Kejadian 3:17

3:17 But to Adam ¹  he said,

“Because you obeyed ²  your wife

and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,

‘You must not eat from it,’

cursed is the ground ³  thanks to you; ⁴ 

in painful toil you will eat ⁵  of it all the days of your life.

Kejadian 16:2

16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since ⁶  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with ⁷  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” ⁸  Abram did what ⁹  Sarai told him.

Kejadian 21:12

21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ¹⁰  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ¹¹  all that Sarah is telling ¹²  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ¹³ 

Kejadian 21:26

21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ¹⁴  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

Kejadian 23:6

23:6 “Listen, sir, ¹⁵  you are a mighty prince ¹⁶  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ¹⁷  from burying your dead.”

Kejadian 23:13

23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay ¹⁸  to you the price ¹⁹  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ²⁰  bury my dead there.”

Kejadian 23:16

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ²¹  and weighed ²²  out for him ²³  the price ²⁴  that Ephron had quoted ²⁵  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ²⁶ 

Kejadian 24:30

24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring ²⁷  and heard his sister Rebekah say, ²⁸  “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing ²⁹  by the camels near the spring.

Kejadian 29:13

29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob ³⁰  told Laban how he was related to him. ³¹ 

Kejadian 29:33

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ³²  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ³³ 

Kejadian 31:1

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ³⁴  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ³⁵  at our father’s expense!” ³⁶ 

Kejadian 34:7

34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ³⁷  They ³⁸  were offended ³⁹  and very angry because Shechem ⁴⁰  had disgraced Israel ⁴¹  by sexually assaulting ⁴²  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ⁴³ 

Kejadian 35:22

35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with ⁴⁴  Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

Kejadian 42:21

42:21 They said to one other, ⁴⁵  “Surely we’re being punished ⁴⁶  because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was ⁴⁷  when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress ⁴⁸  has come on us!”

[3:17]  ¹ tn Since there is no article on the word, the personal name is used, rather than the generic “the man” (cf. NRSV).

[3:17]  ² tn The idiom “listen to the voice of” often means “obey.” The man “obeyed” his wife and in the process disobeyed God.

[3:17]  ³ sn For the ground to be cursed means that it will no longer yield its bounty as the blessing from God had promised. The whole creation, Paul writes in Rom 8:22, is still groaning under this curse, waiting for the day of redemption.

[3:17]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ (ba’avurekha) is more literally translated “on your account” or “because of you.” The idiomatic “thanks to you” in the translation tries to capture the point of this expression.

[3:17]  ⁵ sn In painful toil you will eat. The theme of eating is prominent throughout Gen 3. The prohibition was against eating from the tree of knowledge. The sin was in eating. The interrogation concerned the eating from the tree of knowledge. The serpent is condemned to eat the dust of the ground. The curse focuses on eating in a “measure for measure” justice. Because the man and the woman sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God will forbid the ground to cooperate, and so it will be through painful toil that they will eat.

[16:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.

[16:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).

[16:2]  sn The Hebrew expression translated have sexual relations with does not convey the intimacy of other expressions, such as “so and so knew his wife.” Sarai simply sees this as the social custom of having a child through a surrogate. For further discussion see C. F. Fensham, “The Son of a Handmaid in Northwest Semitic,” VT 19 (1969): 312-21.

[16:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.

[16:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”

[16:2]  sn Abram did what Sarai told him. This expression was first used in Gen 3:17 of Adam’s obeying his wife. In both cases the text highlights weak faith and how it jeopardized the plan of God.

[21:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

[21:12]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ¹³ 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.

[21:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and also.”

[23:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”

[23:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.

[23:6]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “give.”

[23:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:13]  ²⁰ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.

[23:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”

[23:16]  ²² tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”

[23:16]  ²³ tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.

[24:30]  ²⁷ tn Heb “And it was when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister.” The word order is altered in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[24:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”

[24:30]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and look, he was standing.” The disjunctive clause with the participle following the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites the audience to view the scene through Laban’s eyes.

[29:13]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).

[29:33]  ³² tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ³³ sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

[31:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ³⁵ sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[34:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.

[34:7]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.

[34:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”

[34:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.

[34:7]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.

[35:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.

[35:22]  sn Reuben’s act of having sexual relations with Bilhah probably had other purposes than merely satisfying his sexual desire. By having sex with Bilhah, Reuben (Leah’s oldest son) would have prevented Bilhah from succeeding Rachel as the favorite wife, and by sleeping with his father’s concubine he would also be attempting to take over leadership of the clan – something Absalom foolishly attempted later on in Israel’s history (2 Sam 16:21-22).

[42:21]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”

[42:21]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”

[42:21]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”

[42:21]  ⁴⁸ sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.