Genesis 46:2

46:2 God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night ¹  and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!”

Genesis 1:14

1:14 God said, “Let there be lights ²  in the expanse ³  of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs ⁴  to indicate seasons and days and years,

Genesis 1:16

1:16 God made two great lights ⁵  – the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. ⁶ 

Genesis 19:5

19:5 They shouted to Lot, ⁷  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ⁸  with them!”

Genesis 20:3

20:3 But God appeared ⁹  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ¹⁰  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ¹¹ 

Genesis 31:24

31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ¹²  “Be careful ¹³  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ¹⁴ 

Genesis 19:34

19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ¹⁵  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ¹⁶  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ¹⁷ 

Genesis 30:15

30:15 But Leah replied, ¹⁸  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ¹⁹  Rachel said, “he may sleep ²⁰  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

[46:2]  ¹ tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.

[1:14]  ² sn Let there be lights. Light itself was created before the light-bearers. The order would not seem strange to the ancient Hebrew mind that did not automatically link daylight with the sun (note that dawn and dusk appear to have light without the sun).

[1:14]  ³ tn The language describing the cosmos, which reflects a prescientific view of the world, must be interpreted as phenomenal, describing what appears to be the case. The sun and the moon are not in the sky (below the clouds), but from the viewpoint of a person standing on the earth, they appear that way. Even today we use similar phenomenological expressions, such as “the sun is rising” or “the stars in the sky.”

[1:14]  ⁴ tn The text has “for signs and for seasons and for days and years.” It seems likely from the meanings of the words involved that “signs” is the main idea, followed by two categories, “seasons” and “days and years.” This is the simplest explanation, and one that matches vv. 11-13. It could even be rendered “signs for the fixed seasons, that is [explicative vav (ו)] days and years.”

[1:16]  ³ sn Two great lights. The text goes to great length to discuss the creation of these lights, suggesting that the subject was very important to the ancients. Since these “lights” were considered deities in the ancient world, the section serves as a strong polemic (see G. Hasel, “The Polemical Nature of the Genesis Cosmology,” EvQ 46 [1974]: 81-102). The Book of Genesis is affirming they are created entities, not deities. To underscore this the text does not even give them names. If used here, the usual names for the sun and moon [Shemesh and Yarih, respectively] might have carried pagan connotations, so they are simply described as greater and lesser lights. Moreover, they serve in the capacity that God gives them, which would not be the normal function the pagans ascribed to them. They merely divide, govern, and give light in God’s creation.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the stars.” Now the term “stars” is added as a third object of the verb “made.” Perhaps the language is phenomenological, meaning that the stars appeared in the sky from this time forward.

[19:5]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:5]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.

[20:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “came.”

[20:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.

[20:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.

[31:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “said to him.”

[31:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29, is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.

[19:34]  ⁷ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ⁸ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ⁹ tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[30:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “therefore.”

[30:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.