Genesis 6:11

6:11 The earth was ruined ¹  in the sight of ²  God; the earth was filled with violence. ³ 

Genesis 17:3

17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, ⁴  and God said to him, ⁵ 

Genesis 17:18

17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that ⁶  Ishmael might live before you!” ⁷ 

Genesis 20:15

20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” ⁸ 

Genesis 27:10

27:10 Then you will take ⁹  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ¹⁰  and ¹¹  bless you before he dies.”

Genesis 38:15

38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute ¹²  because she had covered her face.

Genesis 43:31

43:31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, ¹³  “Set out the food.”

Genesis 47:2

47:2 He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 47:10

47:10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. ¹⁵ 

[6:11]  ¹ tn Apart from Gen 6:11-12, the Niphal form of this verb occurs in Exod 8:20 HT (8:24 ET), where it describes the effect of the swarms of flies on the land of Egypt; Jer 13:7 and 18:4, where it is used of a “ruined” belt and “marred” clay pot, respectively; and Ezek 20:44, where it describes Judah’s morally “corrupt” actions. The sense “morally corrupt” fits well in Gen 6:11 because of the parallelism (note “the earth was filled with violence”). In this case “earth” would stand by metonymy for its sinful inhabitants. However, the translation “ruined” works just as well, if not better. In this case humankind’s sin is viewed has having an adverse effect upon the earth. Note that vv. 12b-13 make a distinction between the earth and the living creatures who live on it.

[6:11]  ² tn Heb “before.”

[6:11]  ³ tn The Hebrew word translated “violence” refers elsewhere to a broad range of crimes, including unjust treatment (Gen 16:5; Amos 3:10), injurious legal testimony (Deut 19:16), deadly assault (Gen 49:5), murder (Judg 9:24), and rape (Jer 13:22).

[17:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.

[17:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:18]  ⁷ tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”

[17:18]  ⁸ tn Or “live with your blessing.”

[20:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”

[27:10]  ¹³ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.

[27:10]  ¹⁴ tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.

[27:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[38:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he reckoned her for a prostitute,” which was what Tamar had intended for him to do. She obviously had some idea of his inclinations, or she would not have tried this risky plan.

[43:31]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and he controlled himself and said.”

[47:2]  ²² tn Heb “and from the whole of his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.”

[47:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from before Pharaoh.”