Genesis 6:6

6:6 The Lord regretted ¹  that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended. ² 

Genesis 34:3

34:3 Then he became very attached ³  to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. ⁴ 

Genesis 6:5

6:5 But the Lord saw ⁵  that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination ⁶  of the thoughts ⁷  of their minds ⁸  was only evil ⁹  all the time. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 17:17

17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed ¹¹  as he said to himself, ¹²  “Can ¹³  a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? ¹⁴  Can Sarah ¹⁵  bear a child at the age of ninety?” ¹⁶ 

Genesis 18:5

18:5 And let me get ¹⁷  a bit of food ¹⁸  so that you may refresh yourselves ¹⁹  since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” ²⁰  “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”

Genesis 31:20

31:20 Jacob also deceived ²¹  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ²² 

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, ²³  for he did not believe them.

Genesis 50:21

50:21 So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly ²⁴  to them.

Genesis 8:21

8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ²⁵  and said ²⁶  to himself, ²⁷  “I will never again curse ²⁸  the ground because of humankind, even though ²⁹  the inclination of their minds ³⁰  is evil from childhood on. ³¹  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

Genesis 24:45

24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, ³²  along came Rebekah ³³  with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

Genesis 27:41

27:41 So Esau hated ³⁴  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ³⁵  Esau said privately, ³⁶  “The time ³⁷  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ³⁸  my brother Jacob!”

Genesis 42:28

42:28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; ³⁹  they turned trembling one to another ⁴⁰  and said, “What in the world has God done to us?” ⁴¹ 

[6:6]  ¹ tn Or “was grieved”; “was sorry.” In the Niphal stem the verb נָחָם (nakham) can carry one of four semantic meanings, depending on the context: (1) “to experience emotional pain or weakness,” “to feel regret,” often concerning a past action (see Exod 13:17; Judg 21:6, 15; 1 Sam 15:11, 35; Job 42:6; Jer 31:19). In several of these texts כִּי (ki, “because”) introduces the cause of the emotional sorrow. (2) Another meaning is “to be comforted” or “to comfort oneself” (sometimes by taking vengeance). See Gen 24:67; 38:12; 2 Sam 13:39; Ps 77:3; Isa 1:24; Jer 31:15; Ezek 14:22; 31:16; 32:31. (This second category represents a polarization of category one.) (3) The meaning “to relent from” or “to repudiate” a course of action which is already underway is also possible (see Judg 2:18; 2 Sam 24:16 = 1 Chr 21:15; Pss 90:13; 106:45; Jer 8:6; 20:16; 42:10). (4) Finally, “to retract” (a statement) or “to relent or change one’s mind concerning,” “to deviate from” (a stated course of action) is possible (see Exod 32:12, 14; 1 Sam 15:29; Ps 110:4; Isa 57:6; Jer 4:28; 15:6; 18:8, 10; 26:3, 13, 19; Ezek 24:14; Joel 2:13-14; Am 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9-10; 4:2; Zech 8:14). See R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 388. The first category applies here because the context speaks of God’s grief and emotional pain (see the following statement in v. 6) as a result of a past action (his making humankind). For a thorough study of the word נָחָם, see H. Van Dyke Parunak, “A Semantic Survey of NHM,” Bib 56 (1975): 512-32.

[6:6]  ² tn Heb “and he was grieved to his heart.” The verb עָצָב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic senses, depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain”; “to be depressed emotionally”; “to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed”; “to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself); “to be insulted” (Gen 34:7; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 34:7). The third category fits best in Gen 6:6 because humankind’s sin does not merely wound God emotionally. On the contrary, it prompts him to strike out in judgment against the source of his distress (see v. 7). The verb וַיִּתְעַצֵּב (vayyit’atsev), a Hitpael from עָצָב, alludes to the judgment oracles in Gen 3:16-19. Because Adam and Eve sinned, their life would be filled with pain; but sin in the human race also brought pain to God. The wording of v. 6 is ironic when compared to Gen 5:29. Lamech anticipated relief (נָחָם, nakham) from their work (מַעֲשֶׂה, ma’aseh) and their painful toil (עִצְּבֹן, ’itsÿvon), but now we read that God was sorry (נָחָם, nakham) that he had made (עָשָׂה, ’asah) humankind for it brought him great pain (עָצָב, ’atsav).

[34:3]  ³ tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.

[34:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he spoke to the heart of the young woman,” which apparently refers in this context to tender, romantic speech (Hos 2:14). Another option is to translate the expression “he reassured the young woman” (see Judg 19:3, 2 Sam 19:7; cf. NEB “comforted her”).

[6:5]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.

[6:5]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the day.”

[17:17]  ⁷ sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.

[17:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”

[17:17]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.

[17:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”

[17:17]  ¹¹ sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).

[17:17]  ¹² tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”

[18:5]  ⁹ tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.

[18:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.

[18:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.

[18:5]  ¹² tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”

[31:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stole the heart of,” an expression which apparently means “to deceive.” The repetition of the verb “to steal” shows that Jacob and Rachel are kindred spirits. Any thought that Laban would have resigned himself to their departure was now out of the question.

[31:20]  ¹² tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.

[45:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “and his heart was numb.” Jacob was stunned by the unbelievable news and was unable to respond.

[50:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “spoke to their heart.”

[8:21]  ¹⁷ tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיהֹחַ, reakh hannihoakh). The object forms a cognate accusative with the verb. The language is anthropomorphic. The offering had a sweet aroma that pleased or soothed. The expression in Lev 1 signifies that God accepts the offering with pleasure, and in accepting the offering he accepts the worshiper.

[8:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

[8:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in his heart.”

[8:21]  ²⁰ tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

[8:21]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.

[8:21]  ²² tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

[8:21]  ²³ tn Heb “from his youth.”

[24:45]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.

[24:45]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.

[27:41]  ²¹ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ²² tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ²³ tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.

[27:41]  ²⁴ tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ²⁵ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[42:28]  ²³ tn Heb “and their heart went out.” Since this expression is used only here, the exact meaning is unclear. The following statement suggests that it may refer to a sudden loss of emotional strength, so “They were dismayed” adequately conveys the meaning (cf. NRSV); NIV has “Their hearts sank.”

[42:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and they trembled, a man to his neighbor.”

[42:28]  ²⁵ tn Heb “What is this God has done to us?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question.