Genesis 9:3

9:3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. ¹  As I gave you ²  the green plants, I now give ³  you everything.

Genesis 9:11

9:11 I confirm ⁴  my covenant with you: Never again will all living things ⁵  be wiped out ⁶  by the waters of a flood; ⁷  never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

Genesis 15:5

15:5 The Lord ⁸  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

Genesis 15:13

15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ⁹  that your descendants will be strangers ¹⁰  in a foreign country. ¹¹  They will be enslaved and oppressed ¹²  for four hundred years.

Genesis 16:12

16:12 He will be a wild donkey ¹³  of a man.

He will be hostile to everyone, ¹⁴ 

and everyone will be hostile to him. ¹⁵ 

He will live away from ¹⁶  his brothers.”

Genesis 27:39

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ¹⁷  your home will be

away from the richness ¹⁸  of the earth,

and away from the dew of the sky above.

Genesis 28:22

28:22 Then this stone ¹⁹  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ²⁰  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ²¹ 

Genesis 35:11

35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. ²²  Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! ²³ 

Genesis 44:10

44:10 He replied, “You have suggested your own punishment! ²⁴  The one who has it will become my slave, ²⁵  but the rest of ²⁶  you will go free.” ²⁷ 

Genesis 47:24

47:24 When you gather in the crop, ²⁸  give ²⁹  one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and the rest ³⁰  will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.”

[9:3]  ¹ tn Heb “every moving thing that lives for you will be for food.”

[9:3]  ² tn The words “I gave you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:3]  ³ tn The perfect verb form describes the action that accompanies the declaration.

[9:11]  ⁴ tn The verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is a perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive and should be translated with the English present tense, just as the participle at the beginning of the speech was (v. 9). Another option is to translate both forms with the English future tense (“I will confirm”).

[9:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “cut off.”

[9:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”

[15:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:13]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.

[15:13]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.

[15:13]  ¹² tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”

[15:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.

[16:12]  ¹³ sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.

[16:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.

[16:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”

[16:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).

[27:39]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “look.”

[27:39]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from the fatness.”

[28:22]  ¹⁹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ²⁰ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.

[35:11]  ²² 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 its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[35:11]  ²³ tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”

[44:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Also now, according to your words, so it is.” As the next statement indicates, this does mean that he will do exactly as they say. He does agree with them the culprit should be punished, but not as harshly as they suggest. Furthermore, the innocent parties will not be punished.

[44:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “The one with whom it is found will become my slave.”

[44:10]  ²⁷ tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[44:10]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew word נָקִי (naqi) means “acquitted,” that is, free of guilt and the responsibility for it.

[47:24]  ²⁸ tn The words “the crop” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[47:24]  ²⁹ tn The perfect form with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to an imperfect of instruction here.

[47:24]  ³⁰ tn Heb “four parts.”