Discovery BoxGenesis 4:5
Context4:5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. 1 So Cain became very angry, 2 and his expression was downcast. 3
Genesis 44:14
Context44:14 So Judah and his brothers 4 came back to Joseph’s house. He was still there, 5 and they threw themselves to the ground before him.
Genesis 50:18
Context50:18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.”
Genesis 14:10
Context14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 6 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 7 but some survivors 8 fled to the hills. 9
[4:5] 1 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] 2 tn Heb “and it was hot to Cain.” This Hebrew idiom means that Cain “burned” with anger.
[4:5] 3 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
[44:14] 4 sn Judah and his brothers. The narrative is already beginning to bring Judah to the forefront.
[44:14] 5 tn The disjunctive clause here provides supplemental information.
[14:10] 7 tn Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.”
[14:10] 8 tn Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם).
[14:10] 10 sn The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.
