Genesis 6:5

6:5 But the Lord saw ¹  that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination ²  of the thoughts ³  of their minds ⁴  was only evil ⁵  all the time. ⁶ 

Genesis 20:8

20:8 Early in the morning ⁷  Abimelech summoned ⁸  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ⁹  they ¹⁰  were terrified.

Genesis 21:26

21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ¹¹  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

Genesis 26:32

26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. ¹² 

Genesis 31:24

31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ¹³  “Be careful ¹⁴  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ¹⁵ 

Genesis 31:27

31:27 Why did you run away secretly ¹⁶  and deceive me? ¹⁷  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ¹⁸ 

Genesis 40:14

40:14 But remember me ¹⁹  when it goes well for you, and show ²⁰  me kindness. ²¹  Make mention ²²  of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, ²³ 

Genesis 41:44

41:44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission ²⁴  no one ²⁵  will move his hand or his foot ²⁶  in all the land of Egypt.”

Genesis 45:13

45:13 So tell ²⁷  my father about all my honor in Egypt and about everything you have seen. But bring my father down here quickly!” ²⁸ 

Genesis 45:26

45:26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, ²⁹  for he did not believe them.

Genesis 50:25

50:25 Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

[6:5]  ¹ sn The Hebrew verb translated “saw” (רָאָה, ra’ah), used here of God’s evaluation of humankind’s evil deeds, contrasts with God’s evaluation of creative work in Gen 1, when he observed that everything was good.

[6:5]  ² tn The noun יֵצֶר (yetser) is related to the verb יָצָר (yatsar, “to form, to fashion [with a design]”). Here it refers to human plans or intentions (see Gen 8:21; 1 Chr 28:9; 29:18). People had taken their God-given capacities and used them to devise evil. The word יֵצֶר (yetser) became a significant theological term in Rabbinic literature for what might be called the sin nature – the evil inclination (see also R. E. Murphy, “Yeser in the Qumran Literature,” Bib 39 [1958]: 334-44).

[6:5]  ³ tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.

[6:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “his heart” (referring to collective “humankind”). The Hebrew term לֵב (lev, “heart”) frequently refers to the seat of one’s thoughts (see BDB 524 s.v. לֵב). In contemporary English this is typically referred to as the “mind.”

[6:5]  ⁵ sn Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil. There is hardly a stronger statement of the wickedness of the human race than this. Here is the result of falling into the “knowledge of good and evil”: Evil becomes dominant, and the good is ruined by the evil.

[6:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “all the day.”

[20:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”

[20:8]  ⁸ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”

[20:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”

[20:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “and also.”

[26:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “said to him.”

[31:24]  ²⁶ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:24]  ²⁷ 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.

[31:27]  ³¹ tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”

[31:27]  ³² tn Heb “and steal me.”

[31:27]  ³³ tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”

[40:14]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Heb “deal with me [in] kindness.”

[40:14]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “house.” The word “prison” has been substituted in the translation for clarity.

[41:44]  ⁴³ tn Heb “apart from you.”

[41:44]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “no man,” but here “man” is generic, referring to people in general.

[41:44]  ⁴⁵ tn The idiom “lift up hand or foot” means “take any action” here.

[45:13]  ⁴⁹ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive here expresses instruction.

[45:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and hurry and bring down my father to here.”

[45:26]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and his heart was numb.” Jacob was stunned by the unbelievable news and was unable to respond.