Genesis 8:9

8:9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered ¹  the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah ²  in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, ³  and brought it back into the ark. ⁴ 

Genesis 12:8

12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel ⁵  and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. ⁶ 

Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ⁷  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ⁸ 

Genesis 16:2

16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since ⁹  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with ¹⁰  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” ¹¹  Abram did what ¹²  Sarai told him.

Genesis 17:1

The Sign of the Covenant

17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, ¹³  the Lord appeared to him and said, ¹⁴  “I am the sovereign God. ¹⁵  Walk ¹⁶  before me ¹⁷  and be blameless. ¹⁸ 

Genesis 21:12

21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ¹⁹  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ²⁰  all that Sarah is telling ²¹  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ²² 

Genesis 22:12

22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ²³  the angel said. ²⁴  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ²⁵  that you fear ²⁶  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

Genesis 24:5

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ²⁷  to this land? Must I then ²⁸  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

Genesis 24:10

24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. ²⁹  He journeyed ³⁰  to the region of Aram Naharaim ³¹  and the city of Nahor.

Genesis 30:14

30:14 At the time ³²  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ³³  in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

Genesis 31:13

31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ³⁴  where you anointed ³⁵  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ³⁶  Now leave this land immediately ³⁷  and return to your native land.’”

Genesis 31:35

31:35 Rachel ³⁸  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ³⁹  my lord. I cannot stand up ⁴⁰  in your presence because I am having my period.” ⁴¹  So he searched thoroughly, ⁴²  but did not find the idols.

Genesis 35:1

The Return to Bethel

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once ⁴³  to Bethel ⁴⁴  and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ⁴⁵ 

Genesis 41:55

41:55 When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, ⁴⁶  “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

Genesis 42:28

42:28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; ⁴⁷  they turned trembling one to another ⁴⁸  and said, “What in the world has God done to us?” ⁴⁹ 

Genesis 45:9

45:9 Now go up to my father quickly ⁵⁰  and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay!

Genesis 50:24

50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you ⁵¹  and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give ⁵²  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

[8:9]  ¹ tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ³ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”

[12:8]  ⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[12:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “he called in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[15:1]  ⁹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[16:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.

[16:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).

[16:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.

[16:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”

[17:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”

[17:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[17:1]  ¹⁹ tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew mss, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the LXX, and Syriac) as the one who provides abundant blessings, including “blessings of the breast and womb” (49:25). (The direct association of the name with “breasts” suggests the name might mean “the one of the breast” [i.e., the one who gives fertility], but the juxtaposition is probably better explained as wordplay. Note the wordplay involving the name and the root שָׁדַד, shadad, “destroy”] in Isa 13:6 and in Joel 1:15.) Outside Genesis the name Shaddai (minus the element “El” [“God”]) is normally used when God is viewed as the sovereign king who blesses/protects or curses/brings judgment. The name appears in the introduction to two of Balaam’s oracles (Num 24:4, 16) of blessing upon Israel. Naomi employs the name when accusing the Lord of treating her bitterly by taking the lives of her husband and sons (Ruth 1:20-21). In Ps 68:14; Isa 13:6; and Joel 1:15 Shaddai judges his enemies through warfare, while Ps 91:1 depicts him as the protector of his people. (In Ezek 1:24 and 10:5 the sound of the cherubs’ wings is compared to Shaddai’s powerful voice. The reference may be to the mighty divine warrior’s battle cry which accompanies his angry judgment.) Finally, the name occurs 31 times in the Book of Job. Job and his “friends” assume that Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world (11:7; 37:23a) who is the source of life (33:4b) and is responsible for maintaining justice (8:3; 34:10-12; 37:23b). He provides abundant blessings, including children (22:17-18; 29:4-6), but he can also discipline, punish, and destroy (5:17; 6:4; 21:20; 23:16). It is not surprising to see the name so often in this book, where the theme of God’s justice is primary and even called into question (24:1; 27:2). The most likely proposal is that the name means “God, the one of the mountain” (an Akkadian cognate means “mountain,” to which the Hebrew שַׁד, shad, “breast”] is probably related). For a discussion of proposed derivations see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 70-71. The name may originally have depicted God as the sovereign judge who, in Canaanite style, ruled from a sacred mountain. Isa 14:13 and Ezek 28:14, 16 associate such a mountain with God, while Ps 48:2 refers to Zion as “Zaphon,” the Canaanite Olympus from which the high god El ruled. (In Isa 14 the Canaanite god El may be in view. Note that Isaiah pictures pagan kings as taunting the king of Babylon, suggesting that pagan mythology may provide the background for the language and imagery.)

[17:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”

[17:1]  ²¹ tn Or “in my presence.”

[17:1]  ²² tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the Lord, then the second imperative is likely sequential. (2) But if it has a positive moral connotation (“serve me faithfully”), then the second imperative probably indicates purpose (or result). For other uses of the idiom see 1 Sam 2:30, 35 and 12:2 (where it occurs twice).

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

[21:12]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ²⁴ 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.

[22:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

[22:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:12]  ²⁷ sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

[22:12]  ²⁸ sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.

[24:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to go after me.”

[24:5]  ³⁰ tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.

[24:10]  ³³ tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.

[24:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[24:10]  ³⁵ tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “during the days.”

[30:14]  ³⁸ sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.

[31:13]  ⁴¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ⁴² sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.

[31:13]  ⁴³ sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.

[31:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[31:35]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:35]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.

[31:35]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”

[31:35]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.

[31:35]  ⁴⁹ tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[35:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

[35:1]  ⁵⁰ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:1]  ⁵¹ sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).

[41:55]  ⁵³ tn Heb “to all Egypt.” The name of the country is used by metonymy for the inhabitants.

[42:28]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and they trembled, a man to his neighbor.”

[42:28]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “What is this God has done to us?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question.

[45:9]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “hurry and go up.”

[50:24]  ⁶⁵ tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” i.e., to intervene for blessing or cursing; here Joseph announces that God would come to fulfill the promises by delivering them from Egypt. The statement is emphasized by the use of the infinitive absolute with the verb: “God will surely visit you.”

[50:24]  ⁶⁶ tn The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.