Kejadian 18:2

18:2 Abraham ¹  looked up ²  and saw ³  three men standing across ⁴  from him. When he saw them ⁵  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁶  to the ground. ⁷ 

Kejadian 28:12

28:12 and had a dream. ⁸  He saw ⁹  a stairway ¹⁰  erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it

Kejadian 31:10

31:10 “Once ¹¹  during breeding season I saw ¹²  in a dream that the male goats mating with ¹³  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

Kejadian 41:19

41:19 Then ¹⁴  seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows ¹⁵  as these in all the land of Egypt!

[18:2]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ² tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ³ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.

[18:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

[18:2]  ⁵ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ⁶ tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).

[18:2]  ⁷ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

[28:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the Lord himself” (Narrative Art in Genesis [SSN], 51-52).

[28:12]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87.

[31:10]  ¹¹ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”

[31:10]  ¹² tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”

[31:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[41:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “And look.”

[41:19]  ¹⁵ tn The word “cows” is supplied here in the translation for stylistic reasons.