Genesis 8:17

8:17 Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you. Bring out ¹  every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase ²  and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!” ³ 

Genesis 19:17

19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁴  said, “Run ⁵  for your lives! Don’t look ⁶  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁷  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

Genesis 19:19

19:19 Your ⁸  servant has found favor with you, ⁹  and you have shown me great ¹⁰  kindness ¹¹  by sparing ¹²  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ¹³  this disaster will overtake ¹⁴  me and I’ll die. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 21:12

21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ¹⁶  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ¹⁷  all that Sarah is telling ¹⁸  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ¹⁹ 

Genesis 27:42

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ²⁰  she quickly summoned ²¹  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ²² 

[8:17]  ¹ tn The words “bring out” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:17]  ² tn Following the Hiphil imperative, “bring out,” the three perfect verb forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry an imperatival nuance. For a discussion of the Hebrew construction here and the difficulty of translating it into English, see S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 124-25.

[8:17]  ³ tn Heb “and let them swarm in the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

[19:17]  ⁴ tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

[19:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

[19:17]  ⁷ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:19]  ⁷ tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.

[19:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ¹⁰ sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

[19:19]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ¹² tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

[19:19]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[21:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

[21:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.

[21:12]  ¹² tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.

[27:42]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”

[27:42]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “she sent and called for.”

[27:42]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.