Genesis 5:29

5:29 He named him Noah, ¹  saying, “This one will bring us comfort ²  from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.”

Genesis 27:46

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ³  because of these daughters of Heth. ⁴  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ⁵ 

Genesis 37:20

37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild ⁶  animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” ⁷ 

Genesis 39:9

39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do ⁸  such a great evil and sin against God?”

[5:29]  ¹ sn The name Noah appears to be related to the Hebrew word נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”). There are several wordplays on the name “Noah” in the story of the flood.

[5:29]  ² tn The Hebrew verb יְנַחֲמֵנוּ (yÿnakhamenu) is from the root נָחָם (nakham), which means “to comfort” in the Piel verbal stem. The letters נ (nun) and ח (heth) pick up the sounds in the name “Noah,” forming a paronomasia on the name. They are not from the same verbal root, and so the connection is only by sound. Lamech’s sentiment reflects the oppression of living under the curse on the ground, but also expresses the hope for relief in some way through the birth of Noah. His words proved to be ironic but prophetic. The relief would come with a new beginning after the flood. See E. G. Kraeling, “The Interpretations of the Name Noah in Genesis 5:29,” JBL 48 (1929): 138-43.

[27:46]  ³ tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).

[27:46]  ⁴ tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

[27:46]  ⁵ tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”

[37:20]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”

[39:9]  ⁷ tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.