Kejadian 6:2

6:2 the sons of God ¹  saw that the daughters of humankind were beautiful. Thus they took wives for themselves from any they chose.

Kejadian 39:7

39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of ²  Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” ³ 

Yosua 7:21

7:21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, ⁴  two hundred silver pieces, ⁵  and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”

Yosua 7:2

7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho ⁶  to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel ⁷ ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai.

1 Samuel 11:2

11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”

Ayub 31:1

Job Vindicates Himself

31:1 “I made a covenant with ⁸  my eyes;

how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin? ⁹ 

Matius 5:28

5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matius 5:1

The Beatitudes

5:1 When ¹⁰  he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. ¹¹  After he sat down his disciples came to him.

Yohanes 2:16

2:16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make ¹²  my Father’s house a marketplace!” ¹³ 

[6:2]  ¹ sn The Hebrew phrase translated “sons of God” (בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, bÿne-ha’elohim) occurs only here (Gen 6:2, 4) and in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. There are three major interpretations of the phrase here. (1) In the Book of Job the phrase clearly refers to angelic beings. In Gen 6 the “sons of God” are distinct from “humankind,” suggesting they were not human. This is consistent with the use of the phrase in Job. Since the passage speaks of these beings cohabiting with women, they must have taken physical form or possessed the bodies of men. An early Jewish tradition preserved in 1 En. 6-7 elaborates on this angelic revolt and even names the ringleaders. (2) Not all scholars accept the angelic interpretation of the “sons of God,” however. Some argue that the “sons of God” were members of Seth’s line, traced back to God through Adam in Gen 5, while the “daughters of humankind” were descendants of Cain. But, as noted above, the text distinguishes the “sons of God” from humankind (which would include the Sethites as well as the Cainites) and suggests that the “daughters of humankind” are human women in general, not just Cainites. (3) Others identify the “sons of God” as powerful tyrants, perhaps demon-possessed, who viewed themselves as divine and, following the example of Lamech (see Gen 4:19), practiced polygamy. But usage of the phrase “sons of God” in Job militates against this view. For literature on the subject see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:135.

[39:7]  ² tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.

[39:7]  ³ tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:7]  sn The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife has long been connected with the wisdom warnings about the strange woman who tries to seduce the young man with her boldness and directness (see Prov 5-7, especially 7:6-27). This is part of the literary background of the story of Joseph that gives it a wisdom flavor. See G. von Rad, God at Work in Israel, 19-35; and G. W. Coats, “The Joseph Story and Ancient Wisdom: A Reappraisal,” CBQ 35 (1973): 285-97.

[7:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. NEB, NRSV) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. NIV, NLT).

[7:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “shekels.”

[7:2]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[7:2]  ⁷ map For the location of Bethel see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:1]  ⁸ tn The idea of cutting a covenant for something may suggest a covenant that is imposed, except that this construction elsewhere argues against it (see 2 Chr 29:10).

[31:1]  ⁹ tn This half-verse is the effect of the covenant. The interrogative מָה (mah) may have the force of the negative, and so be translated “not to pay attention.”

[5:1]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[5:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “up a mountain” (εἰς τὸ ὄρος, eis to oro").

[5:1]  sn The expression up the mountain here may be idiomatic or generic, much like the English “he went to the hospital” (cf. 15:29), or even intentionally reminiscent of Exod 24:12 (LXX), since the genre of the Sermon on the Mount seems to be that of a new Moses giving a new law.

[2:16]  ¹² tn Or (perhaps) “Stop making.”

[2:16]  ¹³ tn Or “a house of merchants” (an allusion to Zech 14:21).

[2:16]  sn A marketplace. Zech 14:20-21, in context, is clearly a picture of the messianic kingdom. The Hebrew word translated “Canaanite” may also be translated “merchant” or “trader.” Read in this light, Zech 14:21 states that there will be no merchant in the house of the Lord in that day (the day of the Lord, at the establishment of the messianic kingdom). And what would Jesus’ words (and actions) in cleansing the temple have suggested to the observers? That Jesus was fulfilling messianic expectations would have been obvious – especially to the disciples, who had just seen the miracle at Cana with all its messianic implications.