Kejadian 2:5

2:5 Now ¹  no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field ²  had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. ³ 

Kejadian 3:5

3:5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open ⁴  and you will be like divine beings who know ⁵  good and evil.” ⁶ 

Kejadian 14:23

14:23 that I will take nothing ⁷  belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I ⁸  who made Abram rich.’

Kejadian 24:12

24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. ⁹  Be faithful ¹⁰  to my master Abraham.

Kejadian 24:49

24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” ¹¹ 

Kejadian 25:22

25:22 But the children struggled ¹²  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ¹³  So she asked the Lord, ¹⁴ 

Kejadian 27:38

27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” ¹⁵  Then Esau wept loudly. ¹⁶ 

Kejadian 30:41

30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, ¹⁷  Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches.

Kejadian 34:5

34:5 When ¹⁸  Jacob heard that Shechem ¹⁹  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ²⁰  until they came in.

Kejadian 40:14

40:14 But remember me ²¹  when it goes well for you, and show ²²  me kindness. ²³  Make mention ²⁴  of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, ²⁵ 

Kejadian 44:1

The Final Test

44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Now every sprig of the field before it was.” The verb forms, although appearing to be imperfects, are technically preterites coming after the adverb טֶּרֶם (terem). The word order (conjunction + subject + predicate) indicates a disjunctive clause, which provides background information for the following narrative (as in 1:2). Two negative clauses are given (“before any sprig…”, and “before any cultivated grain” existed), followed by two causal clauses explaining them, and then a positive circumstantial clause is given – again dealing with water as in 1:2 (water would well up).

[2:5]  ² tn The first term, שִׂיחַ (siakh), probably refers to the wild, uncultivated plants (see Gen 21:15; Job 30:4,7); whereas the second, עֵשֶׂב (’esev), refers to cultivated grains. It is a way of saying: “back before anything was growing.”

[2:5]  ³ tn The two causal clauses explain the first two disjunctive clauses: There was no uncultivated, general growth because there was no rain, and there were no grains because there was no man to cultivate the soil.

[2:5]  sn The last clause in v. 5, “and there was no man to cultivate the ground,” anticipates the curse and the expulsion from the garden (Gen 3:23).

[3:5]  ⁴ tn Or “you will have understanding.” This obviously refers to the acquisition of the “knowledge of good and evil,” as the next statement makes clear.

[3:5]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “like God, knowing.” It is unclear how the plural participle translated “knowing” is functioning. On the one hand, יֹדְעֵי (yodÿ’e) could be taken as a substantival participle functioning as a predicative adjective in the sentence. In this case one might translate: “You will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil.” On the other hand, it could be taken as an attributive adjective modifying אֱלֹהִים (’elohim). In this case אֱלֹהִים has to be taken as a numerical plural referring to “gods,” “divine beings,” for if the one true God were the intended referent, a singular form of the participle would almost certainly appear as a modifier. Following this line of interpretation, one could translate, “You will be like divine beings who know good and evil.” The following context may favor this translation, for in 3:22 God says to an unidentified group, “Look, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” It is probable that God is addressing his heavenly court (see the note on the word “make” in 1:26), the members of which can be called “gods” or “divine beings” from the ancient Israelite perspective. (We know some of these beings as messengers or “angels.”) An examination of parallel constructions shows that a predicative understanding (“you will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil,” cf. NIV, NRSV) is possible, but rare (see Gen 27:23, where “hairy” is predicative, complementing the verb “to be”). The statistical evidence strongly suggests that the participle is attributive, modifying “divine beings” (see Ps 31:12; Isa 1:30; 13:14; 16:2; 29:5; 58:11; Jer 14:9; 20:9; 23:9; 31:12; 48:41; 49:22; Hos 7:11; Amos 4:11). In all of these texts, where a comparative clause and accompanying adjective/participle follow a copulative (“to be”) verb, the adjective/participle is attributive after the noun in the comparative clause.

[3:5]  ⁶ sn You will be like divine beings who know good and evil. The serpent raises doubts about the integrity of God. He implies that the only reason for the prohibition was that God was protecting the divine domain. If the man and woman were to eat, they would enter into that domain. The temptation is to overstep divinely established boundaries. (See D. E. Gowan, When Man Becomes God [PTMS], 25.)

[14:23]  ⁷ tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the Lord deal with me] if I take,” meaning, “I will surely not take.” The positive oath would add the negative adverb and be the reverse: “[God will deal with me] if I do not take,” meaning, “I certainly will.”

[14:23]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.

[24:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).

[24:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”

[24:49]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.

[25:22]  ¹² tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.

[25:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.

[25:22]  ¹⁴ sn Asked the Lord. In other passages (e.g., 1 Sam 9:9) this expression refers to inquiring of a prophet, but no details are provided here.

[27:38]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:38]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”

[30:41]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”

[34:5]  ¹⁸ tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.

[34:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:5]  ²⁰ sn The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.

[40:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “but you have remembered me with you.” The perfect verbal form may be used rhetorically here to emphasize Joseph’s desire to be remembered. He speaks of the action as already being accomplished in order to make it clear that he expects it to be done. The form can be translated as volitional, expressing a plea or a request.

[40:14]  ²² tn This perfect verbal form with the prefixed conjunction (and the two that immediately follow) carry the same force as the preceding perfect.

[40:14]  ²³ tn Heb “deal with me [in] kindness.”

[40:14]  ²⁴ tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) in the Hiphil stem means “to cause to remember, to make mention, to boast.” The implication is that Joseph would be pleased for them to tell his story and give him the credit due him so that Pharaoh would release him. Since Pharaoh had never met Joseph, the simple translation of “cause him to remember me” would mean little.

[40:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “house.” The word “prison” has been substituted in the translation for clarity.