Kejadian 4:15

4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, ¹  if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” ²  Then the Lord put a special mark ³  on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. ⁴ 

Kejadian 20:7

20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ⁵  he is a prophet ⁶  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ⁷  But if you don’t give her back, ⁸  know that you will surely die ⁹  along with all who belong to you.”

Kejadian 28:15

28:15 I am with you! ¹⁰  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

Kejadian 31:13

31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ¹¹  where you anointed ¹²  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ¹³  Now leave this land immediately ¹⁴  and return to your native land.’”

[4:15]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) in this context carries the sense of “Okay,” or “in that case then I will do this.”

[4:15]  ² sn The symbolic number seven is used here to emphasize that the offender will receive severe punishment. For other rhetorical and hyperbolic uses of the expression “seven times over,” see Pss 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.

[4:15]  ³ tn Heb “sign”; “reminder.” The term “sign” is not used in the translation because it might imply to an English reader that God hung a sign on Cain. The text does not identify what the “sign” was. It must have been some outward, visual reminder of Cain’s special protected status.

[4:15]  ⁴ sn God becomes Cain’s protector. Here is common grace – Cain and his community will live on under God’s care, but without salvation.

[20:7]  ⁵ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ⁶ sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ⁷ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  sn He will pray for you that you may live. Abraham was known as a man of God whose prayer would be effectual. Ironically and sadly, he was also known as a liar.

[20:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ⁹ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[28:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).

[31:13]  ¹¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ¹² sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.

[31:13]  ¹³ sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.

[31:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[31:13]  sn Leave this land immediately. The decision to leave was a wise one in view of the changed attitude in Laban and his sons. But more than that, it was the will of God. Jacob needed to respond to God’s call – the circumstances simply made it easier.