Kejadian 1:5

1:5 God called ¹  the light “day” and the darkness ²  “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. ³ 

Kejadian 20:12

20:12 What’s more, ⁴  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife.

Kejadian 21:13

21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”

Kejadian 29:14

29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ⁵  So Jacob ⁶  stayed with him for a month. ⁷ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn Heb “he called to,” meaning “he named.”

[1:5]  sn God called. Seven times in this chapter naming or blessing follows some act of creation. There is clearly a point being made beyond the obvious idea of naming. In the Babylonian creation story Enuma Elish, naming is equal to creating. In the Bible the act of naming, like creating, can be an indication of sovereignty (see 2 Kgs 23:34). In this verse God is sovereign even over the darkness.

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “and the darkness he called night.” The words “he called” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ³ tn Another option is to translate, “Evening came, and then morning came.” This formula closes the six days of creation. It seems to follow the Jewish order of reckoning time: from evening to morning. Day one started with the dark, continued through the creation of light, and ended with nightfall. Another alternative would be to translate, “There was night and then there was day, one day.”

[1:5]  sn The first day. The exegetical evidence suggests the word “day” in this chapter refers to a literal twenty-four hour day. It is true that the word can refer to a longer period of time (see Isa 61:2, or the idiom in 2:4, “in the day,” that is, “when”). But this chapter uses “day,” “night,” “morning,” “evening,” “years,” and “seasons.” Consistency would require sorting out how all these terms could be used to express ages. Also, when the Hebrew word יוֹם (yom) is used with a numerical adjective, it refers to a literal day. Furthermore, the commandment to keep the sabbath clearly favors this interpretation. One is to work for six days and then rest on the seventh, just as God did when he worked at creation.

[20:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “but also.”

[29:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).

[29:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “a month of days.”