovery BoxGenesis 4:26
Context4:26 And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people 1 began to worship 2 the Lord.
Genesis 6:5
Context6:5 But the Lord saw 3 that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination 4 of the thoughts 5 of their minds 6 was only evil 7 all the time. 8
Genesis 7:1
Context7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. 9
Genesis 31:54
Context31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice 10 on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. 11 They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.
Genesis 32:29
Context32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 12 “Why 13 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 14 Then he blessed 15 Jacob 16 there.
[4:26] 1 tn The word “people” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation. The construction uses a passive verb without an expressed subject. “To call was begun” can be interpreted to mean that people began to call.
[4:26] 2 tn Heb “call in the name.” The expression refers to worshiping the
[6:5] 3 sn The Hebrew verb translated “saw” (רָאָה, ra’ah), used here of God’s evaluation of humankind’s evil deeds, contrasts with God’s evaluation of creative work in Gen 1, when he observed that everything was good.
[6:5] 4 tn The noun יֵצֶר (yetser) is related to the verb יָצָר (yatsar, “to form, to fashion [with a design]”). Here it refers to human plans or intentions (see Gen 8:21; 1 Chr 28:9; 29:18). People had taken their God-given capacities and used them to devise evil. The word יֵצֶר (yetser) became a significant theological term in Rabbinic literature for what might be called the sin nature – the evil inclination (see also R. E. Murphy, “Yeser in the Qumran Literature,” Bib 39 [1958]: 334-44).
[6:5] 5 tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.
[6:5] 6 tn Heb “his heart” (referring to collective “humankind”). The Hebrew term לֵב (lev, “heart”) frequently refers to the seat of one’s thoughts (see BDB 524 s.v. לֵב). In contemporary English this is typically referred to as the “mind.”
[6:5] 7 sn Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil. There is hardly a stronger statement of the wickedness of the human race than this. Here is the result of falling into the “knowledge of good and evil”: Evil becomes dominant, and the good is ruined by the evil.
[7:1] 5 tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.
[31:54] 7 tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.
[31:54] 8 tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.
[32:29] 9 sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33,” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.
[32:29] 10 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
[32:29] 11 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:29] 12 tn The verb here means that the
[32:29] 13 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
