Genesis 4:7

4:7 Is it not true ¹  that if you do what is right, you will be fine? ²  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching ³  at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.” 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 19:15

19:15 At dawn ⁶  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ⁷  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ⁸ 

Genesis 22:2

22:2 God ⁹  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ¹⁰  – and go to the land of Moriah! ¹¹  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ¹²  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ¹³  you.”

Genesis 23:11

23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ¹⁴  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ¹⁵  In the presence of my people ¹⁶  I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”

Genesis 31:37

31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ¹⁷  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ¹⁸  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ¹⁹ 

Genesis 37:20

37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild ²⁰  animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” ²¹ 

Genesis 40:13

40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you ²²  and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before ²³  when you were cupbearer.

Genesis 42:6

42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. ²⁴  Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down ²⁵  before him with ²⁶  their faces to the ground.

Genesis 42:25

42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill ²⁷  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. ²⁸ 

Genesis 43:32

43:32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, ²⁹  and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting ³⁰  to do so.) ³¹ 

Genesis 49:25

49:25 because of the God of your father,

who will help you, ³² 

because of the sovereign God, ³³ 

who will bless you ³⁴ 

with blessings from the sky above,

blessings from the deep that lies below,

and blessings of the breasts and womb. ³⁵ 

[4:7]  ¹ tn The introduction of the conditional clause with an interrogative particle prods the answer from Cain, as if he should have known this. It is not a condemnation, but an encouragement to do what is right.

[4:7]  ² tn The Hebrew text is difficult, because only one word occurs, שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et), which appears to be the infinitive construct from the verb “to lift up” (נָאָשׂ, na’as). The sentence reads: “If you do well, uplifting.” On the surface it seems to be the opposite of the fallen face. Everything will be changed if he does well. God will show him favor, he will not be angry, and his face will reflect that. But more may be intended since the second half of the verse forms the contrast: “If you do not do well, sin is crouching….” Not doing well leads to sinful attack; doing well leads to victory and God’s blessing.

[4:7]  ³ tn The Hebrew term translated “crouching” (רֹבֵץ, rovets) is an active participle. Sin is portrayed with animal imagery here as a beast crouching and ready to pounce (a figure of speech known as zoomorphism). An Akkadian cognate refers to a type of demon; in this case perhaps one could translate, “Sin is the demon at the door” (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 29, 32-33).

[4:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and toward you [is] its desire, but you must rule over it.” As in Gen 3:16, the Hebrew noun “desire” refers to an urge to control or dominate. Here the desire is that which sin has for Cain, a desire to control for the sake of evil, but Cain must have mastery over it. The imperfect is understood as having an obligatory sense. Another option is to understand it as expressing potential (“you can have [or “are capable of having”] mastery over it.”). It will be a struggle, but sin can be defeated by righteousness. In addition to this connection to Gen 3, other linguistic and thematic links between chaps. 3 and 4 are discussed by A. J. Hauser, “Linguistic and Thematic Links Between Genesis 4:1-6 and Genesis 2–3,” JETS 23 (1980): 297-306.

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

[19:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

[19:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.

[19:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[22:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ¹⁴ sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.

[22:2]  ¹⁵ sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.

[22:2]  ¹⁶ sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.

[22:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “which I will say to.”

[23:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.

[23:11]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[23:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”

[31:37]  ²¹ tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”

[31:37]  ²² tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.

[31:37]  ²³ tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”

[37:20]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.

[37:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”

[40:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head.” This Hebrew idiom usually refers to restoring dignity, office, or power. It is comparable to the modern saying “someone can hold his head up high.”

[40:13]  ³⁰ tn Heb “according to the former custom.”

[42:6]  ³³ tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.

[42:6]  ³⁴ sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).

[42:6]  ³⁵ tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.

[42:25]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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).

[43:32]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:32]  ⁴² tn Or “disgraceful.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 46:34 and Exod 8:22.

[43:32]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and they set for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, for the Egyptians are not able to eat food with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination for the Egyptians.” The imperfect verbal form in the explanatory clause is taken as habitual in force, indicating a practice that was still in effect in the narrator’s time.

[49:25]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he will help you.”

[49:25]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Shaddai.” See the note on the title “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1. The preposition אֵת (’et) in the Hebrew text should probably be emended to אֵל (’el, “God”).

[49:25]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he will bless you.”

[49:25]  ⁴⁸ sn Jacob envisions God imparting both agricultural (blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below) and human fertility (blessings of the breasts and womb) to Joseph and his family.