Jeremiah 49:20

49:20 So listen to what I, the Lord, have planned against Edom,

what I intend to do to ¹  the people who live in Teman. ² 

Their little ones will be dragged off.

I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done. ³ 

Genesis 36:11

36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were:

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

Genesis 36:15

36:15 These were the chiefs ⁴  among the descendants ⁵  of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,

Genesis 36:1

The Descendants of Esau

36:1 What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). ⁶ 

Genesis 1:1

The Creation of the World

1:1 In the beginning ⁷  God ⁸  created ⁹  the heavens and the earth. ¹⁰ 

Job 2:11

The Visit of Job’s Friends ¹¹ 

2:11 When Job’s three friends heard about all this calamity that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country ¹²  – Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. ¹³  They met together ¹⁴  to come to show sympathy ¹⁵  for him and to console ¹⁶  him.

Job 4:1

Eliphaz Begins to Speak ¹⁷ 

4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: ¹⁸ 

Ezekiel 25:13

25:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, ¹⁹  and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die ²⁰  by the sword.

Amos 1:12

1:12 So I will set Teman ²¹  on fire;

fire ²²  will consume Bozrah’s ²³  fortresses.”

Obadiah 1:9

1:9 Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, ²⁴ 

so that ²⁵  everyone ²⁶  will be destroyed ²⁷  from Esau’s mountain!

Habakkuk 3:3

3:3 God comes ²⁸  from Teman, ²⁹ 

the sovereign ³⁰  one from Mount Paran. ³¹  Selah. ³² 

His splendor covers the skies, ³³ 

his glory ³⁴  fills the earth.

[49:20]  ¹ tn Heb “Therefore listen to the plan of the Lord which he has planned against Edom, and the purposes which he has purposed against…” The first person has again been adopted in the translation to avoid the shift from the first person address in v. 19 to the third person in v. 20, a shift that is common in Hebrew poetry, particularly Hebrew prophecy, but which is not common in contemporary English literature.

[49:20]  ² sn Teman here appears to be a poetic equivalent for Edom, a common figure of speech in Hebrew poetry where the part is put for the whole. “The people of Teman” is thus equivalent to all the people of Edom.

[49:20]  ³ tn Heb “They will surely drag them off, namely the young ones of the flock. He will devastate their habitation [or their sheepfold] on account of them.” The figure of the lion among the flock of sheep appears to be carried on here where the people are referred to as a flock and their homeland is referred to as a sheepfold. It is hard, however, to carry the figure over here into the translation, so the figures have been interpreted instead. Both of these last two sentences are introduced by a formula that indicates a strong affirmative oath (i.e., they are introduced by אִם לֹא [’im lo’; cf. BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b(2)]). The subject of the verb “they will drag them off” is the indefinite third plural which may be taken as a passive in English (cf. GKC 460 §144.g). The subject of the last line is the Lord which has been rendered in the first person for stylistic reasons (see the translator’s note on the beginning of the verse).

[36:15]  ⁴ tn Or “clan leaders” (so also throughout this chapter).

[36:15]  ⁵ tn Or “sons.”

[36:1]  ⁶ sn Chapter 36 records what became of Esau. It will list both his actual descendants as well as the people he subsumed under his tribal leadership, people who were aboriginal Edomites. The chapter is long and complicated (see further J. R. Bartlett, “The Edomite King-List of Genesis 36:31-39 and 1 Chronicles 1:43-50,” JTS 16 [1965]: 301-14; and W. J. Horowitz, “Were There Twelve Horite Tribes?” CBQ 35 [1973]: 69-71). In the format of the Book of Genesis, the line of Esau is “tidied up” before the account of Jacob is traced (37:2). As such the arrangement makes a strong contrast with Jacob. As F. Delitzsch says, “secular greatness in general grows up far more rapidly than spiritual greatness” (New Commentary on Genesis, 2:238). In other words, the progress of the world far out distances the progress of the righteous who are waiting for the promise.

[1:1]  ⁷ tn The translation assumes that the form translated “beginning” is in the absolute state rather than the construct (“in the beginning of,” or “when God created”). In other words, the clause in v. 1 is a main clause, v. 2 has three clauses that are descriptive and supply background information, and v. 3 begins the narrative sequence proper. The referent of the word “beginning” has to be defined from the context since there is no beginning or ending with God.

[1:1]  ⁸ sn God. This frequently used Hebrew name for God (אֱלֹהִים,’elohim ) is a plural form. When it refers to the one true God, the singular verb is normally used, as here. The plural form indicates majesty; the name stresses God’s sovereignty and incomparability – he is the “God of gods.”

[1:1]  ⁹ tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (bara’) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15, 65:17).

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the entire universe”; or “the sky and the dry land.” This phrase is often interpreted as a merism, referring to the entire ordered universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The “heavens and the earth” were completed in seven days (see Gen 2:1) and are characterized by fixed laws (see Jer 33:25). “Heavens” refers specifically to the sky, created on the second day (see v. 8), while “earth” refers specifically to the dry land, created on the third day (see v. 10). Both are distinct from the sea/seas (see v. 10 and Exod 20:11).

[2:11]  ¹¹ sn See N. C. Habel, “‘Only the Jackal is My Friend,’ On Friends and Redeemers in Job,” Int 31 (1977): 227-36.

[2:11]  ¹² tn Heb “a man from his place”; this is the distributive use, meaning “each man came from his place.”

[2:11]  ¹³ sn Commentators have tried to analyze the meanings of the names of the friends and their locations. Not only has this proven to be difficult (Teman is the only place that is known), it is not necessary for the study of the book. The names are probably not symbolic of the things they say.

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn The verb can mean that they “agreed together”; but it also (and more likely) means that they came together at a meeting point to go visit Job together.

[2:11]  ¹⁵ tn The verb “to show grief” is נוּד (nud), and literally signifies “to shake the head.” It may be that his friends came to show the proper sympathy and express the appropriate feelings. They were not ready for what they found.

[2:11]  ¹⁶ tn The second infinitive is from נָחָם (nakham, “to comfort, console” in the Piel). This word may be derived from a word with a meaning of sighing deeply.

[4:1]  ¹⁷ sn The speech of Eliphaz can be broken down into three main sections. In 4:1-11 he wonders that Job who had comforted so many people in trouble, and who was so pious, should fall into such despair, forgetting the great truth that the righteous never perish under affliction – calamity only destroys the wicked. Then in 4:12–5:7 Eliphaz tries to warn Job about complaining against God because only the ungodly resent the dealings of God and by their impatience bring down his wrath upon them. Finally in 5:8-27 Eliphaz appeals to Job to follow a different course, to seek after God, for God only smites to heal or to correct, to draw people to himself and away from evil. See K. Fullerton, “Double Entendre in the First Speech of Eliphaz,” JBL 49 (1930): 320-74; J. C. L. Gibson, “Eliphaz the Temanite: A Portrait of a Hebrew Philosopher,” SJT 28 (1975): 259-72; and J. Lust, “A Stormy Vision: Some Remarks on Job 4:12-16,” Bijdr 36 (1975): 308-11.

[4:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[25:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”

[25:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fall.”

[1:12]  ²¹ sn Teman was an important region (or perhaps city) in Edom.

[1:12]  ²² tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ²³ sn Bozrah was a city located in northern Edom.

[1:9]  ²⁴ sn Teman, like Sela, was a prominent city of Edom. The name Teman is derived from the name of a grandson of Esau (cf. Gen 36:11). Here it is a synecdoche of part for whole, standing for all of Edom.

[1:9]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew word used here (לְמַעַן, lÿma’an) usually expresses purpose. The sense in this context, however, is more likely that of result.

[1:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “a man,” meaning “every single person” here; cf. KJV “every one.”

[1:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NLT “cut down”; CEV “wiped out.”

[3:3]  ²⁸ tn In vv. 3-15 there is a mixture of eleven prefixed verbal forms (without vav [ו] consecutive or with vav conjunctive), sixteen suffixed forms, and three prefixed forms with vav consecutive. All of the forms are best taken as indicating completed action from the speaker’s standpoint (all of the prefixed forms being regarded as preterites). The forms could be translated with the past tense, but this would be misleading, for this is not a mere recital of God’s deeds in Israel’s past history. Habakkuk here describes, in terms reminiscent of past theophanies, his prophetic vision of a future theophany (see v. 7, “I saw”). From the prophet’s visionary standpoint the theophany is “as good as done.” This translation uses the English present tense throughout these verses to avoid misunderstanding. A similar strategy is followed by the NEB; in contrast note the NIV and NRSV, which consistently use past tenses throughout the section, and the NASB, which employs present tenses in vv. 3-5 and mostly past tenses in vv. 6-15.

[3:3]  ²⁹ sn Teman was a city or region in southern Edom.

[3:3]  ³⁰ tn Or traditionally, “holy one.” The term קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy [one]”) here refers to God’s sovereignty. See v. 3b.

[3:3]  ³¹ sn The precise location of Mount Paran is unknown, but like Teman it was located to the southeast of Israel. Habakkuk saw God marching from the direction of Sinai.

[3:3]  ³² tn Selah. The meaning of this musical term (which also appears in vv. 9, 13, and in the Psalms as well) is unknown.

[3:3]  ³³ tn Or “heavens.”

[3:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “praise.” This could mean that the earth responds in praise as God’s splendor is observed in the skies. However, the Hebrew term תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) can stand by metonymy for what prompts it (i.e., fame, glory, deeds).