3:1 Now 1 the serpent 2 was more shrewd 3
than any of the wild animals 4 that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that 5 God 6 said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” 7
19:9 “Out of our way!” 8 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 9 and now he dares to judge us! 10 We’ll do more harm 11 to you than to them!” They kept 12 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 13 to break down the door.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 14 for you have become much more powerful 15 than we are.”
46:28 Jacob 50 sent Judah before him to Joseph to accompany him to Goshen. 51 So they came to the land of Goshen.
48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude 52 of nations.”
1 tn The chapter begins with a disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate) that introduces a new character and a new scene in the story.
2 sn Many theologians identify or associate the serpent with Satan. In this view Satan comes in the disguise of a serpent or speaks through a serpent. This explains the serpent’s capacity to speak. While later passages in the Bible may indicate there was a satanic presence behind the serpent (see, for example, Rev 12:9), the immediate context pictures the serpent as simply one of the animals of the field created by God (see vv. 1, 14). An ancient Jewish interpretation explains the reference to the serpent in a literal manner, attributing the capacity to speak to all the animals in the orchard. This text (Jub. 3:28) states, “On that day [the day the man and woman were expelled from the orchard] the mouth of all the beasts and cattle and birds and whatever walked or moved was stopped from speaking because all of them used to speak to one another with one speech and one language [presumed to be Hebrew, see 12:26].” Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.41) attributes the serpent’s actions to jealousy. He writes that “the serpent, living in the company of Adam and his wife, grew jealous of the blessings which he supposed were destined for them if they obeyed God’s behests, and, believing that disobedience would bring trouble on them, he maliciously persuaded the woman to taste of the tree of wisdom.”
3 tn The Hebrew word עָרוּם (’arum) basically means “clever.” This idea then polarizes into the nuances “cunning” (in a negative sense, see Job 5:12; 15:5), and “prudent” in a positive sense (Prov 12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, 15, 18; 22:3; 27:12). This same polarization of meaning can be detected in related words derived from the same root (see Exod 21:14; Josh 9:4; 1 Sam 23:22; Job 5:13; Ps 83:3). The negative nuance obviously applies in Gen 3, where the snake attempts to talk the woman into disobeying God by using half-truths and lies.
4 tn Heb “animals of the field.”
5 tn Heb “Indeed that God said.” The beginning of the quotation is elliptical and therefore difficult to translate. One must supply a phrase like “is it true”: “Indeed, [is it true] that God said.”
6 sn God. The serpent does not use the expression “Yahweh God” [
7 tn Heb “you must not eat from all the tree[s] of the orchard.” After the negated prohibitive verb, מִכֹּל (mikkol, “from all”) has the meaning “from any.” Note the construction in Lev 18:26, where the statement “you must not do from all these abominable things” means “you must not do any of these abominable things.” See Lev 22:25 and Deut 28:14 as well.
8 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
9 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
10 tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”
11 tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.
12 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
13 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
14 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
15 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
16 tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16-17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.
17 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
18 tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
19 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
21 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
23 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
24 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
25 tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”
26 tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”
27 tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.
28 tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”
29 tn Heb “I will see his face.”
30 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.
31 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
32 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
33 tn Heb “doing the thing.”
34 tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
35 tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).
36 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).
37 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38 tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”
39 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
40 tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”
41 tn Traditionally “more righteous”; cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT “more in the right.”
42 tn Heb “and he did not add again to know her.” Here “know” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
43 tn The word “child” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
44 tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.
45 tn Heb “like this,” but the referent could be misunderstood to be a man like that described by Joseph in v. 33, rather than Joseph himself. For this reason the proper name “Joseph” has been supplied in the translation.
46 tn The rhetorical question expects the answer “No, of course not!”
47 tn Heb “as discerning and wise.” The order has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
48 tn Heb “and he lifted up portions from before his face to them.”
49 tn Heb “and they drank and were intoxicated with him” (cf. NIV “drank freely with him”; NEB “grew merry”; NRSV “were merry”). The brothers were apparently relaxed and set at ease, despite Joseph’s obvious favoritism toward Benjamin.
50 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
51 tn Heb “to direct before him to Goshen.”
52 tn Heb “fullness.”
53 tn The pronouns translated “your” and “you” in this verse are singular in the Hebrew text.
54 tn The Hebrew word שְׁכֶם (shÿkhem) could be translated either as “mountain slope” or “shoulder, portion,” or even taken as the proper name “Shechem.” Jacob was giving Joseph either (1) one portion above his brothers, or (2) the mountain ridge he took from the Amorites, or (3) Shechem. The ambiguity actually allows for all three to be the referent. He could be referring to the land in Shechem he bought in Gen 33:18-19, but he mentions here that it was acquired by warfare, suggesting that the events of 34:25-29 are in view (even though at the time he denounced it, 34:30). Joseph was later buried in Shechem (Josh 24:32).