Genesis 5:24

5:24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared ¹  because God took ²  him away.

Genesis 31:2

31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ³ 

Genesis 37:24

37:24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; ⁴  there was no water in it.)

Genesis 37:29-30

37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! ⁵  He tore his clothes, 37:30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?”

Genesis 44:30

44:30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us – his very life is bound up in his son’s life. ⁶ 

[5:24]  ¹ tn The Hebrew construction has the negative particle אֵין (’en, “there is not,” “there was not”) with a pronominal suffix, “he was not.” Instead of saying that Enoch died, the text says he no longer was present.

[5:24]  ² sn The text simply states that God took Enoch. Similar language is used of Elijah’s departure from this world (see 2 Kgs 2:10). The text implies that God overruled death for this man who walked with him.

[31:2]  ³ tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata.

[37:24]  ⁵ tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.

[37:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.

[44:30]  ⁹ tn Heb “his life is bound up in his life.”