Genesis 4:3

4:3 At the designated time ¹  Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering ²  to the Lord.

Genesis 4:5

4:5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. ³  So Cain became very angry, ⁴  and his expression was downcast. ⁵ 

Genesis 32:13

32:13 Jacob ⁶  stayed there that night. Then he sent ⁷  as a gift ⁸  to his brother Esau

Genesis 32:21

32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ⁹  while he spent that night in the camp. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 4:4

4:4 But Abel brought ¹¹  some of the firstborn of his flock – even the fattest ¹²  of them. And the Lord was pleased with ¹³  Abel and his offering,

Genesis 32:18

32:18 then you must say, ¹⁴  ‘They belong ¹⁵  to your servant Jacob. ¹⁶  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ¹⁷  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ¹⁸ 

Genesis 43:15

43:15 So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt ¹⁹  and stood before Joseph.

Genesis 43:25-26

43:25 They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival ²⁰  at noon, for they had heard ²¹  that they were to have a meal ²²  there.

43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, ²³  and they bowed down to the ground before him.

Genesis 32:20

32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ²⁴  Jacob thought, ²⁵  “I will first appease him ²⁶  by sending a gift ahead of me. ²⁷  After that I will meet him. ²⁸  Perhaps he will accept me.” ²⁹ 

Genesis 33:10

33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. ³⁰  “If I have found favor in your sight, accept ³¹  my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, ³²  it is as if I have seen the face of God. ³³ 

Genesis 43:11

43:11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man – a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.

[4:3]  ¹ tn Heb “And it happened at the end of days.” The clause indicates the passing of a set period of time leading up to offering sacrifices.

[4:3]  ² tn The Hebrew term מִנְחָה (minkhah, “offering”) is a general word for tribute, a gift, or an offering. It is the main word used in Lev 2 for the dedication offering. This type of offering could be comprised of vegetables. The content of the offering (vegetables, as opposed to animals) was not the critical issue, but rather the attitude of the offerer.

[4:5]  ³ sn The Letter to the Hebrews explains the difference between the brothers as one of faith – Abel by faith offered a better sacrifice. Cain’s offering as well as his reaction to God’s displeasure did not reflect faith. See further B. K. Waltke, “Cain and His Offering,” WTJ 48 (1986): 363-72.

[4:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and it was hot to Cain.” This Hebrew idiom means that Cain “burned” with anger.

[4:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “And his face fell.” The idiom means that the inner anger is reflected in Cain’s facial expression. The fallen or downcast face expresses anger, dejection, or depression. Conversely, in Num 6 the high priestly blessing speaks of the Lord lifting up his face and giving peace.

[32:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.

[32:13]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew noun translated gift can in some contexts refer to the tribute paid by a subject to his lord. Such a nuance is possible here, because Jacob refers to Esau as his lord and to himself as Esau’s servant (v. 4).

[32:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”

[32:21]  ⁸ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.

[4:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “But Abel brought, also he….” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) stresses the contrast between Cain’s offering and Abel’s.

[4:4]  ¹⁰ tn Two prepositional phrases are used to qualify the kind of sacrifice that Abel brought: “from the firstborn” and “from the fattest of them.” These also could be interpreted as a hendiadys: “from the fattest of the firstborn of the flock.” Another option is to understand the second prepositional phrase as referring to the fat portions of the sacrificial sheep. In this case one may translate, “some of the firstborn of his flock, even some of their fat portions” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[4:4]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁעָה (sha’ah) simply means “to gaze at, to have regard for, to look on with favor [or “with devotion”].” The text does not indicate how this was communicated, but it indicates that Cain and Abel knew immediately. Either there was some manifestation of divine pleasure given to Abel and withheld from Cain (fire consuming the sacrifice?), or there was an inner awareness of divine response.

[32:18]  ¹¹ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ¹² tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.

[43:25]  ¹⁵ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct after the preposition, followed by the subjective genitive.

[43:25]  ¹⁶ tn The action precedes the action of preparing the gift, and so must be translated as past perfect.

[43:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “eat bread.” The imperfect verbal form is used here as a historic future (future from the perspective of the past).

[43:26]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “into the house.”

[32:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ²² tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ²³ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[33:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[33:10]  ²² tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence.

[33:10]  ²³ tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.

[33:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”