Kejadian 9:5

9:5 For your lifeblood ¹  I will surely exact punishment, ²  from ³  every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person ⁴  I will exact punishment for the life of the individual ⁵  since the man was his relative. ⁶ 

Kejadian 16:12

16:12 He will be a wild donkey ⁷  of a man.

He will be hostile to everyone, ⁸ 

and everyone will be hostile to him. ⁹ 

He will live away from ¹⁰  his brothers.”

Kejadian 31:53

31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ¹¹  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ¹² 

Kejadian 42:13

42:13 They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. ¹³  We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, ¹⁴  and one is no longer alive.” ¹⁵ 

Kejadian 49:11

49:11 Binding his foal to the vine,

and his colt to the choicest vine,

he will wash ¹⁶  his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes.

[9:5]  ¹ tn Again the text uses apposition to clarify what kind of blood is being discussed: “your blood, [that is] for your life.” See C. L. Dewar, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 4 (1953): 204-8.

[9:5]  ² tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The verb דָּרָשׁ (darash) means “to require, to seek, to ask for, to exact.” Here it means that God will exact punishment for the taking of a life. See R. Mawdsley, “Capital Punishment in Gen. 9:6,” CentBib 18 (1975): 20-25.

[9:5]  ³ tn Heb “from the hand of,” which means “out of the hand of” or “out of the power of” and is nearly identical in sense to the preposition מִן (min) alone.

[9:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.

[9:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “of the man.”

[9:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the hand of a man, his brother.” The point is that God will require the blood of someone who kills, since the person killed is a relative (“brother”) of the killer. The language reflects Noah’s situation (after the flood everyone would be part of Noah’s extended family), but also supports the concept of the brotherhood of humankind. According to the Genesis account the entire human race descended from Noah.

[16:12]  ⁷ sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.

[16:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.

[16:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”

[16:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).

[31:53]  ¹¹ tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.

[31:53]  ¹² tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.

[42:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “twelve [were] your servants, brothers [are] we.”

[42:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “today.”

[42:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the one is not.”

[49:11]  ¹⁶ tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, describing coming events as though they have already taken place.