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 7:1

7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. ⁷ 

Genesis 37:3

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons ⁸  because he was a son born to him late in life, ⁹  and he made a special ¹⁰  tunic for him.

Genesis 37:13

37:13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers ¹¹  are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” ¹²  Joseph replied. ¹³ 

Genesis 48:1

Manasseh and Ephraim

48:1 After these things Joseph was told, ¹⁴  “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.

[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.”

[7:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.

[37:3]  ¹³ tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.

[37:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”

[37:3]  ¹⁵ tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.

[37:13]  ¹⁹ tn The text uses an interrogative clause: “Are not your brothers,” which means “your brothers are.”

[37:13]  ²⁰ sn With these words Joseph is depicted here as an obedient son who is ready to do what his father commands.

[37:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here I am.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[48:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.