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 32:12

32:12 But you ⁵  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ⁶  and will make ⁷  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ⁸ 

Genesis 34:18

34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ⁹ 

Genesis 41:37

41:37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 12:13

12:13 So tell them ¹¹  you are my sister ¹²  so that it may go well ¹³  for me because of you and my life will be spared ¹⁴  on account of you.”

Genesis 12:16

12:16 and he did treat Abram well ¹⁵  on account of her. Abram received ¹⁶  sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

Genesis 32:9

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ¹⁷  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ¹⁸  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ¹⁹ 

Genesis 40:14

40:14 But remember me ²⁰  when it goes well for you, and show ²¹  me kindness. ²²  Make mention ²³  of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, ²⁴ 

Genesis 45:16

45:16 Now it was reported ²⁵  in the household of Pharaoh, “Joseph’s brothers have arrived.” It pleased ²⁶  Pharaoh and his servants.

[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.

[32:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[32:12]  ⁶ tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.

[32:12]  ⁷ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.

[32:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.

[34:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”

[41:37]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the matter was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.”

[12:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “say.”

[12:13]  ¹⁸ sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.

[12:13]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.

[12:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and my life will live.”

[12:16]  ²¹ sn He did treat Abram well. The construction of the parenthetical disjunctive clause, beginning with the conjunction on the prepositional phrase, draws attention to the irony of the story. Abram wanted Sarai to lie “so that it would go well” with him. Though he lost Sarai to Pharaoh, it did go well for him – he received a lavish bride price. See also G. W. Coats, “Despoiling the Egyptians,” VT 18 (1968): 450-57.

[12:16]  ²² tn Heb “and there was to him.”

[32:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[32:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the one who said.”

[32:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.

[40:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “but you have remembered me with you.” The perfect verbal form may be used rhetorically here to emphasize Joseph’s desire to be remembered. He speaks of the action as already being accomplished in order to make it clear that he expects it to be done. The form can be translated as volitional, expressing a plea or a request.

[40:14]  ³⁰ tn This perfect verbal form with the prefixed conjunction (and the two that immediately follow) carry the same force as the preceding perfect.

[40:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “deal with me [in] kindness.”

[40:14]  ³² tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) in the Hiphil stem means “to cause to remember, to make mention, to boast.” The implication is that Joseph would be pleased for them to tell his story and give him the credit due him so that Pharaoh would release him. Since Pharaoh had never met Joseph, the simple translation of “cause him to remember me” would mean little.

[40:14]  ³³ tn Heb “house.” The word “prison” has been substituted in the translation for clarity.

[45:16]  ³³ tn Heb “and the sound was heard.”

[45:16]  ³⁴ tn Heb “was good in the eyes of.”