Genesis EHSV

Genesis 1

1	1 In the beginning of the Almĭghty’s creating of the heavens and the earth, 2 when the earth had been unformed and nothing, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spĭrit of the Almĭghty was making a fluttering to be upon the face of the waters, 3 then the Almĭghty said, “Let there be light.”
3	Then there was light. 4 Then the Almĭghty saw the light, that it was good. Then the Almĭghty made a divide between the light and between the darkness. 5 Then the Almĭghty called the light ‘day,’ (and² ḋarkness he has been calling ‘night.’) Then there was setting. Then there was daybreak. One day.
6	6 Then the Almĭghty said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it make a dividing between, waters to waters.” 7 Then the Almĭghty made the expanse. Then, he divided between the waters which were below the expanse, and between the waters which were above the expanse. Then, it was so. 8 Then the Almĭghty called the expanse “heavens.” Then there was setting. Then there was daybreak. A second day.
9	9 Then the Almĭghty said, “Let the waters be collected, which are below the heavens, unto one place, and let the dry land be seen,” then it was so. 10 Then the Almĭghty called the dry land “earth,” and the collection of the waters he has been calling the “great sea.” Then the Almĭghty saw that it was good.
11	11 Then the Almĭghty said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants making seed, and fruit trees making fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in it, upon the earth.” Then it was so. 12 Then, the earth brought forth vegetation, plants seeding seeds according to its kind, and trees making fruit, whose seed in it, according to its kind. Then the Almĭghty saw that it was good. 13 Then there was setting. Then there was daybreak. A third day.
14	14 Then the Almĭghty said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens, to make a division between the day and between the night. And they will have been for signs, and for appointed times, and for days and years. 15 And they will have been for lights in the expanse of the heavens to make light upon the earth.” Then it was so. 16 Then, the Almĭghty made the two great lights: the greater light for the rule of the day, and the lesser light for the rule of the night, and the stars. 17 Then, the Almĭghty set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, 18 and to rule in the day and in the night, and to make a division between the light and the darkness. Then the Almĭghty saw that it was good. 19 Then there was setting. Then there was daybreak. A fourth day.
20	20 Then the Almĭghty said, “Let the waters swarm with living swarms of souls, and let flying creatures fly over the earth, over the face of the expanse of the heavens.” 21 Then the Almĭghty created the great sea-monsters, and every soul of the gliding living things, (with which the waters have been swarming), according to their kind, and every winged flying creature according to its kind. Then the Almĭghty saw that it was good. 22 Then the Almĭghty blessed them, saying, “Produce fruit, and multiply, and fill the waters in the great sea, and let the flying creatures multiply in the earth.” 23 Then it was setting. Then it was daybreak. A fifth day.
24	24 Then the Almĭghty said, “Let the earth bring forth living souls according to its kind, domestic beasts and creeping things, (and wild animals) of the land according to its kind. Then it was so.” 25 Then, the Almĭghty made the wild animals of the land according to its kind, (and the domestic beasts according to its kind), and every creeper of the ground according to its kind. Then the Almĭghty saw that it was good.
26	26 Then the Almĭghty said, “Let us make ṁankind in our image, according to our likeness. And let them have dominion among the aquatic creatures of the sea, and among the flying creatures of the heavens, and among the beasts, and in all the earth, and among all the creepers creeping upon the land.”
27	27 Then the Almĭghty created ṁankind in his image. (In the image of the Almĭghty he has created it. Male and female he has created them.) 28 Then the Almĭghty blessed them. Then the Almĭghty said to them, “Produce fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and tame it. And have dominion among the aquatic creatures of the sea, and among the flying creatures of the heavens, and among every living thing creeping upon the earth.”
29	29 Then the Almĭghty said, “Behold, I have given you every plant seeding seeds, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every ṫree, whose fruit of a tree is on it, seeding seeds. To you it is for food. 30 And to every animal of the earth, and to every flying creature of the heavens, and to every creeper upon the earth, whose living soul is in it: every green plant for food.” At that time, it was so. 31 Then the Almĭghty saw all which he had made, and, behold, it was very good. Then there was setting. Then there was daybreak. The sixth day.
2:1	1 ¹Then, the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their hosts. 2 ¹Then, the Almĭghty was finished on the seventh day from his work, which he had been doing. Then, He rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had been doing. 3 Then the Almĭghty blessed the seventh day. Then, He made it to be specially set apart, because in it he had been resting from all his work which, he, the Almĭghty, had created for himself to do. 4 These were the begettings of the heavens and of the earth during their being created.

Genesis 2

4	In the day of Yăhwēh Almĭghty’s making earth and heavens, 5 and before any shrub of the field could be in the earth, and before any plant of the field could sprout up, because Yăhwēh Almĭghty had not been bringing rain upon the earth, when there was no man for working the ground, 6 when a mist would go up from the earth, and it had been watering the whole face of the ground, 7 then Yăhwēh Almĭghty formed the man, dust from the ground, then he breathed in his nostrils the breath of life. Then the man became a living soul.
8	8 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty planted a garden eastward in Ē̒den. Then he put there the man whom he had formed. 9 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty made grow from the ground every tree desirable to the sight, and good for food. And the tree of ļife was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10	10 And a river was going out from Ē̒den for the watering of the garden. And out of there it was parted, and it had become four heads. 11 The name of the first was Pi̱shōn: it was the one going around all the land of̧ Ḥavi̱lah, where there is ġold. 12 And the gold of that land was good. the bdellium gum was there, and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river was Gi̱ḥōn: it was the one going around all the land of Kūsh. 14 And the name of the third river was Ḥiddeqel: it was the one going east of A̓shūr. And the fourth river: it was the Peratʰ.
15	15 Thus, Yăhwēh Almĭghty took the man. Thus he put him in the garden of Ē̒den for working it and for guarding it. 16 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty commanded the man, saying, “From every tree of the garden eating you may eat, 17 and from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it, because in the day of your eating from of it, dying you shall die.”
18	18 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty said, “It is not good for the man being by himself alone. I should make for him a helper as his opposite.” 19 And Yăhwēh Almĭghty had formed from the ground every animal of the field, and every flying creature of the heavens. Then he made each one come unto the man to see what he would call it, and whatever the man would call it, each living soul, it was the name of it. 20 Then, the man proclaimed names to all the domestic beasts, and to the flying creatures of the heavens, (and to every wild animal of the field). And for A̓dam was not found a helper as his opposite. 21 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man. Then he slept. Then he took one of his sides. Then he closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty built the side, which he had taken from the man, into a woman. Then he brought her unto the man.
23	23 Then the man said, “This is the time: bone of my bones, and flesh from my flesh. To this one shall be called ‘Woman,’ because from man this one has been taken.” 24 Therefore, a man leaves his father and his mother, and he will have clung to his wife. And they shall have been as one flesh. 25 Then, the two of them were naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed of themselves.

Genesis 3

1	1 And the snake had been cunning beyond any animal of the field which Yăhwēh Almĭghty had made. Then he said unto the woman, “Is it really that, the Almĭghty has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’”
2	2 Then the woman said unto the snake, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: 3 and from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, the Almĭghty has said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch on it, lest you should die.’”
4	4 Then the snake said unto the woman, “Not ‘Dying you shall die.’” 5 “Because the Almĭghty is knowing that in the day of your eating from of it, then your eyes will have been opened. And you will have become as the Almĭghty, as ones knowing good and evil.”
6	6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise. Then she took from its fruit; then she ate. Then she also gave it to her husband with her. Then he ate. 7 Then the eyes of the two of them were opened. Then they knew that they were naked. Then they sewed fig-leaves. Then they made for themselves loin coverings.
8	8 Then they heard the sound of Yăhwēh Almĭghty walking in the garden during the breeze of the day. Then the man hid himself (and his wife) from the face of Yăhwēh Almĭghty in the midst of the trees of the garden. 9 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty called unto the man. Then he said to him, “Where are you?” 10 Then he said, “Your sound I had heard in the garden, so that I feared, because I was naked. Then I hid myself.”
11	11 Then he said, “Who has told you that you were naked? From the tree, which I have commanded you not to eat, from of it have you eaten?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman which you have given to be with me, she has given it to me from the tree, and I did eat.” 13 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” Then the woman said, “The snake had been deceiving me. Then I did eat.”
14	14 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty said unto the snake, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all the domestic beasts (and among every wild animal) of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life. 15 “And enmity I will put between you and between the woman, and between your seed and between her seed: he shall smash your head, and you shall wound his heel.” 16 Unto the woman he had said, “Magnifying I will magnify your pain, even your pregnancy. In pain you shall bear sons. And unto your husband your desire shall be, and he shall rule over you.” 17 And to A̓dam he had said, “Because you had listened to the voice of your wife, so that you did eat from the tree about which I had commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from of it,’ cursed is the ground in consequence of you. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18 And thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you. And you will have eaten the plants of the field 19 by the sweat of your nose, so you shall eat bread, till your returning unto the ground, since from of it you have been taken, because dust you are, and unto dust you shall return.”
20	20 Then the man called the name of his wife Ḥaυah, because she had become the mother of all the living. 21 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty made for A̓dam and for his wife long robes of skins; then he clothed them.
22	22 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, to know good and evil, and now, in case he should put out his hand, and he will have taken also from the tree of life, and he will have eaten, and he will have lived to time immemorial....” 23 Then Yăhwēh Almĭghty sent him forth from the garden of Ē̒den, to work the ground which he had been taken from. 24 Thus, he caused the man to be cast out. Then he caused to abide at the east with respect to the garden of Ē̒den the Kerūvi̱m, and the flame of the sword — the one turning itself about, to guard the way of the tree of life.

Genesis 4

1	1 And the man had been knowing Ḥavvah his wife. Then she conceived, then she bore Qayin; then she said, “I have acquired a man along with† Yăhwēh.” 2 Then she increased by bearing his brother Hev̱el. Then Hev̱el became a shepherder of sheep, and Qayin had become a worker of the ground.
3	3 Then it was at the boundary† of days. Then Qayin brought, from the fruit of the ground an offering to Yăhwēh. 4 And Hev̱el had himself also brought an offering from the best parts of his flock and from the fattest parts of them. Then Yăhwēh looked favorably to Hev̱el and unto his offering. 5 But unto Qayin and unto his offering he had not looked favorably. Then it was angering Qayin greatly so that his ¹face fell.¹
6	6 Then Yăhwēh said unto Qayin, “Why has it angered you?” and “Why has your face fallen? 7 Isn’t it uplifting if you do ¹well, and if you do not do ¹well, sin is lying at the door: and its desire is unto you, but you, you must rule ²over it.”
8	8 Then Qayin spoke unto Hev̱el his brother.¹ Then it was, during their being in the field, then Qayin rose up against Hev̱el his brother; then he killed him. 9 Then Yăhwēh said unto Qayin, “Where is Hev̱el your brother?” Then he said, “I have not known. Am I the one watching my brother?” 10 Then he said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out unto me from the ground.
11	11 “And now cursed are you from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 Since you work the ground, let it not keep repeating¹ to give you strength; a drifter and wanderer² shall you be in the earth.” 13 Then Qayin said unto Yăhwēh, “My punishment is too great to bear. 14 Behold, you have cast me out this day from settling upon the face of the ground; and from your face I shall be hidden; and I will have been a drifter and a wanderer in the earth; and, it will have become a certainty, that anyone finding me shall kill me.”
15	15 Then Yăhwēh said to him, “Thus anyone killing Qayin, vengeance shall be taken sevenfold.” Then Yăhwēh set a mark on Qayin, ¹that anyone finding him should not strike him.¹ 16 Then Qayin went out from the face of Yăhwēh; then he settled in the land of ¹Nōd, east of Ē̒den. 17 Then Qayin knew his wife; then she conceived; then she bore Ḥanōḳ. At that time, he was building a city; then he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Ḥanōḳ.
18	18 Then to Ḥanōḳ was born I̱̒rad: and I̱̒rad had begotten Meḥuya’ēl: and Meḥuya’ēl had begotten Metusha’ēl; and Metusha’ēl had begotten Lemeḳ 19 Then Lemeḳ took for himself two wives: the name of the one was A̒dah, and the name of the second was Tsillah. 20 Then A̒dah bore Yav̱al: he had become the father of the tent dwellers and herders of livestock. 21 And his brother’s name was Yūv̱al: he had become the father of all playing the harp and pipe. 22 And Tsillah, she also had borne Tūv̱al-Qayin, one forging every implement of brass and iron: and the sister of Tūv̱al-Qayin was Na‘amah.
23	23 Then Lemeḳ said to his wives, “A̒dah and Tsillah, hear my voice. Wives of Lemeḳ, give an ear to my speech, because I have slain a man for wounding me, even a lad for wounding me. 24 Yea, Qayin shall be avenged sevenfold, Lemeḳ seventy and seven times.”
25	25 Then A̓dam knew his wife again; then she bore a son, then she called his name Shēt, because “The Almĭghty has appointed for me another seed in place of Hev̱el, because Qayin has killed him.” 26 And to Shēt, to him also had been begotten a son; then he called his name E̓nōsh.
26	At that time, it had been made to be profane† to call on the name of Yăhwēh.
5:1	1 This was the record¹ of the begettings of A̓dam.

Genesis 5

2	2 In the day of the Almĭghty’s creating of mankind, in the likeness of the Almĭghty he had made him. Male and female he had created them, then he blessed them. At that time, he called their name A̓dam, in the day of their being created.
3	3 Therefore, when A̓dam lived thirty and a hundred years, then he begot a son in his likeness, according to his image; then he called his name Shēt: 4 Then the days of A̓dam after his begetting Shēt were eight hundred years. At that time, he begot many sons and many daughters. 5 Then all the days of A̓dam, which he had lived, came to nine hundred years and thirty years. Then he died.
6	6 Therefore, when Shēt lived five years and a hundred years, then he begot E̓nōsh. 7 Then Shēt lived after his begetting E̓nōsh seven years and eight hundred years; at that time, he begot many sons and many daughters. 8 Then all the days of Shēt came to two and ten years and nine hundred years. Then he died.
9	9 Therefore, when E̓nōsh lived ninety years, then he begot Qēnan. 10 Then E̓nosh lived, after his begetting Qēnan, fifteen years and eight hundred years; at that time, he begot many sons and many daughters. 11 Then all the days of E̓nosh came to five years and nine hundred years. Then he died.
12	12 Therefore, when Qēnan lived seventy years, then he begot Mahalalē̓l: 13 Then Qēnan lived after his begetting Mahalalē̓l forty years and eight hundred years; at that time, he begot many sons and many daughters: 14 Then all the days of Qēnan came to ten years and nine hundred years. Then he died.
15	15 Therefore, when Mahalalē̓l lived five years and sixty years, then he begot Yered. 16 Then Mahalalē̓l lived after his begetting Yered thirty years and eight hundred years; at that time, he begot many sons and many daughters: 17 Then all the days of Mahalalē̓l came to five and ninety years and eight hundred years. Then he died.
18	18 Therefore, when Yered lived two and sixty years and a hundred years, then he begot Ḥanōḳ. 19 Then Yered lived after his begetting Ḥanōḳ eight hundred years; at that time, he begot many sons and many daughters: 20 Then all the days of Yered came to two and sixty years and nine hundred years. Then he died.
21	21 Therefore, when Ḥanōḳ lived five and sixty years, then he begot Metūshelaḥ: 22 Then Ḥanōḳ walked with the Almĭghty after his begetting Metūshelaḥ three hundred years; at that time, he begot many sons and many daughters: 23 then all the days of Ḥanōḳ came to five and sixty years, and three hundred years. 24 At that time, Ḥanōḳ walked with the Almĭghty: and he was not, because the Almĭghty had taken him.
25	25 Therefore, when Metūshelaḥ lived seven and eighty years, and a hundred years, then he begot Lemeḳ: 26 Then Metūshelaḥ lived after his begetting Lemeḳ two and eighty years, and seven hundred years; at that time, he begot many sons and many daughters. 27 Then all the days of Metūshelaḥ came to nine and sixty years, and nine hundred years. Then he died.
28	28 Therefore, when Lemeḳ lived two and eighty years, and a hundred years, then he begot a son. 29 Then he called his name Nōaḥ, saying, “This one shall comfort us from our work and from the toil of our hands, from the ground that Yăhwēh had made to be cursed.” 30 Then Lemeḳ lived after his begetting Nōaḥ five and ninety years, and five hundred years; at that time, he begot many sons and many daughters: 31 Then all the days of Lemeḳ came to seven and seventy years, and seven hundred years. Then he died.
32	32 Then, Nōaḥ was a son of five hundred years, then Nōaḥ begot Shēm, Ḥam, and Yaphet.¹
6:1	1 Therefore, when it was, that man had begun to multiply upon the face of the ground, and daughters had been born to them, 2 then the sons of the Almĭghty did see the daughters of men that they were beautiful: then they did take for themselves wives from all which they had chosen.
6:3	3 Then Yăhwēh said, “My spirit shall not contend in man to time immemorial, in that also he is flesh. And his days will have been a hundred and twenty years.”
6:4	4 The Nefiʸliʸm¹ had been on the earth in those days, and also after so, when the sons of the Almĭghty would come unto the daughters of men, and they had given birth to ²them, then they were the great ones, who from time immemorial were men of renown.
6:5	5 Therefore, when Yăhwēh saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his† heart was only evil all the ¹day, 6 then Yăhwēh was sorry, because¹ he had made man on the earth. Then, he himself grieved in his heart.† 7 Then Yăhwēh said, “I will blot out mankind whom I have created from upon the face of the land: from man, to beasts, to creeping things, even to the birds of the heavens; for I have become sorry, because† I have made them.”
6:8	8 And Nōaḥ had found favor† in the eyes of Yăhwēh. These were the begettings of Nōaḥ.

Genesis 6

9	9 Nōaḥ was a righteous man. Whole-hearted† he had been in his generations. With the Almĭghty Nōaḥ had been making himself to be walking. 10 Then Nōaḥ begot three sons, Shēm, Ḥam, and Yafet. 11 Then, the earth was corrupt before the face of the Almĭghty. Then, the earth was filled with violence.
12	12 Then the Almĭghty saw the earth, and behold, it had been corrupted, because all flesh had made corrupted its way upon the earth. 13 Then the Almĭghty said to Nōaḥ, “The limit of all flesh has come before my face, because the earth has been filled with violence out before their faces,” and, “behold, I am going to make them destroyed along with the earth.”
14	14 “Make for youself an ark of gopher¹ wood; you shall make ²nests in the ark; and you shall have pitched her with pitch, inside³ and outside. 15 And this is how you shall make her: three hundred cubits long is the ark, fifty cubits is her width, and thirty cubits is her height. 16 You shall make a ¹noon-window for the ark, and unto a cubit upwards you shall finish her; and you shall put the ark’s door in her side; You shall make her with lowest, second, and third decks.
17	17 “And I, behold, I am bringing the deluge of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh which has in it the ¹breath of life, from under the heavens; all which is in the earth shall perish. 18 And I will have confirmed my covenant with you; and you will have come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And from all the living, from all flesh, you shall cause to enter two from all into the ark, to keep alive with you; they shall be male and female, 20 from the birds according to its kind, and from the beasts according to its kind, from every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind. Two from all shall come unto you, to keep alive. 21 And you, take for yourself from all food which is eaten. And you will have gathered it unto yourself. And it will have been food for yourself and for them.
22	22 Then Nōaḥ was doing so. According to all which the Almĭghty had commanded him, so he had been doing.

Genesis 7

1	1 Then Yăhwēh said to Nōaḥ, “Enter, you and all your house into the ark, because I have seen that you are righteous before my face in this generation. 2 From all the clean beasts, you shall take for yourself, seven and seven, a man² and his woman, but from the beasts which are not clean: it will be two, a man and his woman. 3 Also, from the flying creatures of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep alive seed upon the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven more days I will be causing rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights. And I will have wiped out all that stands, which I have made from upon the face of the ground.” 5 Then Nōaḥ was doing according to all which Yăhwēh had commanded him. 6 And Nōaḥ was a son¹ of six hundred years, and the deluge had been waters upon the earth.
7	7 Therefore, when Nōaḥ entered, and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him, into the ark, from the face of the waters of the deluge, 8 (and from the clean beasts, and from the beasts which are not clean, and from the flying creatures, and from all which creeps upon the ground, 9 two by two, they had come, unto Nōaḥ, into the ark, male and female, according to what the Almĭghty had commanded Nōaḥ.), 10 then it was on¹ the seventh of the days, and the waters of the deluge had come to be upon the earth.
11	11 In the year—the six hundredth year in the life of Nōaḥ, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, in that day all the springs of the great deep had been ripped open, and the portals¹ of the heavens had been opened. 12 At that time, the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 In that same day Nōaḥ, and Shēm, and Ḥam, and Yafet, the sons of Nōaḥ, and Nōaḥ’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, had entered into the ark, 14 they, and all the wild animals, according to its kind, ¹(and all the domestic beasts according to its kind), and all the creepers that creep upon the earth according to its kind, and all the flying creatures according to its kind; every avian; every wing.² 15 At that time, they came unto Nōaḥ, into the ark, two by two, from all the flesh which had in it the breath¹ of life. 16 And the ones coming, male and female from all flesh, had been entering according to what the Almĭghty had commanded him. Then Yăhwēh shut the door behind him.
17	17 Then the deluge was forty days upon the earth. Therefore, when the waters multiplied, then they lifted up the ark. Then she was high above the earth. 18 Therefore, when the waters were mighty, then they multiplied greatly upon the earth. Then the ark went upon the face of the waters. 19 And the waters had grown very very great upon the earth. Then all the high mountains which were under all the heavens were covered. 20 Fifteen cubits upwards the waters had increased. Then the mountains were covered.
21	21 Then all flesh expired that creeps upon the earth, among the flying creatures, and among the domestic beasts (and among the wild animals), even among all the creepers creeping upon the earth, and all the man kind. 22 All which had the breath of a living spirit in its nostrils, from all which was on the ground, had died. 23 Then, all that stood was wiped out, which was upon the face of the ground, from man, to beasts to creeping things, even to the flying creatures of the heavens; then, they were wiped out from the earth. Then Nōaḥ, however, was left, and those with him in the ark.
24	24 Then, the waters were mighty upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 8

1	1 Then, the Almĭghty remembered Nōaḥ, and all the wild animals, (and all the domestic beasts) which were with him in the ark, then the Almĭghty caused a wind to pass over the earth; then the waters would subside. 2 Then, the fountains of the deep and the spillways of the heavens were stopped up, then the rain from the heavens was restrained. 3 Then the waters returned from upon the land, a going and a returning. Then, the waters grew slack at a bound of a hundred and fifty days; 4 then the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of A̓rarat.
5	5 And the waters had been going, and slackening until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first of the month the tops of the mountains had been seen. 6 Then it was at a boundary of forty days: then Nōaḥ opened the window of the ark which he had made. 7 Then he sent out the raven; then it did go out, going out and returning, until the waters withered¹ away from upon the land.
8	8 Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from upon the face of the ground. 9 And the dove had found no rest for the sole of her foot; then she returned unto him, into the ark, because the waters were upon the face of all the land. Then he sent forth his hand; then he took her, then he brought her unto him, into the ark. 10 Then he waited another seven days more, then again he repeated to send the dove out of the ark. 11 Then the dove came unto him at the time of setting, and, look! in her mouth a plucked olive-leaf. Then Nōaḥ knew that the waters had subsided from upon the land. 12 Then he waited another seven days more; then sent forth the dove. And she had not repeated to return unto him any more.
13	13 Then it was in the one and six hundreth year, in the first month, and in the first of the month. The waters had wasted¹ away from upon the land; then Nōaḥ removed the covering of the ark, then he looked, and, behold, the face of the ground nearby had dried up.
14	14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, the land¹ had dried. 15 Then the Almĭghty spoke unto Nōaḥ, saying, 16 “Go forth from the ark, you, and your wife, and your sons, and the wives of your sons with you. 17 Bring forth with you all the living, which are with you from all flesh, among the flying creatures, and among the beasts, and among all the creepers creeping upon the earth, and they will have swarmed over the land, and will have been fruitful, and will have multiplied upon the earth.”
18	18 Then Nōaḥ went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him. 19 All of the beasts, all of the creepers, and all of the flying creatures, all creeping upon the earth, according to their families, had gone forth out of the ark.
20	20 Then Nōaḥ built an altar to Yăhwēh; then he took some from all the clean beasts, and from all the clean flying creatures; then he caused to ascend ascending-offerings on the altar. 21 Then Yăhwēh smelled the soothing aroma; then Yăhwēh said unto his heart, “I will not repeat again to curse the ground because of man, though the imagination of the heart of mankind is evil from his youth; neither will I repeat again to strike all the living, like that I have done. 22 Onward, all the days of the earth, seeding and harvesting, and cold and heat, and summer and ¹fall, and day and night shall not rest.”

Genesis 9

1	1 Then the Almĭghty blessed Nōaḥ and his sons; then he said to them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every flying creature of the heavens, and in all with which the ground creeps, and in all the fishes of the sea. In your hand they have been put. 3 Every creeping thing that¹ lives may be food for you. Like the green plant, I have given all to you. 4 However, flesh with its ¹breath, (with its blood), you shall not eat. 5 But surely concerning the blood of your souls, I will inquire. From the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of mankind, from the hand of each, even his brother, I will demand the soul of man. 6 Whoever is pouring out the blood of man, by man his blood shall be poured out, because in the image of the Almĭghty he has made man. 7 And you, be fruitful, and multiply; be prolific in the earth, and multiply in it.”
8	8 Then the Almĭghty spoke unto Nōaḥ, and unto his sons with him, saying, 9 And I, behold, I am making my covenant stand with you, and with your seed after you, 10 and with every soul of the living which is with you, among the flying creatures, among the domestic beasts, (and among every wild animal) of the earth with you, on account of all going out of the ark, concerning every beast of the earth, 11 and I will have made my covenant stand with you: that all flesh shall not be cut off again by the waters of the flood; that there will never be a flood again to destroy the earth.”
12	12 Then the Almĭghty said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am putting between me and you and between every living soul which is with you, for generations of time immemorial. 13 I will have put my bow in the cloud, and it will have been for a sign of the covenant between me and between the earth. 14 And it will have been, in my making it to be cloudy with clouds over the earth, and the bow will have been seen in the clouds, 15 that I will have remembered my covenant, which is between me and between you and between every living soul in all flesh: that the waters of a flood shall never again be to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow will have been in the cloud; and I will have looked upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between the Almĭghty and between every living soul in all flesh which is upon the earth.”
17	17 Then the Almĭghty said unto Nōaḥ, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have made to stand between me and between all flesh which is upon the earth.”
18	18 Then, the sons of Nōaḥ, going forth from the ark, were Shēm, and Ḥam, and Yafet. And Ḥam: he was the father of Kena‘an. (19 These three are the sons of Nōaḥ: and from these the whole earth has been scattered.)
20	20 Then Nōaḥ began to be a man of the ground, then he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank from the wine; then he was drunk. Then he uncovered himself in the midst of his tent. 22 Then Ḥam, the father of Kena‘an, saw the nakedness of his father; then he announced it to his two brothers on the outside. 23 Then Shēm and Yafet took a ¹garment: then they set it upon their two shoulders; then they went backward; then they covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backward, and they had not seen their father’s nakedness. 24 Then Nōaḥ awoke from his wine; then he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 Then he said, “Cursed is Kena‘an; a servant of servants he shall be to his brothers.” 26 Then he said, “Blessed be Yăhwēh the Almĭghty of Shēm; let Kena‘an be his servant. 27 Let the Almĭghty open space for Yafet, and may he dwell in the tents of Shēm; let Kena‘an be his servant.”
28	27 Then Nōaḥ lived after the flood three hundred years and fifty years. 29 Then all the days of Nōaḥ came to nine hundred years and fifty years: Then he died.
10:1	1 And these were the begettings of the sons of Nōaḥ: Shēm, Ḥam, and Yafet.

Genesis 10

2	2 Then sons were born to them after the flood. The sons of Yafet: Gōmer, and Magōg, and Madai, and Yavan, and Tūv̱al, and Mesheḳ, and Ti̱ras. 3 And the sons of Gōmer: A̓shkanaz, and Ri̱phatʰ, and Tōgarmah. 4 And the sons of Yavan: E̓li̱shah, and Tarshi̱sh, Kitti̱m, and Dōdani̱m. 5 (From these the coasts of the nations had been divided in their lands, each to its tongue, to their families, in their nations.)
6	6 And the sons of Ḥam: Kūsh, and Mitsrayim, and Pūt, and Kena‘an. 7 And the sons of Kūsh: Sev̱a̓, and Ḥavi̱lah, and Sav̱tah, and Ra̒mah, and Sav̱teḳa̓; and the sons of Ra̒mah: Shev̱a, and Dědan. 8 And Kūsh had begotten Nimrōd: he had first begun to be mighty in the earth. 9 He had been a mighty hunter before the face of Yăhwēh. Consequently, it was said, “Like Nimrōd, a mighty hunter before Yăhwēh.” 10 Then the beginning of his kingdom was Bav̱el, and E̓reḳ, and A̓kkad, and Kalnēh, in the land of Shina̒r. 11 (From that land he had gone forth into A̓shūr; then he built Ni̱nvēh, and Reḥov̱otʰ I̱̒r, and Kalaḥ, 12 And Resen between Ni̱nvēh and between Kalaḥ ; it is the great city.) 13 And Mitsrayim had begotten Lūdi̱m, and A̒nami̱m, and Lehav̱i̱m, and Naftūḥi̱m, 14 And Patrūsi̱m, and Kaslūḥi̱m (from there had gone out the Pelishti̱m), and Kaftōri̱m. 15 And Kena‘an had begotten Tsi̱dōn his first-born, and Ḥētʰ, 16 and the Yevūsi̱, and the E̓mori̱, and the Girgashi̱ 17 and the Ḥivvi̱, and the A̒rqi̱, and the Si̱ni̱, 18 and the A̓rvadi̱, and the Tsemari̱, and the Ḥạmati̱. (And afterward the families of the Kena‘ani had been scattered. 19 And the border of the Kena‘ani was from Tsi̱dōn, as you go toward Gerar, as far as A̒zzah; as you go toward Sedōom and A̒mōrah and A̓dmah and Tsev̱ōyim, as far as Lasha̒. 20 These are the sons of Ḥam, by their families, by their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.)
21	21 And to Shēm had also been born sons. He is the father of all the sons of Ē̒v̱er, brother of Yafet who was the elder. 22 The sons of Shēm: Ē̒ylam, and A̓shūr, and A̓rpaḳshad, and Lūd, and Aram. 23 And the sons of A̓ram: Ūts, and Ḥūl, and Geter, and Mash. 24 And A̓rpaḳshad had begotten Shelaḥ; and Shelaḥ had begotten Ē̒v̱er. 25 And unto Ē̒v̱er had been born two sons: The name of the one was Peleg. (For in his days the earth had been divided. And his brother’s name was Yôqtan. 26 And Yôqtan had begotten A̓lmōdad, and Shalef, and Ḥạtsar-mavet, and Yaraḥ, 27 and Hạdōram, and Ūzal, and Diqlah, 28 and O̒v̱al, and A̓v̱i̱ma’ēl, and Shev̱a̓, 29 and Ōphi̱r, and Ḥavi̱lah, and Yōv̱av̱: all these were the sons of Yôqtan. 30 Then their dwelling was from Mēsha̓, as you go toward Sefar, the mountain of the east. 31 These are the sons of Shēm, by their families, by their tongues, in their lands, by their nations. 32 These were the families of the sons of Nōaḥ, by their begettings, in their nations: and from these the nations had been divided up in the earth after the flood.)
11:1	1 ¹At that time, all the earth was of the same speech² and of the same³ words, 2 then it was, during their journeying in the east, then they found a broad valley in the land of Shina̒r; then they settled there.
11:3	3 Then they said each unto his neighbor, “Come give, and let us cast bricks for bricks, and let us fire them by burning.” (Then, their brick was being used as stone. And their asphalt had been as mortar.) 4 Then they said, “Come give, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower, and its top will be in the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered over the face of all the earth.”
11:5	5 Then Yăhwēh descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. 6 Then Yăhwēh said, “Behold, they are one people, and all of them have one language, and this city is their initial concerted act. And now nothing will be impossible for them, of anything they may devise to do. 7 “Come contribute, let us descend, and let us mix up their speech there, that they may not understand each the speech of his neighbor.”
11:8	8 Then Yăhwēh scattered them from there upon the face of all the earth, so that they ceased to build the city. 9 Consequently, the name of it has been called Bav̱el, because there Yăhwēh had mixed up the language of all the earth: and from there Yăhwēh had scattered them upon the face of all the earth. 10 These were the begettings of Shēm.

Genesis 11

10	10 Shēm¹ was a son of a hundred years; then he begat A̓rpaḳshad two years after the flood.² 11 Then Shēm lived after his begetting A̓rpaḳshad five hundreds of years; at that time, he begat sons and daughters.
12	12 Therefore, when A̓rpaḳshad lived five and thirty years, then he begat Shalaḥ.13 Then A̓rpaḳshad lived after his begetting Shalaḥ three years and four hundreds of years; at that time, he begat sons and daughters.
14	14 Therefore, when Shalaḥ had lived thirty years, then he begat Ē̒v̱er: 15 then Shalaḥ lived after his begetting Ē̒v̱er three years and four hundreds of years; at that time, he begat sons and daughters.
16	16 Therefore, when Ē̒v̱er lived four and thirty years, then he begat Peleg: 17 then Ē̒v̱er lived after his begetting Peleg thirty years and four hundreds of years; at that time, he begat sons and daughters.
18	18 Therefore, when Peleg lived thirty years, then he begat Re‘ū. 19 Then Peleg lived after his begetting Re‘ū nine years and two hundred years; at that time, he begat sons and daughters.
20	20 Therefore, when Re‘ū lived two and thirty years, then he begat Serūg. 21 Then Re‘ū lived after his begetting Serūg seven years and two hundred years; at that time, he begat sons and daughters.
22	22 Therefore, when Serūg lived thirty years, then he begat Naḥōr. 23 Then Serūg lived after his begetting Naḥōr two hundred years; at that time, he begat sons and daughters.
24	24 Therefore, when Naḥōr lived nine and twenty years, then he begat Teraḥ: 25 Then Naḥōr lived after his begetting Teraḥ nineteen years and a hundred years; at that time, he begat sons and daughters.
26	26 Therefore, when Teraḥ lived seventy years, then he begat A̓v̱ram, Naḥōr, and Haran.¹ 27 And these were the begettings of Teraḥ.

Genesis 12

11:27	Teraḥ begat A̓v̱ram, Naḥōr, and Haran. And Haran begat Lōt. 28 Then Haran died in the presence of his father Teraḥ in the land of his birth, in Ūr¹ of the Kasdi̱m. 29 Then A̓v̱ram and Naḥōr took for themselves wives. The name of A̓v̱ram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Naḥōr’s wife, Milkah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milkah, and the father of Yiskah. 30 Then, Sarai was barren; She had no child.
11:31	31 Then Teraḥ took A̓v̱ram his son, and Lōt the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son A̓v̱ram’s wife; then they went forth with them from Ūr of the Kasdi̱m, to go into the land of Kena‘an; then they came as far as Ḥaran, then they settled there. 32 Then the days of Teraḥ came to five years and two hundred years. Then Teraḥ died in Ḥaran.†
12:1	1 Then Yăhwēh said unto A̓v̱ram, “Go yourself out of your country, and from your birth place, and from your father’s house, unto the land which I will show you. 2 And let me make you into a great nation, and let me bless you, and let me make your name great; then it will have been a blessing. 3 And let me bless those making you to be blessed, and the one making you to be cursed, I will curse. Then, all the families of the ground will have been blessed in you.”
4	4 Then A̓v̱ram went forth, according to what Yăhwēh had caused to be spoken unto him; at that time, Lōt went with him: and A̓v̱ram was a son of five years and seventy years at his departing out of Ḥaran. 5 Then, A̓v̱ram took Sarai his wife, and Lōt his brother’s son, and all their accumulations which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Ḥaran; then they went out to go into the land of Kena‘an. Then they came into the land of Kena‘an. 6 Then A̓v̱ram crossed in the land as far as the place of Sheḳem, as far as the oak of Mōrēh. And the Kena‘ani̱ was at that time in the land.†
7	7 Then Yăhwēh was seen by A̓v̱ram, then he said, “To your seed I will give this land.” Then he built there an altar to Yăhwēh—the one being seen by him. 8 Then he moved from there toward the mountain on the east of Bētʰ-Ē̓l, then he stretched out his tent, with Bētʰ-Ē̓l on the sea side, and A̒i on the east. Then he built there an altar to Yăhwēh; then he called upon the name of Yăhwēh.
9	9 Then A̓v̱ram pulled up, and kept going, pulling up toward the South. 10 Then there was a famine in the land: then A̓v̱ram went down toward Egypt to sojourn there, because the famine was heavy in the land.
11	11 Then it was, as that he had come near to entering into Egypt, then he said unto Sarai his wife, “Behold please, I have known that you are a woman of beautiful appearance, 12 and it will have been that the Egyptians shall see you, and will have said, ‘This is his wife.’ And they will have killed me, and you they will keep alive. 13 Say please, you are my sister, so that it may go well for me because of you, and my soul will have lived on account of you.”
14	14 Then it was, as A̓v̱ram was entering into Egypt, then the Egyptians saw the woman that she was very beautiful. 15 Then the princes of Phara̒ōh saw her; then they were praising her unto Phara̒ōh; then the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 And he had done good to A̓v̱ram because of her. Then it was to him: sheep, and cattle, and male donkeys, and man-servants, and maid-servants, and female donkeys, and camels.
17	17 Then Yăhwēh inflicted on Phara̒ōh and his house great afflictions concerning the matter of Sarai, A̓v̱ram’s wife. 18 Then Phara̒ōh called for A̓v̱ram; then he said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why have you not declared to me that she is your wife? 19 Why have you said, ‘She is my sister’? Then I took her for myself as a wife. And now, see, your wife, take her, and go.” 20 Then Phara̒ōh commanded men concerning him: then away they sent him, and his wife, and all which he had.

Genesis 13

1	1 Then A̓v̱ram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all which he had, and Lōt with him, into the South. 2 And A̓v̱ram was very heavy with the livestock, with the silver, and with the gold.
3	3 Then he was going in his de-campments from the South even as far as Bētʰ-Ē̓l, as far as the place where his tent had been in the beginning, between Bētʰ-Ē̓l and between Ai, 4 unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: then A̓v̱ram called there on the name of Yăhwēh. 5 And also to Lōt (the one going with A̓v̱ram) had been given flocks, and livestock, and tents.
6	6 And the land would not have borne them, settling together, because their accumulations had become great, so that they would not have been able to dwell together. 7 Then there was a strife between the herdsmen of A̓v̱ram’s livestock and between the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock, and the Kena‘ani and the Perizzee were dwelling at that time in the land.
8	8 Then A̓v̱ram said unto Lōt, “May there be no strife, I pray you, between me and between you, and between my herdsmen and between your herdsmen; because we men are brothers. 9 Is not all the land before you? Separate, I pray, from against me. If you go to the left, then I will go right, or if you go to the right, then I will go left.”
10	10 Then Lōt lifted up his eyes, then he saw all the circuit of the Yardēn, that all of it was well watered, before Yăhwēh made Sedōm and A̒mōrah to be a desolation, like the garden of Yăhwēh, like the land of Egypt, is your entering Tso‘ar. 11 Then Lōt chose for himself all the circuit of the Yardēn; then Lōt decamped east, so that they separated each from against his brother.
12	12 A̓v̱ram had settled in the land of Kena‘an, and Lōt had settled among the cities of the circuit, then he pitched his tent¹ as far as Sedōm, 13 and the men of Sedōm were wicked and sinners against Yăhwēh exceedingly.
14	14 And Yăhwēh had said unto A̓v̱ram, after Lot’s being parted from with him, “Lift up please your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and seaward. 15 For all the land which you are looking at, to you will I give it, and to your seed onward time immemorial. 16 And I will have fixed your seed as the dust of the earth, which if a man is able to count the dust of the earth, then also your seed may be counted. 17 Arise, walk yourself in the land, the length of it and the width of it; because to you I will give it.”
18	18 Then A̓v̱ram kept pitching his tent; then he came; then he settled by the terebinths of Mamrē, which are in Ḥev̱ron; then he built there an altar to Yăhwēh.

Genesis 14

1	1 Then it was in the days of A̓mraphel king of Shina̒r, Aryōḳ king of E̓llasar, Kedorlao̒mer king of Ē̒ylam, and Tida̒l king of nations, 2 that they had made war with Bera̒ king of Sedōm, and with Birsha̒ king of A̒mōrah, Shin’av̱ king of Admah, and Shem’ḗv̱er king of Tsev̱oyeem, and the king of Bela̒ (it is now Tso‘ar).
3	3 All these had allied in the valley of Siddeem (it is now the Salt Sea). 4 Two and ten years they had served Kedorla̒omer, and in the thirteenth year they had rebelled. 5 And in the fourteenth year Kedorla̒omer had come, and the kings which were with him; then they struck the Repha’eem in Ashterot Qarnayim, and the Zuzeem in Ḥam, and the Ēymeem in Shavēh Qiryatayim, 6 and the Ḥoree in their mount Sē‘eer, as far as Ēyl Pa’ran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned; then they came unto Ē̒yn Mishpat (it is now Qadēsh); then then they struck all the fields of the Amalēqee, and also the Emori, who were dwelling in Ḥatsetson Tamar.
8	8 Then the king of Sedōm, and the king of A̒mōrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Tsev̱oyeem, and the king of Bela̒ (it is Tso‘ar) went out; then they arrayed a battle formation with them in the valley of Siddeem, 9 with Kedorla̒ó̧mer king of Ē̒ylam, and Tid‘al king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shin‘ar, and Aryoḳ king of Ellasar; four kings with the five.
10	10 And the valley of Siddeem had pits of tar pits; then the king of Sedōm and A̒mōrah fled; then they fell thitherward, and those being left had fled to the mountain. 11 Then they took all the accumulation of Sedōm and A̒mōrah, and all their food; then they went away. 12 At that time, they took Lōt (A̓v̱ram’s brother’s son), and his accumulation, then they went away; at that time, he had been dwelling in Sedōm.
13	13 Then there came an escapee; then he told A̓v̱ram the Hebrew. And he was dwelling by the terebinths of Mamrē the E̓moree, brother of Eshkol, and brother of Anēr; and they were chieftains in a covenant¹ with A̓v̱ram.
14	14 Then Avram heard that his brother had been taken captive; then he unleashed his trained¹ soldiers, born in his house, eighteen and three hundreds; then he pursued as far as Dan. 15 Then he split up against them by night, he and his servants; then he struck them; then he pursued them as far as Ḥov̱ah, which is on the left of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the accumulation, and also he had brought back his brother Lōt, and his accumulation, and also the women, and the people.
17	17 Then the king of Sedōm went out to meet him, after his returning from striking Kedorla̒ó̧mer and the kings which were with him, unto the valley of Shavēh (It is now the valley of the king). 18 And Malkee-Tsedeq king of Shalēm had brought forth bread and wine: and he was a minister of Gŏd Most High. 19 Then he blessed him; then he said, “Blessed be A̓v̱ram by Gŏd Most High, owner of the heavens and earth. 20 And being blessed is Gŏd Most High, who has delivered your adversaries into your hand.” Then he gave him a tenth from all.
21	21 Then the king of Sedōm said unto A̓v̱ram, “Give to me the persons, and take the accumulation for yourself.” 22 Then A̓v̱ram said unto the king of Sedōm, “I have raised my hand unto Yăhwēh, Gŏd Most High, owner of the heavens and earth 23 to swear that, neither from a thread or onward to a shoe-strap, and neither will I take from anything which is yours, that you may not say, ‘I, I have made A̓v̱ram rich,’ 24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which have gone with me, Anēr, Eshkol, and Mamrē. They will¹ take their portion.”

Genesis 15

1	1 After these things, the word of Yăhwēh had been unto A̓v̱ram in a vision, saying, “May you not fear, A̓v̱ram: I am the shield for you, your exceedingly great reward.”
2	2 Then A̓v̱ram said, “Adonai Yăhwēh, what will you give to me, seeing I am going childless, and the son of inheritance of my house, he is E̓lee‘ezer of Damascus?” 3 Then A̓v̱ram said, “Behold, to me you have given no seed: and, look, a son of my house is inheriting from me.”
4	4 And, behold, the word of Yăhwēh was unto him, saying, “This one shall not inherit from you; but he that shall go forth out of your inner parts, he shall inherit from you.” 5 Then he brought him to the outside; then he said, “Look please toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your seed be.”
6	6 And he had been trustingly faithful† in Yăhwēh. ‡Therefore, He was considering it to him as righteousness.
7	7 Then he said unto him, “I am Yăhwēh, who has brought you out of Ūr of the Kasdi̱m, to give to you this land to inherit it.”
8	8 Then he said, “O Adonai Yăhwēh, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?” 9 Then he said unto him, “Take for me a heifer being fully three years old, and a female-goat ¹being fully three years old, and a ram being fully three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he took for him all these; then he cut them in two, in the midst; then he placed each piece of it meeting its neighbor, but the birds he had not cut in two. 11 Then the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses; then A̓v̱ram blew them away.
12	12 Wheň then the sun was going down, and a deep sleep had fallen upon A̓v̱ram; and, behold, a terror of great darkness was falling upon him. 13 Then he said unto A̓v̱ram, “Knowing you must know that your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not possessed by them (and they will have served them, and they will have afflicted them) four hundreds of years.¹ 14 And also the nation, which they shall serve, I will be judging: and after this shall they go out with a great deal of accumulation. 15 And you shall go unto your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a well greyed age. 16 And the fourth generation they shall come here, because the iniquity of the E̓moree is not till here complete.
17	17 Then it was when the sun had gone down, and it had become completly dark, that behold there had been a smoking furnace, and a fiery torch, which had passed between these pieces. 18 In that day Yăhwēh had cut a covenant with A̓v̱ram, saying, “To your seed I will have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Perat, 19 with Qēynee, and with the Qenizzee, and with the Qadmonee, 20 and with the Ḥittee, and with the Perizzee, and with the Repha’eem, 21 and with the E̓moree, and with the Kena‘ani, and with the Girgashee, and the Yevusi.”

Genesis 16

1	1 And Sarai, A̓v̱ram’s wife, had not given birth for him: but she had an Egyptian maidservant, and her name was Hagar. 2 Then Sarai said unto A̓v̱ram, “Pay attention please; Yăhwēh has kept me from bearing; go, please, unto my maidservant; perhaps I will be built up from her.” Then A̓v̱ram listened to the voice of Sarai.
3	3 Then Sarai, A̓v̱ram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after A̓v̱ram had dwelled ten years in the land of Kena‘an; then she gave her to A̓v̱ram, her husband, to be his wife. 4 Then he went unto Hagar; then she conceived: wheň then she saw that she had conceived, then she slighted her mistress in her eyes.” 5 Then Sarai said unto A̓v̱ram, “My injury be upon you: I had given my maid servant into your bosom. Wheň then she saw that she had conceived, then I was slighted in her eyes: may Yăhwēh judge between me and you.”
6	6 Then A̓v̱ram said unto Sarai, “Behold, your maidservant is in your hands; do to her what is good in your eyes.” Then Sarai afflicted her; then she fled from her face.
7	7 Then the Messenger of Yăhwēh found her above a certain¹ spring of waters in the wilderness, above the spring near the road to Shur.
8	8 Then he said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant, from where have you come? And where are you going?” Then she said, “I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.” 9 Then the Messenger of Yăhwēh said to her, “Return unto your mistress, and humble yourself under her hands.” 10 Then the Messenger of Yăhwēh said to her, “Multiplying I will multiply your seed, and it shall not be numbered by reason of greatness.”
11	11 Then the Messenger of Yăhwēh said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and you will have borne a son; and you will have called his name Yishma‘ē̓l, because Yăhwēh has listened unto your affliction. 12 And he will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand shall be against all, and all against him; and he shall dwell in the face of all his brothers.”
13	13 Then she proclaimed the name of Yăhwēh (the one² speaking unto her), “You are a Gŏd of ¹seeing.” Because she had said, “Even here have I seen after he³ is seeing me?” 14 Consequently, the well has been called ¹Be´ēr laḥai ro´ee. Behold, it is between Qadēsh and Bared.
15	15 Then Hagar bore to A̓v̱ram a son: then A̓v̱ram called the name of his son, whom Hagar had borne, Yishma‘ē̓l. 16 And A̓v̱ram was a son of eighty years and six years, at Hagar’s bearing Yishma‘ē̓l to A̓v̱ram.

Genesis 17

1	1 Then A̓v̱ram was a son of ninety years and nine years, then Yăhwēh was seen unto A̓v̱ram; then he said unto him, “I am ¹Ēl Shaddai. Walk before me, and be wholehearted, 2 and let me put my covenant between me and between you, and let me multiply you in abundance abundantly.”
3	3 Then A̓v̱ram fell on his face: then the Almĭghty spoke with him, saying, 4 “As for Me, behold, my covenant is with you. And you will have become the father of a multitude of nations. 5 Neither shall your name any more be called ¹A̓v̱ram; and your name will have been ²A̓v̱raham; because I will have made you a father of a multitude of nations. 6 And I will have made you in abundance abundantly fruitful, and I will have made nations of you, and kings shall come out of you. 7 And I will have made to stand my covenant between me and between you and between your seed after you for their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be the Almĭghty to you and to your seed after you. 8 And I will have given to you, and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Kena‘an, for an everlasting possession; and I will have become their Almĭghty.”
9	9 Then the Almĭghty said unto Av̱raham, “And as for you, you shall keep my covenant, you, and your seed after you for their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you all shall keep, between me and between you all and between your seed after you: every male of you all being circumcised. 11 And you all shall have been circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall have been a sign of the covenant between me and between you all.”
12	12 “And a son eight days¹ shall be circumcised among you all, every male throughout your generations, born of the house, or bought with silver from any foreign son wherein he is not from your seed. 13 Being circumcised he shall be circumcised, one born of your house, and one bought with your silver. And my covenant shall have been in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male, who will not be circumcised¹ in the flesh of his foreskin, even that soul will have been cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
15	15 Thenʰ the Almĭghty said unto Av̱raham, “As to Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name ¹Sarai, but ²Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will have blessed her, and I will have given to you a son from her: and I will have blessed her, and she will have become a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
17	17 Then Av̱raham fell upon his face; then he laughed; then he said in his heart, “Shall a son be born at a hundred years? Or if Sarah, is a daughter of ninety years, she shall give birth?”
18	18 Then Av̱raham said unto the Almĭghty, “Oh that Yishma‘ē̓l might live before you!”
19	19 Then the Almĭghty said, “But truly Sarah your wife will be bearing to you a son; and you shall have called his name Yitsḥaq: and I will have made to stand my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.”
20	20 “Now as for Yishma‘ē̓l, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him and I will have made him fruitful, and I will have multipled him in abundance abundantly. Two and ten princes shall he beget; and I will have made him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will I make stand with Yitsḥaq, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this appointed time in the following year.”‡
22	22 Then he finished talking with him; then the Almĭghty went up from Av̱raham.
23	23 Then Av̱raham took Yishma‘ē̓l his son, and all born of his house, and all bought of his silver, every male among the men of Av̱raham’s house; then he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in that same day, according to what the Almĭghty had spoken with him. 24 And Av̱raham was a son of ninety and nine years, at his being circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Yishma‘ē̓l his son was a son of three and ten years, at his being circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26	26 In that same day Av̱raham had been circumcised, and Yishma‘ē̓l his son. 27 And all the men of his house, those born of the house, and those bought with silver from a foreign son, had been circumcised with him.

Genesis 18

1	1 Then Yăhwēh was seen by him by the terebinths of Mamrē.
2	2 Therefore, when he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day, then he lifted up his eyes so that he looked, and, behold, three men were stationed opposite him, so that he saw them. Then he ran from the tent door to meet them. Then he bowed himself earthward.
3	3 Then he said, “Adŏnai¹ please, if I have found favor in your eyes — please may you not pass onward from by your servant:† 4 Please may a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and relax yourselves under the tree. 5 And let me get some bread, and refresh your hearts; afterward you may pass onward, since you have come by your servant. Then they said, “Yes, you may do as you have said.”
6	6 Then Av̱raham hurried toward the tent unto Sarah, and said, “Hurry, three measures of fine meal, knead, and make cakes.” 7 And Av̱raham had run unto the herd; then he took a son of the herd, tender and good; then he gave it unto the servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then he took curd, and milk, and the son of the herd which he had had prepared; then he set it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree, and they ate.
9	9 Then they said unto him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” Then he said, “Over there in the tent.”
10	10 So then he said, “Returning I will return unto you at the time of life; and, behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, and it was behind him.
11	11 And Av̱raham and Sarah were coming into their elderly days; it had ceased to be for Sarah according to the way of women. 12 Then Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After my wearing out, will there have been pleasure for me? Also my lord has aged.”
13	13 Then Yăhwēh said unto Av̱raham, “Why has Sarah laughed about this, saying, ‘Yeah really, I will give birth when I have become old!.’ 14 Is a word too wonderful for Yăhwēh? At the appointed time I will return unto you, at the time of life, and Sarah will have a son.”
15	15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I have not laughed,” because she had become afraid. Then he said, “No; but you have laughed.”
16	16 Then the men stood up from there. Then they looked down on the face of Sedōm, and Av̱raham was going with them to send them off, 17 so then Yăhwēh had said, “Shall I be hiding from Av̱raham what I am doing, 18 since Av̱raham becoming, he will become a great nation and mighty in numbers, and all the nations of the earth will have been blessed in him?
19	19 “For I have come to know¹ him, with the intent that he would² command his sons and his house after him, so they will have kept the way of Yăhwēh, to do righteousness and judgment,” with the intent of³ Yăhwēh’s bringing upon Av̱raham that which he had spoken concerning him.
20	20 Then Yăhwēh said, “Because Sedōm and Amorah’s outcry has become great, and because their sin has been very weighty, 21 I want to go down, please, and I want to see if they have done completely according to it’s outcry that has come to me, and if not, I want to know.”
22	22 Then the men turned from there; they walked toward Sedōm: but Yăhwēh was still himself standing before Av̱raham.¹
23	23 Then Av̱raham drew near; then he said, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city: will you sweep away and not bear the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones which are in its interior? 25 May it be profane for you, in acting according to this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous will have been as the wicked; may it be profane for you: will not the Judge of all the earth act justly?”
26	26 Then Yăhwēh said, “If I find in Sedōm fifty righteous ones, in the midst of the city, also I will have borne all the place on their account.”
27	27 Then Av̱raham answered and he said, “Look please, I have been willing to speak unto my Adonai, and I am dust and ashes: 28 Perhaps they shall lack of the fifty righteous ones, five: will you destroy all the city lacking in five? Then he said, “I will not destroy it, if I shall find there forty and five.”
29	29 At that time, he continued still to speak unto him, then he said, “Perhaps they shall find forty there.” Then he said, “I will not act on account of the forty.”
30	30 Then he said, “Please may my Adonai not be angry, but let me speak: perhaps they shall find thirty there. Then he said, “I will not act, if I will find thirty there.”
31	31 Then he said, “Look please, I have been willing to speak unto my Adonai: perhaps they shall find twenty there. Then he said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”
32	32 Then he said, “Please may my Adonai not be angry, now let me speak but once more: perhaps they will find ten there.” Then he said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”
33	33 Then Yăhwēh went as that he had finished speaking unto Av̱raham, and Av̱raham had returned to his place.

Genesis 19

1	1 Then the two of the messengers came toward Sedōm at the setting; and Lōt was sitting in the gate of Sedōm: then Lōt looked; then he rose up to meet them; then he bowed himself with his nose earthward.
2	2 Then he said, “Please look, my lords, turn aside, if you please, into your servant’s house, and lodge the night, and wash your feet, and you will have risen up early, and you will have gone your way.” Then they said, “No; but in the street we will lodge the night.”
3	3 So then he pressed them greatly; then they turned aside unto him; then they entered into his house; then he made them a feast; and he had baked unleavened bread; then they ate.
4	4 But before they lay down, then the men of the city, the men of Sedōm, had surrounded themselves about the house, from the young even onward to the old, all the people from its limits; 5 then they called unto Lōt, so that they said to him, “Where are the men which have come unto you this night? Bring them out unto us, and let us know them.”
6	6 Then Lōt went out unto them toward the doorway; and he had shut the door after him. 7 Then he said, “Please no, my brothers, may you not be wicked. 8 Please look, two daughters belong to me, which have not known a man; let me, please, bring them out unto you, and do to them according to what is good in your eyes: only to these men you may not do a thing, because they have come in the shadow of my roof beams.
9	9 Then they said, “Come nearer here.” Then they said, “You are the one having come to sojourn,” and “judging he will judge, now will we deal worse to you, than with them.” Then they pressed greatly on the man, on Lōt; then they came nearer to break the door. 10 But the men put forth their hand; then they brought Lōt unto them toward the house, and the door they had shut. 11 And the men which were at the door of the house, they had struck with blindness, from small even onward to great, so then they wearied of finding the door.
12	12 Then the men said unto Lōt, “Are there yet any more you have here? In-laws, or sons to you, or daughters to you, even all which you have in the city, bring them out of the place! 13 For we are destroying this place! Because their cry has grown great before Yăhwēh, then Yăhwēh sent us to destroy it.”
14	14 At that time, Lōt went out, and spoke unto his in-laws, who were taking his daughters in marriage, then he said, “Rise up! Go out of this place! Because Yăhwēh is destroying the city.” But he was as one mocking in the eyes of his in-laws.
15	15 And as the early dawn had ascended, then the messengers pressed on Lōt, saying, “Rise up, take your wife, and your two daughters, being found here, lest you be swept away with the iniquity of the city.” 16 Then he lingered. So then the men seized hold on his hand, and on his wife’s hand, and his two daughters’ hands, with the mercy of Yăhwēh upon him, so that they brought him forth; then they put him outside the city.
17	17 Then it was, while making them leave to the outside that they said, “Deliver yourself for the sake of your soul; you may not look behind you, and you may not stop in any part of the circuit; deliver yourself to the mountains, lest you be swept away.”
18	18 Then Lōt said unto them, “Please no, my lords: 19 “Look please, since your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have magnified your loving-kindness, which you have done with me by making my soul live; and I, I am not able to deliver myself to the mountain, lest the evil will overtake me, and I will have died: 20 “Look please, this city is near to flee there, and it is a little one. Please let me deliver myself there (Isn’t it a little one?) then¹ my soul shall live.”
21	21 Then he said unto him, “Look, I have endured your countenance¹ for this matter also, to not overturn² the city of which you have spoken. 22 “Make haste, deliver yourself to there, because I will not be able to do a thing till your coming to there.” Consequently, the name of the city has been called Tso‘ar (a little one).
23	23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lōt had come to Tso‘ar. 24 Then Yăhwēh had rained upon Sedōm and upon A̒mōrah brimstone and fire from Yăhwēh, out of the heavens, 25 so that he overthrew those cities, and all the circuit, and all the inhabi-tants of the cities, and the growth ground.
26	26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27	27 Then Av̱raham rose up early in the daybreak unto the place where he had stood before Yăhwēh. 28 Then he looked down upon the face of Sedōm and A̒mōrah, and upon all the face of the land of the circuit so that he observed, and, behold, the smoke of the land had risen up as the smoke of the kiln. 29 At that time, it was, during the Almĭghty’s destroying of the cities of the circuit, that the Almĭghty remembered Av̱raham, so that he sent Lōt out of the midst of the overthrow, while overthrowing the cities where Lōt had dwelled among them.
30	30 Then Lōt went up out of Tso‘ar; then he stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him, because he had been afraid to stay in Tso‘ar. Then he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31	31 Then the first-born said unto the younger, “Our father has grown old, and there is not a man in the earth to come on us according to the way of all the earth: 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may bring to life seed from our father.”
33	33 Then they made their father drink wine in that night: then the first-born went in; then she lay with her father; and he had not known during her laying down, and during her rising up.
34	34 Then it was in the day after, that the first-born said unto the younger, “Behold, I have lain last night with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go, lie with him, that we may bring to life seed from our father.” 35 Then they made their father drink wine in that night also, then the younger one arose, then she lay with him; and he had not known during her laying down, and during her rising up.
36	36 Then the two daughters of Lōt conceived from their father. 37 Then the first-born bore a son; then she called his name Mo´av̱. He is the father of Mo´av̱ until this day. 38 And the younger one, she also had borne a son; then she called his name Ben-Ammee: the same is the father of the sons of Ammon unto this day.

Genesis 20

1	1 Then Av̱raham decamped from there toward the land of the South; then he dwelled between Qadēsh and between Shur. Then he sojourned in Gerar. 2 Then Av̱raham said unto Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Then Av̱eemeleḳ king of Gerar sent; then he took Sarah.”
3	3 Then the Almĭghty came to Av̱eemeleḳ in a dream of the night; then he said unto him, “Behold, you are dead because of the woman whom you have taken. For she is married with a husband.” 4 And Av̱eemeleḳ had not come near unto her. Then he said, “Adonai, will you slay even a righteous nation? 5 Has he not said himself to me, ‘She is my sister?’ And she, even she herself has said, “He is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and the innocency of my hands have I done this.”
6	6 Then the Almĭghty said unto him in the dream, “Also, I, I have known that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, then I, I also withheld you from sinning against me. Consequently, I have not allowed you to touch her. 7 And now return the man’s wife, because he is a prophet; then he shall pray for you that you may live. And if you are not returning her, know that dying you will die, you, and all which are yours.”
8	8 Then Av̱eemeleḳ rose early in the daybreak; then he called all his servants; then he told all these things in their ears. Then the men were very afraid. 9 Then Av̱eemeleḳ called Av̱raham; then he said to him, “What have you done to us? And what have I sinned against you, that you have brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? Deeds which are not done, you have done with me.” 10 Then Av̱eemeleḳ said unto Av̱raham, “What have you seen, that you have done this thing?”
11	11 Then Av̱raham said, “Because I had said, “Surely the fear of the Almĭghty is not in this place. And they will have slain me concerning the matter of my wife.12 And also she is truly my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; then she became my wife.
13	13 Then it was, as that the Almĭghty ones¹ had caused me to wander from my father’s house, then I said to her, “This is your kindness which you shall do with me. Unto all the places which we shall come to there, say of me, “He is my brother.”
14	14 Then Av̱eemeleḳ took sheep and cattle, and men-servants and maid-servants; then he gave them to Av̱raham; then he returned to him Sarah his wife. 15 Then Av̱eemeleḳ said, “Behold, my land is before you. In whatever part is the best in your eyes dwell.” 16 And to Sarah he had said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes to all that are with you. And in respect of all you have been righted.”
17	17 Then Av̱raham prayed unto the Almĭghty. Then the Almĭghty healed Av̱eemeleḳ, and his wife, and his maid-servants; then they gave birth, 18 because Yăhwēh holding had held back every womb of the house of Av̱eemeleḳ, in the matter of Sarah, Av̱raham’s wife.

Genesis 21

1	1 And Yăhwēh had attended Sarah according to what he had said, then Yăhwēh did to Sarah according to what he had spoken. 2 Then Sarah conceived; then she bore Av̱raham a son at his old age, at the appointed time which the Almĭghty had spoken to him. 3 Then Av̱raham called the name of his son being born to him, which Sarah had borne to him, Yitsḥaq.
4	4 Then Av̱raham circumcised his son Yitsḥaq, a ¹son eight days, according to what the Almĭghty had commanded him. 5 And Av̱raham was a son of a hundred years, when his son Yitsḥaq was being born unto him.
6	6 Then Sarah said, “The Almĭghty has made me laugh. All those hearing will laugh for me.” 7 At that time, she said, “Who would have suggested to Av̱raham, that Sarah will have nursed sons, because I have borne him a son at his old age.” 8 Then the lad grew; then he was weaned. Then Av̱raham made a great feast on the day Yitsḥaq was weaned.
9	9 Then Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Av̱raham, making belittling¹ laughter at Yitsḥaq. 10 Then she said to Av̱raham, “Cast out this handmaid and her son, because the son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my son, with Yitsḥaq.”
11	11 Sō then the matter boded very ill in Av̱raham’s eyes on account of his son. 12 Then the Almĭghty said unto Av̱raham, “Let it not bode ill in your eyes concerning the lad, and concerning your handmaid. In all which Sarah says unto you, listen to her voice, because in Yitsḥaq shall your seed be called. 13 “And also of the son of the handmaid will I establish as a nation, because he is your seed.”
14	14 Then Av̱raham rose up early in the daybreak; then he took bread and a skin of water; then he gave it unto Hagar, setting it against her shoulder, and the lad also; then he sent her away. Then she departed; then she wandered in the wilderness of Be´ēr- shav̱a̒. 15 Then the water from the skin was spent. Then she cast off the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went; then she sat down for herself, opposite from him, making it a distance of about a bow’s shooting. For she had said, “I will not look on the death of the boy.” Then she sat on the opposite side; then she lifted up her voice; then she wept.
17	17 Then the Almĭghty heard the voice of the lad. Then the Messenger of the Almĭghty¹ called unto Hagar from the heavens; then he said to her, “What concerns you, Hagar? May you fear not! For the Almĭghty has listened unto the voice of the lad in the spot which he is over there. 18 “Arise, lift the lad, and take hold with your hand on him, because I will establish him as a great nation.”
19	19 Then the Almĭghty opened her eyes; then she saw a well of water. Then she went; then she filled the skin with water; then she made the lad drink. 20 Then the Almĭghty was with the lad; then he grew. Then he stayed in the wilderness; then he was shooting a bow. 21 At that time, he dwelled in the wilderness of Pa´ran. Then his mother took for him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
22	22 Then it was in that time, then Av̱eemeleḳ and Peeḳol, commander of his army spoke unto Av̱raham, saying, “The Almĭghty is with you in all which you are doing. 23 “And now swear yourself to me by the Almĭghty here, that you will not deal falsely to me, and to my posterity, and to my progeny. According to the kindness which I have done with you, you shall do with me, and with the land in that you have sojourned in it.” 24 Then Av̱raham said, “I, I will swear.”
25	25 And Av̱raham had corrected Av̱eemeleḳ about the matter of a well of waters, which Av̱eemeleḳ’s servants had seized. 26 Then Av̱eemeleḳ said, “I have not known who has done this thing. And also you have not told me, and also I, I have not heard except today.”
27	27 Then Av̱raham took sheep and cattle; then he gave them to Av̱eemeleḳ. Then they two cut a covenant. 28 Then Av̱raham stood seven ewe lambs of the flock separate by themselves. 29 Sō then Av̱eemeleḳ said unto Av̱raham, “What here are these seven ewe lambs which you have stood separate by themselves?” 30 Then he said that, “These seven ewe lambs you shall take from my hand; for the sake of a witness it shall be for me that I have dug this well.” 31 Consequently, he had called that place Be´ēr Shav̱a̒, because there they two had been sworn. 32 Sō then they cut a covenant in Be´ēr Shav̱a̒. Then Av̱eemeleḳ rose up, and Peeḳol, commander of his army; then they returned unto the land of the Pelishteem.
33	33 Then Av̱raham planted a tamarisk tree in Be´ēr Shav̱a̒; then he called there on the name of Yăhwēh, Ēl Olam (Gŏd Everlasting). 34 Then Av̱raham sojourned in the land of the Pelishteem many days.

Genesis 22

1	1 Then it was after these matters, that the Almĭghty had tested Av̱raham; then he said unto him, “Av̱raham.” Then he said, “Here am I.”
2	2 Then he said, “Take please your son, your only special one, whom you have loved, Yitsḥaq, and go for yourself unto the land of Moreeyah. And cause him to ascend there for an ascending-offering upon one of the mountains which I will say unto you.”
3	3 Then Av̱raham rose early in the daybreak; then he bound up his donkey; then he took two¹ of his young men with him, and Yitsḥaq his son. At that time, he split the wood for the ascending-of-fering; then he rose up; then he went unto the place which the Almĭghty had said to him.
4	4 On the third day, wheň then Av̱raham lifted up his eyes, then he saw the place from afar. 5 Then Av̱raham said unto his lads, “Remain by yourselves here with the donkey, and I and the lad, we will go onward from here; and we will worship, and we will return unto you.”
6	6 Then Av̱raham took the wood of the ascending-offering; then he set it upon Yitsḥaq his son. Then he took in his hand the fire and the knife. Then they went two of them together. 7 Then Yitsḥaq spoke unto Av̱raham his father; then he said, “My father.” Then he said, “Here am I, my son.” Then he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood. And where is the lamb for an ascending-offering?”
8	8 Then Av̱raham said, “The Almĭghty will see himself to ¹him, the lamb, for an ascending-offering, my son.”¹ Then they went two of them together.†
9	9 Then they came unto the place which the Almĭghty had said to him. Then Av̱raham built the altar there, then he arranged the wood; then he bound Yitsḥaq his son; then he set him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10	10 Then Av̱raham sent forth his hand; then he took the knife to slay his son. 11 Then the Messenger of Yăhwēh called unto him out of the heavens; then he said, “Av̱raham, Av̱raham.” Sō then he said, “Here I am.” 12 Then he said, “You may not send forth your hand unto the lad, and may you not do to him anything. For now I have come to know that you fear the Almĭghty, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only special one, from me.”†
13	13 Then Av̱raham lifted up his eyes; then he did see, and behold, behind them a ram was caught in the thicket by his horns. Then Av̱raham went; then he took the ram; then he made him ascend for an ascending-offering in place of his son. 14 Then Av̱raham proclaimed the renown of that place, “Yăhwēh-himself will see, which is said today, “On the mount Yăhwēh himself will see.”¹
15	15 Then the Messenger of Yăhwēh called unto Av̱raham a second time out of the heavens, 16 Then he said, “In Myself have I become sworn—an utterance of Yăhwēh—that because that you have done this word, and have not withheld your son, your only special one, 17 “That blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the lip of the sea. And your seed shall dispossess the gate of his enemies. 18 “And in your seed all the nations of the earth will have made themselves to be blessed. Because that you have listened to my voice.”
19	19 Sō then Av̱raham returned unto his young men; then they rose up; then went together unto Be´ēr Shev̱a̒. Then Av̱raham dwelled in Be´ēr Shev̱a̒.
20	20 Then it was after these words, then it was told Av̱raham, saying, “Behold, Milkah, she also has borne sons to Naḥōr your brother. 21 Uts his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Qemu´ēl the father of Aram. 22 And Kesed, and Ḥạzo, and Pildash, and Yidlaph, and Betu´ēl. 23 And Betu´ēl had begotten Riv̱qah. These eight Milkah had borne to Naḥōr, Av̱raham’s brother, 24 and his concubine; and her name was Re´umah; thereforē then she bore, even she, Tev̱aḥ, and Gaḥam, and Taḥash, and Ma‘ạḳah.

Genesis 23

1	1 Then the life of Sarah was a hundred years and twenty years and seven years—all the years of the life of Sarah, 2 then Sarah died in Qiryat Arba̒ (It is Ḥev̱ron), in the land of Kena‘an. Then Av̱raham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
3	3 Then Av̱raham rose up from over the face of his dead, then spoke unto the sons of Ḥēt, saying, 4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you. Give me possession of a tomb with you, that I may entomb my dead out of my sight.”
5	5 Then the sons of Ḥēt answered Av̱raham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of the Almĭghty in the midst of us. In the best of our tombs entomb your dead. Not a man from us shall shut from you his tomb, from entombing your dead.”
7	7 Then Av̱raham rose up; then he bowed himself to the people of the land, to the sons of Ḥēt. 8 Then he spoke with them, saying, “If it is agreeable with your souls to entomb my dead away from my face, hear me, and meet for me with ‘Ephron son of Tsó̧ḥar, 9 then may he give to me the cave of Maḳ-pēlah, which he has, which is in the border of his field. For its full price in silver may he give it to me in the midst of you as a tomb possession.”
10	10 And ‘Ephron was sitting in the midst of the sons of Ḥēt. Then ‘Ephron the Ḥittee answered Av̱raham in the ears of the sons of Ḥēt, of all entering the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, hear me. The field I have given to you, and the cave which is in it, to you I have given it. Before the eyes of the sons of my people I have given it to you. Entomb your dead.”
12	12 Then Av̱raham bowed himself down before the faces of the people of the land. 13 Then he spoke unto ‘Ephron in the ears of the people of the land, saying, “But if you will, listen to me. I will have given silver for the field. Take from me, and I will entomb my dead there.
14	14 Then ‘Ephron answered Av̱raham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me. Land of four hundreds silver sheqels, what is it between me and between you? So entomb your dead.”
16	16 Then Av̱raham listened unto ‘Ephron. Then Av̱raham weighed to ‘Ephron the silver which he had spoken in the ears of the sons of Ḥēt, four hundreds silver sheqels, current silver with the merchant. 17 Sō then the field of ‘Ephron was confirmed, (which was in Maḳpēlah, which was near the front of Mamrē, the field, and the cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, which were in all its border around), 18 to Av̱raham as a purchase to the eyes of the sons of Ḥēt, among those entering the gate of his city.
19	19 And so afterward, Av̱raham had entombed Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Maḳpēlah at the face of Mamrē (it is Ḥev̱ron), in the land of Kena‘an. 20 At that time, the field, and the cave which is in it, were confirmed to Av̱raham as a tomb possession from the sons of Ḥēt.

Genesis 24

1	1 And coming into those days Av̱raham had aged. And Yăhwēh had blessed Av̱raham in all things.
2	2 Then Av̱raham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled over all which he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh. 3 And I will make you swear by Yăhwēh, the Almĭghty of the heavens and the Almĭghty of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kena‘ani, in whose midst I am dwelling, 4 but you shall go unto my land, and unto my ¹birthplace, and you will have taken a wife for my son Yitsḥaq.”
5	5 Then the servant said unto him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to come after me unto this land. Returning may I return your son unto the land which you have come out of—from there?”
6	6 Then Av̱raham said unto him, “Watch yourself lest you should bring my son thitherward. 7 Yăhwēh the Almĭghty of the heavens, who has taken me from my father’s house, and from the land of my birth, and who has spoken to me, and who has sworn himself to me, saying, ‘To your seed I will give this land.’ He will send his messenger before you, and you shall have taken a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing to follow after you, also you will have been cleared from this, my oath. Only let you not return with my son there.”
9	9 Then the servant put his hand under the thigh of Av̱raham his master; then he swore himself to him concerning this word.
10	10 Then the servant took ten camels, from the camels of his master; then he departed, having all goodly things of his master’s in his hand. At that time, he arose; then he went unto Aram of the two rivers, unto the city of Naḥōr. 11 Then he made the camels kneel down at the city by the well of waters at the time of setting, at the time that women go out, those who draw water.
12	12 Then he said, “Yăhwēh the Almĭghty of my master Av̱raham, please arrange a meeting before me this day, and deal kindly with my master Av̱raham. 13 “Behold, I am stationing myself by a spring of waters. And some daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw waters. 14 And it will have been the young lady—when I shall say unto her, ‘Please hold out¹ your jar, that I may drink,’ that she will have said, ‘Drink, and also I will water your camels’—that her you will have approved² for your servant Yitsḥaq. And by her I will know that you have showed loving kindness to my master.”
15	15 Then it was that—before he had finished speaking, that, behold, Riv̱qah was coming out, who was born to Betu´ēl, son of Milkah, the wife of Naḥōr, Av̱raham’s brother, and she had her jar upon her shoulder. 16 And the young woman was very good in ¹appearance, a maiden.² And no man had known her. Then she descended to the spring; then she filled her jar; then she ascended.
17	17 Then the servant ran to meet her; then he said, “Give me a swallow, please, a little water from your jar.” 18 Then she said, ‘Drink, my lord.’ Then she hurried; then she brought down her pitcher upon her hand;¹ then she gave him a drink. 19 Then wheň she was finished giving him a drink, then she said, “Also, I will draw for your camels, until when they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she hurried; then she emptied¹ her jar into the watering trough; then she she ran again into the well to draw; then she drew for all his camels.
21	21 And the man was stunned¹ by her, keeping silence, to know if Yăhwēh had prospered his journey or not. 22 Then it was, as that the camels had finished drinking, then the man took a ring of gold (it was half a sheqel weight), and two bracelets for her arms (they were a ten gold shekel weight), 23 then he said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there a place in your father’s house for us¹ to lodge?”
24	24 Then she said unto him, “I am the daughter of Betu´ēl, son of Milkah, whom she has borne to Naḥōr.” 25 Then she said unto him, “Also straw, also lots of feed is with us, also a place to lodge.” 26 Then the man bowed; then he then worshipped Yăhwēh.
27	27 Then he said, “Blessed be Yăhwēh the Almĭghty of my master Av̱raham, who has not forsaken his lovingkindness and his truth from continuing with my master. I who am on the road — Yăhwēh has led me to the house of my master’s brothers.”
28	28 Then the young lady ran; then she told her mother’s house according to these words. 29 And Riv̱qah had a brother, and his name was Lav̱an: then Lav̱an ran unto the man on the outside, unto the spring. 30 Thus, it was, at seeing the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister’s arms, and at his hearing the words of Riv̱qah his sister, saying, thus has spoken the man unto me, then he came unto the man. And, behold, he was standing by the camels by the spring.
31	31 Then he said, “Come in, one blessed of Yăhwēh. Why should you stand on the outside,” and “I have cleaned the house, and a place for the camels.”
32	32 Then the man came into the house; then he ungirded the camels. Then he put out straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Then it was set before him to eat. Then he said, “I will not eat, until when I have told my business.” Then he said, “Speak.”
34	34 Then he said, “I am Av̱raham’s servant.” 35 And, “Yăhwēh has blessed my master greatly; thus, he is become great. Thus, he gave him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and men-servants and maid-servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 Then Sarah, my master’s wife bore a son to my master after her becoming elderly. Sō then to him he will give all which he has. 37 Then my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kena‘ani, in whose land I am dwelling, 38 except, you shall go unto my father’s house, and unto my family clan, and you will have taken a wife for my son.’ 39 Then I said unto my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not come after me.’ 40 Then he said unto me, ‘Yăhwēh, before whom I have walked, will send his messenger with you, and he will have prospered your journey. And you will have taken a wife for my son from my family clan, and from my father’s house. 41 ‘At that time, you shall be clear from my oath, when you come unto my family clan, and, if they do not give her to you, also you will have become clear from my oath.’ 42 Then I came this day unto the spring; then I said, ‘Yăhwēh the Almĭghty of my master Av̱raham, please, if you are prospering my way which I am going, 43 behold, I am stationing myself by the spring of waters. And it will have been the virgin, the one coming out to draw, and I will have said unto her, ‘Give me, please, a little water from your jar to drink.’ 44 And she will have said unto me, ‘Now You drink, and now I will draw for your camels’—she is the woman whom Yăhwēh has approved for my master’s son. 45 I—before I was done speaking unto my heart, then behold, Riv̱qah was coming out, and her jar was on her shoulder. Then she descended to the spring; then she drew. Then I said unto her, ‘Give me a drink please.’ 46 Then she made haste; then she brought down her jar from upon her; then she said, ‘Drink, and also I will water your camels.’ Then I drank, and also she has watered the camels. 47 Then I asked her; then I said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ Then she said, ‘The daughter of Betu´ēl, son of Naḥōr, whom Milkah has borne to him.’ Then I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her arms. 48 Then I bowed; then I worshipped Yăhwēh; then I blessed Yăhwēh the Almĭghty of my master Av̱raham, who had led me on the right road to take my master’s brother’s daughter for his son. 49 And now if it is in you to be dealing kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me. That I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.”
50	50 Then Lav̱an answered and Betu´ēl; then they said, “The thing has gone forth from Yăhwēh. We are not able to speak unto you bad or good. 51 “Behold, Riv̱qah is before you, take her, and go, then she may be the wife for the son of your master according to what Yăhwēh has spoken.”
52	52 Then it was, that, as that Av̱raham’s servant had heard their words, then he bowed himself down to the earth to Yăhwēh. 53 Then the servant brought forth articles of silver, and articles of gold, and clothing; then he gave them to Riv̱qah. And he had given to her brother and to her mother precious things.
54	54 Then they ate, then they drank, he and the men who were with him; then they lodged the night. Then they rose up in the daybreak, then he said, “Send me to my master.” 55 Then her brother said and her mother, “Let the young lady stay with us some days, or ten. Afterward she may go.”
56	56 Then he said unto them, “Let you not delay me, seeing that Yăhwēh has prospered my journey. Send me that I may go to my master.” 57 Then they said, “We will call the young lady, that we may ask the answer from her mouth.” 58 Then they called Riv̱qah; then they said unto her, “Will you go with this man?” Then she said, “I will go.”
59	59 Then they sent Riv̱qah their sister, and her nurse, and Av̱raham’s servant, and his men. 60 Then they blessed Riv̱qah; then they said to her, “Our sister, be thousands of ten thousands, and may your seed possess the gate of the ones hating him.” 61 Then Riv̱qah arose, and her young women; then they rode upon the camels; then they went after the man. Sō then the servant took Riv̱qah, then he went.
62	62 And Yitsḥaq had come from entering Be´ēr laḥay ro´ee. And he was staying in the land of the South. 63 Then Yitsḥaq went out to meditate in the field at the turn of setting. Then he lifted up his eyes; then he saw, and, behold, camels coming. 64 Then Riv̱qah lifted up her eyes; then she saw Yitsḥaq, then she jumped down from upon the camel. 65 Then she said unto the servant, “Who is the man, that one walking in the field to meet us?” Then the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took the veil; then she covered herself.
66	66 Then the servant related to Yitsḥaq all the matters which he had done. 67 Then Yitsḥaq brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother; then he took Riv̱qah; then she became his wife. Then he loved her. Then Yitsḥaq was comforted after his mother.

Genesis 25

1	1 Then Av̱raham increased; thus, he took a wife, and her name was Qeturah.
2	2 Then she bore him Zimran, and Yoqshan, and Medan, and Midyan, and Yishbaq, and Shuaḥ.
3	3 (And Yoqshan had begotten Shev̱a, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan had become Ashureem, and Letusheem, and Le´ummeem.
4	4 And the sons of Midyan: Ē̒yphah, and Ē̒pher, and Ḥạnoḳ, and Av̱eeda̒, and Elda‘ah. All these were the sons of Qeturah.)
5	5 At that time, Av̱raham gave all which he had to Yitsḥaq. 6 And to the sons of the concubines, which Av̱raham had, Av̱raham had given gifts. Then he sent them away from near Yitsḥaq his son, while he was still alive, eastward, unto the land east.
7	7 And these are the days of the years of Av̱raham’s life which he had lived, a hundred years and seventy years, and five years. 8 Then Av̱raham breathed his last; then he died well greyed, aged, and satisfied; then he was gathered unto his people. 9 At that time, Yitsḥaq and Yishma‘ē̓l his sons entombed him in the cave of Maḳpēlah, in the field of ‘Ephron, son of Tsó̧ḥar, the Ḥittee, which is at the face of Mamrē: 10 the field which Av̱raham had purchased from the sons of Ḥēt. Thitherward Av̱raham had been entombed, and Sarah his wife. 11 Then it was after the death of Av̱raham. Then the Almĭghty blessed Yitsḥaq his son. At that time, Yitsḥaq dwelled by Be´ēr laḥay ro´ee.
12	12 And these are the begettings of Yishma‘ē̓l, son of Av̱raham, whom Hagar the Egyptian, handmaid of Sarah, had borne to Av̱raham. 13 And these are the names of the sons of Yishma‘ē̓l, by their names, according to their begettings: the first-born of Yishma‘ē̓l: Nev̱ayot; and Qēdar, and Adbe´ēl, and Miv̱sam, 14 and Mishma̒, and Dumah, and Massa, 15 Ḥạdad, and Tēyma, Yetur, Napheesh, and Qḗdmah.
16	16 These—they are the sons of Yishma‘ē̓l, and these are their names, by their villages, and by their strongholds. Two and ten princes according to their nations. 17 (And these are the years of the life of Yishma‘ē̓l: a hundred years and thirty years and seven years. Then he breathed his last; then he died; then he was gathered unto his people.) 18 Then they settled from Ḥaveelah unto Shur, which is against Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. He had fallen against the face of all his brothers.¹
19	19 And these were the begettings of Yitsḥaq, son of A̓v̱raham.

20	A̓v̱raham had begotten Yitsḥaq; 20 then Yitsḥaq was a son of forty years in the day of his taking Riv̱qah, daughter of Betū’ēl, the A̓rammi̱ from Paddan A̓ram, the sister of Lav̱an the A̓rammi̱, for himself as a wife.
21	21 Then Yitsḥaq entreated Yăhwēh in front of his wife, because she was barren. Then Yăhwēh was entreated by him; then Riv̱qah his wife conceived.
22	22 Then the sons struggled together in the midst of her; then she said, “If it is thus, why am I like this?” Then she went to seek Yăhwēh.
23	23 Then Yăhwēh said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be divided from your belly; and a people will become stronger¹ than the other people, and the greater one will serve† the younger.”
24	24 Then her days for bearing were filled, and behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 Then the first came out reddish, all of him like a hairy coat. Sō then they called his name Ē̒saw. 26 And after that, his brother had come out, and his hand was grasping on Ē̒saw’s heel. Sō then his name was¹ called Ya‘aqōv̱. And Yitsḥaq was a son of sixty years during her bearing them.
27	27 Then the boys grew. Then Ē̒saw became a man knowing hunting, a man of the field. And Ya‘aqōv̱ was a refined man inhabiting tents.
28	28 Then Yitsḥaq loved Ē̒saw, because game was in his mouth, and Riv̱qah was loving Ya‘aqōv̱.
29	29 At that time, Ya‘aqōv̱ stewed stew; then Ē̒saw came from the field, when he was weary, 30 then Ē̒saw said unto Ya‘aqōv̱, “Stuff me, please, from the red stuff—this red stuff, because I am weary.” (Consequently, his name has been¹ called E̓dom.) 31 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said, “Sell as of this day your birthright to me.” 32 Then Ē̒saw said, “Look, I am going to die. And what is this to me—a birthright?” 33 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said, “Swear yourself to me as of this day.” Then he swore himself to him. At that time, he sold his birthright to Ya‘aqōv̱. 34 And Ya‘aqōv̱ had given Ē̒saw bread and stew of lentils. Then he ate and drank, then he rose up, and then he left. At that time, Ē̒saw despised the birthright.

Genesis 26

1	1 Then there was a famine in the land, separate from the first which had been in the days of Av̱raham. Then Yitsḥaq went unto Av̱eemeleḳ king of the Pelishteem, to Gerar.
2	2 Then Yăhwēh was seen by him. Then he said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Dwell in the land where I shall say unto you. 3 “Sojourn in this land, and let me be with you, and let me bless you, because to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands, and I will have made stand the sworn-oath which I have sworn myself to, to Av̱raham your father. 4 “And I will have multiplied your seed as the stars of the heavens, and I will have given to your seed all these lands. And all the nations of the earth will have blessed themselves in your seed, 5 which is because Av̱raham had heard my voice. Then he watched my watch: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6	6 Then Yitsḥaq remained in Gerar. 7 Then the men of the place asked him about his wife. Then he said, “She is my sister,” because he had feared to say, “my wife,” lest “the men of the place should kill me on account of Riv̱qah,” because she was beautiful in appearance. 8 Then it was, as the days there had lengthened for him, then Av̱eemeleḳ king of the Pelishteem looked down from behind a window; then he saw, and, behold, Yitsḥaq was caressing Riv̱qah his wife.
9	9 Then Av̱eemeleḳ summoned Yitsḥaq; then he said, “Behold, surely she is your wife! And why have you said, ‘She is my sister?’” Then Yitsḥaq said unto him, “Because I had said, ‘In case I will die on account of her.’” 10 Then Av̱eemeleḳ said, “What is this you have done to us, as easily one of the people might have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us!” 11 Then Av̱eemeleḳ commanded all the people, saying, “The one hitting on this man and on his wife dies. He will be put to death.”
12	12 Then Yitsḥaq sowed in that land. Then he found the yield in that year to be a hundredfold. ¹At that time, Yăhwēh blessed him. 13 Then the man grew great. Then he advanced, advancing and growing great onward of when he had grown very great. 14 ¹At that time, there came to him: livestock of flocks, and livestock of herds, and many servants. ²Then the Pelishteem envied him.
15	15 And all the wells which the servants of his father had dug in the days of Av̱raham his father were stopped; the Pelishteem had stopped them up. ¹At that time, they filled them with dirt. 16 Then Av̱eemeleḳ said unto Yitsḥaq, “Go from among us, because you have become much stronger than us.”
17	17 Then Yitsḥaq went from there; then he encamped in the wadi of Gerar. Then he remained there. 18 Then Yitsḥaq turned back; then he dug out the wells of waters, (which they had dug in the days of Av̱raham his father, and then after the death of Av̱raham, the Pelishteem had stopped them up .) Then he called their names according to the names which his father had called them.
19	19 Then the servants of Yitsḥaq dug in the wadi, then they found there a well of lively waters.¹ 20 Then the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Yitsḥaq, saying, “The water is ours.” Then he called the name of the well Ē̒seq¹ because they had contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well; then they also quarreled over it. Then he called the name of it ¹Sitnah. 22 Then he moved from there; then he dug another well. And they had not quarreled over it. Then he called its name ¹Reḥov̱ot. Then he said, “For now Yăhwēh has made space for us, and we will have become fruitful in the land.” 23 Then he went up from there to ¹Be´ēr-shev̱a̒.
24	24 Then Yăhwēh was seen by him in that night; then he said, “I am the Almĭghty of Av̱raham your father. May you not fear, because I am with you, and I will have blessed you, and I will have made your seed many because of Av̱raham my servant.”
25	25 Then he built there an altar, and he called on the name of Yăhwēh; then he stretched out there his tent. Then the servants of Yitsḥaq dug there a well.
26	26 And Av̱eemeleḳ had gone unto him from Gerar, and holders of well rights¹ from his herdsmen, and Peeḳol the commander of his army. 27 Then Yitsḥaq said unto them, “Why is it¹ that you have come unto me? And you had hated me, then you sent me away from you.”
28	28 Then they said, “Seeing we have seen that Yăhwēh has been with you. Then we say, “May there please be an oath between us, between us and between you, and let us cut a covenant with you, 29 “That you will do with us no injury, as that we have not touched you, and as that in fact we have done with you only good; then we sent you away in peace. You are now blessed of Yăhwēh.”
30	30 Then he made them a feast; ¹and they ate, and they drank. 31 Then they rose up early in the daybreak, and they swore themselves each to his brother. Then Yitsḥaq sent them away; then they departed from him in peace.
32	32 Then it was in that day, then Yitsḥaq’s servants came; then they told him about the result of the well which they had dug; then they said to him, “We have found water.” 33 Then he called it ¹Shiv̱‘ah. Consequently, the name of the city is Be´ēr-shev̱a̒ onward this day.
34	34 Then Ē̒saw was a son of forty years, then he took a wife, Yehūdi̱t the daughter of Be’ēri̱ the Ḥitti̱, and Basmatʰ the daughter of Ē̓ylōn the Ḥitti̱. 35 Then they became a bitterness in their spirit to Yitsḥaq and to Riv̱qah.

Genesis 27

1	1 Then it was, as Yitsḥaq had aged, then his eyes fainted from seeing. Then he called Ē̒saw his older son; then he said unto him, “My son.” Then he said unto him, “Here I am.” 2 Then he said, “Behold please, I have aged, I have not come to know the day of my death. 3 “And now take, please, your equipment, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt me some hunted game. 4 “And make for me savory food, like what I have loved, and bring it to me, and let me eat, because my soul should bless you in the time before I die.”
5	5 And Riv̱qah was listening during Yitsḥaq’s speaking unto Ē̒saw his son. Then Ē̒saw went to the field to hunt some hunted game to bring. 6 And Riv̱qah had spoken unto Ya‘aqōv̱ her son, saying, “Look, I have heard your father speaking unto Ē̒saw your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring for me some hunted game, and make for me savory food, and let me eat, and let me bless you before the face of Yăhwēh in the face of my death.’ 8 So now, my son, listen in on my voice according to what I am commanding you. 9 Go please unto the flock, and take for me from there two kids of the goats: good ones. And let me make them into savory food for your father, like that he has loved. 10 And you will have brought it to your father, and he will have eaten, in consequence of which he will bless you in the face of his death.”
11	11 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said unto Riv̱qah his mother, “Behold, Ē̒saw my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall have become in his eyes as a deceiver. And I will have brought a curse upon myself, and not a blessing.”
13	13 Then his mother said to him, “Upon me is your curse, my son. However it is listen in on my voice, and go take me them.”
14	14 Then he went, then he took, then he brought them to his mother. Then his mother made savory food, like what his father had loved. 15 Then Riv̱qah took the choice garments of Ē̒saw her son—the older one, which were with her in the house; then she clothed Ya‘aqōv̱ her younger son. 16 And she had clothed the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smoothness of his neck. 17 Then she put the savory food and the bread, which she had made, in the hand of her son Ya‘aqōv̱.
18	18 Then he came unto his father; then he said, “My father.” Then he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
19	19 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said unto his father, “I am Ē̒saw your first-born; I have done according to what you have spoken unto me: arise, please, sit and eat from my hunted game, because your soul will bless me.”
20	20 Then Yitsḥaq said unto his son, “How is this? You have hurried to find it, my son!” Then he said, “Because Yăhwēh your Almĭghty has arranged a meeting before my face.” 21 Then Yitsḥaq said unto Ya‘aqōv̱, “Draw near, please, and let me feel you, my son, if you, this one, are my son Ē̒saw or if not.”
22	22 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ drew near unto Yitsḥaq his father. Then he felt him; then he said, “The voice is Ya‘aqōv̱’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Ē̒saw.”
23	23 But he had recognized him not, because his hands had been hairy, as his brother Ē̒saw’s hands. Then he blessed him.
24	24 Then he said, “Are you, this one, my son Ē̒saw?” Then he said, “I am.”
25	25 Then he said, “Bring it near to me, then let me eat from my son’s hunted game, so that my soul may bless you.” Then he brought it near to him; then he ate. Then he brought him wine; then he drank.
26	26 Then his father Yitsḥaq said unto him, “Draw near please, and kiss me, my son.” 27 Then he drew near; then he kissed him. Then he smelled the smell on his clothing; then he blessed him; then he said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field with which Yăhwēh has blessed him. 28 And may the Almĭghty give you from the dew of the heavens, and from the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine. 29 May peoples serve you, and may the nations bow themselves down to you. Be the mightier of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow themselves down to you. Your cursers are cursed, and your blessers are blessed.”
30	30 Then it was, as that Yitsḥaq had finished blessing Ya‘aqōv̱, then he was surely going; Ya‘aqōv̱ had gone from before the face of Yitsḥaq his father, and Ē̒saw his brother had come from his hunting. 31 Then he also made savory food; then he brought it to his father. Then he said to his father, “Let my father arise, and let him eat from his son’s hunting, because your soul will bless me.”
32	32 Then Yitsḥaq his father said unto him, “Who are you?” Then he said, “I am your son, your first-born, Ē̒saw.”
33	33 Then Yitsḥaq trembled a great trembling exceedingly; then he said, “Who then is he that was hunting the hunted game; then he brought it to me; then I ate of all in the time before you came, then I blessed him? Yea, he will be blessed!”
34	34 As Ē̒saw heard the words of his father, then he cried a great cry, and exceedingly bitter; then said to his father, “Bless me, also me, my father!”
35	35 Then he said, “Your brother has come with deceitfulness; then he took your blessing.”
36	36 Then he said, “Isn’t it as one has called his name, ¹Ya‘aqōv̱, seeing that he heeled me this way two times. He has taken away my birthright. And, behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
37	37 Then Yitsḥaq answered, then he said to Ē̒saw, “Look, I have set him up as mightier in respect to you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants. And with grain and new wine I have sustained him. And for you then what shall I do, my son?”
38	38 Then Ē̒saw said unto his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, also me, my father.” Then Ē̒saw lifted up his voice, then he wept.
39	39 Then Yitsḥaq his father answered, then he said unto him, “Behold, the fatness of the earth shall be your dwelling, and of the dew of the heavens from above. 40 And by your sword shall you live, and you shall serve your brother. And it will have been, as that you shall roam, then you will have torn apart his yoke from upon your neck.”
41	41 Then Ē̒saw held a grudge against Ya‘aqōv̱ over the blessing which his father had blessed him. Then Ē̒saw said in his heart, “The days of mourning my father approach. Then let me slay Ya‘aqōv̱ my brother.”
42	42 Then the words of Ē̒saw her older son were told to Riv̱qah. Then she sent; then she called for Ya‘aqōv̱ her younger son; then she said unto him, “Behold, Ē̒saw your brother, is consoling himself concerning you: to kill you. 43 “And now, my son, listen in on my voice. And arise, flee for yourself unto Lav̱an my brother to Haran. 44 “And you will have stayed with him some days, past when your brother’s fury turns away, 45 past when your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he has forgotten that which you have done to him. And I will have sent, and I will have taken you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of the two of you in one day?”
46	46 Then Riv̱qah said unto Yitsḥaq, “I have had loathing in my life in the face of the daughters of Ḥēt. If Ya‘aqōv̱ is taking a wife from the daughters of Ḥēt, like these, from the daughters of the land, what is living to me?”

Genesis 28

1	1 Then Yitsḥaq called unto Ya‘aqōv̱; then he blessed him; then he commanded him, then he said unto him, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Kena‘an. 2 Arise, go to Paddan A̓ram, to the house of Betū’ēl the father of your mother. And take for yourself from there a wife from the daughters of Lav̱an, the brother of your mother. 3 And may Ē̓l Shaddai¹ bless you, and may he make you fruitful, and may he multiply you, and you will have become an assembly of peoples. 4 And may he give to you the blessing of A̓v̱raham, to you, and to your seed with you, to cause you to inherit the land of your sojournings, which the Almĭghty has given to A̓v̱raham.”
5	5 Then Yitsḥaq sent Ya‘aqōv̱ away. Then he went to Paddan A̓ram unto Lav̱an, son of Betū’ēl the A̓rammi̱, the brother of Riv̱qah, mother of Ya‘aqōv̱ and Ē̒saw.
6	6 Then Ē̒saw saw that Yitsḥaq had blessed Ya‘aqōv̱, and he had sent him away to Paddan A̓ram, to take for himself a wife from there, and in his blessing him, then he put a command on him, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Kena‘an,” 7 and then Ya‘aqōv̱ listened unto his father and unto his mother, and then he went to Paddan A̓ram. 8 Then Ē̒saw saw that the daughters of Kena‘an were evil in the eyes of Yitsḥaq his father. 9 Then Ē̒saw went unto Yishma‘ē̓l; then he took, Maḥalat the daughter of Yishma‘ē̓l son of A̓v̱raham, the sister of Nev̱ayōtʰ to himself for a wife, to be over his wives.
10	10 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ went out from Be’ēr-shev̱a̒; then he went toward Ḥaran. 11 Then he happened on the¹ place; then he lodged overnight there, because the sun had set. Then he took of the stones of the place; then set it at his head; then he lay down in that place. 12 Then he dreamed. And behold, a ladder was being extended earthward, and its top reached toward the heavens. And behold, the messengers of the Almĭghty were ascending and descending on it.
13	13 And, behold, Yăhwēh was standing above it; then he said, “I am Yăhwēh the Almĭghty of A̓v̱raham your father, and the Almĭghty of Yitsḥaq. The land which you are sleeping on, to you I will give it, and to your seed. 14 And your seed will have become as the dust of the earth, and you will have broken through seaward, and eastward, and northward, and southward. And will have been blessed in you all the family clans of the earth’s land, and in your seed. 15 And, behold, I am with you, and I will have guarded you, in all the places which you may go, and I will have returned you unto this land, because I will not abandon you, onward¹ that when I have done what I have spoken to you.”
16	16 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ awoke from his sleep; then he said, “Surely Yăhwēh is present in this place. And I, I had not known.” 17 Then he was afraid; then he said, “How awe inspiring is this place! This is nothing but the house of the Almĭghty, and this is the gate of the heavens.”
18	18 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ rose up early in the daybreak; then he took the stone which he had set at his head; then he set it up as a pillar, then he poured oil upon the top of it. 19 Then he called the name of that place ¹Bētʰ-Ē̓l. And indeed Lūz was the name of the city at the first.
20	20 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ vowed a vow, saying, “If the Almĭghty will be with me, and he will have kept me in this way which I am going, and he will have given to me bread to eat, and clothing to wear, 21 and I will have returned unto my father’s house in peace, and Yăhwēh will have been to me as Almĭghty, 22 then† this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be the Almĭghty’s house. And of all which you shall give to me tithing I will tithe it to you.”

Genesis 29

1	1 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ lifted up his feet, then he went toward the land of the sons of the east.
2	2 Then he looked, and behold, a well in the field, and, look there! three flocks of sheep lying down by it, because from that well they watered the flocks. And the stone upon the mouth of the well was large. 3 And usually all the flocks would have been gathered toward there, and they would have rolled the stone from over the mouth of the well, and they would have watered the sheep, and they would have returned the stone to be upon the mouth of the well to its place.
4	4 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said to them, “My brothers, from where are you? Then they said, “From Ḥaran we are.”
5	5 Then he said to them, “Have you been knowing Lav̱an, son of Naḥōr?” Then they said, “We have been knowing him.”
6	6 Then he said to them, “Is there shalom for him?” Then they said, “Shalom.” And, “Look, Raḥæl his daughter is coming with the sheep.”
7	7 Then he said, “Look, the day is still high. It is not time to be gathering the cattle. Water the sheep, and go shepherd them.”
8	8 Then they said, “We are not able, until when all the flocks are gathered, and they have rolled the stone from over the mouth of the well. Then we will have watered the sheep.”
9	9 While he was speaking with them, and Raḥæl had come with the sheep, which were her father’s, because she was shepherding them, 10 then it was, as that Ya‘aqōv̱ had seen Raḥæl, daughter of Lav̱an the brother of his mother, and the sheep of Lav̱an the brother of his mother; then Ya‘aqōv̱ drew near; then he rolled the stone from over the mouth of the well; then he watered the flock of Lav̱an the brother of his mother. 11 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ kissed Raḥæl; then he lifted up his voice; then he wept.
12	12 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ told Raḥæl that he was a relative of her father, and that he was the son of Riv̱qah. Then she ran; then she told her father. 13 Then it was, as Lav̱an heard the tidings of Ya‘aqōv̱, son of his sister, then he ran to meet him; then he embraced him; then he kissed him; then he brought him unto his house. Then he related to Lav̱an all these things.
14	14 Then Lav̱an said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” Then he stayed with him a month of days.
15	15 Then Lav̱an said to Ya‘aqōv̱, “Because you are my brother, then¹ will you have served me as a favor? Tell me, what are your wages?”
16	16 And Lav̱an had two daughters. The name of the older was Lēa̓h, and the name of the younger was Raḥæl. 17 And Lēa̓h’s eyes were weak. And Raḥæl had been beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.
18	18 Since then, Ya‘aqōv̱ loved Raḥæl, then he said, “I will serve you seven years in regard to Raḥæl your daughter, the younger one.”
19	19 Then Lav̱an said, “Better is my giving her to you, than my giving her to another man. Stay with me.”
20	20 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ served seven years in regard to Raḥæl. At that time, they were in his eyes as some days, in his loving her. 21 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said unto Lav̱an, “Give me my wife, because my days have been fulfilled, and let me go unto her.”
22	22 Then Lav̱an gathered all the men of the place; then he made a feast. 23 Then it was in the setting, then he took Lēa̓h his daughter; then he brought her unto him. Then he went unto her. 24 Then Lav̱an gave his female servant Zilpah to her, to his daughter Lēa̓h as a female servant.
25	25 Then it was in the daybreak that, behold, she was Lēa̓h. Then he said unto Lav̱an, “What is this you have done unto me? Have I not served with you in regard to Raḥæl?” And, “Why have you deceived me?”
26	26 Then Lav̱an said, “It is not so done in our place, to give the younger in the †face of the firstborn. 27 “Fulfill the week of this one, and let us give you also this other one: in serving¹ for her, which you shall serve with me, yet another seven years.”
28	28 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ did so; then he fulfilled the week of this¹ one. Then he gave to him Raḥæl, his daughter, to him for a wife. 29 Then Lav̱an gave to Raḥæl his daughter Bilhah his female servant, to her for a female servant.
30	30 Then he went also unto Raḥæl; since then, he indeed loved Raḥæl more than Lēa̓h; then he served with him yet another seven years.
31	31 Then Yăhwēh saw that Lēa̓h was ¹hated; then he opened her womb. And Raḥæl was barren. 32 Then Lēa̓h conceived; then she bore a son; then she called his name ¹Re´uv̱ēn, because she had said, “Because Yăhwēh has looked on my affliction, since now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again; then she bore a son; then she said, “Because Yăhwēh has heard that I am hated, then he gave me this one also.” Then she called his name ¹Shim‘on. 34 Then she conceived again; then she bore a son. Then she said, “Now is the time my husband will join himself unto me, because I have borne to him three sons.” Consequently, his name had been called ¹Lȇvi. 35 Then she conceived again; then she bore a son. Then she said, “This time I will praise Yăhwēh.” Consequently, she had called his name ¹Yehudah. Then she stopped from bearing.

Genesis 30

1	1 Then Raḥæl saw that she had not borne to Ya‘aqōv̱; then Raḥæl was jealous in regard to her sister; then she said unto Ya‘aqōv̱, “Give me sons, and if there are none I’m going to ¹die.”
2	2 Then Ya‘aqōv̱'s anger was kindled against Raḥæl: then he said, “Am I in the place of the Almĭghty, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
3	3 Then she said, “Behold, my maid Bilhah, go in unto her, and let her bear upon my knees, and let me build a house from her.”
4	4 Then she gave to him Bilhah her maidservant for a wife: then Ya‘aqōv̱ went in unto her. 5 Then Bilhah conceived; then she bore to Ya‘aqōv̱ a son. 6 Then Raḥæl said, “The Almĭghty has judged me, and also has listened to my voice; thus, he gave to me a son.” Consequently, she had called his name ¹Dan.
7	7 Then she conceived again; then Bilhah, the maidservant of Raḥæl, bore a second son to Ya‘aqōv̱.
8	8 The Raḥæl said, “Almighty wrestlings I have been wrestling with my sister. Also I have prevailed.” Then she called his name ¹Naphtalee.
9	9 Then Lēa̓h saw that she had stopped from bearing; then she took Zilpah her handmaid; then she gave her to Ya‘aqōv̱ for a wife. 10 Then Zilpah Lēa̓h’s handmaid bore to Ya‘aqōv̱ a son. 11 Then Lēa̓h said, “By fortune!” Then she called his name ¹Gad. 12 Then Zilpah Lēa̓h's maidservant bore a second son to Ya‘aqōv̱. 13 Then Lēa̓h said, “‘By my happiness,’ because the daughters will have called me happy.” Then she called his name ¹Ashēr.
14	14 Then Re´uv̱ēn went in the days of the wheat harvest; then he found mandrakes in the field; then he brought them unto Lēa̓h, his mother. Then Raḥæl said unto Lēa̓h, “Please give to me from the mandrakes of your son.” 15 Then she said to her, “Is your taking my husband a little thing? And also to take the mandrakes of my son?” Then Raḥæl said, “So he shall lie with you this night for your the mandrakes of your son.” 16 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ came from the field in the setting; then Lēa̓h went out to meet him; then said, “Unto me you will come in, because hiring I have hired you with the mandrakes of my son.” Then he lay with her in that night. 17 Then the Almĭghty listened unto Lēa̓h; then she conceived; then she bore to Ya‘aqōv̱ a fifth¹ son. 18 Then Lēa̓h said, “The Almĭghty has granted my wages, because¹ I have given my maidservant to my husband.” Then she called his name ²Yeessashḳar.
19	19 Then Lēa̓h conceived again; then she bore a sixth son to Ya‘aqōv̱. 20 Then Lēa̓h said, “The Almĭghty has endowed me with a good dowry; this time my husband will exalt my dwelling, because I have borne to him six sons.” Then she called his name ¹Zev̱ūlūn.
21	21 And afterwards she had borne a daughter; then she called her name Deenah.
22	22 Then the Almĭghty remembered Raḥæl; then the Almĭghty listened unto her; then he opened her womb. 23 Then she conceived; then she bore a son; then she said, “The Almĭghty has gathered up my reproach.” 24 Then she called his name Yosēf, saying, “May Yăhwēh add to me another son.”
25	25 Then it was, when Raḥæl had borne Yosēf, then Ya‘aqōv̱ said unto Lav̱an, “Send me away, that I may go unto my own place, and to my land. 26 Give up my wives and my boys for whom I have served you in regard to them, and let me go, because you have known my service with which I have served you.”
27	27 Then Lav̱an said unto him, “Please, if I have found favor in your eyes—I have ¹prospered. Therefore, Yăhwēh blesses me on account of you.” 28 Then he said, “Delineate your wage for me, and I will give it.”
29	29 Then he said unto him, “You have known all that which I have served you, and all that which your livestock has become with me. 30 “For it was a little which had fallen to you before me. Then it increased as a multitude; then Yăhwēh blessed you at my every step: and now when shall I act, even I for my house?”
31	31 Then he said, “What shall I give to you?” Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said, “You shall not give to me anything: if you will do this thing for me, I will return—I will shepherd your flock; I will guard it.
32	32 “I will pass through all your flock this-day, making turn aside from there every speckled sheep and any one being spotted, and every dark sheep among the lambs, and any one being spotted and speckled among the goats. And it will have become my wage. 33 And my righteousness will have testified for me on any day hereafter, when you shall come to look over my wage which will be in front of you: any animal which is not speckled or spotted among the goats, and dark among the lambs is stolen, if it is with me.”
34	34 Then Lav̱an said, “Behold, O would that it be, let it be according to your word.”
35	35 Then ¹he turned aside on that day the streaked he-goats and the spotted ones, and all the speckled she-goats and the spotted ones, all which had white in it, and all the dark ones among the sheep; then he put them in the hand of his ²grand sons. 36 Then he¹ set a distance of three days between himself and between Ya‘aqōv̱. And Ya‘aqōv̱ was shepherding the flocks of Lav̱an—the remaining ones.²
37	37 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ took for himself rods of fresh white poplar and the almond tree and the ¹plane-tree. Then he peeled white peelings in them, making bare the white which was over the rods inner surface. 38 Then he emplaced the rods which he had peeled in the flumes—in the drinking troughs for the water when the flock came to drink, in front of the flock; then they mated during their coming to drink. 39 Then the flock mated by the rods; then the flock bore streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Ya‘aqōv̱ had separated the lambs; then he allowed the matings¹ of the flock unto the streaked ones and all the dark ones in the flock of Lav̱an, then he put for himself droves apart, and he had not put them in Lav̱an’s flock.²
41	41 And it had been at every mating of the genetically linked¹ ones of the flock that Ya‘aqōv̱ had set the rods before the eyes of the flock in the flumes, to cause a mating among the rods. 42 And with the genetically weak of the flock he did not set them up. And the genetically weak had been Lav̱an’s, and the genetically linked Ya‘aqōv̱’s. 43 Then the man broke through to success exceedingly exceedingly; then there was for him large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and asses.

Genesis 31

1	1 Then he heard the words of Lav̱an’s sons, saying, “Ya‘aqōv̱ has taken away all that belonged to our father,” and “From what belonged to our father he has he produced all this wealth.”
2	2 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ saw the face of Lav̱an, and, behold, it was not with him as yesterday or the third day. 3 Then Yăhwēh said unto Ya‘aqōv̱, “Return unto the land of your fathers, and to your birthplace; and I will be with you.” 4 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ sent; then he called Raḥæl and Lēa̓h to the field unto his flock.
5	5 Then he said to them, “I was observing your father’s face, that it is not unto me as yesterday or the third day, but the Almĭghty of my father has been with me. 6 And you have known that with all my power I have served your father. 7 And your father has been deceptive with me, and he has changed my wages on ten counts; but the Almĭghty has not allowed him to do evil with me. 8 If he said thus, ‘The speckled ones shall be your wage,’ then all the flock had borne speckled ones. And if he said thus, ‘The streaked shall be your wage,’ then had borne all the flock streaked. 9 “Therefore, when the Almĭghty snatched away the cattle of your father, then he gave them to me.¹ 10 Then it was at the time of the flock’s mating, then I lifted up my eyes; then I looked in a dream, and, behold, the he-goats which went up upon the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 11 Then the Messenger of the Almĭghty said unto me in the dream, ‘Ya‘aqōv̱;’ then I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 Then he said, ‘Please lift up your eyes, and observe that, all the he-goats—the ones leaping upon the flock are streaked, speckled, and spotted, because I have seen all which Lav̱an is doing unto you. 13 I am the Gŏd of Bētʰ-Ēl, where you have anointed a pillar, where you have vowed a vow to me: now arise, go out from this land, and return unto the land of your birthplace.’”
14	14 Then Raḥæl answered, and Lēa̓h; then they said to him, “Is there still a portion and inheritance for us in our father’s house? 15 Have we not been accounted to him as foreigners, because he has sold us; then also eating he ate our silver. 16 For all the wealth which the Almĭghty has snatched away from our father—it belongs to us and to our sons. So now, what the Almĭghty has said unto you, do.”
17	17 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ rose up; then he set his sons and his wives upon the camels. 18 Then he drove away all his livestock, and all his accumulation which he had accumulated, his acquired livestock, which he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go unto Yitsḥaq his father to the land of Kena‘an.
19	19 At that time, Lav̱an had gone to shear his sheep: and Raḥæl stole the terapheem¹ which belonged to her father. 20 Therefore, when Ya‘aqōv̱ stole the understanding¹ of Lav̱an the Arammee, because he had not told him that he was fleeing, 21 then he fled and all who belonged to him. Therefore, when he rose up, then he crossed over the River. Then he set his face toward the hill country of Gil´ad.
22	22 Then it was told Lav̱an on the third day that Ya‘aqōv̱ had fled. 23 Then he took his relatives with him; then he pursued after him seven days’ journey; then he ¹dogged him in the hill country of Gil´ad. 24 Then the Almĭghty came unto Lav̱an the Arammee in a dream of the night; then he said to him, “Watch yourself lest you should speak with Ya‘aqōv̱ anything beyond what is good as far as to cause harm.”
25	25 Then Lav̱an overtook Ya‘aqōv̱. And Ya‘aqōv̱ had pounded down his tent in the hill country: and Lav̱an had pounded down with his brothers in the hill country of Gil´ad. 26 Then Lav̱an said to Ya‘aqōv̱, “Look at what you have done!” Then “You stole my understanding,” then “You drove away my daughters as captives of the sword! 27 Why have you hidden yourself so as to flee?” Then “You used stealth on me,”¹ and “You had not told me, that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with tambourine and with harp. 28 And you did not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have acted foolish in your doing. 29 It was according to the ¹might of my hand to do harm with you, but the Almĭghty of your father had spoken unto me last night, saying, ‘Watch yourself from speaking with Ya‘aqōv̱ anything beyond what is good as far as to cause harm.’ 30 And now going you have gone, because a ¹paling, you have paled for your father’s house—why have you stolen my gods!?”
31	31 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ answered; then he said to Lav̱an, “Because I had feared, as I had said, ‘Lest you should rob your daughters from with me.’ 32 With whom ever you will find your gods, he shall not live. In front of our brothers take note for yourself what is with me, and take it to you.” For Ya‘aqōv̱ had not known that Raḥæl had stolen them.
33	33 Then Lav̱an went in Ya‘aqōv̱’s tent, and in Lēa̓h’s tent, and in the tent of the two maidservants; and he had found them not. Then he went out from Lēa̓h’s tent; then he entered in Raḥæl’s tent. 34 Now Raḥæl had taken the teraphim, and put them in the camel’s ¹palanquin; then she sat upon them. Then Lav̱an felt about all the tent, and he had not found them. 35a Then she said unto her father, “Let there not be anger in the eyes of my lord, because I cannot rise up from before you, because the way of women has come to me.”
35b	35b Therefore, when he searched, but he had not found the teraphim, 36 then Ya‘aqōv̱ was angry. Then he contended with Lav̱an. Therefore, when Ya‘aqōv̱ responded, then he said to Lav̱an, “What is my transgression? What is my sin, that you have pursued after me? 37 Since you have felt about all my stuff, what have you found from any stuff of your house? Set it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, and let them adjudicate between us two. 38 This twenty years I was with you; your ewes and your she-goats have not miscarried, and the rams of your flocks I have not eaten. 39 The torn I had not brought unto you. I was made to have lost it. From my hand you required it, whether being stolen by day or being stolen by night. 40 I have been—in the day dry heat had consumed me, and the frost in the night; and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 This is twenty years for me in your house. I have served you fourteen years in regard to your two daughters, and six years in regard to your flock. In that time, you changed my wages ten counts. 42 Except the Almĭghty of my father, the Almĭghty of Av̱raham, and the dread of Yitsḥaq, had been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. The Almĭghty has seen my affliction and the toil of my palms, and he adjudicated last night.”
43	43 Then Lav̱an answered; then he said unto Ya‘aqōv̱, “The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the flocks are my flocks, and all which you are seeing—it belongs to me, and to my daughters. What shall I do for these this day or for their sons whom they have borne? 44 And now come, let us cut a covenant, I and you—so that there will have been witness between me and between you.”
45	45 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ took a stone; then he raised it up as a pillar. 46 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said to his relatives, “Pick stones; then they took stones; then they made a pile. Then they ate there upon the pile. 47 Then Lav̱an called it Yegar Sahạduta¹ but Ya‘aqōv̱ called it ²Gal‘ēd.
48	48 Then Lav̱an said, “This pile is a witness between me and between you this day.” Thereupon its name has been called Gal‘ēd, 49 and ¹Ha-Mitspah, in that he had said, “Yăhwēh will keep a lookout between me and between you, because we are hidden each from his neighbor. 50 If you shall afflict my daughters, and if you shall take wives over my daughters, as no other man is with us to witness; see, the Almĭghty is witness between me and between you.” 51 Then Lav̱an said to Ya‘aqōv̱, “Behold this pile, and behold the pillar, which I have cast up¹ between me and between you. 52 This pile is witness, and the pillar is witness—I will not cross over this pile unto you, and you shall not cross over this pile and this pillar unto me, for harm. 53 May the gods of Av̱raham, and the gods of Naḥor—may ¹they judge between us—the gods of their father Teraḥ.”
53b	53b Then Ya‘aqōv̱ swore himself by the ²dread of his father Yitsḥaq. 54 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ sacrificed a sacrifice on the mountain; then he called his relatives to eat bread: then they ate bread; then they lodged the night on the mountain.
55	55 Then early in the daybreak Lav̱an rose up; then he kissed his sons and his daughters; then he blessed them; then he departed. Then Lav̱an returned to his place.

Genesis 32

1	1 And Ya‘aqōv̱ had gone his way; then the messengers of the Almĭghty met with him. 2 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said as that he had seen them, “This is the camp† of the Almĭghty;” then he called the name of that place ¹Maḥạnayim.
3	3 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ sent messengers before his face unto Ē̒saw his brother to the land of Sē‘eer, the fields of Eḍom. 4 Then he commanded them, saying, “Thus shall you say to my lord Ē̒saw:” “Thus has said your servant Ya‘aqōv̱, ‘I have sojourned with Lav̱an, ¹and I delayed until now. 5 Therefore, there is come to me oxen, and donkeys, and flocks, and menservants, and maidservants, ¹and I send to tell my lord, to find favor in your eyes.’”
6	6 Then the messengers returned unto Ya‘aqōv̱, saying, “We have come unto your brother unto Ē̒saw” and also “he is coming to meet you, and four hundreds of men with him.”
7	7 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ was greatly afraid; then he was in a ¹bind for himself: then he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two camps; 8 Then he said, “If Ē̒saw comes unto the one camp, and he strikes it, then it will have been the camp being left that makes for an escape route.” 9 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said, “The Almĭghty of my father Av̱raham, and the Almĭghty of my father Yitsḥaq, Yăhwēh, the one saying unto me, ‘Return to your country, and to your birthplace, and I will do good with you.’ 10 I have been smaller than all the loving kindnesses, and than all of the faithfulness which you have done with your servant, because only with my staff I have crossed over this Yardēn, and now I have become two camps. 11 “Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Ē̒saw, because I am fearing him, lest he come and will have struck me, a mother over sons. 12 And you have said, “Doing good I will do good with you, and I will have established your seed as the sand of the sea, which may not be counted because of its greatness.”
13	13 Then he lodged there in that night; then he took from the things coming to him by his own hand—a present for Ē̒saw his brother, 14 she-goats: two hundreds and twenty he-goats; ewes two hundreds and rams twenty, 15 Milking camels and their sons: thirty; cows: forty; and bulls: ten; she-asses: twenty; and male-donkeys: ten. 16 Then he put them in the hand of his servants, drove by drove, each independent by itself; then he said unto his servants, “Cross over before me, and you shall set a space between drove and between drove.” 17 Then he commanded the first, saying, “Since Ē̒saw my brother will meet you, then he will have asked you, saying, ‘Whose servant are you?’ And ‘Where do you go?’ And ‘Whose are these before you?’ 18 Then you shall have said, ‘They belong to your servant, to Ya‘aqōv̱; it is a present being sent to my lord, to Ē̒saw,’ and, ‘Behold, even he is behind us.” 19 Then he commanded also the second, also the third, also all those going after the droves, saying, “According to this speech shall you speak unto Ē̒saw, in your finding him. 20 And you shall have said, ‘Also, behold, your servant Ya‘aqōv̱ is behind us.” For he had said, “Let me ¹clear his face with the present going before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he may lift up my face.
21	21 Then the present passed over before his face: and he had lodged in that night in the camp. 22 Then he rose up in that night; then he took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his one and ten lads; then he crossed over the ford of the Yabboq. 23 Then he took them; then he made them cross over the stream; then he made to cross over what belonged to him.
24	24 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ was left by himself; then a man got dusty wrestling with him until the early dawn ascended. 25 Then he saw that he had not prevailed against him: then he touched on the hollow of his thigh: then the hollow of Ya‘aqōv̱’s thigh was dislocated during his getting dusty wrestling with him.
26	26 Then he said, “Send me off, because the early dawn has ascended.” Then he said, “I will not send you off, unless you have blessed me.” 27 Then he said unto him, “What is your name?” Then he said, “Ya‘aqōv̱.”
28	28 Then he said, “Your name shall be said no more Ya‘aqōv̱, but ¹Yisra´ēl, because you have commanded² with the Almĭghty and with men. Therefore, you are able.
29	29 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ asked; then he said, “Declare, please, your name.” Then he said, “Why is it that you must ask for my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ called the name of the place ¹Peni̱’ēl, because “I have seen the Almĭghty face to face; then my soul is delivered.”
31	31 Then the sun rose for him as that he had crossed over at Penu’ēl, and he was limping upon his thigh. 32 Consequently, the sons of Yisra´ēl do not eat the tendon of the nerve which is upon the hollow of the thigh until this day, because he had touched on the hollow of Ya‘aqōv̱’s thigh on the tendon of the nerve.

Genesis 33

1	1 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ lifted up his eyes; then he looked, and, behold, Ē̒saw was coming, and with him four hundreds of men. Then he divided the lads among Lēa̓h, and among Raḥæl, and among the two handmaids. 2 Then he put the handmaids and their lads first, and Lēa̓h and her lads after, and Raḥæl and Yosēf after them. 3 And he himself had passed by in their faces; then he bowed himself earthward seven times, during his approach onward to his brother.
4	4 Then Ē̒saw ran to meet him; then he embraced him; then he fell on his neck; then he kissed him; then they wept. 5 Then he lifted his eyes; then he saw the women and the lads; then he said, “Who are these belonging to you?” Then he said, “The lads whom the Almĭghty has favored upon your servant.” 6 Then the handmaids approached, they and their lads; then they bowed themselves. 7 Then Lēa̓h also and her lads approached; then they bowed themselves, and after Yosēf had been drawn near, and Raḥæl; then they bowed themselves. 8 Then he said, “What means it to you all this company which I have encountered?” Then he said, “To find favor in the eyes of my lord.”
9	9 Then Ē̒saw said, “There is much for me my brother; let it be for you what belongs to you.”
10	10 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said, “Nay, please, if please I have found favor in your eyes, then you will have taken my present from my hand, because above this I have seen your face, as seeing the face of the Almĭghty, ¹and you are pleased with me. 11 Take, please, my blessing which has been brought to you; because the Almĭghty has shown me favor, and because there is all for me.” Then he pressed it on him; then he took it.
12	12 Then he said, “Let us pull out” and “let us go,” and “Let¹ me go in front of you.” 13 Then he said unto him, “My lord knows that the lads are tender, and the flocks and the herds that depend upon me are nursing: and if they will have knocked them about one day, then all the flocks will have died. 14 Let my lord, please, pass over the way at the face of his servant, and I, I will sustain the way gently, according to the footpace of the occupation which faces me and according to the footpace of the lads, until that I come unto my lord, to Sē‘eer.”
15	15 Then Ē̒saw said, “Let me please emplace with you some of the people who are with me.” Then he said, “For what would this be? Just let me find favor in the sight of my lord. 16 Then Ē̒saw turned back on that day to his way toward Sē‘eer.
17	17 And Ya‘aqōv̱ had pulled out to Su̧kkot; then he built himself a house, and for his livestock he had made ¹booths: Consequently, the name of the place has been called Su̧kkot.²
18	18 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ came peacefully to the city of Sheḳem, which is in the land of Kena‘an, in his coming from ¹Paddan Aram, then he encamped next to the face of the city. 19 Then he bought the portion of the field, where he had stretched his tent, from the hand of the sons of Ḥamor, father of Sheḳem, with a hundred ¹qeseetahs.
20	20 Then he erected there an altar. Then he called out to Him, “´Ēl Elohæy Yisra´ēl.”†

Genesis 34

1	1 Then Deenah the daughter of Lēa̓h, whom she had borne to Ya‘aqōv̱, went out to look in on the daughters of the land. 2 Then Sheḳem the son of Ḥamōr the Ḥivvee, the prince of the land, saw her. Then he took her. Then he lay with her. Then, he humbled her. 3 Then his soul clung ¹to Deenah the daughter of Ya‘aqōv̱. Then, he loved the girl. Then he spoke ²to the heart of the girl.
4	4 Then Sheḳem spoke unto his father Ḥamōr, saying, “Take for me this girl for a wife.” 5 And Ya‘aqōv̱ had heard that he had made Deenah his daughter to be unclean, ¹but his sons had been with his livestock in the field. ²So Ya‘aqōv̱ had kept silence until their coming. 6 Then Ḥamor the father of Sheḳem went out unto Ya‘aqōv̱ to speak with him.
7	7 And the sons of Ya‘aqōv̱ had come from the field. At their hearing of it then the men themselves were grieved, then it angered them extremely, because he had done folly (in¹ Yisra´ēl) to lay with the daughter of Ya‘aqōv̱; and such should not be done. 8 Then Ḥamor spoke with them, saying, “My son Sheḳem has attached her to his soul, ¹to your daughter: Please give her to him for a wife. 9 And make yourselves in-laws with us; your daughters you should¹ give to us, and our daughters you may take for yourselves. 10 And with us you may dwell, and the land will be ¹before your faces; dwell and trade in² it, and acquire yourselves possessions in it.” 11 Then Sheḳem said unto her father and unto her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and what you shall say unto me I will give. 12 Make a very great dowry upon me, and gift, and I will give it according to what you may say unto me, but give to me the girl for a wife.”
13	13 Then the sons of Ya‘aqōv̱ answered Sheḳem and Ḥamor his father with guile; then they spoke that he had made Deenah their sister to be unclean. 14 Then they said unto them, “We are unable to do this thing, to give our sister to a man who has himself a foreskin, because it is a reproach to us. 15 “However on this we consent ourselves to you—if you will be as we—to be circumcised for yourselves every male. 16 Then¹ we will have given our daughters to you, and your daughters we will take for ourselves, and we will have dwelled with you, and we will have become as one people. 17 But if you will not listen unto us, to be circumcised; then¹ we will have taken our daughter, and we will have gone.”
18	18 Then their words were good in the eyes of Ḥamor, and in the eyes of Sheḳem son of Ḥamor. 19 And the young man had delayed not to do the thing, because he had delighted in the daughter of Ya‘aqōv̱, and he was honored above all the house of his father. 20 Then Ḥamor came and Sheḳem his son unto the gate of their city; then they spoke unto the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are peaceable—they with us;” and “let them dwell in the land, and let them trade in¹ it, and behold the land at their faces is wider than² their hands can use; Their daughters we may take to us for wives, and our daughters we can give to them. 22 However on this condition the men will consent themselves to us, to dwell with us, to become as one people—on being circumcised for ourselves, every male, as that they are circumcised. 23 Their livestock and their acquisitions and all their cattle—will they not be for us?¹ Surely let us consent ourselves to them, and let them dwell with us.” 24 Then they listened unto Ḥamor and unto Sheḳem his son, all going out of the gate of his city; then every male was circumcised, all going out of the gate of his city.
25	25 Then it was on the third day, during their being in ¹pain, then two sons of Ya‘aqōv̱, Shim‘on and Lȇvi, Deenah’s brothers, took each his sword; then they came upon the city in security; then they killed all the males. 26 And Ḥamor and Sheḳem his son they killed at the ¹point of the sword; then they took Deenah from the house of Sheḳem; then they went out.
27	27 The¹ sons of Ya‘aqōv̱ had come upon the pierced bodies. Then they plundered the city, where they had made their sister to be unclean. 28 Their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, they¹ had taken. 29 And all their power, and all their toddlers and their wives, they had taken captive; then they plundered, even all that was in the¹ houses.
30	30 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said unto Shim‘on and unto Lȇvi, “You have troubled me, by causing me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Kena‘ani and among the Perizzi, and I am just a number of guys. And they will have been gathered against me and they will have struck me, and I will have been exterminated, I and my house.”
31	31 Then they said, “As a harlot may¹ he do our sister?”

Genesis 35

1	1 Then the Almĭghty said unto Ya‘aqōv̱, “Arise, ascend to Bētʰ-Ē̓l, and dwell there: and make there an altar to the Gŏd—the one being seen by you when you fled from the face of Ē̒saw your brother.” 2 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said unto his house, and unto all who were with him, “Turn aside the foreign gods which are among you, and make yourselves to be clean, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise, and let us ascend to Bētʰ-Ē̓l; and I will make there an altar to the Gŏd—the one answering me in the day of my distress: then, he was with me in the way which I had gone.”
4	4 Then they gave unto Ya‘aqōv̱ all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and the rings which were in their ears; then Ya‘aqōv̱ hid them under the oak which was beside Sheḳem. 5 Then they pulled out; then, there was the terror of the Almĭghty upon the cities which were round about them, and they had not pursued after the sons of Ya‘aqōv̱. 6 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ came to Lūz, which is in the land of Kena‘an (it¹ is Bētʰ-Ē̓l), he and all the people which were with him. 7 Then he built there an altar; then he proclaimed† at the place “Ē̓l is in Bēytʰ-Ē̓l”¹ because there the Almĭghty had been revealed unto him, in his fleeing from the face of his brother.
8	8 Then Dev̱ōrah† Riv̱qah’s nurse died; then she was buried below Bētʰ-Ē̓l under the oak: then the name of it was called ¹A̓llōn Baḳūtʰ.
9	9 Then the Almĭghty was seen by Ya‘aqōv̱ again† in his coming from Paddan A̓ram.‡ Then he blessed him. 10 Then the Almĭghty said to him, “Your name is Ya‘aqōv̱. Your name shall not be called any more ¹Ya‘aqōv̱, but †Yisra’ēl shall be your name.” Then he called his name Yisra´ēl. 11 Then the Almĭghty said to him, “I am Ē̓l Shaddai.† Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and an assemblage of nations shall be from you, and kings shall come out from your loins. 12 And the land which I have given to A̓v̱raham and to Yitsḥaq, to you I will give it, and to your seed after you I will give the land.” 13 Then the Almĭghty ascended from over him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ made stand a standing pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a standing pillar of stone: then he poured out a drink-offering upon it, then he poured oil upon it. 15 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ called the name of the place where the Almĭghty had spoken with him, ¹“Bētʰ-Ē̓l.”
16	16 Then they pulled out from Bētʰ-Ē̓l. Then there was still a stretch of land to go to ¹E̓phratah. Then Raḥæl gave birth; then she was made to be hard pressed in her bearing. 17 Then it was, in her difficulty, in her giving birth, then the midwife said to her, “You should not fear, because this one also is a son for you.” 18 Then it was, in the departing of her soul (because she had died), then she called his name ¹Ben-ō̓ni̱, (and his father had called him ²Binyami̱n). 19 Then Raḥæl died; then she was entombed in the way to E̓phratah¹ (it² is ³Bētʰ-leḥem). 20 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ made stand a standing pillar upon her tomb. It¹ is the standing pillar of Raḥæl’s tomb onward this day.†
21	21 Then Yisra’ēl pulled out; then he stretched his tent further beyond ¹Migdal Ē̒der. 22 Then it was, during Yisra’ēl’s dwelling in that land, then Re’ūv̱ēn went; then he lay with¹ Bilhah his father’s concubine; then Yisra´ēl heard of it.
22b	22b ¹Then, the sons of Ya‘aqōv̱ were twelve. 23 The sons of Lē’ah: the first-born of Ya‘aqōv̱ is Re’ūv̱ēn, and Shimo̒n, and Lēvi̱, and Yehūdah, and Yissashḥar, and Zev̱ūlūn; 24 The sons of Raḥæl: Yōsēf and Binyami̱n; 25 And the sons of Bilhah, Raḥæl’s handmaid: Dan and Naphtali̱; 26 And the sons of Zilpah, Lē’ah’s handmaid: Gad and A̓shēr: these are the sons of Ya‘aqōv̱, which had been born to him in Paddan A̓ram.
27	27 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ came unto Yitsḥaq his father to Mamrē̓, to Qiryat-HaA̓rba̒ (It¹ is Ḥev̱rōn), where A̓v̱raham and Yitsḥaq had sojourned. 28 Then the days of Yitsḥaq ¹came to a hundred years and eighty years. 29 Then Yitsḥaq ¹expired; then he died; then he was gathered unto his people, old and full of days: and Ē̒saw and Ya‘aqōv̱ his sons entombed him.

Genesis 36

1	1 And these are the begettings¹ of Ē̒saw (He is E̓dōm).† 2 Ē̒saw had taken his wives from the daughters of Kena‘an: ¹A̒dah daughter of Ē̓ylōn the Ḥitti̱, and ²O̓hōli̱v̱amah daughter of A̒nah, grand-daughter of Tsiv̱ō̒n the ³Ḥivvi̱, 3 and ¹Basmatʰ daughter of Yishma‘ē̓l, the sister of Nev̱ayōtʰ.
4	4 Then A̒dah bore to Ē̒saw E̓li̱phaz; and Basmatʰ had borne Re‘ūē̓l; 5 And O̓hōli̱v̱amah had borne ¹Y‘i̱sh, and Ya̒lam, and Qōraḥ: these are the sons of Ē̒saw, who had been born to him in the land of Kena‘an.
6	6 Then Ē̒saw took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, and his livestock, and all his domestic beasts, and all his acquisitions, which he had accumulated in the land of Kena‘an; then he went unto a land away from the face of Ya‘aqōv̱ his brother, 7 because their accumulation would have been too great to dwell together, and the land of their sojournings would not have been able to bear them in the face of their livestock. 8 Then Ē̒saw dwelled in mount Sē‘i̱r: Ē̒saw—he is E̓dōm.
9	9 And these are the begettings of Ē̒saw, father of E̓dōm in mount Sē‘i̱r. 10 These are the names of the sons Ē̒saw: E̓li̱phaz son of A̒dah, the wife of Ē̒saw, Re‘ūē̓l son of Basmatʰ, the wife of Ē̒saw.
11	11 Then the sons of E̓li̱phaz were Tēman, O̓mar, Tsefō and Ga̒tam and Qenaz. 12 And Timna̒ had been a concubine to E̓li̱phaz, son of Ē̒saw; and she bore to E̓li̱phaz A̒malēq: these are the grand sons of A̒dah, wife of Ē̒saw.
13	13 And these are the sons of Re‘ūē̓l: Naḥatʰ and Zeraḥ, Shammah and Mizzah: these had been the grand sons of Basmatʰ, wife of Ē̒saw.
14	14 And these had been the grand sons of O̓hōli̱v̱amah daughter of A̒nah, grand daughter of Tsiv̱o̒n, wife of Ē̒saw: Then she bore to Ē̒saw: ¹Y‘i̱sh, and Ya‘lam, and Qōraḥ.
15	15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Ē̒saw: the sons of E̓li̱phaz, first-born of Ē̒saw: chief Tēyman, chief O̓mar, chief Tsefō, chief Qenaz, 16 Chief Qōraḥ, chief Ga‘tam, chief A̒malēq: these are the chiefs of E̓li̱phaz in the land of E̓dōm; these are the grand sons of A̒dah.
17	17 And these are the sons of Re‘ūē̓l, son of Ē̒saw: chief Naḥatʰ, chief Zeraḥ, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs of Re‘ūē̓l in the land of E̓dōm; these are the grand sons of Basmatʰ, wife of Ē̒saw.
18	18 And these are the sons of O̓hōli̱v̱amah, wife of Ē̒saw: chief Ye‘ūsh, chief Ya̒lam, chief Qōraḥ: these are the chiefs of O̓hōli̱v̱amah daughter of A̒nah, wife of Ē̒saw.
19	19 These are the sons of Ē̒saw, and these are their chiefs. He is E̓dōm.
20	20 These are the sons of Sē‘i̱r, the Ḥōri̱, inhabiting the land: Lōtan and Shōv̱al and Tsiv̱ō̒n and A̒nah, 21 and Di̱shōn and Ē̓tser and Di̱shan: these are the chiefs of the Ḥōri̱, the sons of Sē‘i̱r in the land of E̓dōm.
22	22 And the sons of Lōtan were Ḥōri̱ and Hēmam, and the sister of Lōtan was Timna̒.
23	23 And these are the sons of Shōv̱al: A̒lwan and Manaḥatʰ, and Ē̒yv̱al, Shefō and O̓nam.
24	24 And these are the sons of Tsiv̱o̒n—even A̓yyah and A̒nah. He is the A̒nah† who had found the hot springs in the wilderness, during his shepherding the donkeys belonging to Tsiv̱o̒n his father.
25	25 And these are the sons of A̒nah (the fourth son of Sē‘i̱r): Dishōn and O̓hōli̱v̱amah, daughter of A̒nah.¹
26	26 And these are the sons of Di̱shōn: Ḥemdan and E̓shban, and Yitʰran and Keran.
27	27 These are the sons of Ē̓tser: Bilhan and Za‘awan and A̒qan.
28	28 These are the sons of Di̱shan: Ū̒ts and A̓ran.
29	29 These are the chiefs of the Ḥori̱: chief Lōtan, chief Shōv̱al, chief Tsiv̱ō̒n, chief A̒nah, 30 chief Di̱shōn, chief Ē̓tser, chief Di̱shan: these are the chiefs of the Ḥōri̱, with respect to their chiefs in the land of Sē‘i̱r.
31	31 And these are the kings who had reigned in the land of E̓dōm, at the face of a reigning king belonging to the sons of Yisra’ēl. 32 Then reigned in E̓dōm Bela̒, son of Be‘ōr; and the name of his city was Dinhav̱ah. 33 Then Bela̒ died, and under him reigned Yōv̱av̱, son of Zeraḥ from Bôtsrah 34 Then Yōv̱av̱ died, and under him reigned Ḥūsham from the land of the Tēmani̱. 35 Then Ḥūsham died, then reigned under him Hadad, son of Bedad, the one striking Midyan in the field of Mo’av̱: and the name of his city was A̒vi̱tʰ. 36 Then Hadad died; then under him reigned Samlah from Masrēqah. 37 Then Samlah died; then under him reigned Sha’ūl from Rɘḥōv̱ōtʰ of the ¹river. 38 Then Sha’ūl died; then under him reigned Ba‘al-Ḥanan, son of Aḳbōr. 39 Then Ba‘al-Ḥanan, son of Aḳbōr died; then under him reigned Hadar: and the name of his city was Pa‘ū, and his wife’s name was Mehēytav̱ē̓l, daughter of Matrēd, daughter of Mēy-Zahav̱.
40	40 And these are the names of the chiefs of Ē̒saw, according to their families, according to their places, in connection to their names: chief Timna̒, chief A̒lwah, chief Yetēt, 41 chief O̓hōli̱v̱amah, chief Ē̓lah, chief Pi̱nōn, 42 chief Qenaz, chief Tēyman, chief Miv̱tsar, 43 chief Magdi̱’ēl, chief I̱̒ram: these are the chiefs of E̓dōm, according to their habitations in the land of their possession. This is Ē̒saw, father of E̓dōm.

Genesis 37

1	1 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ dwelled in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Kena‘an. 2 These were the begettings of Ya‘aqōv̱.†
2b	2b Yōsēf, a son of seventeen years, had been shepherding with his brothers in the work of the flock. And he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, wives of his father. Then Yōsēf brought the bad report about them† unto their father.
3	3 And Yisra’ēl had loved Yōsēf above all his sons, because he was the son of old age to him: and he had made for him a long robe with sleeves.¹ 4 Then his brothers saw that their father had loved him above all his brothers; then they hated him, and they had not been able to speak with him peaceably.
5	5 Then Yōsēf dreamed a dream; then he told it to his brothers: then they added all the more to hate him. 6 Then he said unto them, “Listen, please, to this dream which I have dreamed: 7 And, behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and, lo, my sheaf had risen, and also had been stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves surrounded; then they bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 Then his brothers said to him, “Reigning will you reign over us? Or dominating will you dominate among us?” And they added all the more to hate him over his dreams, and over his words.
9	9 Then he dreamed again another dream; then he recounted it to his brothers; then he said, “Behold, I have dreamed a dream again: and, behold, the sun and the moon and one and ten stars were bowing down to me.” 10 Then he recounted it unto his father, and unto his brothers; then his father rebuked against him; then he said to him, “What is this dream which you have dreamed? Coming will we come—I and your mother and your brothers to bow down to you earthward?”
11	11 Then his brothers were jealous at him, and his father had kept the saying in mind. 12 Then his brothers went to shepherd the flock of their father in Sheḳem. 13 Then Yisra’ēl said unto Yōsēf, “Are not your brothers shepherding in Sheḳem? Come, and let me send you unto them.” Then he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 Then he said to him, “Go please. See to the welfare of your brothers, and the welfare of the flock, and return to me with the word.” Then he sent him from the valley of Ḥev̱rōn; then he came toward Sheḳem. 15 Then a man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field; then the man asked him, saying, “What do you seek? 16 Then he said, “I am seeking my brothers: please tell me where they are shepherding.” 17 Then the man said, “They have pulled out from here, because I have heard them saying, ‘Let us go toward ¹Dōtʰan.’” Then Yōsēf went after his brothers; then he found them in Dōtʰan. 18 Then they saw him from afar, and in the time before he came near unto them, then they plotted against him to kill him. 19 Then they said each¹ unto his brother, “Behold, this lord² of dreams is coming.” 20 And “now come,” and “let us slay him, and let us throw him in one of the pits, and we will have said, ‘An evil beast has eaten him.’ Then we shall see what his dreams will be.” 21 Then Re’ūv̱ēn heard it; then he delivered him from their hand: then, he said, “Let us not strike his soul.” 22 Then Re’ūv̱ēn said unto them, “You should not pour out blood; throw him into this¹ pit which is in the wilderness, and you will not send forth a hand against him,” for the sake of delivering him from their hand, to restore him unto his father. 23 Then it was, as that Yōsēf had come unto his brothers, then they stripped Yōsēf; of his long robe, of the long robe with sleeves¹ which was upon him. 24 Then they took him; then they threw him into the pit. And the pit was empty, there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat to eat bread: then they lifted up their eyes; then they looked, and, behold, a caravan of Yishme‘ē̓li̱tes¹ was coming from Gila̒d, and their camels were bearing aromatic gum and balsam and myrrh—they were walking along to go down to Egypt. 26 Then Yehūdah said unto his brothers, “What profit is it that we should slay our brother and we will have concealed his blood? 27 Come, and let us sell him to the Yishme‘ē̓li̱tes, and our hand will not be on him, because he is our brother, our flesh.” Then his brothers listened. 28 Then the men passed by—Midyanites¹ who were traders; then they pulled; then they made Yōsēf ascend from the pit; then they sold Yōsēf to the Yishme‘ē̓li̱tes in exchange for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Yōsēf to Egypt. 29 Then Re’ūv̱ēn returned unto the pit; and, behold, Yōsēf was not in the pit; then he tore his clothes. 30 Then he returned unto his brothers, then he said, “The lad—he is not there,” and “I, where am I going?” 31 Then they† took Yōsēf’s long robe; then they slaughtered a he-goat of the female goats; then they dipped the long robe in the blood. 32 Then they made to be sent the long robe with sleeves; then they caused it to come unto their father; then they said, “This we have found. Please indentify this—is it the long robe of your son or¹ not?” 33 Then he identified it; then he said, “My son’s long robe: an evil wild animal has eaten him, torn—has been torn Yōsēf!” 34 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ tore his garments; then he put sackcloth on his hips; then he mourned over his son many days. 35 Then all his sons and all his daughters rose up to console him; then he refused to console himself; then he said “Because I will descend unto my son in mourning, even to ¹She’ōl.” Then his father lamented him. 36 And the Midyaneem had sold him unto Egypt to Pōti̱phar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the commander of the guard.

Genesis 38

1	1 Then it was in that time, then Yehūdah went down from being with his brothers; then he extended himself onward to an A̒dūllami̱¹ man, and his name was ²Ḥi̱rah. 2 Then Yehūdah saw there a daughter of a Kena‘ani man and his name was ¹Shūa̒. Then he took her; then he came unto her. 3 Then she conceived; then she bore a son; then he called his name ¹Ē̒r. 4 Then she conceived again; then she bore a son; then she called his name ¹Ō̓nan. 5 Then she added again; then she bore a son; then she called his name ¹Shēlah: and he had been in ²Kezi̱v̱, during her bearing him. 6 Then Yehūdah took a wife for Ē̒r his first-born, and her name was ¹Tâmar.
7	7 Then Ē̒r, first-born of Yehūdah, was wicked in the eyes of Yăhwēh. Then Yăhwēh killed him. 8 Then Yehūdah said to Ō̓nan, “Go unto the wife of your brother, then be a brother-in-law¹ to her, and raise up seed to your brother.” 9 Then Ō̓nan knew that the seed would not be for him; and it had been, whenever† he had gone unto the wife of his brother, then¹ he had ruined it earthward, so as to not give seed to his brother. 10 Then it was was evil in the eyes of Yăhwēh (what he had done). Then he also killed him. 11 Then Yehūdah said to Tâmar his daughter-in-law, “Stay a widow in the house of your father until Shēlah my son grows up,” because he had said, “Lest he should die, even he, like his brothers.” Then Tâmar went and she stayed in¹ the house of her father.
12	12 Then the days became many; then the daughter Shūa̒, the wife of Yehūdah, died. Then Yehudah was sorry. Then he went up ¹to oversee¹ the ones shearing his sheep, he and Ḥi̱rah his friend, the A̒dūllami̱, toward ²Timnah. 13 Then it was told to Tâmar, saying, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up toward Timnah to shear his sheep.”
14	14 Then she removed the garments of her widowhood from upon her; then she covered up in the veil; then, she wrapped herself; then she sat in the entrance of ¹Ē̒ynayim, which is above the road toward Timnah, because she had seen that Shēlah had grown up, and she had not been given to him for a wife. 15 Then Yehūdah saw her, and he reckoned her as a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 Then he turned¹ unto her by the road; then he said, “Come please, may I come unto you,” because he had not known that she was his daughter-in-law. Then she said, “What will you give to me, that you may come unto me?” 17 Then he said, “I—I will send a kid of the female-goats from the flock.” Then she said, “if you give me a pledge until your sending it.” 18 Then he said, “What is the pledge which I should give to you?” Then she said, “Your signet and your cord, and your staff which is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, then he came unto her; then she conceived by him.
19	19 Then she arose; then she went; then she removed her veil from upon her; then she dressed in the garments of her widowhood. 20 Then Yehūdah sent the kid of the female-goats in the hand of his friend the A̒dūllami̱, to receive the pledge from the hand of the woman, and he had not found her. 21 Then he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the temple¹ prostitute? She was at Ē̒ynayim above the road.” Then they said, “There has been no temple prostitute ²here.”
22	22 Then he returned unto Yehūdah; then he said, “I have not found her, and also the men of the place have said, ‘There has been no temple prostitute ¹here.’” 23 Then Yehūdah said, “She may take it for herself, lest we should be shamed: behold, I have sent this kid, and you have not found her.”
24	24 Then it was just above¹ three months, then it was told to Yehūdah, saying, “Tâmar your daughter-in-law has been a prostitute,” and also, “behold, she is conceiving to prostitution.” Then Yehūdah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
25	25 She was being brought out, and she had sent unto her father-in-law, saying, “For a man, whose these are, for him I am conceiving,” then she said, “Identify, please, to who these belong, the signet ring, and the cords, and the staff.” 26 Then Yehūdah identified them, then he said, “She has been more righteous than me, because over this¹ I had not given her to Shēlah my son.” And he had not added again to know her.
27	27 Then it was in the time of her bearing, and, behold, twins were in her womb. 28 Then it was, in her bearing, then one put out a hand; then the midwife took and she bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, “This one has come out first.” 29 Then it was, as he was making return his hand, and, behold, his brother had come out; then she said, “How have you broken out?— upon you is the breaking out!” Then his name was called ¹Perets. 30 And after had come out his brother, who had the scarlet thread upon his hand: then his name was¹ called ²Zeraḥ.

Genesis 39

1	1 And Yōsēf had been made to go down to ¹Egypt. Then Pōti̱phar, an officer of Phara̒ōh, boss of the guardsmen, an Egyptian² man, bought him from the hand of the ³Yishme‘ē̓lim, which had made him go down to there. 2 Then Yăhwēh was with Yōsēf; then he was a man making prosperity. Then he was in the house of his master the ¹Egyptian. 3 Then his master saw that Yăhwēh was with him. And all which he was doing, Yăhwēh was making prosper in his hand. 4 Then Yōsēf found favor in his eyes; then he administered for him. Then he made him attend over his house. And all there was belonging to him, he had given into his hand.
5	5 Then it was from the time he had made him to attend in his house, and over all which there was belonging to him, then Yăhwēh blessed the house of the ¹Egyptian on account of Yōsēf. Then the blessing of Yăhwēh was in all which there was belonging to him, in the house and in the field. 6 And he left all which belonged to him in the hand of Yōsēf. And he had not known anything with him, except the bread which he was eating. Then, Yōsēf was handsome of form, and handsome of appearance.
7	7 Then it was after these things, then the wife of his master lifted her eyes unto Yōsēf; then she said, “Lie with me.” 8 Then he refused; then he said unto the wife of his master, “Look, my master has known not what is with me in the house, and all which there is, belonging to him, he has given into my hand. 9 He is not greater in this house than me. He has not withheld from me anything except you, in that you are his wife, and how can I do this great wickedness? And I would have sinned ¹against the Almĭghty!”
10	10 Then it was likewise her speaking unto Yōsēf day after day, and he had not listened unto her, to lie beside her—to be with her. 11 Then it was about this ¹day, then he went to the house to do his work, and no man from the men of the house was there in the house. 12 Then she seized him on his garment, saying, “Lie with me;” then he left his garment in her hand; then he fled; then he went out to the outside.
13	13 Then it was, at her seeing that he had left his garment in her hand, then he was fled to the outside, 14 then she called to the men of her house; then she said to them, saying, “See, he has brought a Hebrew man to us to make sport¹ with us. He has come unto me to lie with me; then I called in a loud voice. 15 Then it was, at his hearing that I had raised my voice, then I called, then he left his garment beside me; then he fled; then he went out to the outside.”
16	16 Then she rested his garment beside her, until his master’s coming unto his house. 17 Then she declared unto him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew servant, which you have brought to us, has come unto me to have sport¹ in me. 18 Then it was, at my raising my voice, then I called out; then he left his garment beside me; then he fled to the outside.”
19	19 Then it was, as his master heard the words of his wife, which she had spoken unto him, saying, “According to these words your servant has done to me,” then his anger burned. 20 Then Yōsēf’s master took him, and he gave him unto the house of the ¹Sōhar, (a place where prisoners of the king are being imprisoned); then he was there in the house of the Sōhar.
21	21 Then Yăhwēh was with Yōsēf; then he extended loving-kindness unto him; then he gave him his favor in the eyes of the boss of the house of the Sōhar. 22 Then the boss of the house of the Sōhar gave into the hand of Yōsēf all the prisoners which were in the house of the Sōhar; and all which was happening there—he had been doing. 23 The boss of the house of the Sōhar was not looking over any of anything in his hand, in that Yăhwēh was with him; and what he was doing, Yăhwēh was making prosper.

Genesis 40

1	1 Then it was after these things, that the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker had sinned against¹ their master, against¹ the king of Egypt. 2 Then Phara̒ōh was angry over his two officers, over the boss of the cupbearers, and over the boss of the bakers. 3 Then he gave them into the jail of the house of the boss of the guardsmen, into the house of the Sōhar, the place where Yōsēf was imprisoned there. 4 Then the boss of the guardsmen appointed Yōsēf with them; then he administered them: then they were two† days in the jail.
5	5 Then they dreamed a dream the two of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the cupbearer and the baker, who belonged to the king of Egypt, who were imprisoned in the house of the Sōhar. 6 Then Yōsēf came unto them in the daybreak; then he saw them, and, beheld them fretting. 7 Then he asked the officers of Phara̒ōh who were with him in the jail—in the house of his master, saying, “For what reason are your faces looking bad today?” 8 Then they said unto him, “A dream we have dreamed, and there is none interpreting it.” Then Yōsēf said unto them, “Are not interpretations belonging to the Almĭghty? Recount it please to me”
9	9 Then the boss of the cupbearers recounted his dream to Yōsēf; then he said to him, “In my dream, and, behold, a vine was at my face. 10 And in the vine were three ¹tendrils: and as it² was budding, its³ blossoms had been opening upwards; they had ripened into its³ bunches of grapes. 11 Then the cup of Phara̒ōh was in my hand; then I took the grapes; then I squeezed them into the cup of Phara̒ōh; then I put¹ the cup upon the palm of Phara̒ōh.”
12	12 Then Yōsēf said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three tendrils—they are three days. 13 Within† three days shall Phara̒ōh lift up your head; then he will have made you to return over your station: then you shall have given the cup of Phara̒ōh into his hand, according to the former manner, in that you had been his cupbearer.
14	14 “Yea, if you will have remembered me with¹ you, as that it will be well to you, then² you will have done, please, loving-kindness with me, and you will have mentioned me unto Phara̒ōh, and you will have brought me out from this house, 15 because being stolen away I have been stolen away out from the land of the Hebrews: and also here I have not done anything that they should¹ have put me in the †pit.
16	16 Then the boss of the bakers saw that he had interpreted for good, he said unto Yōsēf, “Indeed† I was in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of cake were upon my head. 17 And in the uppermost basket something from every food of Phara̒ōh—the work of a baker; and the flying creatures were eating them from the basket from upon my head. 18 Then Yōsēf answered; then he said, “This is the interpretation of it: three are the baskets—three days are they. 19 “Within three days will Phara̒ōh lift up your head from upon you, and he will have hanged you upon a tree. And the flying things will have eaten your flesh from upon you.”
20	20 Then it was in the third day, the day of Phara̒ōh being born, then he made a feast¹ to all his servants; then he lifted up the head of the boss of the cupbearers and the head of the boss of the bakers in the midst of his servants. 21 Then he made return the boss of the cupbearers over his cupbearing again. Then he put the cup upon the palm of Phara̒ōh. 22 And the boss of the bakers—he had hanged, just as that Yōsēf had interpreted to them. 23 And the boss of the cupbearers had not remembered Yōsēf; then he forgot him.

Genesis 41

1	1 Then it was at the bound of two years of †days, and Phara̒ōh was dreaming. And behold, he was standing over¹ the river. 2 And behold, from the river were ascending seven female cows, beautiful of appearance and fat of flesh; then they pastured in the reed-grass. 3 And behold, seven other female cows were ascending after them from the river, bad of appearance, and thin of flesh; then they stood beside the other female cows upon the lip¹ of the river. 4 Then the female cows, which were bad of ¹appearance and thin of ²flesh, ate the seven female cows, which were beautiful of ¹appearance, even the fat ones. Then Phara̒ōh awoke.
5	5 Then he slept; then he dreamed a second dream. And behold, seven ears of grain¹ were ascending on one stalk, fat ones, even good ones. 6 And behold, seven ears, thin ones, and being scorched of the east wind, were sprouting after them. 7 Then the thin ears swallowed up the seven fat ears, even the full ones. Then Phara̒ōh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.
8	8 Then it was in the daybreak; then his spirit was disturbed; then he sent; then he called all the astrologers¹ of Egypt, and all her wise men; then Phara̒ōh related to them his dream; and there was none interpreting them to Phara̒ōh. 9 Then the boss of the cupbearers spoke with Phara̒ōh, saying, “My sins I am remembering ¹today. 10 Phara̒ōh had been angry over his servants; then he put me in the jail of the house of the boss of the guardsmen, me and the boss of the bakers. 11 Then we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he. We had dreamed, each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 12 And there, with us was a young man, a Hebrew, a slave belonging to the boss of the guardsmen; then we recounted the dreams to him; then he interpreted for us our dreams, each man according to his dream he had interpreted. 13 Then it was, as that he had interpreted for us, so it had been; me he made return over my station, and him he had hanged.”
14	14 Then Phara̒ōh sent; then he called Yōsēf; then they made him run from the ¹pit; then he shaved; then he changed his clothes; then he came unto Phara̒ōh.
15	15 Then Phara̒ōh said unto Yōsēf, “A dream I have dreamed, and none is interpreting it, and I—I have heard about you them saying you can hear a dream to interpret it.”
16	16 Then Yōsēf answered Phara̒ōh, saying, “It is not me; the Almĭghty can answer the †concern of Phara̒ōh.
17	17 Then Phara̒ōh spoke unto Yōsēf, “In my dream, behold, I was standing upon the ¹lip of the river. 18 And, behold, from the river were ascending seven female cows, fat of flesh, and beautiful of form; then they pastured in the reed-grass. 19 And, behold, seven other female cows ascended after them, poor ones, and very bad of form, and thin of flesh, I have not seen the like of them in all the land of Egypt for badness. 20 Then the thin and bad female cows ate the first seven fat female cows. 21 Then they came into their insides, and it would not have been known that they had come into their insides, and their appearance was as bad as that in the beginning. Then I awoke.
22	22 “Then I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears were going up on one stalk, full and good. 23 And behold, seven ears, shriveled, thin, and scorched by¹ the east wind, were sprouting after them: 24 Then the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears; then I said it unto the astrologers, and none was telling it to me.
25	25 Then Yōsēf said unto Phara̒ōh, “The dream of Phara̒ōh: it is one; that which the Almĭghty will be doing he has declared to Phara̒ōh. 26 The seven good female cows—seven years they are; and the seven good ears—seven years they are. The dream, it is one. 27 And the seven thin and bad female cows ascending after them, seven years they are. And the seven empty ears scorched by the east wind: they are seven years of famine.
28	28 “It is the matter which I have spoken unto Phara̒ōh: what the Almĭghty will be doing he has shown Phara̒ōh. 29 Behold, seven years are coming, of great plenty, in all the land of Egypt. 30 And there will have arisen seven years of famine after them; then will have been forgotten all the plenty in the land of Egypt; and the famine will have finished off¹ the land. 31 And the plenty will not be known in the land beyond the face of that famine, after such, because, it—it will have been very heavy. 32 And above all, the dream was doubled unto Phara̒ōh two times, because the matter is fixed from beside the Almĭghty, and the Almĭghty is making haste to do it.”
33	33 “And now let Phara̒ōh see to a man who is understanding and wise, and may he set him over the land of Egypt. 34 May Phara̒ōh act, and may he call to attention attendants over the land, and he will have taken a fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty. 35 And let them gather all the food of these coming good years, and let them heap up grain under the hand of Phara̒ōh, food in the cities, and they will have guarded it. 36 And the food will have been to attend to the land, for the seven years of the famine, which will be in the land of Egypt, and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”
37	37 Then the thing was good in the eyes of Phara̒ōh, and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 Then Phara̒ōh said unto his servants, “Will we have found such as this man, because the Spĭrit of the Almĭghty is in him?” 39 Then Phara̒ōh said unto Yōsēf, “After the Almĭghty make to know you all this, there is none understanding and wise as you. 40 You will be over my house, and upon your mouth will all my people kiss: only concerning the throne I am greater than you.”
41	41 Then Phara̒ōh said unto Yōsēf, “See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Phara̒ōh removed his signet ring from upon his hand; then he put it upon the hand of Yōsēf; then he clothed him in garments of fine linen; then he set a chain of ¹gold over his neck. 43 Then he made him ride in the chariot of the second, which belonged to him. Then they called out at his face, “Kneel!”¹ and put him over all the land of Egypt.
44	44 Then Phara̒ōh said unto Yōsēf, “I am Phara̒ōh, and without you shall no man raise his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt. 45 Then Phara̒ōh called Yōsēf’s name †Tsaphnatʰ Pa̒nēaḥ. Then he gave to him ¹A̓snatʰ, the daughter of Pōti̱ Phera̒² priest of Ō̓n for a wife. Then Yōsēf went out over the land of Egypt.
46	46 And Yōsēf was a son thirty years in his standing at the face of Phara̒ōh king of Egypt. Then Yōsēf went out from before the face of Phara̒ōh; then he passed into all the land of Egypt.
47	47 Then the earth produced in the seven years of plenty to fistfuls.† 48 Then he gathered all the food of the seven years which had been in the land of Egypt; then he put the food in the cities. The food of the fields of each¹ city, (which surrounded it) he had put in the midst of it.
49	49 Then Yōsēf heaped up grain as the sand of the sea, exceedingly great, onward when he had ceased to count, because it was not numberable.
50	50 And to Yōsēf had been born two sons in the time before the year of the famine came, whom A̓snatʰ, the daughter of Pōti̱ Phera̒ priest of Ō̓n, had borne to him. 51 Then Yōsēf called the name of the first-born ¹Menashēh, because, “The Almĭghty has made to be forgotten by me all my toilsome trouble, and all the house of my father.” 52 And the name of the second he had called ¹E̓phrayim, because “The Almĭghty has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53	53 Then the seven years of the plenty, which had been in the land of Egypt, were spent. 54 Then the seven years of the famine began to come, as that Yōsēf had said. Then there was famine in all the lands, and in all the land of Egypt there had been bread. 55 Then all the land of Egypt was famished; then the people cried out unto Phara̒ōh for bread; then Phara̒ōh said to all Egypt, “Go unto Yōsēf. What he says to you, you should do.”
56	56 And the famine had been over all the face of the earth. Then, Yōsēf opened all the store-houses which were among them; then he sold grain to Egypt. Then the famine grew strong in the land of Egypt. 57 And all the lands had come to Egypt unto Yōsēf to ¹buy grain, because the famine had grown strong in all the earth.†

Genesis 42

1	1 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ saw that there was grain in Egypt; then Ya‘aqōv̱ said to his sons, “Why do you look at yourselves?” 2 Then he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down to there, and buy grain for us from there, and we may live. And we will not die.”
3	3 Then the brothers of Yōsēf, ten, went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 And Binyami̱n, the brother of Yōsēf, Ya‘aqōv̱ had not sent with his brothers, because he had said, “Lest he should call harm upon himself.” 5 Then the sons of Yisra’ēl came to buy grain in the midst of those coming, because the famine had been in the land of Kena‘an. 6 And Yōsēf—he was the dictator¹ over the land. He was the one selling grain to all the people of the land. Then the brothers of Yōsēf came; then they bowed themselves down to him, noses earthward.
7	7 Then Yōsēf saw his brothers. Then he recognized them. Then he made himself unrecognizable unto them. Then he spoke with them very¹ harshly. Then he said unto them. “From where have you come?” Then they said, “From the land of Kena‘an to buy food.”
8	8 ¹Therefore, when Yōsēf recognized his brothers, and they had not recognized him, 9 then Yōsēf remembered the dreams which he had dreamed in respect to them. Then he said unto them, “You are spying—to see the nakedness of the land you have come.”
10	10 Then they said unto him, “No, my lord,” and “your servants have come to buy food. 11 All of us are sons of one man; we are honest—we; your servants have not been spying.” 12 Then he said unto them, “No, because the nakedness of the land you have come to see.”
13	13 Then they said, “We your servants are two and ten brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Kena‘an, and, behold, the youngest is with our father today, and the other one—he is not.” 14 Then Yōsēf said unto them, “It is what I have spoken unto you, saying, ‘You are spying.’ 15 In this you shall be tested, as lives Phara̒ōh, you shall not go forth from this place, except in coming your brother—the youngest here. 16 Send from you—one, and let him take your brother, and you shall be bound, and let your words be tested, whether the truth is with you, and if not, as lives Phara̒ōh, yea, you are spying.”
17	17 Then he gathered them unto the jail three days. 18 Then Yōsēf said unto them on the third day, “This do, and live—I fear the Almĭghty. 19 If you are honest, your brothers one shall be bound in your jail ¹house; and you rest go, bring grain for the hunger of your houses. 20 “And the brother of you, the youngest, you shall bring unto me, and may your words be supported, and you shall not die.”† Then they did so.
21	21 Then they said each man unto his brother, “Verily we are guilty over our brother, in that¹ we had seen the distress of his soul, in his seeking favor from² us, and we had not listened. Consequently, has come unto us this distress.”
22	22 Then Re’ūv̱ēn answered them, saying, “Have I not said unto you, saying, ‘You should not sin against the lad,’ and you had not listened! And also his blood, behold, is required!”
23	23 And they—they had not known that Yōsēf was listening, because the interpreter was between them. 24 Then he turned around from over them; then he wept; then he returned unto them; then he spoke unto them; then and he took Shimo̒n† from with them, then he bound him before their eyes.
25	25 Then Yōsēf commanded; then they filled their bags with¹ grain, and returned their silver pieces, each man unto his sack, and gave to them provision for the road; so then it was done to them. 26 Then they lifted their grain upon their donkeys, then they departed from there.
27	27 Then ¹one opened his sack to give his donkey feed in a² lodging; then he saw his silver, and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. 28 Then he said unto his brothers, “My silver has been returned” and also “look in my sack!”; then their heart went out of them; then they trembled each man to his brother, saying, “What is this the Almĭghty has done to us?”
29	29 Then they came unto Ya‘aqōv̱ their father, to the land of Kena‘an; then they told to him all ¹the things befalling them¹ saying, 30 “The man, absolute¹ lord of the land, had spoken very² harshly with us; then he took³ us as ones spying the land. 31 Then we said unto him, ‘We are honest. We have not been spying. 32 We are two and ten brothers, sons of our father. The one: he is not, and the youngest today is with our father in the land of Kena‘an. 33 Then the man, absolute lord of the land, said unto us, ‘In this I may know that you are honest: from your brothers, leave ¹one with me. And for the famine in² your houses, take and go. 34 Then bring your youngest brother unto me. Then I will know that you are not spying, that you are honest; your brother I will give to you, and you may trade around the land.’”
35	35 Then it was, as they were emptying their sacks, and behold, of each man, the pouch of his silver was in his sack. Then they saw the pouches of their silver, they and their father, then they feared.
36	36 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ their father said unto them, “Me you have bereaved. Yōsēf, he is not, and Shimo̒n, he is not, and Binyami̱n you will take away. Upon me has come all of ¹this.”
37	37 Then Re’ūv̱ēn said unto his father, saying, “You may kill my two sons, if I bring him not unto you. Put him in¹ my hand, and I, I will return him unto you.”
38	38 Then he said, “My son shall not go down with ¹you, because his brother has been killed, and he, by himself, is remaining. ²Therefore, when, harm will have called him on the road which you will go ³on, then you will have caused my grey hair to descend in sorrow to She’ōl.”

Genesis 43

1	1 And the famine was heavy in the land. 2 Then it was, as that they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, then their father said unto them, “Return, buy for us a little food.”
3	3 Then Yehūdah said unto him, saying, “Witnessing the man has witnessed against us, saying, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you be sending our brother with us, we may go down and we may buy food for you: 5 And if you are not sending him, we will not go down, because the man has said unto us, ‘You shall not see my face, except your brother is with you.”
6	6 Then Yisra’ēl said, “Why have you made it so bad for me, as to tell to the man whether there was yet to you a brother?” 7 Then they said, “Asking the man had asked in connection to us, and in connection to our nativity, saying, ‘Is your father yet living?’ ‘Is there belonging to you a brother?’ Then we told it to him upon the mouth¹ of these words. Did knowning we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down?’”
8	8 Then Yehūdah said unto Yisra’ēl his father, “Send the lad with me, and let us arise and let us go, let us live, and we may not die, yea we, yea you, yea our little ones. 9 I, I will gurantee him; from my hand shall you require him: if I have not brought him unto you (and I will have placed him before your face,) then¹ I will have sinned against you all the days: 10 Because if we had not lingered, yea we would have now returned these¹ two times.
11	11 Then their father Yisra’ēl said unto them, “If it is so then, do this: take from the fruit¹ of the land in your containers, and bring down to the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spice and myrrh, pistachios, and almonds; 12 And take double silver in your hand; and the returned silver, that was in the mouth of your sacks, you will return in your hand; perhaps it was a mistake: 13 Take also your brother, and arise, return unto the man. 14 “And may Ē̓l Shaddai¹ give you mercies before the face of the man, and he will have sent to you your other brother and Binyami̱n. And I, as that I shall have been bereaved, I will have been bereaved.”
15	15 Then the men took that present. And double silver they had taken in their hand, and Binyami̱n. Then they rose up; then they went down to ¹Egypt; then they stood at the face of Yōsēf. 16 Then Yōsēf saw them with Binyami̱n; then he said to that one over his house, “Bring the men to the house, and slaughter a slaughter, and fix it, because the men shall eat with me in the midday.”
17	17 Then the man did as that Yōsēf had said. Then the man brought the men to the house of Yōsēf. 18 Then the men were afraid, because they were brought to¹ the house of Yōsēf. Then they said to themselves, “Over the matter of the returned silver in our sacks from² the first trip, we are being brought to be rolling themselves over us, and to fall upon us, and to take us for slaves, and our donkeys.”
19	19 Then they drew near unto the man which was over the house of Yōsēf; then they spoke unto him at the door of the house. 20 Then they said, “Pardon ¹me, my lord, coming down we had come down in the first trip to buy food. 21 Then it was, since we had come unto the lodging place, then we opened our sacks, and behold, each man’s silver was in the mouth of his sack, our silver by its weight, ¹therefore, we bring it back in our hand. 22 And other silver we have brought down in our hand to buy food. We have not known who has put our silver in our sacks.”
23	23 Then he said, “Shalom to you; you should not fear. Your Almĭghty, and the Almĭghty of your father, has given to you hidden treasure in your sacks: your silver has come unto me. Then he brought Shimo̒n out unto them. 24 Then the man brought the men into the house of Yōsēf; then he gave them water; then they washed their feet. Then he gave feed to their donkeys.
25	25 And they fixed up the present until the coming of Yōsēf in the midday, because they had heard that there they would eat bread. 26 Then Yōsēf came to the house; then they brought to him the present which was in their hand to the house; then they bowed themselves down to him earthward. 27 Then he asked them as to their welfare; then he said, “Is your father well, the old one of whom you have spoken? Is he still alive?” 28 Then they said, “It is well for your servant, for our father. He still lives.” Then they bowed down, and prostrated themselves.
29	29 Then he lifted up his eyes; then he saw Binyami̱n his brother, son of his mother; then he said, “Is this your brother, the youngest, of whom you have spoken unto me?” Then he said, “May the Almĭghty favor you, my son.”
30	30 Then Yōsēf made haste, because his feelings¹ had been growing warm unto his brother. Then he wanted sought to weep. Then he entered into a ²room; then he wept ³there. 31 Then he washed his face; then he came out. Then he restrained himself; then he said, “Set out the bread.” 32 Then they set a place for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, the ones eating with him, by themselves, because the Egyptians were not able to eat bread with the Hebrews, because it is an abomination to Egyptians. 33 Then they sat before his face, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. Then the men were dumbfounded each man unto his neighbor. 34 Then he carried portions from before his face unto them, and he increased the portion of Binyami̱n above the portions of all of them five hands. Then they drank, and they got drunk with him.

Genesis 44

1	1 Then he commanded the one which was over his house, saying, “Fill the sacks of the men with food, as that they can carry, and put the silver of each man in the mouth of his sack. 2 And my cup, the cup of silver, you shall put in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and with the silver from¹ his grain.” Then he did according to the word which Yōsēf had spoken.
3	3 The daybreak had become light, and the men had been sent away—they and their donkeys. 4 They had exited the city; they had not gone far. And Yōsēf had said to the one which was over his house, “Rise, pursue after the men! And you will have overtaken them, and you will have said unto them, ‘Why have you repayed evil in place of good? 5 Is not this¹ which my lord drinks with in ²it, and he divining he divines with it! You have done evil by what you have done!’” 6 Then he overtook them; then he spoke unto them these words. 7 Then they said unto him, “Why speaks my lord according to these words? Far be it to your servants from doing according to this word. 8 Behold, the silver, which we had found in the mouth of our sacks, we had brought back unto you from the land of Kena‘an. And how should we steal from the house of your lord silver or gold? 9 He who ever from your servants is found with it, then¹ he will have been put to death, and also we will become to my lord slaves.”
10	10 Then he said, “Yea now according to your words so he which is found with it will be to me, a slave, and the rest of you will be cleared.” 11 Then they hurried; then they brought down, each man his sack earthward; then they opened each his sack. 12 Then he searched. He had begun in the eldest, and he had finished in the youngest. Then the cup had been found in the sack of Binyami̱n. 13 Then they rent their clothes; then he loaded, each man, upon his donkey; then they returned to the city. 14 Then Yehūdah and his brothers came to the house of Yōsēf; and he still himself was there; then they fell before his face earthward.
15	15 Then Yōsēf said to them, “What is this deed which you† have done? Have you not known that divining he can divine a man which is like me?” 16 Then Yehūdah said, “What can we say to my lord? What may we speak? And what will make ourselves to be right? The Almĭghty has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are slaves to my lord, even we, even he in whose hand has been found the cup.”
17	17 Then he said, “Far be it to me from doing this: the man in whose hand the cup has been found, he shall be to me a slave, and you, go up in peace to your father.” 18 Then Yehūdah drew near unto him; then he said, “Pardon me, my lord, let your servant, please, speak a word in the ears of my lord, and let not your anger burn against your servant, because ¹you are the same as Phara̒ōh. 19 My lord has asked his servants, saying, “Is there to you a father, or a brother? 20 Then we said unto my lord, there is to us a father, old, and a boy of his old age, a little one; and his brother has died; then he by himself is left of his mother. And his father has loved him. 21 Then you said unto your servants, ‘Bring him down unto me, and I may set my eyes upon him.’ 22 Then we said unto my lord, ‘The lad is not able to leave his father.’ And he will have left his father, and he will have died. 23 Then you said unto your servants, ‘Except your brother—the youngest will come down with you, you shall not repeat to see my face.’ 24 Then it was since we had gone up unto your servant my father, then we told to him the words of my lord. 25 Then our father said, ‘Return, buy for us a little food. 26 Then we said, ‘We are not able to go down. If our brother, the youngest, is with us, then¹ we will have gone down, because we are not able to see the face of the man and our brother, the youngest, is not himself with us.”
27	27 “Then your servant my father said unto us, ‘You have known that my wife has borne two to me. 28 Then the one went out from me; then I said, “Surely being torn he has been torn,” and I have not seen him since¹ then. 29 And you will have taken even this one from before my face; then harm will have met him, and you will have brought down my grey hair in evil to She’ōl.’ 30 And now as I come unto your servant my father, and the lad is not himself with us, and his soul is bound with his soul, 31 and it will have been, as he sees that the lad is not, then¹ he will have died, and your servants will have brought down the grey hairs of your servant our father in sorrow to She’ōl.
32	32 “Because your servant has guranteed the lad unto¹ my father, saying, ‘If I bring him not unto you, then² I will have sinned against my father all the days.’ 33 And now, let your servant, please, remain in place of the lad a servant to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brothers. 34 For how shall I go up unto my father, and the lad be not himself with me, lest I see the evil which shall find my father.

Genesis 45

1	1 And Yōsēf was not able to restrain himself to anyone standing over him; then he called, “Cause every man to go out from over me. And there had stood no man with him, in Yōsēf’s making himself known unto his brothers. 2 Then he put his voice in weeping: then the Egyptians heard; then the house of Phara̒ōh heard.
3	3 Then Yōsēf said unto his brothers, “I am Yōsēf. Does my father still live?” And his brothers had not been able to answer him, because they had been terrified in¹ the face of him. 4 Then Yōsēf said unto his brothers, “Please come near unto me.” Then they came near. Then he said, “I am Yōsēf your brother, whom you have sold¹ to Egypt.
5	5 And now do not let yourselves be grieved, and let it not burn in your eyes, because you have sold me here, because the Almĭghty has sent me before your faces for preserving life. 6 Because this¹ two years the famine is in the midst of the land: and there are yet five years, in which there shall be no plowing and harvesting.† 7 Therefore¹ the Almĭghty sent me before your faces to establish for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive for a great deliverance. 8 And now you, you have not sent me here, but the Almĭghty; then he has established me as a father to Phara̒ōh, and to be lord to all his house, and ruler in all the land of Egypt. 9 Make haste, and go up unto my father, and you shall have said unto him, ‘Thus has said your son Yōsēf, the Almĭghty has established me as lord to all Egypt. Come down unto me; may you not ¹stay. 10 And you shall have dwelled in the land of Gōshen, and you shall have been near unto me, you, and your sons, and the sons of your sons, and your flocks, and your herds, and all which belongs to you. 11 And I will have sustained you there, because there are still five years of famine, lest you be dispossesed, you, and your house, and all which belong to you. 12 And, behold, your eyes are seeing, and the eyes of my brother Binyami̱n, that my mouth is the one speaking unto you.
13	13 “And you¹ shall have told to my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all which you¹ have seen, and you shall have hastened and you¹ shall have brought down my father here.” 14 Then he fell upon the neck of Binyami̱n his brother; then he wept; and Binyami̱n had wept upon his neck.
15	15 Then he kissed all his brothers; then he wept over them, and after that¹ his brothers had spoken with him. 16 And the voice¹ had been heard in Phara̒ōh’s house, saying, “The brothers of Yōsēf have come.” Then it was good in the eyes of Phara̒ōh, and in the eyes of his servants.
17	17 Then Phara̒ōh said unto Yōsēf, “Say unto your brothers, ‘This do. Load your beasts, and go, enter to the land of Kena‘an, 18 and take your father, and your houses, and come unto me. And let me give to you the best of the land of Egypt. Then eat the fat of the land. 19 And now you have been commanded. This do: take for yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and you will have carried your father, and you will have come. 20 And let not your eye pity over your stuff, because the best of all the land of Egypt—for you it is.”
21	21 Then the sons of Yisra’ēl did so. Then Yōsēf gave to them wagons, upon the mouth¹ of Phara̒ōh; then he gave to them provision for the way. 22 To all of them he had given, to each man, changes of garments, and to Binyami̱n he had given three hundreds of silver, and five changes of garments.
23	23 And to his father he had sent according to this accounting: ten donkeys bearing goods from the best of Egypt, and ten she-asses bearing grain and bread and sustenance for his father, for the way.
24	24 Then he sent his brothers; then they departed; then he said unto them, “Don’t get rattled¹ in the way.” 25 Then they went up from Egypt; then they came into the land of Kena‘an unto Ya‘aqōv̱ their father.
26	26 Then they declared to him, saying, “Yōsēf is still alive, and that he is ruling in all the land of Egypt.” Then his heart was numbed, because he had not given support to them. 27 Then they spoke unto him all the words of Yōsēf, which he had spoken unto them. Then he saw the wagons which Yōsēf had sent to carry him. Then the spirit of Ya‘aqōv̱ their father revived. 28 Then Yisra’ēl said, “Great! Yōsēf my son is still alive. Let me go and I will see him in the time before I die.”

Genesis 46

1	1 Then Yisra’ēl pulled out, and all which belonged to him; then he came to Be’ērshev̱a̒; then he sacrificed sacrifices to the Almĭghty of his father Yitsḥaq. 2 Then the Almĭghty spoke to Yisra’ēl in visions of the night; then he said, “Ya‘aqōv̱, Ya‘aqōv̱.” Then he said, “Here am I.” 3 Then he said, “I am Gŏd, Almĭghty of your father. You should not fear to go down to Egypt, because I will establish you as a great nation there: 4 I, I will go down with you to Egypt; and I, I will make you come up; also to come up again, and Yōsēf shall put his hand upon your eyes.”
5	5 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ rose up from Be’ērshev̱a̒. Then the sons of Yisra’ēl carried Ya‘aqōv̱ their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Phara̒ōh had sent to carry him. 6 Then they took their livestock, and their accumulations, which they had accumulated in the land of Kena‘an; then they came to Egypt, Ya‘aqōv̱, and all his seed with him, 7 his sons, and the sons of his sons with him, his †daughters, and the daughters of his sons, and all his seed he had brought with him to Egypt.
8	8 And these are the names of the sons of Yisra’ēl, the ones coming to Egypt, Ya‘aqōv̱ and his sons: the firstborn of Ya‘aqōv̱ Re’ūv̱ēn. 9 And the sons of Re’ūv̱ēn: Ḥanōḳ, and Pallū̓, and Ḥetsrōn, and Karmi̱. 10 And the sons of Shimo̒n: Yemū’ēl, and Yami̱n, and Ōhad, and Yaḳi̱n, and Tsōḥar, and Sha’ūl son of the Kena‘ani̱t woman. 11 And the sons of Lēvi̱: Gērshōn, Qehatʰ, and Merari̱. 12 And the sons of Yehūdah: Æ̒r, and Ō̓nan, and Shēlah, and Perets and Zaraḥ. Therefore¹ when Æ̒r and Ō̓nan died in the land of Kena‘an, then they became the sons of Perets, Ḥetsrōn and Ḥamūl.‡ 13 And the sons of Yisashḳar: Tōla̒, and Pūvvah, and Yōv̱, and Shimrōn. 14 And the sons of Zev̱ūlūn: Sered and Æ̓lōn and Yaḥle’ēl. 15 These are the sons of Lē’ah, whom she had borne to Ya‘aqōv̱ in Paddan A̓ram, and Di̱nah his daughter. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
16	16 And the sons of Gâd: Tsifyōn, and Ḥaggi̱, Shūni̱ and E̓tsbōn, Ē̒ri̱ and A̓rōdi̱, and A̓rē̓li̱. 17 And the sons of A̓shēr: Yimnah, and Yishwah, and Yishwi̱, and Beri̱‘ah, and Seraḥ their sister; and the sons of Beri̱‘ah: Ḥev̱er and Malki̱’ēl. 18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Lav̱an had given to Lē’ah his daughter; and she bore these to Ya‘aqōv̱, six and ten souls.
19	19 The sons of Raḥæl wife of Ya‘aqōv̱: Yōsēf and Binyami̱n. 20 Then to Yōsēf, in the land of Egypt, were born Menashēh and E̓phrayim, whom A̓snatʰ, daughter of Pōti̱ Phera̒ priest of Ō̓n, had borne to him. 21 And the sons of Binyami̱n: Bela̒, and Beḳer and A̓shbēl, Gēra̓, and Na̒aman, Ē̓ḥi̱, and Ro̓sh, Mūppi̱m and Ḥūppi̱m and A̓rd. 22 These are the sons of Raḥæl, who had been born to Ya‘aqōv̱: all the souls were fourteen.
23	23 And the sons† of Dân: Ḥūshi̱m. 24 And the sons of Naphtali̱: Yaḥtse’ēl, and Gūni̱, and Yētser, and Shillēm. 25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Lav̱an had given to Raḥæl his daughter, and she bore these to Ya‘aqōv̱: all the souls were seven. 26 All the souls, the ones coming to Egypt (belonging to Ya‘aqōv̱), going out of his loins, apart from the wives of the sons of Ya‘aqōv̱, all the souls were sixty and six.†
27	27 And the sons of Yōsēf, who had been born to him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls belonging to the house of Ya‘aqōv̱, ¹that had come¹ to Egypt, were †seventy. 28 And he had sent Yehūdah before his face unto Yōsēf, to direct the way before his face to Gōshen; then they came to the land of Gōshen.
29	29 Then Yōsēf harnessed¹ his chariot; then he went up to call on Yisra’ēl his father, to Gōshen. Then he was seen by him; then he fell upon his neck; then he wept upon his neck a long² time. 30 Then Yisra’ēl said unto Yōsēf, “I can die at the time, after my seeing your face, because you are still alive.”
31	31 Then Yōsēf said unto his brothers, and unto the house of his father, “Let me go up, and let me tell to Phara̒ōh, and let me say unto him, ‘My brothers, and the house of my father, who were in the land of Kena‘an, have come unto me, 32 And the men are shepherding flocks, because they have been men of livestock. And their flocks, and their herds, and all which belongs to them, they have brought.’ 33 And it will have been, that Phara̒ōh shall call to you, and he will have said, ‘What are your ¹occupations?’ 34 Then you will have said, ‘Your servants have been men of livestock from our youth and onward till now, yea we, yea our fathers.’ In consequence you may dwell in the land of Gōshen, because every one shepherding flocks is an abomination in¹ Egypt.”

Genesis 47

1	1 Then Yōsēf went in and he declared to Phara̒ōh; then he said, “My father and my brothers, and their flocks, and their herds, and all which belongs to them, have come from the land of Kena‘an; and behold, they are in the land of Gōshen.” 2 And from the extremity† of his brothers he had taken five men; then he placed them at the face of Phara̒ōh. 3 Then Phara̒ōh said unto his brothers, “What is your work?” Then they said unto Phara̒ōh, “Your servants are ones shepherding flocks yea we, yea our fathers.” 4 Then they said unto Phara̒ōh, “To sojourn in the land we have come, because there is no pasture for the flocks which belong to your servants, because the famine is heavy in the land of Kena‘an, and now, please, let your servants dwell in the land of Gōshen.”
5	5 Then Phara̒ōh spoke unto Yōsēf, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come unto you. 6 The land of Egypt, at your face it is; in the best of the land make your father and your brothers to dwell. In the land of Gōshen let them dwell, and if you have known, and there are men of strength among them, then¹ you will have appointed them as bosses of livestock, over what belongs to me.”
7	7 Then Yōsēf brought Ya‘aqōv̱ his father; then stood him at the face of Phara̒ōh: then Ya‘aqōv̱ blessed Phara̒ōh. 8 Then Phara̒ōh said unto Ya‘aqōv̱, “Like what are the days of the years of your life?” 9 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said unto Phara̒ōh, “The days of the years of my sojournings are thirty and a hundred of years.† Few and evil ones have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not overtaken the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings. 10 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ blessed Phara̒ōh; then he went out from before the face of Phara̒ōh.
11	11 Then Yōsēf settled his father and his brothers; then he gave to them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Ra̒mesēs, as that Phara̒ōh had commanded. 12 Then Yōsēf sustained his father, and his brothers, and all the house of his father, with bread, according to the mouth of the little ones.
13	13 And there was no bread in all the land, because the famine was very heavy; then the land of Egypt and the land of Kena‘an fainted in¹ the face of the famine. 14 And Yōsēf gathered up all the †silver, that being found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Kena‘an, in exchange for the grain which they were buying: then Yōsēf brought the silver into the house of Phara̒ōh.
15	15 Then the silver was spent from the land of Egypt, and from the land of Kena‘an; then all Egypt came unto Yōsēf, saying, “Give us bread,” and “For why should we die in front of you, because silver has come to nothing.” 16 Then Yōsēf said, “Give your livestock; and let me give to you in exchange for your livestock, since silver has come to nothing.” 17 Then they brought their livestock unto Yōsēf; then Yōsēf gave to them bread in exchange for the horses, and in exchange for the livestock of the flocks, and in exchange for the livestock of the herds, and in exchange for the donkeys. Then he refreshed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock in that year.
18	18 Then that year† was spent; then they came unto him in the second year; then they said to him, “We can not hide from my lord, that the case is the silver has been consumed, and the livestock of beasts belong unto my lord; nothing has been left before the face of my lord, except if our bodies, and our land. 19 For why should we die before your eyes, yea we yea our lands? Buy us and our lands in exchange for bread, and we will be, we and our lands, servants to Phara̒ōh. And give us seed, and let us live, and do not let us die, and the land will not be desolated.
20	20 Then† Yōsēf bought all the land of Egypt for Phara̒ōh, because Egypt had sold each his field, because the famine had been strong upon them, and the land was belonging to Phara̒ōh. 21 And he had made the people cross over it to the cities, from the border of the territory of Egypt and onward to its other border. 22 Only the land of the priests he had not bought, because an allotment belonged to the priests from¹ Phara̒ōh, and they had been eating their allotment which Phara̒ōh had given to them. Consequently, they had not sold their land.
23	23 Then† Yōsēf said unto the people, “Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Phara̒ōh. ¹Look now, to you is seed, and you will have seeded the land. 24 And it will have been in the ¹harvests, then² you will have given a fifth to Phara̒ōh, and four of the hands³ shall belong to you, to seed the field, and for your food, and for whomever is in your houses, and for eating by your little ones. 25 Then they said, “You have kept us alive. Let us find favor in the eyes of my lord; and we have become servants to Phara̒ōh. 26 Then Yōsēf established it for a statute until this¹ day, over the land of Egypt for Phara̒ōh to take a fifth. Only the lands of the priests apart by themselves had not been sold to Phara̒ōh.
27	27 Then Yisra´ēl dwelled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Gōshen; then they gained possessions in it; then they were fruitful; then they multiplied greatly. 28 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ lived in the land of Egypt seven and ten years. Then the days of Ya‘aqōv̱, the years of his life, were seven years and forty and a hundred of years.
29	29 Then drew near the days for¹ Yisra’ēl to die. Then he called to his son, to Yōsēf; then he said to him, “If please I have found favor in your eyes, put, please, your hand under my thigh, and you will have done loving-kindness with me and ¹faithfulness. Please, you should not entomb me in Egypt; 30 and¹ I will have laid down with my fathers, and² you shall have carried me from Egypt, and you shall have entombed me in their tomb.” Then he said, “I, I will do as is your word.” 31 Then he said, “Swear yourself to me.” Then he swore himself to him. Then Yisra’ēl bowed himself in worship upon the head of the bed.

Genesis 48

1	1 Then it was after these words, then someone said to Yōsēf, “Behold, your father is weakening.” Then he took his two sons with him, Menashēh and E̓phrayim. 2 Then he declared to Ya‘aqōv̱, then he said, “Behold, your son Yōsēf has come unto you; then Yisra’ēl strengthened himself; then he sat up upon the bed. 3 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ said unto Yōsēf, “Æ̓l Shaddai† had been seen by me in Lūz‡ in the land of Kena‘an; then he blessed me,
4	4 Then he said unto me, ‘Behold I¹ will be making you fruitful, and I will have multiplied you, and I will have established² you as a congregation of peoples, and I will have given this land to your seed after you as an everlasting possession.’”
5	5 “And now two of your sons, the ones being born to you in the land of Egypt onward¹ my coming unto you, to Egypt, they belong to me. E̓phrayim and Menashēh, as Re’ūv̱ēn and Shimō̒n, they belong to me. 6 And your offspring, which you will have begotten after them, belongs to you. They shall be over¹ the name of their brothers. They will be proclaimed in connection to their inheritance.
7	7 “And I, in my coming from Paddan, Raḥæl had died upon¹ me in the land of Kena‘an in the way, when there was still a ²kiv̱ratʰ of land to go toward E̓phrat: and I buried her there in the way of E̓phrat;” (it is Bētʰleḥem).
8	8 Then Yisra’ēl saw the sons of Yōsēf; then he said, “Who are these?” 9 Then Yōsēf said unto his father, “They are my sons, whom the Almĭghty has given to me ¹in this place.¹” Then he said, “Take them, please, unto me, and let me bless them.” 10 And the eyes of Yisra’ēl had become heavy from old age. He was not able to see. Then he brought them near unto him; then he kissed them; then he embraced them. 11 Then Yisra’ēl said unto Yōsēf, “I had not contemplated seeing your face: and look!, the Almĭghty has made me see your seed also.”
12	12 Then Yōsēf brought them out from by¹ his knees; then he bowed himself to his nose—earthward. 13 Then Yōsēf took the two of them, E̓phrayim in his right hand at¹ the left of Yisra’ēl, and Menashēh in his left hand at² the right of Yisra’ēl; then he drew near unto him. 14 Then Yisra’ēl sent out his right hand; then he set it upon the head of E̓phrayim, and he was the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Menashēh; he had crossed his hands, because Menashēh was the firstborn.
15	15 Then he blessed Yōsēf; then he said, “The Almĭghty before whose face my fathers A̓v̱raham and Yitsḥaq have walked, the Almĭghty shepherding me from my youth† onward to this day, 16 the Messenger† redeeming me from all evil, let him bless the lads; and let my name be proclaimed on them, and the name of my fathers A̓v̱raham and Yitsḥaq; and let them multiply into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17	17 Then Yōsēf saw that his father set his right hand upon the head of E̓phrayim; then it was bad in his eyes: then he grasped the hand of his father, to remove it from upon the head of E̓phrayim to put it upon the head of Menashēh. 18 Then Yōsēf said unto his father, “Not so, my father, because this one is the firstborn; set your right hand upon his head.”
19	19 Then his father refused; then he said, “I have known, my son, I have known, yea he shall become a people, yea he shall be great, and however, his younger brother shall be greater than him, and his seed shall become the fullness† of the nations.”
20	20 Then he blessed them in that day, saying, “By you will Yisra’ēl bless, saying, “May the Almĭghty establish you as E̓phrayim and as Menashēh.” ¹Therefore, he set E̓phrayim before the face of Menashēh.
21	21 Then Yisra’ēl said unto Yōsēf, “Behold, I am dying, and the Almĭghty will have been with you, and he will have returned you unto the land of your fathers. 22 And I, I have given to you one shoulder above your brothers, which I have taken from the hand of the E̓mōri̱ with my sword and with my bow.

Genesis 49

1	1 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ called unto his sons; then he said: “Gather yourselves, and let me tell you that which will call upon you in the latter days. 2 Assemble yourselves, and listen, sons of Ya‘aqōv̱. And listen unto Yisra’ēl your father. 3 “Re’ūv̱ēn, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. 4 Uncontrolled as water, you may not be most excellent, because you have ascended the bed of your father. At that time, you had defiled it: my couch he has ascended.”
5	5 “Shimō̒n and Lēvi̱ are brothers; weapons of violence are their †bargains. 6 May my soul not come into their secret council; may my weight¹ not be united in their assembly, because in their anger they have slain man, and in their good-will² they have hamstrung an †ox. 7 Cursed is their anger, because it was fierce, and their furious outburst, because it had been severe: I will divide them in Ya‘aqōv̱, and I will scatter them in Yisra’ēl.”
8	8 “Yehūdah, you they will praise you, your brothers. Your hand is on the neck of your enemies. The sons of your father shall bow down to you. 9 Yehūdah is a cub of a lion; from the prey, my son, you have risen up. He has crouched down; he has lain down like a lion, and as a lioness. Who will make him stand up? 10 The staff‡ shall not turn aside from Yehūdah, and one making rules from between his feet past that time he will come who belongs¹ to †it, and to him is the obedience of the peoples. 11 Tethering his¹ colt to the vine, even the son of his donkey to the choice vine, he will have washed his clothes in wine, and †his garments in the blood of grapes; 12 dull will be his eyes from wine, and white will be his teeth from milk.”
13	13 “Zev̱ūlūn shall dwell at the harbor of the ¹Sea; and he shall be a harbor of ships; and his flank shall be upon Tsi̱dōn.”
14	14 “Yissashḥar is a strong donkey, laying down between the ¹sheep-folds. 15 Then he saw a resting-place that it was good, and the land that it had been pleasant; then he stretched his shoulder to bear; therefore, he will become as a slave working.”
16	16 “Dân shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Yisra’ēl. 17 Dân shall be a serpent upon the road, an adder upon the path, like the one biting the heels of a horse; then the one riding it falls backward. 18 For your salvation, I have waited, Yăhwēh.”
19	19 “Gâd,¹ a troop shall troop upon¹ him; and he shall troop upon their heel.
20	20 “From A̓shēr his bread shall be fat, and he shall set dainties of a king.
21	21 “Naphtali̱ is a doe being sent: the one giving beautiful speeches.
22	22 “A son bearing fruit is Yōsēf; a son bearing fruit over a spring; his¹ daughters have marched over the wall. 23 Then they will embitter him, and they will have shot at him. Therefore, they bear him a grudge, the masters of ¹arrows. 24 Therefore his bow remains constantly; therefore the arms of his hands are agile, from the hands of the Strong¹ One of Ya‘aqōv̱. From there is the one shepherding, the stone of Yisra’ēl, 25 from the Gŏd of your father; let him help you; and from with Shaddai; let him bless you, in blessings of the heavens from above, blessings of the deep lying down under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. 26 The blessings of your father have grown strong above the blessings of the ones conceiving me, past the bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be to the head of Yōsēf, and to the crown of his head, the consecrated one of his brothers.
27	27 “Binyami̱n is a wolf. He tears. In the daybreak he shall eat prey. And at the setting, he will divide spoil.”
28	28 All these are the tribes of Yisra’ēl, twelve; and this is what their father had spoken to them; therefore he blessed them, each one, which as was his blessing, he had blessed them.
29	29 Then he commanded them; then he said unto them, “I am being gathered unto my people: entomb me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of E̒phrōn the Ḥitti̱, 30 In the cave which is in the field of ̧Maḳpēlah, which is over the face of Mamrē, in the land of Kena‘an, which A̓v̱raham had bought with the field from E̒phrōn the Ḥitti̱ for a tomb possession. 31 Thitherward they had buried A̓v̱raham and Sarah his wife; thither-ward they had buried Yitsḥaq and Riv̱qah his wife; and thitherward I have buried Lē’ah in the acquisition, 32 the field and the cave which is in it from the sons of Ḥētʰ.”
33	33 Then Ya‘aqōv̱ finished commanding his sons; then he gathered his feet unto the bed; then he expired; then he was gathered unto his people.

Genesis 50

1	1 Then Yōsēf fell upon the face of his father; then he wept over him; then he kissed hįm. 2 Then Yōsēf commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father; then the physicians embalmed Yisra’ēl. 3 Then they fulfilled forty days for him, because thus they fulfil the days of the embalmings; therefore, Egypt mourned him seventy days.
4	4 Then the days of his mourning passed; then Yōsēf spoke unto the house of Phara̒ōh, saying, “If please I have found favor in your eyes, speak, please, in the ears of Phara̒ōh, saying, 5 ‘My father has sworn me, saying, “Behold, I am dying: in my tomb which I have dug for myself in the land of Kena‘an, thereto shall you entomb me.” And now let me go up, please, and let me entomb my father, and let me return.’”
6	6 Then Phara̒ōh said, “Go up, and entomb your father, as that he has sworn you.” 7 Then Yōsēf went up to entomb his father; then with him went up all the servants of Phara̒ōh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 And all the house of Yōsēf, and his brothers, and the house of his father; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they had left in the land of Gōshen. 9 Then went up with him also chariots, also horsemen; therefore the camp was very ¹heavy.
10	10 Then they came as far as the threshing-floor of ̧A̓tad¹ which is in the region across the Yardēn; then they lamented there a lamentation great and very heavy. Then he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 Then the inhabitants of the land, the Kena‘ani̱, saw the mourning at the threshing-floor of ̧A̓tad; then they said, “This is a heavy mourning for Egypt. Consequently the name of it has been called A̓v̱ēl-Mitsrayim, which is in the region beyond the Yardēn.
12	12 Then his sons did so for him as that he had commanded them. 13 Then his sons carried him to the land of Kena‘an; then they entombed him in the cave of the field of ̧Maḳpēlah, which A̓v̱raham had bought with the field, for a tomb possession, from E̒phrōn the Ḥitti̱, over the face of Mamrē.
14	14 Then Yōsēf returned to Egypt, he, and his brothers, and all the ones going up with him to entomb his father, after his entombing his father. 15 Then the brothers of Yōsēf saw that their father had died. Then they said, “Perhaps Yōsēf will begrudge us, and returning he will return to us all the evil which we have dealt him.”
16	16 Then they commanded unto Yōsēf, saying, “Your father has commanded in the face of his death, saying, 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Yōsēf, “Ah now! Forgive, please, the transgression of your brothers, and their sin, for the evil they had done you. And now, forgive please, the transgression of the servants of the Almĭghty of your father.”’” Then Yōsēf wept ¹at the time of¹ their speaking unto him. 18 Then his brothers also went; then they fell down at his face; then they said, “Behold, we belong to you for servants.”
19	19 Then Yōsēf said unto them, “Fear not! For in the place of the Almĭghty am I? 20 And you had planned evil upon me; then the Almighty had planned good, so that his acting as of this day is to keep alive many people. 21 And now you should not fear: I will sustain you, and your little ones.” Then he comforted them; then he spoke to their hearts.
22	22 Then Yōsēf dwelled in Egypt, he, and the house of his father; and¹ Yōsēf lived a hundred and ten years. 23 Therefore Yōsēf saw of Ephrayim, sons of the third generation, even the sons of Maḳir, the son of Menashēh, had been born upon the knees of Yōsēf. 24 Then Yōsēf said unto his brothers, “I am dying, and the Almĭghty attending he will attend you, and he will have brought you up from this land unto the land which he has sworn himself to A̓v̱raham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Ya‘aqōv̱.” 25 Then Yōsēf made swear the sons of Yisra’ēl, saying, “The Almĭghty attending he will attend you, and you shall have brought up my bones from here.”
26	26 Then Yōsēf died, a son of a hundred and ten years. Then they embalmed him; then he was set in a coffin¹ in Egypt.

Commentary

1:1ᵅ ^{^}In the beginning ofᵅ..., בְּרֵאשִׁית, bɘrē’shi̱t. Genesis 1 has more mistranslations in one chapter than in any other book of the Hebrew Bible, starting with the very first word, which is a normal construct in Hebrew, “In the beginning of...” versus just plain “In the beginning,” which would not only be highly unusual in the absolute state, but it is totally unprecedented and goes against the example of the same words as used everywhere else. Young’s Literal translation has it correctly, “In the beginning of...” (YLT). The difference is not trivial, but has profound implications for the philosophy of time and Biblical Chronology. Refer to my exhaustive word study on the usage of this word to show that this translation is correct here: Proving the Points. Gen. 1:1 denotes only the relative time of the beginning of creation, and not an absolute beginning in time. Other scriptures refute the notion of a beginning in time, e.g.“Blessed is Yăhwēh, Almĭghty of Yisra´ēl, from everlasting, and onward to everlasting! (Psa. 106:48).” The use of two terms of motion, “from” and “until/onward” along with the temporal term “everlasting” (literally, obscurity, denoting time immemorial), show that everlasting means from time of the infinite past to time of the infinite future. In Gen. 22:12, he says, “For now I have come to know that you fear the Almĭghty, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only special one, from me.” “Now” is a definite point in time. In Gen. 18:20 it says, “Then Yăhwēh said, ‘Because Sedōm and Amorah’s outcry has become great, and because their sin has been very weighty, I want to go down, please, and I want to see if they have done completely according to it’s outcry that has come to me, and if not, I want to know.’ ” The Gŏd of Creation who says this, cannot exist in a timeless eternity, because then all knowledge would be immutably fixed.

Augustinian theists generally claim that ‘time’ was created at the beginning and that Gŏd exists in a dimension where all time from eternity past to eternity future is one changeless present to him. This notion is often described as “outside of time,” and results by logical deduction in the Calvinistic notion of the deity, which is not Gŏd as the Scripture teaches.

But the text says no such thing as “God is outside of time,” nor any other text. It is just as easy to consider the phrase as the beginning of this creation, but not the beginning of time. The scriptures speak of Gŏd as dwelling in time (cf. Psa. 90:2, 90:4; Rev. 1:8). The one argument put forward by Augustinian theists to “prove” that Gŏd exists outside of time is that endless time cannot exist because it proposes that an “actual infinite” time can be reached by successive addition of finite amounts of time. This argument is a straw man because the biblical view of endless time does not propose that the infinite past is created by the sum of additions of finite amounts of time. Rather the infinite past has always existed for Gŏd, so explaining how it came to be is not necessary. It has no creation, it has no beginning. It just existed. This can be illustrated by the infinite set {…-3 < -2 < -1 < 0} where each element represents before and after moments, and 0 represents the present moment. Our infinite set already exists, to which we now add the element {1} representing the next moment in time: {…-3 < -2 < -1 < 0 < 1}. Now {1} is the new present and {0} has become past. Thus time always moves forward by adding new intervals to an already infinite amount of time. The original infinite interval however was not produced by adding the new intervals. It always was.

Logically time cannot be created. Creation requires something to go from non existence to existence, which is to say the act of creation has a before and and after. Time is required for creation to occur. So without time, nothing can be created, so time must be part of the eternal rules of wisdom with Gŏd from everlasting. If there was no time, it could not be created, since creation has no meaning without time.

Scholars have long debated the translation I have given vs. the traditional, “In the beginning God created....” The traditional version presents creation as a completed act at the end of vs. 1. Then it proceeds to describe things in an unfinished state in vs. 2, and then goes no to describe the creation of heavens and earth. Thus things are taken out of order. But the law of narrative is that items should not be taken out of order unless there is a conflict with an already established chronology. The translation I have provided lets us take things in order, and also better agrees with Hebrew grammar.

1:1¹ ^{^}¹Almĭghty אֱלֹהִים, ’ɘlōhi̱m. The meaning of E̓lōhi̱m (אֱלֹהִים) is “Almighty One” or “Most Mighty One,” usually with the connotation of divinity. The word אֱלֹהִים in Hebrew is plural in form but singular in meaning. This is because the Hebrew plural has one other important use than indicating number, the intensive use. This use does not exist with the English plural. The intensive use adds a superlative sense to the lexical root, i.e. most, greatest, which in this case is translated “All-”; the lexical meaning of the word itself is “mĭghty one” (with the connotation of divinity). How the Hebrew plural accomplishes this might be appreciated by considering the construction “Mighty one of mighty ones” as a way of expressing the plural. When the plural is used with a verb taking a singular subject, then we know the plural is intensive. Sometimes it is a regular plural when speaking of false deities.

E̓lōhi̱m is most often translated “the Almĭghty” which I take occassion to discuss the use of the definite article in Hebrew. A phrase in English like “Almĭghty is good” appears to be bad grammar, i.e. it should be “The Almĭghty is good.” The truth is that nouns do not have to be marked by the definite article “the” in order to be definite in meaning. Hebrew regularly omits the article which must be supplied in English. Proper names are all definite in English, but seldom do you see “the” in front of a proper name. Proper names are all definite in Greek, but very often you see “the” in Greek before a proper name, which is bad grammar to English. Hebrew omits the article before numerous definite words that are not proper nouns, and sometimes before titles. For example in English we say “Gŏd is good” and not “The Gŏd is good.” While at the same time we say “The Lŏrd is good,” but not “Lŏrd is good.” Both Gŏd and Lŏrd are titles. English has accepted the use of Gŏd without the article and Lŏrd only with the article. Both usages are definite with or without the article. On regular nouns, Hebrew always omits the article on the head noun of a construct phrase, and in many other cases which are clearly definite.

Hebrew also frequently uses the article in a sense uncommon in English called the “generic usage.” Generic means a “kind” or “class.” For example we say in English “The cow is an animal that gives milk.” But if we see “The gold is a precious metal”, then we call it bad grammar! The article is marking one definite member of a whole class to stand for the whole class. Thus “Then the Almĭghty created mankind in his† image” (Gen. 1:27) has a generic article: “Then the Almĭghty created the man in his† image.” We might say “He made the cow after its own kind.” But to say “the man” is misleading, because the English reader assumed one definite man, i.e. A̓dam, and fails to grasp that “the man” is simply a definite representative of the whole class, which is “mankind.”

The cases of divergence between the English requirement of the article and its presence in the Hebrew text are too many to mark in italics. Marking its absence in Hebrew is a superfluous task since context and syntax often indicate definitness without the article. The reader would sooner be served by learning to read Hebrew and learn to think where Hebrew does not require the article. Also, as a note, the instances of the indefinite article are not italicized because there is no indefinite article in Hebrew. And in some cases a generic usage in Hebrew, i.e. “a chain of the gold” requires an indefinite article “a chain of gold” (Gen. 41:42). Marking italics on the article therefore serves no purpose because the unlearned English reader will not be able to explain its absence or presence in many cases from the expectations of English.

The reader who wishes to know whether the Hebrew has a morpholocial definite article in a text can easily identify it by looking in an interlinear. It appears prefixed as הַ ha, and then a dagesh is placed in the first letter of the next letter (omitted in cases of guttural letters).

1:1ᵝ ^{^}In the beginning ofᵅ the ¹Almĭghty’s creatingᵝ... Read the Hebrew text with the vowels: בְּרֹא, bɘrō’. The infinitive construct is determined to be correct here by the previous words, e.g. “In the beginning of...” vs. “In the beginning...” and the infinitive construct in parallel texts Gen. 2:4a, 2:4b and 5:2. The mistranslation “had created”, or “created” (perfect tense) implies a completed creation before vs. 2, and suggests the gap theory, or ruin reconstruction theory, or takes vs. 1 out of order with the narrative and explains it as a summary. But there is no prior chronological reason to take vs. 1 out of order when the grammar and syntax point to a chronological solution.

The false vowel בָּרָא, bara’ pointing for ברא was put into the text ca. AD 900 by the Jewish scribes who thought they knew what the text meant on the basis of tradition. But the tradition is misleading and the vowel points supporting it incorrect. The actual linguistic facts and Hebrew usage of the first word of the Scripture contradict the tradition. Really, there needs be no other proof than that the what I have translated it is the normal pattern of Hebrew, and obeys the law of taking narrative in sequence when there is no prior chronology to contradict it.

The Cambridge Bible states: “‘B’rêshîth,’ being grammatically in ‘the construct state,’ should be translated ‘In the beginning of,’ or ‘In the beginning when’; and not, as if in the absolute state, ‘In the beginning.’ If this contention , i.e. that b’rêshîth is in the construct state, be correct [and it is, though this source doubts it], Genesis 1:1 will be the protasis; Genesis 1:2 will be a parenthesis; Genesis 1:3 will be the apodosis: ‘In the beginning when God created the heaven and the earth (now the earth was ~~waste~~ [unformed], &c.… upon the face of the waters), then God said, “Let there be light.” ’ ” It is then plain to see that Gen 1:1-3 is one sentence, and that vss. 1-2 are the setting at time, and that vs. 3 introduces the first act of creation: light.

Lange’s Commentary states, “The construction maintained by Bunsen and others (Raschi [(Rashi): Rabbi Shlomo Yitshaqi), Ewald, Aben Ezra) is as follows: ‘In the beginning when God created heaven and earth, and when the earth was ~~waste~~ [unformed] and ~~desolate~~ [nothing], and darkness was over the ~~primeval flood~~ [face of the deep], and the ~~breath~~ [Spĭrit] of God moved upon the waters, then God said, Let there be light, and there was light.’” This reads the Hebrew grammar the same way as I have it although it is less literal and shot through with other equally damaging errors.

Objection #1: “This construction is, in the first place, opposed throughout to the language of Genesis” (Lange). This is the opposite of the truth. Parallel constructions occur in 2:4b-7, “In the day of †Yăhwēh Almĭghty’s making earth and heavens...then Yăhwēh Almĭghty formed the man,” and 5:2, “In the day of the Almĭghty’s creating of mankind, in the likeness of the Almĭghty he had made him.” Also, it is proved that “In the beginning of” is the normal sense: Proving the Points.

Objection #2: “In its brief yet grand declarations it proceeds from one concluded sentence to another” (Lange). Since all the punctuation was put in ca. AD 1000, this objection is invalid.

Objection #3: “It obliterates that...God is the sole causality of heaven and earth in an absolute sense” (Lange). This lie is for the consumption of simple folk who fail to notice that neither does “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” rule out some other creation made before by God, and we only know it would have been made by God because he is Almĭghty, and because the Scriptures state elsewhere (John 1:3) that everything made was made by Him. Even following the incorrect version of Gen. 1:1, it is not plain that God made everything from that one verse itself. It is only plain that he made the heavens and the earth in this universe at a point in time called the beginning for this universe. It is only on the force of who God is that we understand all things were caused by him to exist, and neither translation negates this concept of God.

Objection #4: “The word of revelation confronts all pagan dualism” (Lange). Again this is begging the question. Lange is assuming his traditional translation is the word of revelation. Gen. 1:2 presents the waters of the deep as existing before the first act of creation, so that everything in this universe was made out of them. We understand that God created these waters at some point in time, but not from the verse. Only from the proper concept of God. The implication of vs 2 is that God has always been creating something even before this creation, so that something created by Him has always existed in some universe. This is not a pagan dualism because what was created is not independent of God. Indeed, it is not dualism to say God’s creations exist going back to the everlasting past, because none of them would be independent of his creative acts. Dualism teaches that matter is a substance independent of God that exists apart from his creation and maintaining it.

The six days of creation begin in vs. 3. Gen. 1:1-2 are simply the setting at the beginning of creation. “For six days Yăhwēh had fashioned the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all which is in them. Then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, Yăhwēh made to be blessed the day of the Shabbat. Then he made it to be holy.” We have to understand that עָשָׂה is a Hebrew verb that has a wide range of meaning, including fashioned and produced. We must therefore distinguish between making using water already existing, and the making of the water itself ex nihilo (cf. Psa. 33:6). We are not given the time of the making for water. We are given the time of everything made from it.

Objection #5: “The view of Aben Ezra that בְּרֵאשִׁית is ever in the construct state, and that it means here, “In the beginning of the [Almĭghty’s] creation of the heavens and the earth,” etc., is contradicted by the occurrence of the word in the absolute state, Deut. 33:21.—בְּרֵאשִׁית (from רֹאש = רֵאשׁ).” But —בְּרֵאשִׁית does not occur in Deut. 33:21. Only רֵאשִׁית does, and it means “the firstmost part.” Aben Ezra is correct. —בְּרֵאשִׁית only occurs in the construct, and the norm for all other froms is also the construct, so Lange’s words are lie when he claims Deut. 33:21 contradicts Aben Ezra. See Proving the Points. Aben Ezra is simply going by the norm for Hebrew.

1:1² ^{^} The term “heavens” is not defined until vs. 8 as the space of the expanse, which was made in vs. 7. Therefore, the heavens do not exist at the end of vs. 1. To understand why the term is used then, an analogy will suffice, “When I started to build my house, I met with the architect and asked him to draw up a set of plans.” The house is mentioned, but the house does not exist at the time of this statement.

1:1³ ^{^} The “earth” is first called “earth” in vs. 10., which was created in vs. 9. To explain the usage of the word in vs. 1, the same analogy I used to explain the term heavens there will do. See note 1:1².

1:2ᵞ ^{^} when =and; The waw conjunctive adds a detail or details to a narrative without moving time forward. It is usually translated “and”, and so could be translated here with good sense. The use of the word “when” is a discourse English style to emphasize that vs. 2 introduces a setting that is simultaneous in time with vs. 1. The narrative does not move forward till vs. 3. The waw conjunctive refutes the gap theory because it shows that vs. 2 is at the same time as vs. 1., and vs. 1 is only at the beginning of creation.

Hebrew uses the waw conjunctive much more broadly than English. For example the English, “At the start of planning my house, when the lot was full of trees,” would appear in Hebrew as, “At the start of planning my house, and the lot was full of trees, then I said cut down enough trees for lumber. Then they cut them down.” Even in English the same sense as and = when can be perceived. The use of when inserts the Hebrew contextual conclusion into the English lexical term, which I have chosen to do to make the overall meaning plainer vs. tradition.

1:2ᵟ ^{^} The context indicates that “had been” is the correct sense over “had become.” The earth had been unformed and nothing. To say “had become unformed and nothing” implies the previous existence of the earth. But the term earth is defined in Gen. 1:10. See Extended Commentary.

1:2¹ ^{^} Rŭakh of the Almĭghty: רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים. This could also be rendered Almĭghty Rŭakh or almighty wind or {wind, spirit} from the Almĭghty by the rules of Hebrew grammar; however we have to consider that in usage Ruaḥ רוּחַ customarily means Yăhwēh´s Rŭakh, or spirit, in conjunction with the word אֱלֹהִים. The רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים phrase occurs 16x and רוּחַ always means a spirit in the contexts, and so it should be regarded here. Murphy´s law of biblical interpretation: whenever a wrong interpretation is possible, heretics will be sure to suggest them.

´Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) is frequently used in an adjectival sense even when it is in a construct relation: יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ = Yăhwēh our Almĭghty, and even in places most people do not expect, as an exaggeration: נְשִׂיא אֱלֹהִים = almighty prince, Gen. 23:6; נַפְתּוּלֵי אֱלֹהִים = almighty wrestlings, Gen. 30:8; קֹלֹת אֱלֹהִים = almighty sounds, Exo. 9:28; וַתְּהִי לְחֶרְדַּת אֱלֹהִים = and it was as an almighty trembling, 1 Sam. 14:15; cf. Psa. 36:6, 80v10; Jon. 3:3?.

It is exactly this adjectival use of the construct relation that shows us the true meaning of Messiah´s title: בֶּן־אֱלֹהִים usually translated, “Son of God,” but which more properly means Almĭghty Sŏn (sometimes expressed as: “God, the Son.”). The Son is not just someone derived from the Almĭghty; he is one having the very characteristics of the Almĭghty; similar usages are seen with the word son: בֶּן־חַיִל = mighty son, i.e. great warrior, 1 Sam. 14:52.

Adjectival use is also seen in Joh. 1:1: and the Word was Almĭghty, where the Word is not equated as the same person as the Father, but the Word is given the same attributes. Joh. 1:1 is understood in the sense of Elohim because of the nomina sacra markings in early Greek texts. The word “Gŏd” connotes deity, but it lacks sufficient adjectival use in English (only “god awful” comes to mind). Therefore, Almĭghty is a better translation of Elohim.

1:2² ^{^} fluttering, hovering. The sense of vibration is derived from the whir of rapid fluttering. Imagine a high pitched whine or sound emanating from the Spirit that is vibrating the surface of the waters.

1:3¹ ^{^} Then the Almĭghty said: This is the first waw consecutive in Scripture. It is a conjunction of utmost importance to understanding and interpretation. The scholarly world is not agreed on its precise meaning and function. One of the main reasons for the MISB is that this translator has deciphered what that meaning is, and how to figure it out using the context.

The waw consecutive has the meaning of the English word “then.” This is to be distinguished from a simple waw conjunctive which means “and”; the Hebrew text has a morphological difference between waw consecutive and waw conjunctive. A conjunctive waw is spelled וְ, and pronounced: wǝ. The waw consecutive is spelled: וַ, and pronounced: wa. Modern readers pronounce vǝ and va respectively. A further distinguishing feature is that the waw consecutive is always attached to an imperfect verb, the accent is moved forward in the verb, and the verb is often shortened.

The word “then” in English is employed to mean what comes next: then next. The word “then” is also used to mean what happened at a remote time in the past, or will happen in the future, i.e. “Then, farmers used to use horses for plowing” or “Someday fusion may be used to generate power. Then, energy will be cheaper and more abundant. Then, it will be clean and not polluting.” Another use of “then” is to draw a conclusion: “Jack was a professional thief; then he planned his thefts carefully.” The sense used here is “Therefore.” A logical connection is being made with what was said before.

This being said, I translate waw consecutive three different ways in order to show which of the English meanings of “then” is meant by the Hebrew. 1. Then (for then next) 2. Then, (with a comma for “at that time”, 3. Then: (with a colon to indicate “therefore.” Each of the three senses has to be justified from the context. Firstly, #1: “then (next)” is by far the most common usage. It therefore needs no other justification than that it should be tried first, and where it makes good sense, no other sense should be sought. Secondly, #2 “At that time” is used where it is obvious that the statement is at the same time as the preceeding statement, or is simply remote with respect to the narrator, usually in the past. Thirdly, #3, “Therefore” must be justified in that temporal succession would be contradictory, and also “at that time” (i.e. simultaneous with the preceeding, or remote to the narrator) would be contradictory, and further, that there really is a logical connection with the preceding narrative, i.e. there is a conclusion to be drawn, or a cause to be noted. For further explanation see note 1:7¹. The translation is according to the first sense that makes logical sense going in order of priority for the senses. However, in some cases two of the senses may apply, i.e. the “Therefore” sense in addition to one of the other two. 1. “Then next, therefore:” or “At that time, therefore.

1:3² ^{^} This is the first use of the imperfect tense in Scripture. The term imperfect means incompleted. The Hebrew imperfect includes the present tense, the future tense, and the future subjunctive. The imperfect is used for past narrative as a historical present. Therefore all the imperfects translated simple past in English are in fact presents in Hebrew: “then the Almĭghty says, “Let there be light.” Then there is light. Then the Almĭghty sees the light, that it is good. Then the Almĭghty makes a divide between the light and between the darkness.” English discourse uses the simple past for past narrative. Sometimes it might use the present for dramatic reasons, and this use is called the historical present. All translations, this one included, except for an ultra literal translation like Young’s literal, which is hopelessly outdated, and virtually unreadable in ordinary English, use the simple past for the imperfect. Young used the archaic English present to translate the imperfect, terms like: saith, seeth, separateth. In contemporary English these would become: says, sees, separates.

The EHSV however, is virtually the only translation (besides Young) for which the reader can figure out which verbs are imperfect from the English translation. So, if one wants to read the text for dramatic effect, then every verb in the simple past that is preceeded by “Then,” may be converted to the simple present tense.

1:3³ ^{^} The very first thing that he made was light, “Let there be light.” The presence of light is necessary before there can be “setting” ‘erev̱ (עֶרֶב) or “daybreak” v̱oqer (בֹקֶר). This observation will prove crucial in relation to Messiah´s death and resurrection. See vs. 5.

1:3† ^{^}In the beginning of the Almĭghty’s creating the heavens and the earth, 2 (and when the earth had been unformed and nothing, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spĭrit of the Almĭghty was making a fluttering to be upon the face of the waters), 3 then the Almĭghty said, “Let there be light.”†

Genesis 1:1-3a forms one long sentence with a long ( ) giving the setting. The structure may be simplified like this: “In the beginning of the Almĭghty’s creating the heavens and the earth, (...) then the Almĭghty said, ‘Let there be light.’” The creation of light was the first act of creation mentioned in the Scripture. Light was the first component of the heavens and the earth that said to be created. The water was already there. What goes in the ( ) is the setting, or state of affairs, when he began creating. In the setting the existence of the earth is denied. The existence of waters is asserted, and the Spĭrit’s relationship to the waters is noted. Where the waters came from is not stated. We are merely left to assume that they were made by the Almĭghty at some point.

Vs. 2 has given us a setting with waters, and nothing is said about these waters being created then. We don´t know when they were created. Vs. 2 presents the water as the starting substance of creation. The doctrine of creation out of nothing (ex nihilo) is often suggested as the meaning of “create,” br’ (ברא), but this has nothing to do with the word. The doctrine of creation is correctly derived from the nature of the Almĭghty rather than the word bɘrō. Later we see that woman was created from a starting substance of man’s rib. In vs. 2 we are given the starting substance of all creation: water. So ברא does not mean to make out of nothing. We may guess that the spirit he put into the woman was created out of nothing we can identify as material, but her body had the rib as a precursor.

Whenever the Almĭghty used something already made as a precursor, we must understand that there is no infinite regression of precursors. The chain ends with initial matter (the text does not say if the water is initial matter or not). The Almĭghty creates initial matter out of His Word. What this really means is that He sets the definitions of the reality we live in by his word using the logic and wisdom that is an eternal part of his nature. The ability to turn logical thought into an external matter is a transcendent ability comprehended only by the Almĭghty. What matter really is, is a set of definitions turned into reality. Even more amazing is that the Almĭghty can create from his Word spiritual persons in his own likeness who have the ability to organize the matter He made to create things after him. So we see that ultimate creation is not truly out of nothing, unless we mean by this material substance. It is out of nothing in that sense. But there is something, namely the laws of logic on a transcendent plane in the mind of the personal and spiritual Almighty.

The attribute of Gŏd’s creative nature raises the question of other universes. What these are is not revealed, but the correllary of infinite time in the past combined with Gŏd’s creative nature leads to the conclusion that an infinite number of universes exist, and like time the present new universe was added to the already existing infinite set existing before. Only Gŏd can relate to the whole pre-existing infinite set. These other universes are mostly one’s where sin never happened, but if it did, Gŏd pursued a solution for it consistent with his character.

To summarize the idea in vss. 1-3a. by analogy, I can say, “In the beginning of building my house, when the house was unformed, then I said to the builders, ‘lay the foundation.’” Now it is clear that the foundation was the first thing built. The mention of the house before the foundation does not imply its existence. This is how the structure of the Hebrew goes. It corresponds exactly to this analogy.

1:5¹ ^{^} The word day is given its most literal definition here, which is daylight, occuring from dawn to dusk.

1:5² ^{^} The “then(s)” indicate movement down the narrative timeline, however in verse five the narrative is interrupted by a waw conjunctive and a change in tense. The perfect tense is used to provide background information that is not part of the sequence. It stands in ( ) because it is not the tense English chooses for background information. English tells a sequential story using the simple past tense, and then when it wants to interrupt it does so with the present tense. In Hebrew, the convention is to interrupt with the perfect. For example: Dave woke up. Dave ate breakfast. (Dave hates bacon and eats only eggs and toast.) Dave went to work. Hebrew would put the parenthetical background statement in the perfect: (Dave has hated bacon and has eaten only eggs and toast.)

Thus the ‘night is not mentioned in sequence, however, it is easy to figure that it occurs between the setting and the daybreak at the end of the verse. The order of the narrative starts with the day, follows with a setting of the light, and then follows with a daybreak. It is precisely at this point that we must ignore the traditions of Jews and Christians in favor of what the text actually says. The day comes first and then it is followed by a night. Both Judaism and Christainity, therefore, are backwards when they claim that a “Genesis Day” begins with the setting. It is quite evident that “day” defined as “the light” begins at daybreak, and ends at dusk, and that if it is extended to a complete cycle (till a return of the light), then the night following is part of the cycle until daybreak again. The Genesis day error is the foundational assumption of many a chronological error, however none less than Jacob Milgrom (JPS Torah Commentary) and Franz Delitszch (Kiel and Delitszch Commentary) beg us to disagree with Jewish and Christian tradition here.

1:5† ^{^}Then there was setting. Then there was daybreak. The waw consecutive here (translated then) shows that the “evening”, or more literally “setting” in Hebrew, follows next in time after the day: Then there was.... Thus, the setting of each day is always after the creative acts of the day. On the waw consecutive see notes 1:3¹ and 1:7¹. The setting and the daybreak mark the boundaries of the night that follows the day.

The word עֶרֶב is derived from the verbal root ערב, which means “go down,” “grow dark,” “set” (HALOT, BDB, Holladay). This Hebrew verb, by regular rules, is formed into a noun. It is important to note that עֶרֶב means “going down,” “setting,” or “growing dark.” Everett Fox, translator of the Schocken Bible, renders “There was setting, there was dawning: one day” (Gen. 1:5, The Five Books of Moses). My translation is even more literal than his, because I have preserved the waw consecutive, “Then there was setting. Then there was daybreak.” The sequence is established, first setting, then daybreak.

The King James Version mistranslates, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” The KJV deletes the verb twice, turning it into two noun phrases, and then inserts the verb at the end of the sentence where it does not belong. The effect is to form an equation: evening + morning = 1 day. The first phrase in the KJV “And the evening” is a noun phrase, and the second clause “and the morning” is also a noun phrase. Noun phrases in Hebrew only take waw conjunctive. In Hebrew the words are verb phrases, “Then there is setting. Then there is daybreak: one day.” Verb phrases in Hebrew take the waw consecutive, and such is the case here. Where the KJV inserts the word “were” in “were the first day,” there is no verb at all in the Hebrew. The mistranslation is so atrocious to anyone knowing Hebrew that the only sound conclusion is that the KJV translators interest was not in getting it accurate, but in maintaining the tradition that a Scriptural calendar day is from sunset to sunset. And choosing tradition above the words and commandments of Gŏd is not faithfulness.

How does setting and daybreak occur when the only other matter in the universe is water? We only need to speculate as much as needed to satisfy the text. Water is matter, and as such we should expect it to form into a spherical shape in empty space. It stands to reason that the light source was close to the Almĭghty or even coming from him. And this was over the waters. The point of view given in the text is an observation point fixed on the surface of the waters. The text presents the Spĭrit as moving, and if the light moves with him, we may expect a setting and a dawning to occur with respect to the observation point on the surface of the waters. At this point it does not matter if the Almĭghty is going round the waters, or the waters rotating. The effect is visually the same. And all the physics can be explained from either point of view. For more on this, I recommend Starlight and Time, by Russel Humphreys, and the books by John Hartnett, such as Starlight, Time and the New Physics.

How much time may we expect to pass? The time from the creation of light, to its setting, to its dawning anew makes the first calendar day. And this time is divided up into 24 parts, which are called hours. Now no one is claiming that these hours are exactly hours measured by the current rotation rate of the earth. Measuring a clock rate against the rate of physics, as far as we know, is related to the depth of the gravitational well created by the mass of waters. I would make two observations. First for definitional purposes, the Scripture states the days before the creation of the sun and moon as having a setting and a daybreak. And second that proleptic retro-calculation of the first year and the first month bring their beginning points to the exact moment of the creation of light using our current earth-local time standard irrespective of gravitational well effects on the rest of the Universe.

1:5‡ ^{^}Then¹ the Almĭghty ²said, “Let there be ³light.”† Then there was light. 4 Then the Almĭghty saw the light, that it was good. Then the Almĭghty made a divide between the light and between the darkness. 5 Then the Almĭghty called the light ‘day,¹’ (and² ḋarkness he has been calling ‘night.’) Then there was setting. Then there was daybreak.† One day.‡ The summation “one day” here is giving a second definition of day, which we call a calendar day, or twenty-four hour period, which begins with the statement, “Then there was light” in the middle of vs. 3. It is most obvious that the twenty-four hour days of Genesis 1 are timed from day break to daybreak. They are a day and a night, in that order. The King James Version renders, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” That translation is utterly corrupt. Two verbs were removed from their proper location, and a third was added where it does not occur. The result is a false predication that a day starts with evening. The false doctrine that flows from misunderstanding the Genesis day is everywhere. The Hebrew literally goes, “Then there is setting; then there is daybreak.”

This only leaves the question as to why this monumental error in religous thinking has occured. The answer is that it suits Judaism to take away the keys to understanding Messiah´s death and resurrection, and it suits Christianity to go along with it, because they then get to believe in a chronology that has a little to do with Torah as they can make it. The “three days and three nights” (Mat12v40) are counted from daybreak to daybreak, and not from setting to setting. The later is often justified by appeal to the traditional claims about the Genesis day.

We also find that the temple service for sacrifices follows a daybreak to daybreak schedule (cf. Lev. 7:15; Lev. 6:9-10). This, and the Genesis day are two good reasons why we should view the days of Messiah´s suffering, death, and resurrection in the same way. In reality only Sabbath rests are counted from the night before the day.

1:6¹ ^{^} The word raqeea‘ (רָקִיעַ) is from the verb raqa‘ (רָקַע) meaning “to spread out.” The noun raqeea‘ means a “spread” or an “expanse.” It is something that is spread out. The most concrete example is the plaza under the throne of Gŏd. Ancient cultures almost all believed that the sky was a solid dome or vault, but we should not blame this view on the use of the term raqeea‘. Rather, the view is to be blamed on people interpreting appearances as scientific reality, or not realizing that a metaphor is being used to describe a property or appearance.

It is not certain that raqeea‘ must imply a solid surface in its unaffected meaning. I can illustrate this from English: “Make sure the bed spread (blanket) has no wrinkles.” “The spread (gap, space) between the two electrical contacts was too wide to function properly.” These two examples show how the same word can be either an abstract space or a physical object, but if the word must mean some firm surface, like, vault or dome, or plaza, then such use is metaphorical. If the reality has some property in common with the metaphorical term then the usage is justified. For example, astronomers commonly call the heavens the “celestial sphere,” even though there is no spherical surface out there. They understand this well enough, but the metaphorical abstraction is useful for celestial mechanics. We can call the usage “celestial sphere” mildly metaphorical.

Modern technical terms in astrophysics are often slightly metaphorical to extremely so. Take the term “black hole” for example. Those who coined it knew that the phenomenon was not really a “hole” in the usual sense. The metaphor is used because the user wants to attribute some properties of holes to the phenomenon called the “black hole,” namely that stuff falls into it, and disappears. The term “Milky Way” is a metaphor for our galaxy. Even the term galaxy is a metaphor (late 14c., from Old French galaxie, from Late Latin galaxias "Milky Way," from Greek galaxias (adj.), in galaxias kyklos, literally "milky circle," from gala (genitive galaktos) "milk" (see lactation). The technical astronomical sense emerged 1848. Figurative sense of "brilliant assembly of persons" is from 1580s. Milky Way is a translation of Latin via lactea.) The use of a metaphor to describe a reality does not mean the person thinks that there are “holes” in space or “milk” in the sky. The metaphor is used due to comparable properties or appearance, and not the assumed scientific ignorance of the user. Adults often use metaphors which are misunderstood by children taking them too literally. The Almighty also uses metaphors which rebellious humans often stumble over because they do not want to hear what he really is saying.

To speak of the “dome of the sky,” or the “vault of heaven” is a metaphorical description that says the distant phenomenon that we cannot directly investigate looks like the more familiar object. Even the most obtuse thinker knows that all the properties of the one cannot be ascribed to the other, and the careful thinkers know that only the apparent appearance of the one to the other need be concluded.

1:7¹ ^{^} = then (at that time); The English word “then” has the exact range of meanings of the Hebrew waw consecutive.

[S], succession: It most often means “then (next)”, introducing what happens in time next after the preceeding clause. This “then” appears without a comma.

[T], simultaneous: The waw consecutive may also mean “then,” in the sense of “at that time” or “at the same time” as the preceeding clause. This sense is sometimes translated “At that time” so that the English reader is not confused by discourse level rules of English, which are incompatible with Biblical Hebrew.

[C], conclusion: Also “then,” may mean “thus,” or “therefore,” which means it is drawing a conclusion or stating a logical result from something said before, or a logical connection to something said before. This idea is like “if...then”; if something said before is true, “then” X follows, or X results. This “then,” also always appears with a comma after it. I have sometimes translated this sense “therefore” so that the English reader should not be confused.

I have stated these meanings in the order of precedence that the Hebrew mind uses to disambiguate the three senses. In many cases two of the senses apply. Thus “then next” can also mean “therefore (next)”; and “therefore” can also mean “therefore (at that time).” The Hebrew reader does not consciously think about the difference until he or she begins to meditate on the passage, or that is to sort out the temporal and concluding values of each “then.” English, readers, however are severally handicapped by the expectation of English discourse rules, and therefore, I have supplied the precise meaning of “then” which is employed: 1. then, 2. at that time, and 3. therefore.

This measure is necessary because English discourse rules are not Hebrew discourse rules. English discourse rules require that a sequence of sentences or clauses beginning with then all mean “then next”. Hebrew, however, does not have this high level discourse influence. Hebrew discourse is confined to the sentence, and outside the sentence level, only context logic is applied. Therefore, a “then” following a “then” is not influenced by the meaning of the preceeding “then”. The meaning of the subsequent “then” can be any of the meanings that “then” can have. In English, a subsequent then will always be taken as “then next” if the then appears at the start of the next sentence. To make the then different, English will relocate it: For example: “Today I woke up. Then I ate breakfast. Then I went to school. I sat then in class. Then I went home.” The emphasized “then” means “at that time”; all the other “then’s” are sequential. The reason that the English must relocate then is that it would otherwise be influenced to be a sequential “then” by the other thens. This is a discourse level effect. If we simply said, “Yesterday I was at school. Then I sat in class” then the then is clearly meaning “at that time” or “at the same time” as the preceeding sentence. It is located at the start of the sentence, and means “at the same time” just like the then in the first narration that comes after the verb. It is therefore seen that English discourse above the sentence level clearly limits what “then” may mean. This is not so with Hebrew.

Consider the following narration: “World War II was a horrible war. Then, my uncle died on the battleship Arizona. Then, Japan had failed to declare war before attacking. Then everyone thought this was dishonerable.” The first two occurences of then are the “At that time” variety. The last one is both the “At that time” and “thus” or “therefore” kind. Now let us take this one step further, altering the story: “World War II was a horrible war. When it started, then my uncle died on the Arizona. Then Japan declared war after the attack on Pear Harbor. Then many Japanese thought it was dishonorable to declare war after the attack. Then America declared war.” Now in English discourse, what many Japanese thought comes between the attack and America’s declaring war. But this is not so. The Japanese only found out later that the declaration of war was late, and thus could not think any dishonor had occurred until the historians corrected the matter, or until the press printed it up for them. The emphasized then in fact means “thus” or “therefore”, and it is not telling us that this is where their thoughts go on the timeline. The English text could be misleading by English discourse rules. The Hebrew waw is not influenced by the previous discourse usage. It retains its full range of meaning, and only the logic of the situation can decipher it. In otherwords, if succession does not make sense then “at that time” is thought of next, and then “therefore.”

It would, therefore, be impossible to translate every waw consecutive into a simple English “then” without creating confusion due to the discourse level influence of English. Some artifice is needed to distinguish the senses, and this is not without some compromise to English discourse demands.

The sense of “therefore” occurs in Numbers 1:48: “Therefore, Yahweh spoke...”; and also in 1Kings 7:13, “Therefore, king Shelomoh sent for, then he took Hiram from Tsor.” Both cases supply the reason for which the preceeding narrative occurred, which is logical sucession, but in both cases what is related occurred before the preceeding narrative, and so the waw is not temporal succession.

The waw consecutive has no tense converting property. It is a temporal and logical adverb: “then”; in conjunction with other temporal phrases, it forms a context of past or future, e.g. “Yesterday had been a good day. Then we eat* an excellent lunch. Then we take* a long hike. Then we talk* a long conversation” or “Next year will be cold. Then we stock* our wood pile high. Then we make* sure the stove pipe is cleaned well. Then we sit* in front of warm fires.” The asterisk shows verbs rendered in the present tense, the native meaning of the imperfect, which is incompleted. The “thens” pick up the timing of the introductory phrase, i.e. “Yesteryday” or “Next year.” Subsequent thens continue the time given in the context. It is easy then to see how the waw consecutive can be confused with a property of converting an imperfect to past tense. It does no such thing due to the fact that it is also used with future contexts! For example, “For a child will have been born to us, a son will have been given to us. Then the government is* on his shoulder.” The verb has the sense “will be on his shoulder”, but again I rendered it literally. There is no way that the waw consecutive converts the imperfect verb וַתְּהִי into a past tense! Even the anti-Messiah JPS version of Isa. 9:6 cannot put this verb into the past tense. The waw consecutive simply assumes the property of when then is according to the context.

1:7² ^{^} Part of these waters later ended up below the earth’s crust (which was not created yet, see Psa. 136:6). And part ended up exposed to the air.

1:7³ ^{^} These waters are above the heavens (cf. Psa. 148:4), some of which was later used in the expanse to form the atmosphere, sun, moon, stars, and galaxies.

1:8¹ ^{^} shamayim (שָׁמָיִם). Shamayim is composed of two words compounded, sham + mayim, meaning ‘there’ (or ‘thither’) are ‘waters.’ The original could have read with a dagesh (doubling): sham-mayim. Another possible reading is she + mayim (שֶׁמָיִם), “of which are waters.”

The term shamayim reminds us that the “heavens” were formed out of water, but by definition the “heavens” is the expanse, space, or spread between the earth’s surface and the edge of the starry universe.

1:9¹ ^{^} The one place is the great sea. See vs. 10.

1:10¹ ^{^} The Hebrew word יַמִּים is an intensive plural. So I have translated it “great sea”; the reason for this is that the waters are said to be gathered to “one place.” The text is referring to the continent surrounding great deep known as the ocean. Before the flood, earth’s land would have looked something like Pangaea.

The “great sea” is an intensive plural. The one place is below the land in two senses, 1. underneath the land, and 2. lower than the land and adjacent ot it. The waters under the land, and the waters adjacent to it were connected somehow and viewed as a unitary collection of water below the land. Like the atmospheric hydrologic cycle, there was also a current cycle of the great sea. All the waters circulated into the great deep below the land where they gathered new nutrients. So also in this sense the water circulated to one place and then back out again.

1:11¹ ^{^} = seed of it.

1:12¹ ^{^} See 1:7¹

1:12² ^{^} = seed of it.

1:14‡ ^{^}Then the Almĭghty said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens, to make a division between the day and between the night. ²And they will have been³ for signs, and for appointed times, and for days and years.‡ The Almĭghty calls the heavenly signs “lights.” He says, “And they [the lights] will have been for signs.” Therefore, it is the light that makes the sign. The lights serve two functions, 1. to be signs (vs. 14:b), and 2. to give light on the earth (vs. 15). The bodies making the light are called the sun and moon.

The lights are signs for appointed times מוֹעֲדִים mō‘adi̱m. This word is the Hophal of the verb יָעַד ya‘ad = “appoint” (BDB, Strong #4004). The noun is formed from the participle of the Hophal, מוּעָדִים mū‘adi̱m = “be making appointment.” Mō‘adi̱m is a general term for appointed times. Only days and years are specifically mentioned, and therefore we must comprehend months under the general term,“appointed times.” We must also understand all the holy days by the term in a general sense, even though at this time all the holy days were not yet specifically determined.

The lights play varying roles in fixing time. Firstly, to the light of the sun is assigned the role of the beginning and the end of the year, and the beginning and the end of days. To the light of the moon is assigned the beginning of the month.

A good deal of the commentary is apologetic to disprove twisted reasoning. However, here I will lay out the calendar as concisely as possible. The year begins at the spring equinox, which is when the sun sets exactly west. The month begins with the sighted moon, i.e. when it is first seen. The month which is the “first month” must be at least half way in the new year. More precisely, the sunset on the 15th day of the first moon must come after the beginning of the year. The literal day begins with the dawn and ends with the dusk, and the calendar day adds the following night, so that one calendar day is from dawn to dawn, which is successive cycles of the return of the sun’s light. Sabbath days are reckoned from the setting of the light to the next setting of the (sun) light.

All the elements of the calendar are observationally determined. That is a single person can determine the calendar by watching the sun and moon in good weather, and with no fancy instruments. Some lines and markers are needed to determine the equinox. Keeping a count of days of the year, days of the month, and days of the week is also a necessary discipline to keeping the calendar accurate.

It is here that we must introduce a principle of interpretation. The Scripture does not contain all knowledge, and at many points, it does not give exhaustive definitions of its meanings. Cults exploit this feature by declaring only what is in Scripture truth, and all other knowledge tradition, and therefore suspect or false, and they freely take the liberty to put their own interpretation on Scripture when Scripture has not given an exhaustive definition. Cult leaders train their followers to demand exhaustive proof from Scripture of every point, while they themselves put their own ignorant and speculative interpretations thereon, and make their followers deathly afraid of any knowledge that is sourced outside the Scripture.

But Gŏd does not expect his people to be such idiots. Therefore, much in the way of general knowledge, necessary to the understanding of Scripture, is omitted from Scripture. Scripture only contains so much information as is necessary to correct the errors man has introduced to general knowledge. Therefore, if Scripture is not precise in a matter, which we must necessarily know, then the answer has to be found in general knowledge.

General knowledge is best specified as “the majority consensus.” If Scripture intentionally omits details, then we can expect it to be completed by accepted knowledge outside it. The consensus is almost always right against the small cults inventing their own interpretations.

Let us apply this to the definition of the “new moon.” Scripture says that the light of the moon is to be a sign. Scripture numbers the days of the month from the new moon. And the definition of month (חֹדֶשׁ ḥōdesh) comes from the word “new.” From this we can justly rule out any definition of the new moon in which no light can be seen from the moon. On the basis of “new” (חָדַשׁ, חֹדֶשׁ) we can rule out definitions which are not based on the newness of the light. This point can be both confirmed and extended from general knowledge. And if the Scriptural definition may seem incomplete, it can surely be completed from general knowledge without contradition.

Since the moon must give light, we may eliminate the Egyptian definition of the new moon, which is that the first day after old crescent when there is no light, as the new moon day. On this day the moon gives no light, and further it was the abscence of old light that was used for a sign, and not the new light. Also we may eliminate the Roman “new moon” in which the months have no relation to the moon. This is the basis of western months. Also, we may eliminate all conjunction methods, since on the day of the conjunction no light is seen from the moon, and often no light is seen the day before the conjunction or the day after it.

The ancient Jewish sources say that the new moon is when the moon is first sighted again after being dark. The Mishnah states this directly. And it can be derived from Josephus and Philo. Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Muslim Empires used this same definition, the exceptions being Egypt and Rome. The ancient consensus is that the new moon is when it is newly seen, and this definition even persists in English as we call the new crescent the new moon, despite astronomers conventions to label the conjunction the new moon.

The moon receives new light when the crescent first appears after a conjunction, and this light waxes and wanes until it disappears. During the month the moon is always lighted, except when the old crescent disappears until the new crescent appears. There are thus two witnesses to what a new moon is. Firstly the sign is the light, as stated here in Genesis. And secondly the verbal root behind חֹדֶשׂ ḥōdesh is חָדַשׁ ḥadash, which means “new” or “renewed.” The only gap in the moon’s light is between the old crescent and the new crescent. The light, which is the sign to signify the beginning of the month, therefore, occurs when the light returns to the moon.

Some claim that Psalm 81:3 [4] teaches a conjunction method. They translate it, “Blow on the new moon a shōfar, in the concealment, on our feast day.” They say the word כֵּסֶה kēseh means concealment, and refers to the conjunction, and claim that scripture teaches the definition of the new moon is the conjunction. Is this so?

This is not the way that the Jewish translators about 250 B.C. understood the word when they translated the term from Hebrew to Greek. In the LXX, they translated, “Blow in the new moon a trumpet with clearness in the day of our feast” (σαλπίσατε ἐν νεομηνίᾳ σάλπιγγι ἐν εὐσήμῳ ἡμέρᾳ ἑορτῆς ἡμῶν). The Greek word they used, εὐσήμῳ means “clearness, distinctness,” or as a substantivized adjective, “a clear [one],” “a distinct [one].” Can the Hebrew mean this?

Marcus Jastrow gives the following entry in The Dictionary of the Targumim: for "כֶּסֶה,כֶּסֶא" (pg. 652), "mark, distinction; marked, appointed time"; Jastrow cites this very Psalm text in the noun entry and the verb entry. The LXX seems to support an idea of the Aramaic word use: ευσημω, "clear, distinct", only it applies it to the Shofar, "distinct Shofar", or "clear sound of a Shofar", "with distinctness" (εν ευσημω), cf. Jastrow, "distinction" above. The Dictionary of the Targumim suggests this translation, “Blow on the new moon a trumpet, on the distinguished [new moon] on the day of our feast.” Jastrow states, “וכי כל החדשים אינן חדש אלא בכ״ ‘on the New Moon’, are all other new moons no New Moons (festive days)?; but (therefore is added) bakkesé, on the distinguished (month).” Aramaic words are sometimes used in Hebrew texts, e.g. Psa. 2:12, “Make be kissed the Sŏn” נַשְּׁקוּ־בַר nashqū bar. Therefore, the word used in Psa. 81:3 [4] does not mean “at the conjunction.” Psa. 81:3 [4] is in complete agreement with Gen. 1:14.

Conjunctionists argue that Daυid predicted the new moon in advance at the conjunction because it was calculated, “Behold the new moon is tomorrow” הִנֵּה־חֹדֶשׁ מָחָר hinnēh ḥōdesh maḥar (1Sam. 20:5). How did he know the new moon would be tomorrow without it being calculated, they ask? They assume that “tomorrow” begins with the sunset, and since the new moon can only be seen after sunset, then Daυid did not see it, or no one else had seen it and spread the news. This conjunctionist contention may be disproved by citing 1Sam. 19:10b-12, “And Daυid had fled. Therefore, he himself escaped in that night. Then Sha’ūl sent messengers unto the house of Daυid to watch it, and for making him die in the daybreak. Then she declared to Dawid, Mi̱ḳal his wife, saying if you do not make be delivered your soul this night, tomorrow you are being made to die. Then Mi̱ḳal made Daυid go down through the window.” First David flees from Saul’s spear “in that night,” then he comes to his house, but Saul has it watched. It is still night. David’s wife notes that it is night, and she says he will be killed “tomorrow.” When was Saul planning to have David killed? At the daybreak. When did David’s wife warn him of this fact? During the night. What did David’s wife say the time would be? Tomorrow. Therefore, “tomorrow” did not mean at sunset. It meant at the daybreak. Therefore, if David means the same thing in 1Sam. 20:5, he or someone else had plenty of time to see the new moon. Therefore, this scripture agrees with the new moon being the return of the first new light of the moon after the old light had died.

Some conjunctionists have gone so far as to say that Passion Chronology only works with the conjuction, and therefore their conjunction method must be correct. 119 Ministries presents AD 30 as the year of the crucifixion for this argument. If the new moon were a conjunction, then in this year the 14th of Nisan would be on a Wednesday. What they don’t disclose is that AD 34 works out for a Wednesday with the crescent method. Their proof is therefore meaningless since they did not show that there was no possible Nisan 14 on a Wednesday in another year.

119 also puts out another false witness for AD 30. They cited that strange signs in the Temple, such as the doors opening of their own accord, the scarlet thread not turning white on the Day of Atonement, and other signs, which occured for the 40 years before the destruction of the Temple, started in AD 30. They implied that by these signs, the Almĭghty was showing displeasure for the Temple service because the sacrifice of Messiah had happened. Therefore, they say this proves that Messiah died in AD 30. What is the problem with this reasoning?

The reasoning is theologically motivated, by false doctrine. The false doctrine is that Messiah did away with the Temple services by his death and resurrection! It is refuted by Jer. 33:17-22, and by the fact that Paul participated (cf. Acts 18:18 and 21:23). There is a much simpler explanation, that involves no such false doctrine. AD 30 was at the start of Messiah’s ministry. The scene in John 2:18-21 was in AD 30, where the Jewish authorities rejected Messiah’s authority. Therefore, the signs in the temple were not Gŏd’s rejection of the services, but his showing of displeasure toward the authorities for rejecting Messiah. The Father gave additional signs on Messiah’s behalf, in addition to the sign Messiah promised of his death and resurrection. No sign will be given for the sake of those asking a sign except the sign of Yōnah, but other signs are given anyway for those who do not ask.

For further reading on the Calendar, you might want to consult the commentaries on, Exodus 12:2, 13:10, Lev. 23:11, 15-16. 1Sam. 1:20. I will post here finally, a calendar for the first month after creation:

Month: I AVIV, 4139 BC 1 A.M. Sab. Cyc: 1. Jub. Cyc: 1/50 Cycle No: 0
Q1: 1.592 A Q2: -0.015 C LG: 106m W: 1.093' AL: 22.1 AV: 21.6
New Moon calculated for longitude: 34.65 and latitude 31.77
Location of calculations: Jerusalem Author: Daniel Gregg

        I        II        III       IV         V        VI        VII
~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~█████▀▀▀▀▀▒▒▒▒▒
 ↑   │   1     │   2     │   3     │   4     │   5     │   6     │   7     │
PNM  │PSE      │         │         │         │         │         │         │
     │ Apr 25  │         │         │         │         │         │         │
~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~█████▀▀▀▀▀▒▒▒▒▒
     │   8     │   9     │  10     │  11     │  12     │  13     │  14     │
     │         │         │         │         │         │         │         │
     │         │         │         │         │         │         │         │
~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~█████▀▀▀▀▀▒▒▒▒▒
     │  15     │  16     │  17     │  18     │  19     │  20     │  21     │
     │         │         │         │         │         │         │         │
     │         │         │         │         │         │         │         │
~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~█████▀▀▀▀▀▒▒▒▒▒
     │  22     │  23     │  24     │  25     │  26     │  27     │  28     │
     │         │         │         │         │         │         │         │
     │         │         │         │         │         │         │         │
~▒▒▒▒▒~~~~~▒▒▒▒▒
     │  29 ↑   │
     │         │
     │         │
     │         │

The sun and moon were created on the 4th day. I have marked PNM = proleptic new moon, and PSE = proleptic spring equinox. This is to say if we calculate the movement of the sun and moon backwards then the spring equinox agrees with dawn on the first day of creation, and the days of the month begin counting from the first day of creation. This means that the sun and moon were created on the phase of the 4th day of the month and the 4th day of the year. The Julian date, April 25th, is only given for astronomical reference purposes. Anyone who wants to calculate this needs the correct biblical chronology, and the proper software and procedures that can correct for Joshua’s long day, as well as uptodate calculations for tidal friction. This has all been done in my Chronology book. And it can be verified in a public open source software program called Stellarium.

1:14² ^{^} The last clause is interpreted as a simple waw, and the perfect as background info stating their purpose. Likewise, the first clause of verse 15. In verse 15 the last clause is understood as a future. This measure keeps the narrative from saying he created things after he already created them. The entire statement, “And they will have been³ for signs, and for appointed times, and for days and years.† 15 And they will have been for lights in the expanse of the heavens to make light upon the earth,” can be viewed as a parenthesis.

1:14³ ^{^} The most unique thing about the EHSV is the preservation of the perfect verb from the Hebrew, which in the strict sense is a view point on the action as completed. Thus the point of view is looking back on something completed in the past of the POV. Hebrew discourse, unlike English, has the regular habit of shifting the POV of the perfect tense into the future. Thus the POV of view is shifted to the future of the narrative, and then the perfect looks backward at the completed events. The only way to accomplish this in English is to use the future perfect, which is a valid English verbal tense, though seldom used. It takes the form, “will have”; The will puts the POV into the future. The have looks into the past of that future. English syntax requires will or shall to shift the point of view with the perfect to a future perfect. Hebrew requires nothing but the logic of a context that requires a future POV. It is very easy to figure out from most contexts that an event has not been completed. If that is the case, and the perfect tense is being used, then it is a future perfect.

It is this use of the perfect that connects the English reader to the heart of Hebrew verbal thought. Of course I have supply the word will from the context. The timing comes only from the POV in the context. The waw prefixed to the perfect verb has no future or imperfect converting power, eg. Gen 2:6, “and it had been watering” is not “and it will water”; 2:10, “and it had become” is not “and it will become”; Gen. 6:4, “and they had given birth” not “and they will give birth”; 2Chron. 12:11, “The runners had entered, and they had lifted them, and they had returned them to the chamber of the runners.”

Cf. “perfect of certainty”; “precative perfect”; See also Waw Consecutive with the Perfect in Hebrew, George Ricker Berry. See also The Prophetic Perfect. The English reader should be aware that the English future perfect used to translate future Hebrew perfects is a function of English morphology, but that it is not a function of Hebrew morphology. The Biblical Hebrew relies on context. Also it should be noted that the waw consecutive, despite grammatical tradition, does not exist with the Hebrew perfect. All waw’s prefixed to the perfect verb are plain conjunctives, and so are translated “and.” There are a few exceptions. These will be noted.

1:16¹ ^{^} Concluding then. See 1:7¹

1:16† ^{^} The clause “and the stars” (וְאֵת הַכּוֹכָבִים), is introduced as the final direct object of the first verb phrase in the verse, “the Almĭghty made,” and the verb is introduced with a waw consecutive (a concluding waw), “Therefore,....” It is impossible to split the last phrase of the verse off and translate as many do: “He also made the stars” (NIV, NLT, NASB) or KJV, NET: “He made the stars also.” This error exposes the profound dereliction of translators in preferring tradition over truth. “He made the stars also” or any variant thereof, falls right into the trap of the gap theory, or the ruin and reconstruction theory, or cosmic evolutionary trap. The Hebrew represents the sun, the moon, and the stars, as all being made in the same operation.

The text only states that the stars were made. Unlike the two great lights, no comment is made about the stars being signs. No comment is made about the stars ruling the night. The phrase, “for the rule of” is ommitted in connection to the stars. This is not to deny that the light of stars can be seen as signs, or to give light on earth, though it is as very weak light that only creatures with the best vision might use. It is simply that the Scripture is placing no emphasis on these facts. It is placing emphasis on the light given by the sun and the moon, to be signs, and to give light on the earth.

1:20¹ ^{^} nefesh (נֶפֶשׁ). The term nefesh denotes a being with a self-aware spirit.

1:20² ^{^} ōf (עוֹף). The term ōf denotes all flying creatures, birds, bats, flying reptiles, and insects.

1:24¹ ^{^} creeping things remes (רֶמֶשׂ). Any creature without wings that crawls or creeps on the ground.

1:24² ^{^} beasts behæmah (בְּהֵמָה). The preflood distinction between “beast” and “animal” (חַיָּה) is not clear (if there was one). It is probable that the terms were nearly the same in meaning before the flood, and that they diverged in meaning after the flood into domesticated animals vs. wild animals with no term remaining for any animal in the broadest sense. The term to occur first in each text is probably from the orginal tablets and the second use is a parenthetical addition by Moses to broaden or explain that the first term does not just refer to domesticated animals, or just to wild animals.

1:26¹ ^{^} The word adam (אָדָם) is a collective noun much like ‘man’ and is sometimes used to mean mankind, it includes both males and females.

1:27† ^{^} At first the Almĭghty refers to himself with the term us. Then the text refers to him using the term his. Also note that humans are first refered to as mankind in the text, and then by it, and then by them, defined as male and female. The Hebrew pronoun does not follow English discourse rules. A pronoun shows a point of view on a collective entity. Thus we find whole nations being refered to as he, him, my, I, as well as they, their, them. The same goes for cities. Babylon calls herself I, and says there is none besides me, even though Babylon is more than one person. The following article deals with the usage of pronouns: The Nature of the Most High.

1:28¹ ^{^} The ancient Hebrew word for ‘fish’ includes all aquatic creatures.

1:31† ^{^} He saw it all before the setting at the end of the sixth day (dawn to dusk), and therefore, he was done with all his work by setting at the end of the sixth day (dawn to dusk; cf. Gen. 1:5). This teaches us that he began his rest with the night before the seventh day (dawn to dusk).

The first definition of “day” in Gen. 1:5 is the “light,” hence dawn to dusk. It is a twelve hour day that was defined. The second definition of “day” is to extend it by adding a night, hence “one day” includes the night following. However, here it is evident that the Creator stopped his work at the end of the sixth day using the first dawn to dusk “light” definition. Then there was setting, then there was daybreak. For resting purposes, therefore, the night at the end of the sixth day goes with the Sabbath, even though as far as the dawn to dawn day (24 hours), it is included with the sixth day. Sabbaths are a 24 hours cycle from setting to setting. It may seem strange to define the Sabbath in terms of two daybreak to daybreak days, but that is just what is done with Yom Kippur, “in the ninth day of the month, from setting until setting” (Lev. 23:32). So here also, the Sabbath begins in the sixth day at setting, and is until setting. The strangeness is only because many indoctrinated people are not used to thinking of a day from daybreak to daybreak. But biblically, it is the normal mode of thinking.

There have been many arguments over the beginning of the Sabbath; some even think that it is to be observed from dawn to dawn; even some Rabbis think this! But if we understand that he “saw everything that he had made” before the setting on the sixth day, then we understand that it was all finished. It is clear, then, by example, that he did no work after the setting on the sixth day. If you think about it, you will realize this is as clear a definition of the beginning of the Sabbath as can be.

Is the night between the sixth and seventh day part of the seventh day? That depends on how one is viewing days. If creation days, then the night is the night of the sixth 24 hour day. But if we are viewing things as Sabbath days, then the night belongs to the seventh day.

2:1¹ ^{^} See 1:7¹

2:2¹ ^{^} = then; See 1:7¹

2:2² ^{^} Instead of Piel (וַיְכַל), read the verb Pual: וַיְכֻל = Therefore, the Almĭghty was finished. This is the easy and obvious solution to a problem that has vexed many versions. The NIV twists the text into a sense impossible from the Hebrew: “By the seventh day God had finished...”; The NLT renders in the pluperfect, “had finished” but the verb can be nothing but imperfect since it is apocopated. The ESV translates the MT correctly: “on the seventh day God finished his work,” but of course this implies that he did some work on the seventh day. The LXX has, “καὶ συνετέλεσεν ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἕκτῃ” = and Gŏd finished on the sixth day. That is a clever solution, but it presumes the consonantal Hebrew text is wrong by two letters (which is not likely with the word seventh since this error would be flagged right away), and so reinterprets what it says. The LXX solution is imitated by the Samaritan and Syriac versions. HCSB, ISV, NET, GWT and others start the verse out with “By...”, but the Hebrew usage for בַּיּוֹם never means “By the day....” If the passive is rejected on the force of מְלַאכְתּוֹ mela’ḳtō being a direct object, then it is far better and less problematic to read the word as מִמְּלַאכְתּוֹ mimmela’ḳtō and suspect a dropped preposition, so that the phrase is an indirect object.

2:3¹ ^{^} The Hebrew reads: אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת = which he had created Elohim to do. The usage is not unlike English, “I created a list for myself of things to do. Then I was finished with the list of things I had created for myself to do.”

2:4† ^{^} First use of the divine name. Pronounced: Yăhwēh (Yah wæh). All the evidence supports this pronunciation, as well as the vast majority of Hebrew scholars, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Those who contend that they have a better pronunciation either 1. have nothing but speculation upon which to base their difference, or 2. have lied about Hebrew to make it seem like they have evidence. In either case, they are being divisive since the best evidence does support the current pronunciation. The first /a/ vowel is established by usage in name endings, and by the short form of the name: Yah. The ‘w’ is the original pronunciation of the waw, and the /ē/ vowel is based on derivation of the divine name from the Hebrew verb “to be” and Exo. 3:15, undertood as Hiphil: אֲהַיֶּה אֲשֶׁר אֲהַיֶּה = ª’hayyēh a̓sher ª’hayyēh = I will make happen what I will make happen. This can be related to the Hiphil of the cognate verb הוה, in the third person: יַהֲוֶה אֲשֶׁר יַהֲוֶה = yahªwēh a̓sher yahªwēh = he makes happen what he will make happen. A study of Hebrew root variations will show that yahªwēh can be Yahwēh.

2:4¹ ^{^} toldot (תוֹלְדוֹת) = begettings. The toldot colophon stands at the end of each contributing author’s account (customarily a tablet written in cuneiform), which is how Moses showed the sources of Genesis. Gŏd is the direct author of Gen. 1:1-2:4a, i.e. it was dictated to Adam. Adam’s contribution was Gen. 2:4b-5:1a. The next section was written by Noah (5:1b-6:9a). His three sons are the source of Gen. 6:9b-10:1a. Shem is responsible for Gen. 10:1b-11:10a; Gen. 11:10b-11:27a is by Terah. Isaac compiled 11:27b-25:19a. Jacob compiled 25:19b-37:2a. Shem himself used a source at the beginning of his account: 10:1b-10:32. Isaac used Ishamael’s generations as a source also in 25:12-19a at the end of his account. Jacob used a source from Esau: Gen. 36:1-8; Jacob’s account was amended by a later hand, or by Moses in 36:9-30, and 36:31-39 and 36:40-43. How Joseph’s records were kept are not known, but probably he recorded them on Papyrus down to the end of Genesis. Moses himself is responsible for putting all the accounts into a literary whole using true Biblical Hebrew. He also contributed his translation skills to those sources not in Biblical Hebrew to begin with (A very ancient form of Aramaic was spoken in Laban’s house), and his editorial remarks.

All accounts contained information that would be known firsthand to their authors. This theory of the sources of Genesis was explained by P.J. Wiseman. It is far superior to the profane and abominable theory of the atheists and humanists, known as the Documentary Hypothesis, and the only theory that fits a biblical world view that makes sense.

A good deal of Genesis is in fact a translation of the patriarchal records of Israel into the biblical Hebrew spoken no earlier than Abraham’s sojourn from his homeland. The original language, however, was much like Hebrew, because Hebrew and other semitic languages were not the result of the confusion at Babyl, but the result of change and divergence over time of the original tongue of those few who were not at Babyl. The languages created at Babyl were mostly ejected out of the Middle East by forced migration of the weaker participants in the rebellion. Some of those who were stronger stayed in the Middle East and learned one of the branches of the original language from those who did not participate at Babyl. The language of Abraham’s homeland was in fact a most ancient form of Aramaic (cf. Gen31:47), but this in turn was about 500 years removed from Noah. Likewise the language of Canaan was also 500 years removed from Noah, so that neither the language of Canaan nor that of Haran was wholly the same as the original tongue. What this means is that Moses translated portions of the patriarchal records (with divine oversight) into the Hebrew spoken by the children of Israel after Abraham’s sojourn. This process was not as severe as say translating Chinese to English, but more like trying to update Middle English to Modern English.

2:5¹ ^{^} On the third day of creation, mature plants with fruit were planted in Eden, and nowhere else. The rest of the earth was seeded, but there the plants were expected to grow from the seed. The setting is so described because the man was created outside of Eden, where no plant had yet come up.

2:7† ^{^} The scene described up to this point is the all the land outside of Ē̒den. This is where man was made. The garden was planted on the third day, and from there land plants were expected to propagate the rest of the earth.

2:8† ^{^} Genesis 2:8 presents a difficult problem in most translations, which imply that the garden was made after man was made. The NIV and a few other versions illegitimately solve the problem by translating, “had planted” which would be expressed by the perfect, except that the verb in 2:8 is not a perfect. The correct solution is in realizing the sense of the waw consecutive, preceeding the verb. The waw consecutive has all the meanings of English “then”: 1. then next, 2. at that time, at the same time, 3. (then) at some remote time, (when) at whatever remote time indicated in the following statement, 4. therefore, since then, thus, so.

2:9¹ ^{^} The tree of life was for healing (Rev. 22:2), and for renewing immortality (Gen. 3:22). The fruit of the tree extended immortality for a very long time, and the leaves would heal disease.

2:9† ^{^} The name of this tree implies that it really did result in a greater knowledge of good and evil than man had before eating.

2:12¹ ^{^} the bdellium gum habbedó̧laḥ (הַבְּדֹלַח): an aromatic gum or resin exuded from a particular species of tree.

2:12² ^{^} of uncertain identification, shó̧ham (שֹׁהַם), traditional translation.

2:17† ^{^} The text gives a fourth definition of day here, “A period of time” which lasts 1000 years. The third defintion is in 2:4b, “In the day of Yăhwēh Almĭghty’s making earth and heavens.” But there too, the idea is generally the same, “a period of time” or simply “time.” Augustinian theologians have insisted that man spiritually died that very day, i.e. that they became totally depraved. This view is wholly false doctrine because the Hebrew term day does not mean that. The sentence of death was carried out gradually by allowing the process of entropy to go forward without any divine renewal. Man was to find out what happens to a perfectly engineered creation when the commandments are disregarded.

2:17‡ ^{^} Did the properties of the fruit kill or was the penalty applied as a judicial penalty for disobedience. I think that that the second explanation is surely true, and that if the first one were true, it was only a means to implementing the sentence.

2:19¹ ^{^} Read a conjunctive waw: וְ.

2:19² ^{^} Read as a perfect: יָצַר. Many have argued that Genesis 2 reverses the order of creation from Genesis 1. Animals were created before man. This problem is easily solved by reading the Hebrew as a perfect and translating as pluperfect. Several translations render the verse in the perfect: NIV, ESV, GWT, DBY. The imperfect does not make sense, because then a waw consecutive would have to be explained as a concluding waw, “Therefore,” however, this would make the text say that Gŏd formed the animals in the first place with the object of making a mate for Adam. That would be abject nonsense. The other versions get out of the problem by ignoring the waw consecutive sense, and by translating “Now,” “And” or simply skipping it. Only HSCB has it about correct: “So...” but then it suggests the nonsensical idea again. The solution is to abandon the waw consecutive and imperfect altogether and repoint the text as a waw conjunctive with a perfect: וְיָצַר.

2:19³ ^{^} = all which.

2:20† ^{^} עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדּוֹ ē̒tser kenegdō. See also 2:18. This means “a helper as his opposite”, or a helper corresponding to him. The word counterpart could express the sense. In this context helper does not mean subservient, but woman was to cooperate with man on an equal basis. Of course this changed after the fall because selfishness, introduced by sin, makes cooperation difficult. A man is tempted to domineer by strength and economic capacity, and a woman is tempted to use a man for her own ends and interests which may be contrary to the man’s. Only by both looking to the Almĭghty and his commandments can common goals and loyalties alleviate the effects of the fall in a loving relationship.

Subservience and natural leadership ability should not be confused. Men and women have different skills by nature, but this does not stop them from learning skills they do not have by nature if the need arises. Occasionally a woman is a good leader, and the husband of such a woman having lesser skill would do well not to fight it, however, because of the fall man was made responsible for the direction of the family. Therefore, a good woman with leadership skills leads from behind, and brings her husband to make the decision, even though she has suggested the direction. In the case of a conflict of opinion on direction, that is not a matter of legal duty to the Almĭghty, the woman should defer to the man, because he is made responsible for his own decisions and listening to his wife. This does not mean the woman should not contend for her opinion at all. It only means she should yield when the decision can no longer be delayed.

3:1¹ ^{^} The devil was not a literal snake, but is called a snake just as we call people snakes in English, “Those snakes stole my money!” or “Watch out for that one, he’s a snake!” The devil earned the title “the Snake” by acting in ways comparable to real snakes. The comparison is made to humiliate him with an apt metaphor of disgust. He is called “the Snake” because he is the chief of all deceivers.

The root nḥsh (נִחֵשׁ) means “to practice divination”, and as a noun “divination” or “enchantment.” It might even be translated “the charmer” (נֹחֵשׁ). It also forms the word for brass or copper (נְחֹשֶׁת), one of the first metals refined by man (Gen. 4:22), and connotes a shiny brassy appearance. The devil is called “the shining one, son of the dawn” in Isa. 14:12, and the dawn sky can look brassy. So the word naḥash connotes the idea of charmer and a slick shiny look also. It seems that the English word snake does also.

Some Hebrew scholars have suggested that “Shining one” might be a better translation of this text, or even “charmer.” My doubt about this is that “snake” is the primary meaning of the word, and fits the context when understood as a metaphor. This is also confirmed by Rev. 12:9 where the words “serpent” (ὄφις) and “dragon” (δράκων) are used as metaphors for the devil, and can only really be explained as continuing the metaphor from Genesis.

3:1² ^{^} The devil was more cunning than “any beast of the field”; some translations add the word “other” (ESV) or otherwise imply that the being called “the snake” was actually one of the animals. This not the case, and the word “other” or any like it does not belong.

3:2¹ ^{^} It is possible that the Almĭghty had said they should not touch it either, and that this was simply not reported.

3:5¹ ^{^} = and; English discourse rules require then.

3:5² ^{^} or “knowers of”

3:5† ^{^} The evil one lied about the results of eating the tree in vs. 4. He also lied in this verse by putting an interpretation on the tree that made it desirable to eat from to be like Gŏd, one who could decide ultimate good and ultimate evil. The tree would not truly give man the power to rightly determine good and evil from Gŏd’s perspective. On that point the devil lied. However, the devil was correct that man would become like Gŏd in the sense that he put himself in the position thinking he knew what only Gŏd can know.

As the tree is named, so it did impart a knowledge of greater good and evil to man. It is possible that the properties of the fruit opened up some greater mental pathways allowing them to a greater reasoning power of abstract right and wrong. It is probable that Gŏd would have eventually given them greater knowledge, but by disobeying Adam implicitly decided that he himself wanted to determine what was good and evil instead of Gŏd. But he had no experience of the consequences of autonomy from Gŏd, and could not appreciate the gravity of the sin until afterward.

3:7† ^{^} Whatever greater ability man gained to reason out good and evil was offset by shame, guilt, and the autonomy that man had added to the equation of right and wrong, so that their application of what they thought was better to do was self-centered. They first perceived the evilness of their own act of eating, and then the unworthiness of their own spirit. They also reasoned that clothes must be better than none, because the Almĭghty had appeared in the garden clothed in some kind of glory, and of course a god must have glory. So also had the devil. Perhaps clothing would give them some relief from guilt and shame. That is what their newfound wisdom told them they ought to do. Perhaps it was even necessary for them now since they had gained godlike powers of perception, relative to what they had before. Perhaps gods needed to hide from their own powers.

3:13¹ ^{^} Other than the narration, this is the first use of the word “snake” in the Scripture for the devil. As far as we know, the idea to call the devil “the snake” was Ḥavvah’s. Hebrew sometimes uses the definite article to mean “this” or “that,” i.e. “Behold, you have cast me out this day (הַיּוֹם)” (Gen. 4:14). The word snake appears nowhere in the dialogue until this statement. Nor do any descriptions of natural snake behaviour. The use of the term to identify the snake is anchronistic in the narrative before. The application to the devil after, and comparisons of his fate with a natural snake are measures of metaphorical humiliation.

3:14¹ ^{^} The Hebrew does not imply here the curse of the animal kingdom as a whole, but only the curse of the one called “the snake.” Some translators correctly have “among all the cattle.” “Above all cattle” would imply that the cattle were specially cursed too. That would be unfair.

3:14² ^{^} The Almĭghty picks up on the woman’s “snake” epithet for the devil, and frames his judgment in terms of the snake metaphor. By the snake metaphor, Gŏd tells the devil he will have to grovel before him like a snake crawls on the ground.

3:14³ ^{^} He means “eat crow” or “humble pie.” The devil would suffer many defeats and setbacks so long as he lived. Snakes do not eat dust in the oridinary sense, but they lick it up and put it in their mouths to scent it. In a Hebrew sense they eat it, or in the English sense of the bully that puts dirt in his victim’s mouth that is not really eaten.

3:15† ^{^} The snake metaphor is continued mainly to humiliate the devil. He shall bruise you on the head. The JPS and TNK mis-translate this “They” shall strike which obfuscates the fact that Messiah will crush the serpent. The Catholic version (DRA) mistranslates “she shall crush” and “her heel” to make it refer to Mary. The pronoun “He” refers to the male seed of the woman, namely the Messiah, and the phrase “bruise his heel” refers to the crucifixion. Even though singular Hebrew pronouns can refer to collective entities, it is better to point out the fact than to mistranslate the text where the singular also has specific reference to the Messiah. The JPS has mistranslated simply to remove the Messianic prophecy from sight. The seed is also collective, refering to the redeemed, but it is only through Messiah that the victory is won.

3:15‡ ^{^} Incredibly, the Catholic version reads “her heel,” [The Douay-Rheims American Edition (1899) ], a Church which has invested itself in promoting Mary as the New Ishtar, the new Ashtoreth. This mistranslation by the most powerful Church shows that the tradition is more powerful than the truth, at least among those who do not really seek the truth. The Latin Vulgate reads, “ipsa conteret caput tuum” = “she will crush you head.” So also Augustine, Ambrose, Gregory the Great. Despite arguments from Catholics, it is utterly impossible to alter the words of the Hebrew by inserting different vowel points. The pronoun הוּא stands in front of the verb. This means “he.” The word for she is spelled: הִיא. The following verb is יְשׁוּפְךָ = he will crush your. To make this read she requires: תְּשׁוּפְךָ*, which presumes that a whole letter was changed into a yod. In the second use, תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ, the energic nun ending is 3ms, and the verb prefixed with the pronoun: אַתָּה = you. Thus: you will crush his heel. The LXX agrees perfectly: αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλήν καὶ σὺ τηρήσεις αὐτοῦ πτέρναν, employing the 3ms pronoun αὐτός and αὐτοῦ. The Geek has separate forms for she and her, and it and its, which are not used in the LXX. In all of this we should ask whose heel was literally bruised? It was Messiah’s heel when the nail was put through his heel. And who is it that will smash the head of the snake? Messiah. See Hab. 3:13, “You will have smitten the head of the wicked house, stripping it naked from its foundation up to its neck.”

3:17¹ ^{^} = man.

3:20¹ ^{^} = life (חַוָּה) or less likely derived from the participle living (חוֹוָה), spelled defective.

3:21¹ ^{^} a long shirtlike garment.

3:22¹ ^{^} The mistranslation “above all the cattle” in 3:14 was pointed out. The comparative sense is possible in this text though, “the man has become like one above us, to know good and evil.” Both ideas are true. Man had put himself above Gŏd, and he had also gained godlike powers of perception, though it only be in a relative sense to his powers of perception from before. It is probably the case that these powers of perception would have come to them with time and experience. They were newly created, and had not had much time to exercise their thoughts. A lot of their knowledge was built in, such as language skills, and not yet consciously appreciated or analyzed. If the tree had simply speeded up their ability to think, then greater awareness would be the result. This also suggests that the greater powers they had for a time were not passed to their offspring like it was to them. The curse of sin and death certainly was though. Their offspring would gain wisdom by growing up and living as adults for a long time, and not as they had illegitimately obtained it by jumping ahead of Gŏd.

3:22† ^{^} Again Gŏd refers to himself with the pronoun us. To know good and evil is the same as to determine what is good and evil for oneself. Only Gŏd has the right to determine good and evil. All our knowledge is dervied from him and dependent on his knowing. For this reason the us in the text refers exclusively to Gŏd, and so reveals the plurality of his nature.

3:22‡ ^{^} The Hebrew word לְעֹלָם first appears here, spelled defectively. The root means “obscurity,” and the sense with time is “obscurity of time” or as we might say in English at the dawn of time, or in the mist of time, unto time immemorial. It is until the passage of time is forgotten. Since Adam lived to 930 years, we may assume that the tree of life would have imparted longevity for much longer than that. In fact, it would have kept them in an immortal state until whatever property came from the fruit wore down and needed renewing by another piece of the fruit.

I think we should make a distinction between being immortal by nature. Only Gŏd is by nature of his being immortal, and can impart immortality. His immortal creatures have derived life, which is to say, it is dependent on whatever mechanism he has designed to maintain it. For man this was the tree of life. The difference between a derived immortality and mortality is that one with derived immortality is in an undying state, and maintained at an optimal level of life. A mortal being, on the other hand, is experiencing constant decay or aging of their body and genetics until they completely expire.

4:1† ^{^} The Hebrew word קָנִיתִי means both, “I have acquired,” and “I have bought.” The meaing is that first she acquired a man, but then also she has bought Yăhwēh. That is, by begetting a son, she has now acquired (or bought) Yăhwēh’s obligation to keep the promise to crush the head of the snake. She was premature, to be sure, but the idea is correct. The usage of the preposition אֶת here is that meaning “with” in the sense of accompaniment, “along with”, and not in an instrumental sense “by” or “with the help of.” The usage in Gen. 6:13 shows accompaniment with this sort of construction, “I will be destroying them along with the earth”: וְהִנְנִי מַשְׁחִיתָם אֶת־הָאָרֶץ. It is not I will be destroying them by means of the earth. Such a usage of אֶת would be incredibly odd, and imparts an English instrumental sense from “with” that the word does not seem to have in Hebrew. It is possible that the preposition is the direct object marker, and that the text could say, “I have acquired a man, Yăhwēh:”

It is not possible to translate the last phrase of Gen. 4:1 as a double entendre in English, so I have left the key word to be explained. Two meanings are possible, “I have acquired a man along with Yăhwēh” and “I have acquired a man, namely—Yăhwēh”: קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת־יהוה. Ancient Jewish tradition greatly favors, “I have acquired a man, (who is)—Yăhwēh,” and it is confessed therein that it is the more literal reading, yet the reading is generally rejected by more recent Jewish tradition on the presumption that such a statement is heretical. The Targum substitutes “Angel of Yahweh” perhaps to lighten the impact. Grammatical usage of אֶת favors it also (cf. Gen. 29:28: וַיִּתֶּן־לוֹ אֶת־רָחֵל), since it is more commonly used as a direct object, however the actual syntax favors “with,” but you will have to study a lot of syntax to see the slight difference, and it wouldn’t be decisive. On the other hand, the seed turned out to be Yăhwēh born of a virgin, the name acrostic in Genesis 5 says the same, “Mankind is appointed mortality. Acquired [the] praised Gŏd will have come down dedicated. His death will have sent for [the] poor rest.” So clearly the reading cannot be rejected on a slight preference of syntax. So then, it appears the best position is that Ḥavvah was taught who Messiah would be, or that her enigmatic statement is a double entendre on her tongue inspired by the Almighty.

Yăhwēh was the one who walked and talked with them in the garden. All other arguments against this are theological, being based on the notion that Ḥavvah could not have known the seed would be Yăhwēh, but this opinion overlooks the direct oral instruction they received from Yăhwēh. Ḥavvah was mistaken only in supposing that seed meant her immediate male offspring and not a future descendant, a mistake due to her underestimating the sin nature and the horrible cost it would exact before Yăhwēh would deem it timely to become the Redeemer and defeat the serpent. It is no far stretch to suppose that they knew only Yăhwēh could ultimately defeat the one who had deceived them.

The divine name Yăhwēh first appears in a quotation in Gen. 4:1, but this is not the name for Gŏd that stood in the original patriarchal records. See Exo. 6:3. What this means is that Moses edited term for Gŏd here, which may have been Ēl Shaddai [(The High Gŏd)]. See Gen. 17:1. The reason for the redaction is probably as simple as that Yăhwēh was supposed to become the usual name for God, and that it was deemed unsuitable to continue using the original term from the Genesis sources. The continuance of most of the usages of the pre-Sinai name for Gŏd would only encourage its use and discourage the name Yăhwēh wished to be used. It is likely that the pre-Sinai term had been compromised with idolatry, and would counter Yăhwēh’s desire to separate Israel from the nations. Moses cannot be accused of misquoting since conventions for elipses and brackets did not exist in his day, but the Torah does see the necessity of informing us by other means that the divine name has been redacted into the original records, i.e. Exo. 6:3. A study of quotations and their requotation in another place in Scripture will show that exactness was not required. For the standard in those days was to give the basic sense of what someone said. Yet at the same time the Spĭrit and the prophets were at work to produce a literary result that teaches the truth in as many ways as possible.

4:3† ^{^} = end, limit, edge. The boundary between the days of one year and the next was the spring equinox. The word may refer to either a beginning point or an ending point. The Hebrew reads: וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ יָמִים = Then it is at limit of days. The usual translations have missed the point with “In the process of time” or “course of time.” A common phrase used to denote a year is “from days to days,” and this was because a year was measured as 365 or 366 days by the return of the sun from its western setting in the spring to a new western setting. The limit of days, therefore, is that time when the sun sets in the exact west denoting the end of one year and the start of a new year. The offerings were made in the new year.

4:5¹ ^{^} Hebrew idiom: his face took on an angry appearance.

4:7¹ ^{^} good, the right thing.

4:7² ^{^} against.

4:8¹ ^{^} The text does not say what Qayin said.

4:12¹ ^{^} It will not yeild crops year after year. The ground might yield a crop or two, but then it would cease to bear for him.

4:12² ^{^} homeless, footloose, going from place to place.

4:15¹ ^{^} = for not striking him all finding him.

4:16¹ ^{^} = wandering.

4:26† ^{^} The ISV reads almost correctly, “At that time, profaning the name of the LORD began.” The ISV use of the participle, however, is incorrect. The Hebrew reads Hophal, which is passive, and perfect, “it had been made to be profane;” the passive sense is also causitive, and emphatic, giving a stative idea. It was considered profane to call on his name by the majority. We see attempts to reintroduce this attitude into the public now. It is not that the godless where profaning the name. They were treating those who called on the Most High as profane. They were regarding them as profane. Probably this means that men began to look down on those who still sought out Yăhwēh or who prayed to Him. It does not mean legal persecution, but discrimination and disapproval. It was not popular to be a worshipper of Yăhwēh, no doubt, since he had sentenced man to death. The text is noting that the war between the faithful seed of the woman, and the allies of the serpent had escalated.

The traditional senses “began to call on” make no sense in the context. The notion that men waited four generations to formally worship is nuts. Worship was already prescribed at the time of Qayin and Hev̱el. They were calling on the name of the Most High even then. For that is what is done when an offering is brought to the Most High! The sense of this word “to begin” does not occur in the Hophal in scripture. The Hophal, הוּחַל = was made to be profane, occurs only here. The sense begun is generally confined to the Hiphil. Since that is the case, the appearance of the Hophal in Gen. 4:26 is extraordinary if “begun” is supposed to be meant. The Hiphil would have been adequate to give that sense.

5:1¹ ^{^} scroll, book, tablet.

5:32¹ ^{^}This verse presents something unexpected. There are three sons following the notice that Nōaḥ was 500 years old. The oldest, Yaphet is listed last. If the order is reverse we expect: Ḥam, Shēm, Yaphet. But that is not the plan either. The order is 2nd, 3rd, 1st. Triplets are not possible. We learn later that Shēm was 100 years old, two years after the Deluge. The Deluge was 40 days on the earth. It started on II.17 and ended with III.26 when Noah was 600. So the second year after the Deluge started on III.27 when Noah was 601. This means that Noah 601 = Shem 100 and Noah 501 = Shem 0. So Shem was born when Noah was 501 and not 500. It cannot be otherwise since the chronicler is using a standardized year to calculate ages and an anniversary year for the two years after the flood. There is one other possibility. Shem 100 = Noah 502. This takes the synchronism at the end of the second year after the flood. Which is the case? Ussher and other chronologers went with Noah 602 = Shem 100. It is likely that Ussher confused the term Mabūl (מבול) with the English term “Flood,” and therefore reckoned two years exclusive of the “flood year.” But Mabūl more precisely means Deluge, destruction. Scripture limits the Deluge to 40 days and 40 nights. The prevailing waters were its after effects. But after 40 days and 40 nights the rain stopped. So the Deluge stopped. That leaves an ambiguity. There are two witnesses that show Noah 601 = Shem 100. The first is the Sabbatic periods dated from creation and synchronous with those other sabbatic periods alluded to later in Scripture. The second witness is far more complex. It involves synchronizing astronomical calculations with the month and date data given in Genesis 6 and 7. But was Ussher wrong at this point? Well happily Ussher made a one year error by dating the first year of the world as Adam at age 1, when he should have made it Adam age 0 = year 1 of the world. Thus Ussher subtracted 1 year (-1) at the start of the world. Then at the flood he added one year (+1). These two errors cancel out of the final chronology, so that the year in which Shem begat Arphaxad (Anno 1658) is exactly the same either way.

So why is Shem put first. Shem is put first because his line is most important to the rest of Genesis. But in Genesis 10 Yaphet has his descendants listed first, and then Ham. Shem is put last. Why is this? Because Shem wrote the account (cf. Gen 10:2-11:10). Shem humbly puts himself last and his brothers first. Noah put Shem first in his account. And Yaphet (Gen. 10:1) probably took the lead in writing the flood account.

6:4¹ ^{^} = Giants. LXX: γίγαντες. “The usual derivation of the name is from a root signifying to fall; but Lenormant (Origines de l’Histoire, p. 344) prefers pâlâ, which means “to be wonderful,” and compares the Assyrian naptû, “unique in size,” often found in the cuneiform inscriptions as the denomination of an ogre” (Ellicott). Heiser says הַנְּפִלִים derived from an Aramaic term נפילין (Nefiʸliʸn), which means giants. Numbers 13:33 defines the term in context, “And there we have seen the Nefiʸliʸm, sons of ‘Anaq from the Nefiʸliʸm; then we were in our eyes as grasshoppers. And so we have been in their eyes.” Here again the LXX translates γίγαντας. The Hebrew cannot be rendered “fallen ones” because that would require a passive participle: נְפוּלִים. The way it stands a Hebrew derivation would be “falling ones,” an active participle, and that makes even less sense.

6:4² ^{^} = the Nefiʸliʸm.

6:5¹ ^{^} = time.

6:5† ^{^} The pronoun his refers to the term man, which occurs with the generic article: הָאָדָם. This means that the term man means mankind as a class, and thus his refers to mankind. This text is a generalization about man, and is not saying there are no exceptions, such as Nōaḥ.

6:6¹ ^{^} “Gŏd is not a man, that he should be found false, and a son of man, that he should make himself sorry. Has he said, and he will not do? And has he spoken, and will not make it stand?” (Num. 23:19). What does Gŏd not make himself sorry for? He does not make himself sorry for his righteous actions. In otherwords, he does not regard his acts as evil or anything less than good. He does not feel sorry the way a sinful man does. Gŏd was not sorry that he created man. He was sorry “because he had made man.” There is a difference. The Hebrew word כִּי may mean either that or because. The language is stating that his grieving was a consequence of making man, but it is not faulting Gŏd for his creative actions. If it is not taken thus, then Gen. 6:6 will stand in contradiction to Num. 23:19. “I have become sorry, because I have made Shaul king.” (1Sam. 15:11). “And also, the Eminence of Yisra´ēl will not be false, and will not be sorry, because he is not a man to be sorry!” (1Sam. 15:29). Gŏd is not sorry over his actions. He can only grieve or be sorry over the consequences, but not his decisions. Again it says, “And Yăhwēh had become sorry, because he had made Shaul king over Yisra´ēl.” He is sorry for the consequences.

But the theologians say that Gŏd wills all the consequences of his decisions, or that he knows all the consequences when he makes his decisions. That is their tradition for avoiding responsibility. The Scripture consistently interpreted with Scripture cannot mean what they say. Even if Gŏd knows the consequences in advance (without making them happen), he becomes responsible to alter his plan to prevent evil consequences. Because it is quite clear that Gŏd does intervene to prevent greater evil, when he does foresee what the consequences will be of not intervening. That is why he sent the flood. That is why he destroyed cities, and brought down nations, and built up nations. That is why he promised Messiah, and sent him. If you are an Arminian, and believe Gŏd has a black box flight recorder of all of eternity somewhere, then please leave it unopened, and keep the peace of brothers. As for followers of Calvin and Augustine, may you not fear them, and please do not be under them.

6:6† ^{^} The Almĭghty didn’t know in advance how evil mankind would turn out. Cf. Gen. 18:21, 22:12; Mat. 24:36; Deut. 8:2. Therefore, he was in grief when events turned out against expectations. Someone will object and say “Gŏd knows all things!” and that “These statements are anthropomorphisms!”

To answer the first statement, the closest words to “Gŏd knows all things!” are in 1John 3:20, “And he knows all” (καὶ γινώσκει πάντα. Also we should compare, “because he knows all” (John 2:24: διὰ τὸ αὐτὸν γινώσκειν πάντας.) Also look at John 18:4, “Yĕshua, therefore, having known all things coming on him, went forth” (εἰδὼς πάντα τὰ ἐρχόμενα), and 1John 2:20, “And you know all” (καὶ οἴδατε πάντες). In English we have the idiom, “You know everything,” which means everything about a particular matter. In the case of 1John 3:20, Gŏd knows all things which are worthy of condemnation, and all things which are not. But our hearts (consciences) do not. Gŏd is greater than our conscience and knows the whole truth about right and wrong. In John 2:24, all refers to all men, and is explained by John 2:25, “For he was knowing what was in man.” None of these statements come anywhere close to saying that Gŏd has exhaustive knowledge of all past, present, or future events. Exhaustive knowledge is not necessary in order to remain in control enough for Gŏd to be Gŏd. Calvinists and Augustinian Theologians have twisted an enormous number of passages out of context to fit their lawless philosophies, which are too many to review here.

An anthropomorphism is when a statement uses human language to describe something with a human quality that doesn’t really have a human quality. For example we speak of the “eye of a storm” or “the face of a building” or “the butt of a joke” or “the male end of a pipe fitting”; in Hebrew and English we can ascribe a disaster to “the hand of Gŏd,” and speak of the “face of the earth.” All these usages are anthropomorphisms. An athropomorphism (Geek for man-form), is a metaphor directly comparing something to a human body part or quality. For example, “The trees thought the bushes where beneath them.” The notion of thought here is anthropomorphism. Of course, we dismiss it as a figure called personification, since trees do not literally think.

If trees do not think, then what does saying something like that mean? For example, “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come! Reign over us!’” (Judges 9:10). These words were a parable to refer to real people. If a storm does not have a literal eye, then what does it mean? It means it has a center, like an eye. If the earth has no literal face, then what does it mean? It means the earth has a rounded surface like a face with uneven contours. All legitimate figures of speech have legitimately accepted meanings. This brings us back to Gen. 6:6, “he himself grieved in his heart.” If Gŏd does not have feelings, then what does it mean? If a tree has thoughts, and says things, then the tree is a figure of something greater than the tree, a human (who still has thoughts). If Gŏd has no feelings, then what is the text a figure of that does have feelings? Is there some quality of the word “grieved” that we can ascribe to Gŏd without saying he has a feeling, that is a recognized figure anthropomorphism? No there isn’t! The same is true in the cases where Gŏd expresses the need to find something out or that he has found something out. There are no recognized figures of speech showing that such statements mean something other than what they literally say.

But if Gŏd has no feelings at all, then it would not be hard to say that in Hebrew and translate it into English. And If Gŏd never wanted to find something out, or never wanted to ignore a certain corner of the universe, then Biblical Hebrew does not lack the words to communicate that concept. Finally, Gŏd has communicated the opposite right from the beginning

6:7† ^{^} He was sorry for the consequences of the decision to make man, but not sorry by faulting the righteousness of the decision to make man. To be sorry means two things, 1. to grieve, and 2. to fault oneself. Gŏd grieves, but he does not fault himself like a man must, whose decisions are sinful. The Scripture has repeated this matter twice, showing how important it is to understand it. One’s entire world view, and view of Gŏd hinges on a correct understanding.

6:8† ^{^} This is the last verse in the account of Nōaḥ. Nōaḥ is a humble man, and just says that he found favor in Yăhwēh’s eyes.

6:9† ^{^} The word תָּמִים means “whole” or “complete.” In Joshua 24:14 it says, “And now, fear Yăhwēh, and serve him in wholeness, and in truth, and turn aside the gods which your fathers had served across the river, and in Egypt, and serve Yăhwēh.” The nearest English idiom to the Hebrew is “with a whole heart.” The scripture means with uncompromised loyalty for the truth. It does not mean perfect in the sense of without any fault, or without any sin. It also says here, “Nōaḥ was a righteous man.” This is not something he wrote, but his sons wrote it about him.

6:14¹ ^{^} Gó̧pher (גֹפֶר) an uncertain species of trees or process of treating wood, i.e. gophered wood. Possibly a laminating process or a very durable wood.

6:14² ^{^} nesting rooms, cages.

6:14³ ^{^} from house side and from outside.

6:16¹ ^{^} uncertain meaning. The root is associated with the word for midday, noon, or window.

6:17¹ ^{^} or spirt, רוּחַ.

7:2² ^{^} אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ. These are unusual words to be used for animals, or they are extremely archaic for male and female. Yet they have been left in the text when the terms זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה are clearly available. Gŏd’s disposition is that men shall be treated as animials now, and animals shall be treated as men and women. He is grieved over the bloodshed in the earth, and seeks to put an end to it.

7:6¹ ^{^} A Hebrew idiom for age calculation. This means he was in his 601st year. The flood began in his 600th year (while he was still 599 years old), but he turned 600 before the waters accumulated enough to cover the land (then he would be in his 601st year). This means the remark appears to be somewhat out of order. However, details of the flood account were probably recorded in a journal like fashion, and left that way. One can see that the account jumps back and forth to fill in details.

7:10¹ ^{^} = at seven the days (לְשִׁבְעַת הַיָּמִים); Hebrew uses cardinal numbers with ordinal meanings.

7:11¹ ^{^} אֲרֻבּוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם = “portals of the heavens.” Or “casements of the heavens.” A poetic word for a door, a gate, or opening. This is comparable to the English metaphor “and it rained cats and dogs.” Critics presume to take this too literally and suppose the writer was scientifically ignorant claiming that the sky had literal floodgates. The same idiom is used in Mal. 3:10, “I will open for you the portals of the heavens, and I will have emptied for you blessing to overflowing.”

7:14¹ ^{^} The qualifying statement here is an editorial remark to explain that “wild animals” in pre-flood language included “domestic beasts.” For after the flood, the sense of the terms changed, so that there was no term for all animals in general.

7:14² ^{^} The triple emphasis on birds here underlines the universality of the flood.

7:15¹ ^{^} spirit, wind (רוּחַ).

8:7¹ ^{^} The sense range of the Hebrew ‘dried’ is greater than English here. It refers to the removal of the mass of the waters, and not surface wetness. The word used here is ḥarv̱u (חָרְבוּ), to waste away, to dry up.

8:13¹ ^{^} = dried.

8:14¹ ^{^} It took seventeen days for the whole surface of the land to dry out after the waters had vanished. What Nōaḥ had seen at first when he looked was just that the ground around the ark itself was dry.

8:22¹ ^{^} the late fall or autumn (Oct.-Nov.).

9:3¹ ^{^} It does appear here that Nōaḥ and his sons were permitted to eat things that later were declared unfit for food.

9:4¹ ^{^} soul, life. The blood carries the oxygen necessary for life.

9:23¹ ^{^} blanket, sheet.

11:1¹ ^{^} This refers to the time of the previous chapter minus the parenthetical statements of that chapter.

11:1² ^{^} one lip.

11:1³ ^{^} one (plural), but clearly the word אֲחָדִים is used here in the sense of unified, or same.

11:10¹ ^{^} Teraḥ’s account begins here. Teraḥ probably wrote this account while he was still following the true God, but Joshua records that he became an idolator (Jos. 24:2).

11:10² ^{^} How old was Noah when Shem was born? The flood began in the 600th year of Noah (when he was age 599), so this is the year the flood dates from. Two years after the flood would be the 602nd year of Noah. In his 602nd year, Noah has lived already 601 complete years. Thus Noah was age 601 when Shem was age 100. Accordingly Shem was age 0 (his first year) when Noah was 501.

The average death ages of Shem and his descendants decreased in serveral steps. The steps down are 900, 600, 400, 200, 130. The decay of ages levels out at the time of the Exodus at 70 to 80. The period of decreasing ages was from 2483 B.C. to 1632 B.C.

11:26¹ ^{^}It is apparent that the age reached by Teraḥ only goes with one of the sons listed. Like Genesis 5:32 the order appears to be 2, 3, 1, according to the order of birth. Haran is the oldest and was born when Teraḥ was 70. Haran begat children and then died in Ur before Abram and Nahor even took wives. The precedent set earlier justifies this. Shem begat Arphaxad two years after the Deluge when he was 100. Using the chroniclers standardized system this makes Noah 501 or 502 when Shem was born. But not 500. So Yaphet was born when Noah was 500. The Sabbatic periods tells us that Shem was born when Noah was 501 and not 502, as well as some astronomical synchronisms. It should be noted that two things are missing from this verse. First the number of years after begetting said sons is omitted, just as in the case of Noah and his sons. But this data is put in precisely to validate the chronology and lock in the birth year. So evidently we are not meant to use this verse for computation. Also missing is a notice of Terah’s death. In fact there are no notices of death in chapter 11 like in Genesis 5! So it is all the more startling when one appears for Terah in 11:31 displaced some way from the summary in 11:26. The reason can only be because that is where he died in the sequence of the narrative. The waw consecutives in 11:31-12:4 can only be sequential. The death notices is not part of a terse summary nor combined with the biographical info in the earlier part of the chapter. Another irregularity worth noting is that Gen. 11 does not give an age total for anyone except Terah! Therefore, the age total is not there to complete an expected biography. It is there to supply the synchronism for when Abram was age 75.

Why were Gen. 5:32 and 11:26 written in such a way that it appears Noah 500 = Shem 0 and, Terah 70 = Abram 0? The reason is surely to hide the answer. It is not to hide it completely, but to hide it so that some effort is required to find the answers. Higher critics are the laziest of people. They want the easy way to misinterpret the word, and you will see that they take it every time. Because all you have to do is a little study or research to blow up their schemes. Higher critics have no faith in additional witnesses confirming an answer either, like sabbatical cycles or astronomy. And sometimes we are tested also to see if we will consider the word carefully and prayerfully. (Possibly at the bottom of these ciphers is a 7000 year plan for the world. For if you take the short cuts suggested then they are 1 year, 60 years, and 134 years, i.e. 195 years. That makes this year 5959 (AD 2015) in the cryptic sense. So the 7th millennium by this cipher will be in 41 years (AD 2056). That's not the second coming. But it seems to align well with the restoration of Israel about 3 years later. All will be explained in the hereafter. Until then the Almĭghty will keep us guessing.

11:28¹ ^{^} Not the Ūr in southern Iraq, but one in Aram Nahạrayim (אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם), Aram of the two rivers. See Gen. 24:10.

11:32† ^{^}Then the days of Teraḥ came to five years and two hundred years. Then Teraḥ died in Ḥaran. This age at death notice of Teraḥ is separated from Gen. 11:26, which is unusual. There can be only one reason that the death notice is separated from the rest of the biographical info on Teraḥ, and that is the placement of the notice has been moved to a position to be in chronological order in the narrative. The point of moving the text is that Teraḥ died first, and then in the next verse (Gen. 12:1) A̓v̱ram is commanded to depart, and he was age 75 when he did (Gen. 12:4). Thus it is noted in Acts 7:4 that A̓v̱ram left Haran after his father died.

If one looks at Gen. 11:26 and sees “Teraḥ lived seventy years, then he begat A̓v̱ram, Naḥōr, and Haran” we must consider the fact that Hebrew genealogical tables do not conform to English or Greek expectations of orderliness. It may be proved that Shēm was not the eldest son. According to Genesis 5:21 Yafet was the eldest.

With Abraham many chronologists make a 60 year mistake. Acts 7:4 makes it quite clear that Abraham departed from Haran “after his father died.” What is confusing is that Genesis 11:26 says, “And Terah lived seventy years, then he begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.” This reads just like Gen. 5:32, “And Noah was a son of 500 years; then Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” It appears that Shem and Abram were firstborn sons in the 500th and 70th years of their respective fathers. However, it is not hard to prove that Shem was not born when Noah was 500. For it is written, “And to Shem were born sons. Yea, he was the father of the sons of Eber, brother of Japheth the elder” (Gen. 10:21). This states that Japheth was older, and it was not by a few minutes. To remove the matter from doubt, we have Gen. 11:10 “Shem was a son of a hundred years, then he begat Arphaxad two years after the deluge” (Gen. 11:10). The deluge was when Noah was 600. Therefore, Shem’s birth is not reckoned from Noah's 500th year. The chronology was made to be constructed on a standardized year, starting in the spring. The flood was in the spring of Noaḥ’s 600th year, and lasted 40 days and 40 nights. The first year after it began III.27 of Noaḥ’s 600th year. The second year after it began III.27 of Noaḥ’s 601st year. So Shēm was 100 in the 601st year of Noaḥ, and he was born in Noaḥ’s 501st year.

The scripture has therefore given us the key to unlocking its own cipher. There are only two texts constructed in this manner. In the modern way of thinking, we would assume that Noah and Terah had triplets. As this interpretation would be wrong, we must seek for another interpretation as to why three sons are listed in connection with the birth of a first born. The explanation takes two directions. First, putting Shem and Abram first can be justified because they were both advanced to the head of the family. Shem took the initiative in defending Noah's dignity (Gen. 9:32; 9:26-27). And Abram's older brother Haran died an untimely death, for those days (Gen. 11:28). Therefore, Shem and Abraham are listed first, as the birthright passed to them. It is a way of showing that one has the place of the first born even though one is not the first born. Second, the aim of the Ruakh is to obscure the answer so as not to make it too easy for every simple minded person who handles the Scriptures. If the chronology of the Scripture were so plainly written that any pagan or unspiritual person could figure it out without solving the ciphers, then the Scripture would be destroyed by those stopping up their ears, as soon as they learned what message it was teaching. It works the same with prophecy. If it were too clear, requiring no effort, then instead of unspiritual men attacking interpretations or providing simplistic interpretations of their own, they would simply burn it. The parables and ciphers allow them to see what they want to see since they are not interested in coming to a harmonious solution. The cipher shows them the doorway to error and thus protects the transmission of the Scripture. And so it will be until the times of the nations come to an end. Then Yahweh will reveal all plainly.

Scripture provides its own precedent for when Abram was born via the Noah-Shem connection, and then it provides ample data to figure out when he really was born. In other words, it gives us permission to neither assume that Abram, Haran, and Nahor were triplets, or that Abram was born first. Only the most studious will realize this, and the most studious are those most interested in what the Almighty really has to say, and therefore discovering the solution, they will be able to teach it to others and persuade them of the final truth of the scriptures. That is the position that comes to the diligent.

“Then the days of Terah came to 205 years. Then Terah died in Haran” (Gen. 11:32). “Then Yahweh said to Abram, ‘Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace, and from the house of your father to the land which I will show you’” (Gen. 12:1). Each sentence I have begun with a “then” to show the natural sequence of the waw consecutives. The normal way of taking the matter is to read the text in sequence. The waw consecutive is the story teller’s device to relate the progress of a narrative in the retelling. Therefore, we naturally think that Terah died first, and then Yahweh appeared to Abraham to tell him to continue on the way. This reading of the narrative has support from Philo of Alexandria, who states “after his father died he then departed” (Migration, 177). Josephus implies the same by the sequence of his narrative (Ant. 1:152). In Genesis 12:4 it states, “And Abram was the son of seventy five years when he departed from Haran.” Therefore, Abraham was 75 years old when Terah died at 205 years. Abraham was born when Terah was 130 years old.

Abraham and Nahor were contemporary, but Haran was the first born, who begat Lot, also a contemporary of Abraham. Abraham and Nahor married after their brother had begotten children and died, “Then Haran died before the face of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Then Abram and Nahor took for themselves wives” (Gen. 11:28-29). Nahor’s wife was the daughter of his brother Haran. Again, the waw consecutive is telling the story in sequence. So taking the sequence in order, it is clear that Abram was born many years later that Haran.

We see then that the fine details point to Abram departing after his father died. And using this as a key bridge point, we will find that the Sabbatical and Jubilee year system confirm it, along with the astronomical synchronism for the flood year.

12:6† ^{^}This section was written by Isaac according to the tablet theory colophon in Gen. 25:19. And up to Gen. 37:2 was written by Jacob according to the colophon there. It is possible that Isaac did not write this line about the Canaanites in the region of Shechem. Jacob may have edited it in for posterity, because the Canaanites of Shechem had been destroyed by the sons of Jacob. Moses did not write all of the Torah, but for the book of Genesis he used the family records handed down from Jacob.

13:12¹ ^{^} = tented.

14:13¹ ^{^} בַּעֲלֵי בְרִית־אַבְרָם = lords, masters; of a covenant of A̓v̱ram. This is an idiom for allies.

14:14¹ ^{^} He had a private army. The term means: dedicated, experienced, a combination of fresh recruits and veterans. This implies that he had at least a thousand people under his charge, and that his militia was chosen from among them.

14:24¹ ^{^} Read יִקְחוּ = they will take, future indicative. This doesn’t appear to be a jussive because it is preceeded by a pronoun, הֵם; jussives tend to come first in a clause; It appears that Abraham was protecting the rights of his allies. He did not say, “May they take; Let them take; they may take”, all which suggest that their rights are contingient on the king of Sodom, or that they might not exercise their rights.

15:6† ^{^} This verse is one of the most important in Genesis. It is referred to in Num. 25:11-12 (cf. Psa. 106:30-31); Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; Jam. 2:23.

At the highest levels, traditional scholars have conspired to conceal the meaning of the Hebrew verb אָמַן. The fundamental meaning of the root is to support; in the Hipil perfect used here (הֶאֱמִן), it means: he had been making support. The perfect is translated past perfect continuous. The word “been” is not a passive.

הֶאֱמִן בּ. he had been making support in, or had been putting support on. The idea expressed here is not merely believe, but to commit oneself to Yăhwēh to trust and be faithful • וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ צְדָקָה: And he considered it to him as righteousness; the feminine pronoun it here (הָ), refers to the faithfulness implicit in trustingly faithful because the feminine noun form of the word is: אֱמוּנָה.

The root verbאָמַן’s most fundamental concordant meaning is to support (cf. BDB); the sense confirm is secondary, and is based on the idea that supporting a proposition is to confirm the proposition. The idea of nourish is fundamentally one person materially supporting another; the supporters of Aḥ´av̱, הָאֹמְנִים אַחְאָב; see also 2 Kings 10:1, 5. Est. 2:7: he was supporting Hadassah, יְהִי אֹמֵן אֶת־הֲדַסָּה. Num. 11:12: as the supporting father carries the sucking child, כּאֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא הָאֹמֵן אֶת־הַיֹּנֵק; Isa. 49:23: kings will be your supporters; Ruth 4:16: and she became for it a supporter; 2 Sam. 4:4: and his supporter carried him, וַתִּשָּׂאֵהוּ אֹמַנְתּוֹ; the root is also applied to literal physical supports, 2 Kings 18:16: the doors of the Temple of Yăhwēh and the supports, אֶת־דַּלְתוֹת הֵיכַל יהוה וְאֶת־הָאֹמְנוֹת. In the Qal passive: those being supported in scarlet, הָאֱמֻנִים עֲלֵי תוֹלָע, Lam. 4:5.

The Niphal takes a stative sense, being supportive, Psa. 12:2, for have vanished ones-being-supportive from the sons of men: כִּי־פַסּוּ אֱמוּנִים מִבְּנֵי אָדָם, which is usually translated the faithful. The faithful person is one who loyaly supports another; 2 Sam. 20:19, Psa. 31:24, Pro. 11:13. That the sense of the Niphal is also non stative like Qal passive is proved in Isa. 60:4: and your daughters upon the hip will be supported: וּבְנֹתַיִךְ עַל־צַד תֵּאָמַנָה. We can thus see how using the Niphal in Gen. 15:6 would miss the sense as it would make the text say and he was supported by Yăhwēh.

Isa. 7:9 illustrates concordant sense with the Hiphil: If you will not give support, surely you shall not be supported, אִם לֹא תַאֲמִינוּ כִּי לֹא תֵאָמֵנוּ; the Hiphil adds the sense of make or cause to the verb. The subject makes or causes support to be in or on the object. The Hiphil does not change the fundamental idea of the root. Antinomian scholars are under the mistaken impression that it does, and thus after being true to the root in other stems, they depart and say the Hiphil only means believe. The causitive notion of the Hiphil infix can be glossed as give support (to) or put support (in, on); Making support on the object is the notion of Gen. 15:6: he had been making support on Yăhwēh, הֶאֱמִן בּיהוה; the sense obtained is both reliance on and putting one’s active support in Yăhwēh, which is to say it combines trust and faithfulness to Him. An excellent functional equivalent is he had been trustingly faithful in Yăhwēh. 2 Chr. 20:20 says literally: הַאֲמִינוּ בּיהוה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְתֵאָמֵנוּ הַאֲמִינוּ בִנְבִיאָיו וְהַצְלִיחוּ = Put your support in Yăhwēh your Almĭghty, and you will be supported; Put your support in his prophets, and you will prosper.

What makes the difference between the sense of merely believing and active support (fidelity, faithfulness, loyalty, steadfastness) is the object of the verb. If the object is a datum, idea, or concept to be believed, then believe will suffice. However, if the object is a person, the sense becomes trust and loyalty, what is usually termed fidelity in English. Thus to support an idea is to confirm it or believe it, but to support a person is to be loyal to that person. In the vast majority of the usages, the object is a person, and that person is Yăhwēh, who became the Messiah.

We should not assume the Hiphil is behind every NT usage of the Greek equivalent (πιστεύω) of this verb. John habitually uses the participle with the preposition: πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν; what motivated John to use the unusual preposition εἰς with πιστεύω was his desire to correct the notion that the verb only meant supporting on Him, which indeed could be construed as mere trust. John saw it was necessary to explain the Hebrew הֶאֱמִן בּ better as supporting to Him = הָאֹמֵן לוֹ, which means be faithful, or be loyal to Messiah; the sense is contextual paralleled with obey in John 3:36: the one supporting to the Son holds fast life everlasting, but the one disobedient to the Son will not see life, which I render, the one trustingly faithful to the Son. Thus John is shutting the door of missing the full Hebrew sense of the בּ (in, on) preposition by using the ל preposition. In LXX Greek and Hebrew the two prepositions overlap in meaning sufficiently, but in Koine Greek there was a tendency to reduce the meaning of ἐν to trust only or mere belief.

Short of outright denial or insult, or appeal to tradition and authority, the only kind of argument that antinomian scholars are going to make is to claim that הֶאֱמִן בּ does not mean what I have said here based on positing that differences in the Stem used are equivalent to secondary meanings of the root, i.e. believe instead of support, or that the preposition used with the root governs the meaning of the root. Such ideas are linguistically naive at best or more likely shrewdly diabolical, being pushed by language deconstructionists pushing post-modern theology. The meaning of language is not determined by dichotomizing the lexemes into new meanings for every variation of usage. Rather meaning is determined by seeking concordance of meaning, as invariant as possible over all the variations of usage. Only then can one be sure he has really got the meaning. The Stem meanings, Hiphil, Niphal, Qal, and Qal passive are not concordantly determined anew for each conjugation of the root. This may be true with Modern Hebrew to some extent where we have the living language to examine. But modern Hebrew has changed from ancient. The only tool we have with ancient Hebrew is strict linguistic analysis of written texts. And here we must understand the nature of the Stem from the whole language, and not by trying to dichotomize the meaning within a lexeme to suit our modern assumptions about what it should mean. Further, arguments based on different preposition use are usually made by someone not familiar enough with Hebrew to know the vast variation that is possible. The only determinant can be knowledge of the variation by knowledge of the language and a sense of logic of which meaning fits. The language of Scripture, as observed by careful linguistic study is the final objective arbiter of revealed truth. The subjective arbiter is the Spirit of the Almighty. The study of Scripture requires the same approach that creationists take toward understanding creation, which is to use the scientific method without the baggage of evolutionary theology, i.e. theological assumptions. Hypothesis must agree with the facts or be revised. I trust the Spirit will confirm this with anyone who honestly takes this approach.

Verse 6 starts out with a waw conjunctive in the middle of a context of imperfects. The wayyqtl imperfects carry the sequence of the narrative, i.e. vs. 5, “Then he brought,” “Then said” (vs 5b; 7, 8, etc.). In vs. 6, the text is clearly a narrators insertion to give us more info that is not in the dialogue. But narrator does not use an imperfect. He uses the perfect with conjunctive waw. By this he is giving background info that is not viewed as part of the sequence; it is the reason that A̓v̱ram put his support in Yăhwēh in this instance (which is to support the truth of what Yăhwēh said in this instance). It was because he “had been trustingly faithful.” Verse 6 is a past perfect piece of background information with continuing results in the present. Verse 6b is a subordinate imperfect with waw consecutive (wayyqtl) to the perfect at the start of the verse. The perfect states that he entered into a state of faithfully trusting in the past, possibly an iterative state, and then the subordinate imperfect addresses the results of the perfect. The state of trusting faithfulness as it produces trustingly faithful acts is counted as righteousness. It is subsequent to Av̱ram´s first act of putting support in/to YHWH. The waw consecutive at the middle of the verse is “therefore”; it cannot be then next, because the imputation is concurrent with the faithfullness. Neither can it be “at that time” since this was not a singular instance (cf. James 2:23). The waw consecutive is a concluding waw citing a logical result.

Vs. 6 gives background information based upon which we can predict Av̱ram´s response to Yăhwēh´s promise due to his support for Yăhwēh. Thus, vs. 6 is not a single instance case of “belief” in a single promise. It is the narrator´s insertion to tell us that A̓v̱ram had been faithful to Yăhwēh.

The preposition with the divine name ביהוה, ב is an abstract use, “in connection to,” which is also possible to explain with the abstract ל “with respect to”; Yoḥanan almost always makes the change to ל (εἰς) to emphasize the “be faithful (to)” aspect of the Greek πιστεύω. This was to prevent readers from thinking that he meant “trust” and no more than “trust.”

15:6‡ ^{^} = “Then:” This is a concluding waw. The subject of the sentence is Yăhwēh, denoted by “He.” And the indirect object is A̓v̱ram, “to him”. The word “it” הָ ha, is a third person feminine pronoun, and it is the direct object, which refers to the faithfulness which A̓v̱ram placed Yăhwēh. The feminine gender is on account of the Hebrew word for faithfulness, אֱמוּנָה e̓mūnah, also being feminine in gender.

15:9¹ ^{^} מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת = being made to be three.

15:13¹ ^{^} The four hundred years starts with the birth of Isaac.

16:7¹ ^{^} “The article is also used in situations where English would preceed a noun with ‘a certain,’ ‘a notable,’ or ‘a particular.’ This usage is called “imperfect determination” (cf. PAUL JOÜON, S.J. - T. MURAOKA, pg. 478).”

16:13¹ ^{^} The translation “Gŏd of seeing” (ESV, JPS), אל רֳאִי, Ēl ró´ee, may be unpacked into two senses: 1. a Gŏd who can be seen, 2. A Gŏd who sees. The second interpretation is given by other non-literal translations, but this is at the expense of the first interpretation, which is equally evident, and is supported by Hagar’s words, “Even here have I seen”? She is expressing wonder at still being alive after having seen Yăhwēh

16:13² ^{^} The English requries the neuter gender ‘one’ in a participle construction with the definite article, but the participle ‘speaking’ is in fact masculine, i.e. ‘the he speaking.’

16:13³ ^{^} he is derived from the masculine participle, ‘seeing’ (3rd mas. sing.)

In the first clause, ‘Gŏd of seeing,’ the word ‘seeing’ is a noun ró´ee (רֳאִי). The English participle ‘seeing’ can be either a noun or verb, e.g. ‘The seeing do not need a cane, but a blind person needs a seeing dog.’ In this case, however, the noun is abstract, ‘see-ability.’ You are a Gŏd of see-ability. The noun use does seem to give a slight edge to the first interpretation.

Language deconstructionists posit that Gŏd cannot be seen (without really caring one way or the other) and thus find a contradiction with this text and this assumption, or misinterpretation of another text. The logical solution is that the seeable Gŏd is the Almĭghty Sŏn, and not the Father. Decon-structionists will tell us that the rational contradiction they assumed does not matter, and that it is the experience that Hagar had with Gŏd that counted. This allows them to bond truly contradictory viewpoints, or to ignore the rational contradiction, as they please, which is a feature of the humanistic world view. For instance, someone will believe that Gŏd absolutely cannot be seen. Therefore, when they come to this text they will ignore the logical conclusion of it on the rational level, and seek to re-explain it in terms of a non-rational experience that Hagar had had. This sort of thinking is what characterizes the emergent Church thinking in which the higest good is to bond humanity by sweeping mutually exclusive points of view under the rug. That’s why it is humanism. They want to rebuild the tower of confusion.

16:14¹ ^{^} = well for the living one seeing me. The name of the place has two interpretations, 1. well for the one who lives after having seen Me, 2. well of the Living One who has seen me.

17:1¹ ^{^} = The High Gŏd; from the Akkadian word for mountain, either metaphorically or literally God of an elevated habitation. See Shaddai in the EHSV Lexicon.

17:5¹ ^{^} = exalted father.

17:5² ^{^} = father of a multitude.

17:12¹ ^{^} וּבֶן־שְׁמֹנַת יָמִים = and a son of eight days; the counting is inclusive, as the commandment is restated as “on the eighth day” Lev. 12:3; (cf. Exo. 22:30). See also Gen. 21:4. The usual sense of “a son of X years” = X+1th year. The usual sense of “a son of X days” = Xth day.

17:14¹ ^{^} The text suggests refusal, as in Lev. 23:29, Lev. 26:23. It might be possible to translate reflexive here also, “who will not circumcise himself,” or “who will not get circumcised.”

The threat of excision may be limited to exile from the land. Gen. 17:7-8. The only measures against the uncircumcised were that they could not enter the Temple court or eat the Passover. If they wanted to make another offering, the had to have it done for them.

17:15¹ ^{^} = my great commander.

17:15² ^{^} = commandress; a sar is a boss or officer. In later Hebrew sar came to mean a prince, or general.

17:21‡ ^{^} לַמּוֹעֵד הַזֶּה בַּשָּׁנָה הָאַחֶרֶת lammō‘ēd hazzeh bashanah ha’aḥaret = “at this appointed time in the next year.” This is further defined in Gen. 18:10: כָּעֵת חַיָּה ka‘ēt ḥayyah = “at the time of life.” The Almĭghty is speaking on a specific day in Gen. 17:21. For it says “this appointed time in the next year.” The date is necessarily an appointed time, or set time, or fixed time, which is “the time of life,” the time when life was officially said to renew or begin again. This was the spring equinox in the next year, after the days of the old year had expired. The announcement was therefore made in 2033 BC on the day of the spring equinox. And the appointment was made for 2032 BC on the day of the spring equinox.

Month: XIII ADAR_II, 2033 BC 2106 A.M. Sab. Cyc: 7. Jub. Cyc: 49 Cycle No: 43
Q1: 0.876 A Q2: -0.555 G LG:  81m W: 0.625' AL: 16.9 AV: 16.9
New Moon calculated for longitude: 34.65 and latitude 31.77
Location of calculations: Jerusalem Author: Daniel Gregg

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In 2033 BC, the 99th year of Av̱raham’s life, the first day of the year fell on the 17th of Adar II, marked year as 1♦ . The previous year ended on April 6, and had 366 days. Av̱raham was circumcised on this same day, the 5th day of the week, on April 7, 2033 BC, and 17 Adar II, the first day of anno 2107. The Addar II new moon is marked ↑ and NM on March 21. It should be noted that the month is Addar II because the 15th of it falls on day 365 in the old year.

See also 2Kings 4:16, “Then he said at this appointed time, at the time of life, you are embracing a son.” And 2Kings 4:17, “Then the woman conceived. Then she bore a son at this appointed time, at this time of life.” See also 1Sam. 1:20, “Then it was at the circuit of the days. Then Ḥannah conceived. Then she bore a son. Then she called his name Shemū’ēl, because from Yăhwĕh she had requested him.” The time of life is an annual renewal of life, and its time is determined by the sun. The texts call the time “this appointed time” לַמּוֹעֵד הַזֶּה lammō‘ēd hazzeh (Gen. 17:21; 2Kings 4:16; 2Kings 4:17). We see in Gen. 1:14 that the sun is for appointed times, וּלְמוֹעֲדִים ūlmō‘adi̱m. Not all appointed times are feasts, but all appointed times are normally definite dates fixed by the sun and moon (Josh. 8:14; 1Sam. 13:8; 1Sam. 20:35; 2Sam. 20:5). See also Exodus, 9:5, “Then Yăhwēh set an appointed time, saying ‘Tomorrow Yăhwēh will do this thing in the land.” “Tomorrow” is fixed by the rising of the sun. There are a few texts where מֹעֵד mō‘ēd means “season” or a space of time more than a particular day: Deut. 31:10; 2Chron. 30:22; Jer. 8:7; Dan. 8:19; 11:27; 11:29; Dan. 12:7 (spanning a year); Hos. 2:11 (a season). The word מוֹעֵד mō‘ēd may also mean an appointed place (cf. Psa. 74:8; see also Psa. 74:4). The sense of the word should be sought in the character of the appointment. Since Sarah was to have a son on one day, the day of his birth, then the time appointed was the day of his birth (and not a season). For the text says, “at this appointed time” (Gen. 17:21) concerning her bearing. Therefore, the announcement was made at an appointed time for the same appointed in the next year.

Since a definite day was intended, it was the same day that the announcement was made, which is noted as “the time of life.” Which day is the time of life? It is fairly obvious that “time of life” is connected to the spring, and since it must be a definite date, it has to be the first day of the solar year. Since he was speaking at an appointed time when the announcement was made, it is necessary to know which dates are appointed times. The consensus of the Jews is that the cycle of the sun marks four appointed times in the course of a year, namely the spring equinox, the summar solstice, the fall equinox, the winter solstice. These are noted as the תְּקוּפוֹת teqūfōt = circuit points, “coming round, circuit” (BDB), “at the circuit of the year” (Ex. 34:22, BDB). It was necessary to have such points for the sun. For without them, the sun could define no appointed times (cf. Gen. 1:14). Therefore, according to the historical consensus of the appointed time for the year, among the Jews, and the clues in the text, I have deduced the sensible chronology of the matter.

18:3¹ ^{^} Adŏnai = my Lord.

18:19¹ ^{^} The word “know” here is used with the sense of personal intimacy or close friendship. Abraham’s willingness to obey Yăhwēh and command his children was what Gŏd wanted to result from this relationship.

18:19² ^{^} Or: should, may (subjunctive mood). The assurance of the result is secured because Gŏd’s faithfulness resulted in Abraham’s faithfulness. If the result is somewhat contingient, then it is secured by ever more faithfulness on Gŏd’s part until he achieves the desired result. The mis-translation “chosen” somewhat misses the point about the means Yăhwēh will use achieve his end. Gŏd’s faithfulness must not be taken for granted on the personal level. If we are not faithful, he is not obligated to continue blessing us.

18:19³ ^{^} What is unintended is represented as intended because it is a result of both intents. See BDB מַעַן, Note 1.— לְמַעַן for examples of this usage. The scripture assigns intent based on the logical results of an action rather than conscious purpose. If a person is wicked, then his evil action is ironically represented as intent of a more nefarious purpose than just his personal desire according to its logical results, (cf. Jer. 27:10; Deu. 29:18; Isa. 30:1; Jer. 7:18; Jer. 27:15; Jer. 32:29; Hos. 8:4; Amo. 2:7; Mic. 6:16). The word לְמַעַן thus means “with the logical result of/that....” on the rational plane. In the cases where the final actor is clearly not consciously intending the stated result, the action is seen as the logical accomplice of the real results and blame is assigned. If one’s evil actions result in unintended evil, they may be credited with the larger results. If ones good actions result in unintended good, then they may be credited with the larger results. Therefore, when Abraham’s children do good, then the unintended result is that the promises to Abraham will be fulfilled, so their good intent to personally follow the commandment is credited as intent to fulfill Yăhwēh’s greater intent. An intent to do good or evil therefore involves one in the greater intent beyond the personal one. Think about it.

18:22¹ ^{^} One of the changes of the Sopherim. The Hebrew text reads, “Av̱raham was still himself standing before Yăhwēh.” But ancient textual notes say the original reading was, “Yăhwēh was still himself standing before Av̱raham” or an equivalent idea. I am not perfectly certain that the tradition is correct, only certain that the context supports it. The situation appears to be this: Yăhwēh had announced his intentions and had besought Abraham to go on his way. For he has used the word “please” na (נָּא), but he did not go. He was waiting for Abraham to approve his departure or to object to the plan. The reading of the current Hebrew text does not nullify this explanation; it only makes it less clear. Nevertheless, it is the correct idea since Yăhwēh had used the particle of entreaty in speaking to Abraham in vs. 21. And it is true that ancient sensibilities would have been offended at the idea of Yăhwēh standing before Av̱raham, but this is just what he did when washing the disciples feet. This situation is no different. The same picture is described, and the disagreement is only over the words used the describe it.

Also in vs. 23, it seems that Yăhwēh had been waiting there for a spell before Av̱raham mustered the courage to give his own counsel about Sedōm and A̒mōrah.

In vs. 22, the two men had departed making Yăhwēh the exception. It appears the next clause should tell us what Yăhwēh was doing, and not Av̱raham.”

19:20¹ ^{^} A jussive makes little sense here. Take the text as: וַתְּחִי = Then my soul will live.

19:21¹ ^{^} = I have borne your face. The idea is that he had gone to so much effort to rescue Lōt that he was not going to deny this request.

19:21² ^{^} = to not overturn me(self) the city.

21:4¹ ^{^} The idiom ‘son of n years’ always means complete years, and refers to the n+1th year, however, the phrase ‘son n days’ is only used twice in Scripture, here and Gen. 17:12, apparently for incluisve counting, and not after the fashion of years. See Gen. 17:12.

20:13¹ ^{^} The Hebrew verb is plural. The translation could go “when the Gŏds had caused me to wander.”

21:9¹ ^{^} The sort of teasing a bully uses to tear down the self esteem of his subordinates.

21:17¹ ^{^} or, mal´aḳ ə̣loheem (מַלְאַךְ אֱלֹהִים) Almighty Messenger, Messenger Almighty.

22:3¹ ^{^} two witnesses.

22:8¹ ^{^} will appear himself or will be seen as himself, the lamb: הַשֶּׂה יִרְאֶה־לּוֹ. If the verb is pointed passive (יֵרָאֶה, yæraēh), involving no change of consonants: will be seen as himself the lamb, will appear as himself the lamb. Av̱raham had already declared that he would return with the lad in vs. 5. Av̱raham knows that his seed will be reckoned through Yitsḥaq (21:12), and so that if he offers Yitsḥaq, his son will not be permenantly gone. He also knows his ultimate seed will be the Mĕssiah (3:15; John 8:56), and that Mĕssiah will be Yăhwēh (cf. 4:1), so he has omitted that he supposes the lamb on this occassion is Yitsḥaq in favor of telling Yitsḥaq about the future seed, who will be the lamb. The vowel pointing in 22:14 confirms this: יֵרָאֶה. The text is ambiguous though, and could be read, “He will see to himself the lamb,” i.e. will provide it.

22:14¹ ^{^} or, ‘will appear’; nowhere in the passage does it say that He appeared to Av̱raham, and the text emphasizes that Yăhwēh called to him out of the heavens. Av̱raham knows that in the future Yăhwēh will be seen on this spot to deliver his seed.

24:4¹ ^{^} moladtee (מוֹלַדְתִּי) means “my birth place.” The mistranslation “kindred” or “relatives” is due to the mistaken theory that Av̱raham came from the Sumerian Ūr, and reflects an effort to disconnect the word from the notion of birthplace. However, the word is almost always translated nativity, refering to one’s birth place. The word is used again in vs. 7. Av̱raham came from Ūr in Aram of the two rivers (vs. 10), which is north west Mesopotamia, and not south east Mesopotamia. This would be modern south east Turkey, not far from the city of Ḥaran. The origin of the Kasdi̱m is also in south east Turkey.

24:14¹ ^{^} Translated poorly “let down” (JPS, NAS, ESV), better “tip over” (Stone). The verb means that she stretched out the jar in her hands.

24:14² ^{^} Poorly translated “appointed” (JPS, NAS, ESV), “designated” (Stone). The verb implies approval or disapproval.

24:16¹ ^{^} or ‘was beautiful of appearance.’

24:16² ^{^} First use of maiden in the Scripture betulah (בְּתוּלָה). A maiden is a young unmarried woman who is a virgin. The word maid means the same thing.

“Although Hebrew lexicons and modern translations generally translate betulah as "virgin," G. J. Wenham ("Betulah A Girl of Marriageable Age,' VT 22: 326-48) and Tsevat (TDOT II, p. 33843) contest this as the general meaning but prefer "a young (marriageable) maiden." But whereas Wenham does not concede the meaning "virgin" in any text, Tsevat allows this meaning in three out of its fifty-one occurrences (Lev 21:13ff; Deut 22:19; Ezek 44:22). In any case, a strong case can be presented that betulah is not a technical term for virgo intacta in the OT, a conclusion that has important bearing on the meaning of ‘almah in Isa 7:14.” (TWOT)

I have come to the same conclusion. Almah comes from the unused root עלם which means “hidden” and plays a role in the term Olam (עֹלָם), which means obscurity of time. Almah is the technical clinical term for virginity. It refers to what is hidden, paralleling the Hebrew idiom for relations, “to uncover the nakedness of.” Betulah, on the other hand, answers to our word “maiden,” which includes the meaning of virginity, but is not so focused on the fact of it. Maidenhood emphasizes the concept of being an unmarried young woman, and the word maid means an unmarried woman of any age. So the traditions have the matter exactly backward. Betulah answers to our English “maiden” or “maid” while ‘almah means “virgin” in the more clinical or technical sense

24:18¹ ^{^} The jar had been propped on her shoulder for carrying.

24:20¹ ^{^} laid bare, denuded.

24:21¹ ^{^} a stunned or captivated look. The word שָׁאָה in Hebrew literally means “lay waste,” “crash to ruins,” but also sounds nearly the same as the verb for “gaze at” (שָׁעָה). “He crashed himself at her.”

24:23¹ ^{^} the servant had other men in the caravan (vs. 32).

25:18¹ ^{^} The text implies a double meaning. 1. His territory was on the border of his relatives, 2. He raided and plundered his relatives.

25:23¹ ^{^} Read: יְאֻמַּץ ye’ūmmats, Pual.

25:23† ^{^} It is evident from the following history that Ē̒saw never served Ya‘aqōv̱ as either a servant or slave. This was the case 380 years later (cf. Num. 20:20) when Yisra’ēl came into the land. We don’t hear of any subjugation of E̓dōm until king Sha’ūl attacked it just after 1102 B.C., 871 years after the birth of the twins. E̓dōm’s service to Yisra’æl must have been in her destruction of the worst of the Canaanite elements, and in the protection that Ē̒saw offered Ya‘aqōv̱. For that is just what he did. Ya‘aqōv̱ tried to avoid accepting it from Ē̒saw, but Ē̒saw had changed his ways after Ya‘aqōv̱ had fled. As a result he was able to embrace his destiny on the favorable terms that Gŏd originally intended. Ē̒saw stayed out of Ya‘aqōv̱’s way and took up arms against the enemies of the sons of A̓v̱raham, and as a result became a very great nation for a very long time. The land of E̓dōm is also famous for Yōv̱ of the book of Job (cf. Lam. 4:21; Job 1:1; Gen. 36:4; 36:11, 15, 16; 1Chron. 1:35-36; Job 4:1; 15:1; 22:1; 42:7; Jer. 49:7; 49:20; Ezek. 25:13; Obad. 1:9; Hab. 3:3). It is evident that for a very long time E̓dōm kept the faith of A̓v̱raham.

26:12 ^{^} Hebrew: then; See 1:7¹

26:14¹ ^{^} Hebrew: then; See 1:7¹

26:14² ^{^} Hebrew: then; See 1:7¹

26:15¹ ^{^} Hebrew: then; See 1:7¹

26:19¹ ^{^} Hebrew: well of waters living ones. The waters were moving to the surface. This was an artesian well, where the water table pressure causes the water to spring up to the surface when an outlet is dug for it.

26:20¹ ^{^} = contention.

26:21¹ ^{^} = accusation.

26:22¹ ^{^} = spacious, wide.

26:23¹ ^{^} = well of seven. The usage here is slightly anchronistic since it is only later in this narrative that this well gets a name.

26:26¹ ^{^} repoint text so it reads: ‘from his herdsmen’ mæro‘æhu (מֵרֹעֵהוּ) defective for (מֵרֹעֵיהוּ); [well] holders = ạḥuzzot (אֲחֻזֺּת). The word is feminine and plural, and like English “land holders.” Both the Hebrew word for “land” and “well” are feminine in gender, so the idea here is holders of well rights.

26:27¹ ^{^} maddua‘ (מַדּוּעַ), ‘what being known.’

26:30¹ ^{^} Hebrew: “then, they ate; then, they drank;” (T); See 1:7¹; obviously they ate and drank at the same time, and not one after the other. This example shows the use of the waw consecutive where the time is simultaneous with the preceding clause. While the formal meaning of the Hebrew is thus, it is elegant in Hebrew and an awkward mouthful in English. Therefore the simpler translation.

26:33¹ ^{^} = seven.

27:36¹ ^{^} = he heels. This is equivalent to the English idiom, “He gave me the raw end of the deal.”

28:3¹ ^{^} = The High Gŏd.

28:11¹ ^{^} The place is the definitely known place from Gen. 22:4, namely Moriah. It was forty miles away from Beersheba, a three day journey, just east of Salem, where the future temple and crucifixion were to be. The Hebrew more literally reads, “he lighted on the place;” or “he encountered it, he met it.” It is as if he did not intend to arrange it so, but Gŏd arranged it so.

28:15¹ ^{^} or “past”; going past, beyond. The English “until” is often a faulty translation in that it implies only till a termination point, and does not go beyond it. The root of ‘ad (עַד) < (TWOT 1565) means ‘go on,’ ‘go by’, strong’s 5710, i.e. “for time immemorial and beyond” (לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד), or “onward time immemorial” (עַד־עוֹלָם).

28:19¹ ^{^} = house of Gŏd.

28:22† ^{^} Jacob’s promise begins in vs. 22 and not 22b, “and Yăhwēh will have been to me as Almĭghty” which other translations render, “then the LORD shall be my God.” Each of the forgoing clauses in the covenant conditions for Gŏd begins with a perfect, “and he will have kept me”, “and he will have given to me”, “and I will have returned”, “and Yăhwēh will have been to me”; this pattern breaks off in vs. 22 with a conjunctive waw with a noun phrase. The conjuctive waw often has the sense of “if...then;” Vs. 21, “and Yăhwēh will have been to me as Almĭghty” is one of Jacob’s conditions for Gŏd. If someone says “be a father for your son”, knowing that he is the father, what he is saying is act like one. Plainly Yăhwēh was Jacob’s Almĭghty from birth, so he is not saying what the other translations imply: that Jacob was in the marketplace for a deity. We know that in Genesis 35 Jacob fulfills his vow concerning Bethel. Yăhwēh is still his Almĭghty, but at that point he makes his house put away all the images. Other nations would not do this. They would merely demote the other images in favor of the High Gŏd. Even though Jacob’s house had brought images, via theft, and via plunder and captives, neither Jacob nor his sons, nor his wives served these gods. Rachel’s theft and defilement of Laban’s gods proves she had no fear of them. Jacob’s faithfulness had increased since he fled from Esau and returned. Yăhwēh had met all his needs, and so he would obey him completely, who had been his Almĭghty from birth.

29:15¹ ^{^} וַעֲבַדְתַּ֖נִי with waw consecutive.

29:26† ^{^} It appears here that the literal Hebrew supplies a reason or suggestion why the custom existed. The older daughter would be slighted if her opportunity to get married was passed in favor of a younger daughter. There are other ways in Hebrew to communicate the idea of mere temporal priority than to say “in the face of.” The use of the word firstborn in this context also reinforces the sense. The firstborn had her rights.

29:27¹ ^{^} I think the MT בַּעֲבֹדָה should be an infinitive construct with a 3fs pronoun: בְּעָבְדָהּ = in serving of her (for her).

29:28¹ ^{^} Yes, at the discourse level this is poor English grammer. But I thought it better to keep it literal in this case.

29:31¹ ^{^} The Hebrew idiom “hated” means “loved less,” or put in second place, given less priority. It does not always convey the active ill will that the English might imply.

29:32¹ ^{^} = Look! A son!

29:33¹ ^{^} = Heard!

29:34¹ ^{^} = Joined!

29:35¹ ^{^} Best derived from the Hophal of יְהוֹדֶה = יְהוּדֶה = may he be made praised, let him be given thanks. There is no theophoric component of the divine name in Yehudah, as the first example of a theophoric name in Scripture is Yehoshua, and the divine name was not revealed before Moses, who redacted it into his Genesis source material to replace an older title like El Shaddai.

30:1¹ ^{^} Hebrew = “I am dying”; the use of the participle in a future sense expresses the immediacy of the problem and her impatience.

30:6¹ ^{^} = he has judged.

30:8¹ ^{^} = my wrestlings.

30:11¹ ^{^} = Fortune; Fortune (in a good sense) may be defined as things beyond our control, or things that only Gŏd could control, but perhaps doesn’t. Gad was the fifth son, and the odds of five sons in a row are: ½⁵ = 1 in 32. A geniune property of chance is part of creation.

30:13¹ ^{^} = Happy; also: “bliss, blissful blessedness.”

30:17¹ ^{^} not counting the two from her maidservant. The odds of seven boys in a row: ½⁷ = 1 in 128.

30:18¹ ^{^} = in that.

30:18² ^{^} = there are wages.

30:20¹ ^{^} = exalted dwelling.

30:27¹ ^{^} Akk. cognate nah̬ās̆u, “to flourish, prosper.”

30:35¹ ^{^} Lav̱an. Ya‘aqōv̱ said he would separate the animals, but Lav̱an actually takes charge of doing it. Goats were normally black, and sheep normally white. A white goat or speckled white one would be Ya‘aqōv̱’s. A black sheep would also be his. It appears that Lav̱an is interpreting the agreement to his advantage as much as possible.

30:35² ^{^} The Hebrew word “sons” may mean grandson’s, as in this case.

30:36¹ ^{^} Lav̱an.

30:36² ^{^} The arrangement was this, Ya‘aqōv̱ would pasture Lav̱an’s flock out on the ranges three days distant (as an animal walks), and Ya‘aqōv̱’s sons (Lav̱an’s grandsons) would pasture Ya‘aqōv̱’s flock on the home front. This arrangement is not much unlike western cattlemen that send their herds into the mountains and high country to feed off of higher lusher pasture than in the lowland. This of course put Lav̱an’s flocks in the more productive region; it also gave Ya‘aqōv̱ relative privacy, harder work, and a lot of camping in the open. Lav̱an is correctly reasoning that separating the genetic stock of Ya‘aqōv̱ and keeping it on the home front will result in fewer future wages coming to Ya‘aqōv̱ from his own flock. Of course there are still recessive genetic traits in Lav̱an’s flock, and these would produce Ya‘aqōv̱’s wages.

30:37¹ ^{^} Platanus orientalis

30:40¹ ^{^} Hebrew: faces. The idea is pairings or the face off between animals in mating. By selecting the recessive males he was able to pass on the recessive trait to all the offspring. Some matings would still produce dominate traits, but the dominate trait gene pool would be steadily reduced.

30:40² ^{^} He was out on the range away from observant eyes. First he segregated Lav̱an’s flock by sex. Then he found the few streaked and dark males overlooked or recently born, and these he kept separate, to be brought to the watering troughs when the females of Lav̱an’s flock were brought to water. Soon he had a flock of streaked and dark animals out on the range for himself that Lav̱an could not call his, which he kept separate, male and female together. These produced only streaked and dark offspring. But he kept Lav̱an’s flock divided between male and female, and permitted only his stock to breed with the females. This genetic knowledge was likely passed down from his father and grandfather.

30:41¹ ^{^} = bound. The terms are being used like the way geneticists would use the terms dominant and recessive. The term “linked” I use for the animals whose traits are being bred i.e. “bound”, and the term weak for those lacking the wanted traits. The genetic traits could be traced by tagging the animals and keeping records of prior births. It is not clear why the rods caused mating to occur. The terms are defined in the context according to the trait he is breeding for. The main point to grasp is that the terms are not being used for the relative strength of the animials, but in a technical sense referring to genetic traits.

31:9¹ ^{^} Lav̱an changed the agreement because he saw that the genetics were not in his favor. Ya‘aqōv̱ had a hand in the outcome at first, but Lav̱an’s alterations made it much harder for Ya‘aqōv̱ to breed wages. It is at this point that Gŏd stepped in to determine the outcome, which is clearly recognized by Ya‘aqōv̱.

31:19¹ ^{^} These were forbidden images of deities. Raḥæl was not the only member of Ya‘aqōv̱’s household with foreign gods. In this time the gods were a form of ancestor worship or respect which people carried about with them, much like saints or saints relecs might be carried about today. Raḥæl certainly was convinced that Yăhwēh was supreme, but she may have still believed that these ancestor deities had some influence in favor of Lav̱an. By taking them, she was depriving him of their benefit. Later, it is made clear that Ya‘aqōv̱’s house was to keep no images of deities for any reason.

31:20¹ ^{^} mind, intelligence; to trick the mind.

31:23¹ ^{^} The Hebrew means “then he clung to him”; the sense is that of following close behind on a trail left by another; in English idiom to dog someone, or shadow them on the trail, to track closely.

31:27¹ ^{^} You stealthed me; you stole me.

31:29¹ ^{^} אֵל = might, power.

31:30¹ ^{^} = longing you have longed for.

31:34¹ ^{^} Hebrew: kar (כַּר); a saddle carriage or litter with cloth roof and walls. It was dismounted from the camel and used as a privacy booth inside the tent.

31:47¹ ^{^} = the witness pile. Lav̱an’s language is clearly a most ancient form of Aramaic and Ya‘aqōv̱’s Hebrew the ancient language of Canaan.

31:47² ^{^} = witness pile.

31:49¹ ^{^} = the lookout.

31:51¹ ^{^} Lav̱an is still angry and cannot credit Ya‘aqōv̱ with raising the pillar.

31:53¹ ^{^} The verb ‘judge’ is plural. Literally, ‘May they judge.’ Ya‘aqōv̱ will not swear by the ancestral deities so stated by Lav̱an. These ancestral gods were the gods of their common ancestor Teraḥ. Ironically, Raḥæl had stolen them, sat on them, and then Ya‘aqōv̱ had buried them (cf. 35v4). Ancestor worship is still widely practiced in the far east.

31:53b² ^{^} Ya‘aqōv̱ is subtlely reminding Lav̱an of the threat his living father Yitsḥaq could be to him, and that he puts no faith in Lav̱an’s dead ancestors to hold him to the covenant.

32:2† ^{^} מַחֲנֵה maḥanēh. The word also denotes a host, army, or ranked formation of people, a company.

32:2¹ ^{^} = two camps.

32:4¹ ^{^} Read: וְאֵחַר.

32:5¹ ^{^} Read: וְאֶשְׁלְחָה.

32:7¹ ^{^} English: be in a jam, caught between a rock and a hard place.

32:20¹ ^{^} אֲכַפְּרָה = let me wipe off; clear off; placate; appease.

32:28¹ ^{^} Gŏd commands.

32:28² ^{^} or ruled, or dominated.

32:30¹ ^{^} = face of Gŏd

33:10¹ ^{^} Read: וְתִּרְצֵנִי.

33:12¹ ^{^} Cohortative: וְאֵלְכָה. The traditional translations have missed this.

33:17¹ ^{^} Hebrew: su̧kkot.

33:17² ^{^} A place east of the Jordan. Ya‘aqōv̱ stopped for quite some time before crossing the river and built a settlement, which was a calculated delay to avoid going to Sē‘eer. The boys were lads at first, and grew to manhood here before the incident at Sheḳem in the next chapter.

33:18¹ ^{^} From the narrators point of view Ya‘aqōv̱ was not really home yet, because he had not crossed the Jordan, and because he had not yet reached his father.

33:19¹ ^{^} An unknown monetary unit; probably a weight of silver.

33:20† ^{^} = Gŏd Almighty of Israel = Mighty Almighty of Israel. The words וַיִּקְרָא־לוֹ mean “Then he called to Him”; This is equivalent to the phrase “Then he called on the name of Yăhwēh”: וַיִּקְרָא בְּשֵׁם יַהוֶה, Gen. 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25. This and other texts like it are translated, and interpreted such that that a divine title addressed only properly to Gŏd is ascribed by the traditional translations to the altar, but not all versions concur: The LXX is not incorrect: καὶ ἐπεκαλέσατο τὸν θεὸν Ισραηλ, neither the Vulgate: invocavit super illud. Neither version says that the altar was called the title showing that the translators understood the text.

34:3¹ ^{^} Hebrew: in, on.

34:3² ^{^} Hebrew: upon.

34:5¹ ^{^} Hebrew: and. Hebrew does not indicate discourse level senses, but leaves it to the logic of the reader, whereas English requires the logic to be explicit.

34:5² ^{^} Hebrew: and. See note 34:5¹.

34:7¹ ^{^} or “against”; Yisra´ēl is being used for the first time here as a national title. The phrase is put in for instructional value by Moses, and therefore is anachronistic.

34:8¹ ^{^} Hebrew on, in.

34:9¹ ^{^} The language is polite, but it appears to subtly show that Ḥamor believes he is in the stronger position.

34:10¹ ^{^} to, at.

34:10² ^{^} = travel around, go around, trade, traffic.

34:16¹ ^{^} Hebrew: waw conjunctive, “and”; in the “if...then” relation, the Hebrew discourse does not state an explicit then. It just follows with “and.” English requires “then.”

34:17¹ ^{^} See 34:16¹.

34:21¹ ^{^} See 34:10²

34:21² ^{^} רַחֲבַת־יָדַיִם = wide of hands of them = wider than their hands. This shows than an adjective can be taken as superlative and comparative in the construct. Since hand is an idiom for ability or power, Ḥamor is implying that the sons of Yisra´ēl will be assimilated by them.

34:23¹ ^{^} Ya‘aqōv̱ still had his vast wealth of livestock and servants. By marrying daughters to his sons, Ḥamor knew that this wealth would come into the families of his city. The selling point was money. If Ya‘aqōv̱’s sons had let Gŏd handle the matter, then Yisra´ēl would have been protected from the threat of assimulation and justice would have been done. What should be noticed was that Ya‘aqōv̱’s sons had not made giving up their false god’s part of the deal.

34:25¹ ^{^} It seems reasonable to suppose that they had become inflamed and caught a fever, so that they were too weak to fight. Stealth would surely have been lost at the outset of the attack, since the women would have raised an alarm. Shim‘on and Lȇvi probably had the command and loyalty of their father’s servants, and could have enlisted them in the attack. But the text is silent on this matter because the responsibility for the attack lay at the feet of Shim‘on and Lȇvi, and the scripture does not want to make a point of the fact that they had a militia at their disposal.

34:26¹ ^{^} = mouth.

34:27¹ ^{^} The narrator did not begin this verse with a waw conjunctive, no doubt to jolt the reader into an abrupt break. It may be supposed that he does not want to connect the other sons with the treachery of Shim‘on and Lȇvi, therefore he leaves out the conjunction, and presents it as a case of the other sons stumbling accross the bodies, as it were, just finding them there. This is a literary method of making a point without making a formal statement.

34:28¹ ^{^} The narrator has placed the verb phrase at the end of the sentence, and by doing so has laid as little emphasis on the taking as possible, and thus is absolving the sons in the matter of the plunder (but not Shim‘on and Lȇvi in their treachery), which was their due as compensation for their defiled sister. In the Torah, such cases, were dealt with by levying a huge fine, and then the defiled daughter could be kept from marriage if the father so wished it. The narrator is thus commenting on the justice of each act by his literary method.

34:29¹ ^{^} = in the house; but the article is generic, so the meaning is that they plundered everything that lay in a house, ie. all the houses of the town. English does not have this category, so the translation has to go, “in the houses.”

34:31¹ ^{^} = יַעֲשֶׂה; the verb may appear in the jussive without a waw conjunctive without being shortened. See Judges 11:37.

35:6¹ ^{^} = she.

35:7¹ ^{^} = Gŏd is in the House of Gŏd. The MT has an extra Ē̓l before “house of Ē̓l” so that the text reads, “Ē̓l of the house of Ē̓l,” or “Ē̓l in the house of Ē̓l” according to Rashi who points out that it is possible that a ב is missing in front of the word “house.” A similar case is 2 Sam. 9:4: הִנֵּה־הוּא בֵּית מָכִיר hinnæh hū’ bætʰ maḳi̱r. Also see Gen. 24:23: הֲיֵשׁ בֵּית־אָבִיךְ מָקוֹם לָנוּ לָלִין hayēsh bætʰ a̓v̱i̱ḳ maqōm lanū lali̱n. See also Gen. 38:11: וַתֵּשֶׁב בֵּית אָבִיהָ wattæshev̱ bætʰ a̓v̱i̱ha. It is very possible that בַּבָּיִת babayitʰ has been truncated to בֵּית bætʰ in these cases, or as a rule is to be understood. The LXX, Syriac, Latin, and Arabic versions solve the difficulty differently by eliminating the first Ē̓l. Either way, the name that stuck was Bætʰ-Ē̓l.

35:7† ^{^} The name of the place was Bæytʰ-Ē̓l, but what was proclaimed is Ē̓l is in Bæytʰ-Ē̓l. A translation like the NAS, “and called the place El-bethel” is very misleading when it implies that the place itself was called “God.”

35:8¹ ^{^} = oak of weeping.

35:9† ^{^} again: the first time was at Peni̱’ēl, Gen. 32:30.

35:9‡ ^{^} The narrative shows that he was still on his homeward journey, because he had not yet reached his father.

35:10¹ ^{^} = he heels.

35:10† ^{^} = “Gŏd commands,” or “Gŏd is boss” or “Gŏd rules.”

35:11† ^{^} = the High Gŏd. This is the title that Gŏd went by before the divine name was revealed.

35:15¹ ^{^} = house of Gŏd.

35:16¹ ^{^} prob. E̓phratʰ, and the ending is a directive heh.

35:18¹ ^{^} = son of my sorrow.

35:18² ^{^} = son of the right-hand.

35:19¹ ^{^} prob. E̓phratʰ, and the ending is a directive heh.

35:19² ^{^} = she.

35:19³ ^{^} = house of bread.

35:20¹ ^{^} = she.

35:20† ^{^} Ya‘aqōv̱’s narration extends to Gen. 37:2. So the pillar stood there up to the time of his writing.

35:21¹ ^{^} = flock tower.

35:22¹ ^{^} or “laid Bilhah.”

35:22¹ ^{^} = at that time.

35:27¹ ^{^} = she.

35:28¹ ^{^} = became.

35:29¹ ^{^} or “breathed his last” would be a comparate English idiom. Death is viewed as very shortly following the last breath.

35:8† ^{^} She had somehow come to Ya‘aqōv̱’s, house. Dev̱ōrah was of very great age, possibly around 170 years old at her death. Dev̱ōrah’s presence may explain partly Ya`ạqov̱’s long delay in coming to see his father, as he would have had news of his mother and father from her. What the nature of that news was we can only guess. We can only guess the reason for Ya`ạqov̱’s delay. He certainly did not want to become involved with his brother again, nor his mother’s manipulations. His mother was greatly responsible for a good deal of his suffering, yet she still loved her son greatly, and therein is probably the reason her nurse was left with him.

36:1¹ ^{^} = begettings.

36:1† ^{^} The custom was that when someone was putting an account written by another into their own account that the generations colophon is placed first in the added account rather than at the end of it. An author puts their colophon at the end of their narrative. But when another’s narrative is cited or included, then the external author’s colophon is placed first.

36:2¹ ^{^} Basmatʰ; The difference in the names of Ē̒saw’s wives reflects new names added at marriage or maiden names changed to married names. See Gen. 26:34.

36:2² ^{^} Yehūdi̱t the daughter of Be’ēri̱ the Ḥitti̱. A̒nah was given the name Be’ēri̱ [spring man] after his discovery of the hot springs. See vs. 24. It was not unusual for a man to have his name changed after a significant event in his life. Compare Gen. 32:28, Gen. 36:1.

36:2³ ^{^} The strict name here is Ḥivvi̱, but he is also called Ḥitti̱ in Gen. 26:34 in a general sense. The situation is like calling a man an American in a general sense and then a Navaho in a strict sense.

36:2¹ ^{^} = Maḥalat. A name change occurred.

36:5¹ ^{^} or Ye‘ūsh.

36:14¹ ^{^} or Ye‘ūsh.

36:24† ^{^} This A̒nah had his name changed to Be’ēri̱, and then he had a daughter O̓hōli̱v̱amah (Yehūdi̱t) who became the wife of Ē̒saw.

36:25¹ ^{^} This A̒nah (cf. v. 20) was the uncle of the nephew of the same name in vs. 24 that discovered the hot springs, and he also had a daughter named O̓hōli̱v̱amah who was the aunt of the wife of Ē̒saw of the same name. Naming children after aunts and uncles is not uncommon.

36:37¹ ^{^} prob. Euphrates.

37:2† ^{^} Ya‘aqōv̱’s account ends here. The next account was likely written by Yōsēf with the help of his brothers. Ya‘aqōv̱ clearly added only the first account of E̓dōm, the other two accounts concerning chiefs and kings were added later. Clearly the Masoretes did not know how to divide the text as they have run on two sentences together, and because they thought that the generations phrases were introductions to what followed. Modern translations, and translators have been greatly misled thereby. The generations colophon always ends the account of the person mentioned. The account only contains such information as that was known by the author, or could have been found out by the author. There are no more generations colophons following this one. But the best suited person to compile the remaining chapters of Genesis is Yōsēf in consultation with his brothers.

37:2b† ^{^} = brought the ill-word of (about) them, the bad one.

37:3¹ ^{^}A long robe of the palms. One reaching the hands and the feet. Such a fine garment was not suitable to work in, but fitting for someone who was put in charge.

37:19¹ ^{^} Hebrew idiom: a man = each one.

37:19² ^{^} or “master of dreams.”

37:17¹ ^{^} Dōtʰan is contracted from Dōtʰayin. It means “two cisterns.” It is a tell now.

37:22¹ ^{^} The pit could easily have been near at hand, and was a dry cistern near their temporary encampment, which they would have to move in a few days to keep the flocks from overgrazing. The area was sufficiently uninhabited to be a wilderness. Re’ūv̱ēn’s ploy was to point this out, which would result in a slow death. His brothers would not suspect his intention to rescue him, and Re’ūv̱ēn could come back when they moved on and rescue Yōsēf.

37:23¹ ^{^} = long robe of the palms, i.e. a long robe which reached the palms of the hand and the soles of the feet.

37:25¹ ^{^} = Yishme‘ē̓li̱m.

37:28¹ ^{^} Midyani̱m. There was a 50 year gap between the Ishmaelites and the Midianites. The later had about 130 years of time to multiply.

37:31† ^{^} Evidently they concealed from Re’ūv̱ēn the fact that they had sold him. For Re’ūv̱ēn Yōsēf was simply missing without an explanation, but he went along with the other brothers in providing a believable explanation.

37:32¹ ^{^} = if.

37:35¹ ^{^} = the grave.

38:1¹ ^{^} = justice of the people, unused root.

38:1² ^{^} = Nobility, unused root.

38:2¹ ^{^} = wealth.

38:3¹ ^{^} = watcher.

38:4¹ ^{^} = iniquity? But I doubt this meaning was intended.

38:5¹ ^{^} = ask, request?

38:5² ^{^} = deception.

38:6¹ ^{^} = palm.

38:8¹ ^{^} A verb formed from the word ‘brother-in-law’ or ‘husband’s brother.’ To ‘brother-in-law her’ means to marry the widow of one’s childless brother in order to raise up offspring for the dead brother-in-law.

38:9† ^{^} אִם i̱̓m = if. It was not just a one time occurence as the versions imply.

38:9¹ ^{^} = and; but English discourse requires “then.”

38:11¹ ^{^} the preposition “in” is frequently omitted before the word “house” in Hebrew.

38:12¹ ^{^} = over, upon.

38:12² ^{^} = 3fs, 3ms future of root מנה manah = count, number, recokon, assign. תִּמְנֶה timnēh = she will count.

38:14¹ ^{^} = two springs.

38:16¹ ^{^} = stretched.

38:21¹ ^{^} Pagan temples raised money by recruiting women to serve as prostitutes. The women would receive the food and shelter of the temple and whatever false spiritual blessing the priests could think up, and the temple priests received the money paid for prostitute services. Canaanite religion between the time of Abraham and the Conquest devolved into a mixture of religious sexual perversions and child sacrifice. Western culture is half way there with abortion and the ordaining of homosexuals.

38:21² ^{^} = in this [one].

38:22¹ ^{^} = in this [one].

38:24¹ ^{^} כְּמִשְׁלֹשׁ kimishlosh = accordingly out of three. The preposition min appears used here to mean “more than, above, beyond” in a comparative sense.

38:26¹ ^{^} =upon thus, upon so.

38:29¹ ^{^} = breaking out. Read the verb: וַיִּקָּרֵא wayyiqqaræ’ as Niphal.

38:30¹ ^{^} Read verb Niphal.

38:30² ^{^} = rising up.

39:1¹ ^{^} מִצְרָיִם mitsrayim = two boundaries, two districts; refers to upper and lower Egypt.

39:1² ^{^} מִצְרִי Mitsri.

39:1³ ^{^} Ishmaelites.

39:2¹ ^{^} מִצְרִי Mitsri.

39:5¹ ^{^} מִצְרִי Mitsri.

39:9¹ ^{^} = to.

39:11¹ ^{^} = time.

39:13¹ ^{^} to make to be laughing (at) in us.

39:17¹ ^{^} to make to be laughing.

39:20¹ ^{^} An unknown Egyptian word borrowed by Hebrew here.

40:1¹ ^{^} = to.

40:4† ^{^} Possibly the vowel pointing יָמִים yamim should be יוֹמָיִם yomayim = יֹמָיִם yomayim = two days. If such is the case, then the dreams were interpreted on the third day after they had been put in jail, and then the sentences were carried out on the third day from when the dreams were interpreted. If this speculation is not so, then the text would just read “days” without the word “two”, and would have to be an indefinite period of time.

40:10¹ ^{^} = branches or offshoots of the main vine.

40:10² ^{^} = she.

40:10³ ^{^} = her.

40:11¹ ^{^} = gave.

40:13† ^{^} בְּעוֹד be‘ōd = within. This is a matter of utmost importance to the messianic application. The raising is “within three days,” and not more. The dream was interpreted just after daybreak, and so the timing limit is that day and the next night, a day and night, and a day and night. Messiah was put under guard on the 4th day of the week, and put to death on that day, and then he was raised on the 7th day of the week, just before daybreak, which was all “within three days.”

40:14¹ ^{^} i.e. along with you. He will remember his stay with Yōsēf in the jail.

40:14² ^{^} = and. English discourse requires then to go with the preceeding “if.” Hebrew does not.

40:15¹ ^{^} a subjunctive with the perfect.

40:15† ^{^} As noted before, this could be the third day from when Pharaoh’s chiefs were put into the jail. The term “pit” is part of the messianic theme. Both the type of the resurrection and the crucifixion happen on the third day.

40:16† ^{^} or “really?!”; אַף a̓f; said with at least a slight note of skepticism, and perhaps unbelief.

40:20¹ ^{^} מִשְׁתֶּה from מַשְׁתֶּה = mashtēh = a making drunk. Not suprisingly this word is never used for the feasts of Yăwhēh.

41:1† ^{^} The Hebrew year is determined by a number of days, i.e. 365 or 366, and the boundary of the days is the מִקֵּץ miqqæts of the year. See Gen. 4:1. This date is known as the spring equinox, when the sun rises due east and sets due west. Ancient Egypt marked the day of the equinox with a festival, so it is quite evident that they observed the sun’s movements and marked the day. The festival is now called, “Sham el Nisseem”; (its date has been moved off of the spring equinox since the Christian Era.) Pharaoh’s dreams, therefore, were on the date of the spring equinox in 1851 B.C., and the occurence of an Egyptian feast on that day would make it easier for the historian to remember. This is why the date is stated so precisely here. The usual translations, “after” (ESV) or “end” (JPS, NAS) are somewhat imprecise. The Hebrew word means a limit or boundary. The translators have also left off the words “of days” which is only in Young and here. They have tossed it off as if it were a redundant detail. It is not redundant, but defines the unit by which the length of a year is measured. It is helpful in discarding other means of measuring the length of a year, such as in terms of months. The agricultural year is measured in months starting in the fall, and the solar year is measured in days starting with the spring equinox.

41:1¹ ^{^} up on the bank.

41:3¹ ^{^} Hebrew anthropomorphistic idiom meaning edge or bank.

41:4¹ ^{^} = the appearance.

41:4² ^{^} = the flesh.

41:5¹ ^{^} = flowings. The English anthropomorphism “ear of grain” is not used in the Hebrew. But the meaning is the same. The Hebrew word “flowings” is used, so to speak as flowing grain, or dangling, cascading, hanging down.

41:8¹ ^{^} diviner, astrologer, magician. Every form of divination is meant, not just celestial divination. Divination was accorded special social and professional status in ancient kingdoms, and was not generally viewed as superstition by the public.

41:9¹ ^{^} Hebrew idiom: הַיּוֹם hayyōm = today.

41:14¹ ^{^} dungeon.

41:16† ^{^} אֶת־שְׁלוֹם e̓t shelōm; the phrase does not appear to be suggesting a favorable answer.

41:17¹ ^{^} = bank. Hebrew anthropomorphistic idiom.

41:23¹ ^{^} = of; construct.

41:30¹ ^{^} or: spent.

41:42¹ ^{^} = the gold; generic article.

41:43¹ ^{^} אַבְרֵךְ a̓v̱ræk; the meaning meant is: הִבָּרֵךְ hibbaræḳ = bow yourself.

41:45† ^{^} according to Egyptologist Kitchen: ‘Joseph who is called (I)pi-ankh.” (Yōsēf who recognizes life.) The meaning remains controversial, but Kitchen’s arguments for the 12th dynasty are most convincing.

41:45¹ ^{^} = she who belongs to you.

41:45² ^{^} an idolatrous name, ‘whom Ra has given’ (Kitchen).

41:47† ^{^} A fistful may seem like a small amount of grain, but the picture here is how much grain one can pluck with one hand from the heads. At maximum yield a hand can grasp perhaps 24 heads sweeping an area of havest ready heads some 5 in by 10 in. One cannot reach much more grain than that as heads will begin to slip out of the hand. In my wheat harvesting days I would sweep up a handful of grain heads and then thresh them by rubbing and blowing, and by this method you can end up with a fistful of grain when the yields are high. When threshed out, this many heads will produce about 600 grains, which is the most one can fit into a closed fist with no grain showing between the fingers. The figures correspond to 88 bushels/acre. Irrigated wheat can produce up to 120 bushels/acre.

41:48¹ ^{^} = the.

41:51¹ ^{^} = making to be forgotten.

41:52¹ ^{^} = I am doubly fruitful.

41:57¹ ^{^} לִשְׁבֹּר = lishbōr. The root means “to break”; the buying and selling of grain might more literally be rendered “broker grain”; the noun שֶׁבֶר shev̱er means “grain” (42:1). Grain is typically shattered out of its husks when threshed, which gives a connection between the root “break” and the noun sense “grain.”

41:57† ^{^} This famine of all famines came in 1843 b.c., which was 640 years after the flood. The ice age reached a maximum about 500 years after the flood. It ended with a massive melt down of ice sheets, which caused a worldwide climatic change, massive flooding, and mass extinctions. At the end of the ice age cooler temperatures would have led to widespread drought in upland areas. The lowlands would be flooded. So the Nile would flood wiping out crops rather than watering them, and the other parts of Egypt would experience drought. Similar conditions would prevail over the rest of the earth. It would be possible to plant crops in lowland areas where rain would fall only when the flooding stopped.

42:6¹ ^{^} hegemon.

42:7¹ ^{^} intensive plural.

42:8¹ ^{^} = then.

42:19¹ ^{^} = cell.

42:20† ^{^} The Hebrew narrative of Yōsēf’s words appears less fluent, because he was using a translator, who perhaps did not learn Hebrew perfectly.

42:21¹ ^{^} = because.

42:21² ^{^} = unto.

42:24† ^{^} Re’ūv̱ēn was acquitted by his attempts to rescue Yōsēf. Shimo̒n was the next oldest, and therefore, the most responsible.

42:25¹ ^{^} = of.

42:27¹ ^{^} = the one; generic article.

42:27² ^{^} the lodging; generic article.

42:29¹ ^{^} = the encounterings with them.

42:30¹ ^{^} intensive plural.

42:30² ^{^} intensive plural.

42:30³ ^{^} = gave.

42:33¹ ^{^} = the one.

42:33² ^{^} = of.

42:36¹ ^{^} = these things, 3fp ending.

42:37¹ ^{^} = upon.

42:38¹ ^{^} = ye.

42:38² ^{^} = then.

42:38³ ^{^} = on her (it).

43:7¹ ^{^} idiom = command.

43:9¹ ^{^} English discourse requires then to follow an if; Hebrew does not.

43:10¹ ^{^} = this.

43:11¹ ^{^} = song, music.

43:14¹ ^{^} = the high Gŏd.

43:15¹ ^{^} possibly a directional heh has been omitted in the vowel pointing.

43:18¹ ^{^} possibly a directional heh has been omitted in the vowel pointing.

43:18² ^{^} = in.

43:20¹ ^{^} = בִּי bi̱ = on me. Only one person is doing the speaking on behalf of all.

43:21¹ ^{^} = then.

43:30¹ ^{^} = mercies.

43:30² ^{^} = the room; generic article.

43:30³ ^{^} = toward there; directive heh.

44:2¹ ^{^} = of.

44:5¹ ^{^} English: that.

44:5² ^{^} = your sack.

44:9¹ ^{^} = and. English discourse requires then with a conditional statement, Hebrew does not.

44:15† ^{^} = ye.

44:18¹ ^{^} as you, as Phara̒ōh.

44:26¹ ^{^} = and. English discourse requires then with a conditional statement, Hebrew does not.

44:28¹ ^{^} = onward there.

44:31¹ ^{^} = and. English discourse requires then with a conditional statement, Hebrew does not.

44:32¹ ^{^} = from with.

44:32² ^{^} = and. English discourse requires then with a conditional statement, Hebrew does not.

45:3¹ ^{^} = from.

45:4¹ ^{^} = sold me.

45:6¹ ^{^} English: these.

45:6† ^{^} The second year of famine was fall 1843 to fall 1842 B.C. The remaining five years were fall 1842 B.C. to fall 1837 B.C.

45:7¹ ^{^} = then.

45:9¹ ^{^} = stand.

45:13¹ ^{^} = ye.

45:15¹ ^{^} = so, thus.

45:16¹ ^{^} witness, proclamation.

45:21¹ ^{^} English: at the word of; at the command of.

45:24¹ ^{^} = quaked, excited.

46:7† ^{^} The plural here refers to daughters-in-law, which are not counted in the numbering, and to Di̱nah, who is counted in the numbering.

46:12¹ ^{^} = then.

46:12‡ ^{^} The unusual construction here means that the inheritance of Æ̒r and Ō̓nan was transferred to Ḥetsrōn and Ḥamūl.

46:23† ^{^} The plural sons here is a formalism also seen in 1Chron. 2:8; 2:42.

46:26† ^{^} The subtotals are 33, 16, 14, and 7, which sum up to 70. The 66 figure omits: Ya‘aqōv̱ himself, making the first figure 32; and Yōsēf, Menashēh and E̓phrayim, making the third firgure 11. Thus 32, 16, 11, and 7 are 66. Mentioned, but not counted are Ya‘aqōv̱’s wives and daughter-in-laws.

46:27¹ ^{^} הַבָּאָה haba’ah, 3fs perfect with def. article. used as a relative.

46:27† ^{^} This figure still excludes the wives and daughters-in-law.

46:29¹ ^{^} = bound.

46:29² ^{^} עוֹד ō̒d = continually.

46:33¹ ^{^} = works.

46:34¹ ^{^} = of.

47:2† ^{^} מִקְצֵה miqtsæh = extremity, end, boundary. The idea here is that he took the most craggy sun tanned men, or the shortest and meanest looking so that Phara̒ōh would not be tempted to make them anything but shepherds. Yōsēf was attempting to protect the independence of his brothers.

47:6¹ ^{^} = and; English discourse requires then after a conditional statement, but Hebrew does not.

47:9† ^{^} The 130th year of Ya‘aqōv̱’s life was spring 1842 to spring 1841 B.C. The first half of it overlaps the second half of the second year of famine, and the second half of it overlaps the first half of the third year of famine.

47:14† ^{^} Years 3-5 of the famine, 1842-1839 B.C.

47:13¹ ^{^} = from.

47:18† ^{^} The sixth year of the famine, 1839-1838 B.C.

47:20† ^{^} The seventh year of the famine, 1838-1837 B.C.

47:22¹ ^{^} = from with.

47:23† ^{^} It is now the year of jubilee after the seven years of famine, 1837-1836 B.C.

47:23¹ ^{^} הֵא hæ’; rare Aramaic interjection: look now, behold, lo.

47:24¹ ^{^} בַּתְּבוּאֹת battev̱ū’ōt = in the coming. The word translates “income,” but it has none of the technical English meaning. It just means what comes in by way of a harvest.

47:24² ^{^} = and. English discourse requires then. Hebrew does not.

47:24³ ^{^} one handful for the king, and four handfuls for the farmer. This tax amounts to 20%.

47:26¹ ^{^} at least as far as the time when the narrative was first written. Even today, 20% is considered a fair rent for usage of farm land in the United States, but the biblical precedent is followed only when the owner owns the land free of other taxes, and the renter pays only 20% free of other taxes.

47:29¹ ^{^} = of.

47:29¹ ^{^} אֱמֶת ’emet; “n.f. firmness, faithfulness, truth (contracted from אֱמֶנֶת ’emenet from אָמֵן ’amæn)” (BDB).

47:30¹ ^{^} English discourse would prefer to use “when” here. But the reader should perceive how catering to English at the discourse level tends to conflict with the Hebrew discourse method.

47:30² ^{^} English discourse would prefer to use “then” here.

48:3† ^{^} = The High Gŏd. Æ̓l Shaddai was the original “name” for Gŏd used in the Genesis sources. Mōshēh replaced most of the occurences with the personal divine name Yăhwēh leaving Æ̓l Shaddai in a number of places to indicate what the original source said. He even filled the divine name into direct discourse (cf. Gen. 4:1; 5:29; 9:26; 10:9; 14:22; 15:2; 15:7, 8, etc.) We observe no theophoric place names or personal names in Genesis using part of the divine name. See Exodus 6:3.

48:3‡ ^{^} Lūz = Bēt-Æl. The name Bēt-Æl was only known to Ya‘aqōv̱’s family. Lūz was the widely known Canaanite name.

48:4¹ ^{^} = me.

48:4² ^{^} = given.

48:5¹ ^{^} or “past”; Ya‘aqōv̱ means going back before he came. This usage of עַד ‘ad shows that its range of meaning is much greater than English “until.”

48:7¹ ^{^} likely she died in his arms.

48:7² ^{^} an unknown distance related to the side of an area of land.

48:9¹ˉ¹ ^{^} or “here.”

48:12¹ ^{^} = with.

48:13¹ ^{^} = from.

48:13² ^{^} = from.

48:15† ^{^} LXX: με ἐκ νεότητος. The reading of the MT: מֵעוֹדִי mæ‘ōdi̱, appears to be corrupted from מִנְּעֻרַי minn‘ūrai̱. See the same phrase construction in 1Sam. 12:2.

48:16† ^{^} הַמַּלְאָךְ hammal’aḳ. The Messenger of Yăhwēh is meant, whom Yisra’ēl struggled with at “face of Gŏd” Peni̱’ēl (Gen. 32:24-30).

48:19† ^{^} יִהְיֶה מְלֹא־הַגּוֹיִם yihyēh melō’ haggōyim. Gŏd’s plan for the nations that had gone astray, (and all eventually would without the divine intervention promised in the case of Yisra’ēl) was to displace them or to integrate them into the seed of Yisra’ēl by muliplying E̓phrayim. Therefore all the nations will end up being descended from Yisra’ēl. The phrase “fullness of the nations” is a catch phrase meaning those nations descended from E̓phrayim by the assimulation of E̓phrayim into the nations via exile and intermarriage. Paul uses the phrase in Rom. 11:25, to say that Yisra’ēl will be hardened until “the fullness of the nations can come in” (τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσέλθῃ). By this he means that Yisra’ēl’s unfaithfulness will only end when non-Jewish Yisra’ēl is reunited with Jewish Yisra’ēl under Messiah. The nations that rebelled against the Almĭghty are written off as being under judgment, and the only way they can receive mercy again is to seek it through identification with Yisra’ēl by inclusion in the covenant. It may be noted that this requirement only kicks in with nations that nationally rebelled against the Almĭghty. Thus there were exceptions during the life of A̓v̱raham, and up until the time that Yisra’ēl came into the land, namely Yishma‘ē̓l, Zimran, and Yoqshan, and Medan, and Midyan, and Yishbaq, and Shua̯ḥ. The only other nation not in the covenant was E̓dōm. All these nations were blessed and saved so long as they served the Gŏd of heaven, but the time came when they all rebelled, and therefore those from these nations, and all other nations can only be restored to the true faith through the covenant of A̓v̱raham, Yitsḥaq, and Ya‘aqōv̱. All the saved are thus legally and covenantally identified with Yisra’ēl after that point in which all the other descendants fell away. This passage signals Gŏd’s intent not only to make it covenantly so, but to make it biologically so.

48:20¹ ^{^} = then.

49:5† ^{^} A word whose precise meaning is not known. However it is almost certainly from the root I. מָכַר “to buy” or “to sell”; in the noun form it would be a “deal” or a “sales-job”; HALOT suggests “plan” or “recommendation” and classifies as a II. root. However, I tend to view the two roots as united, and thus a meaning like “business proposition” must be correct. For this is exactly what they did with Ḥamor and Sheḳem, and it probably relates to the sale of Yōsēf as it was Shimō̒n and Lēvi̱ that Yehūdah really had to get to go along with the suggestion to sell Yōsēf.

49:6² ^{^} BDB, “goodwill, favour, acceptance”; self-will or wilfulness does not make the grade here. Shimō̒n and Lēvi̱ put on complete duplicity with Ḥamor and Sheḳem.

49:6¹ ^{^} vote, influence.

49:6† ^{^} The translation “oxen” as plural is incorrect. A שׁוֹר shōr is an ox. Ox sounds like sar (שַׂר), which means prince. The term refers to Sheƙ̣em. It is possible that the middle vowel was not present in the original text. YLT renders it “prince.”

49:10‡ ^{^} The word שֵׁבֶט shæv̱et does not necessarily mean scepter. It means a rod or staff. No tribe of Yisra’ēl was given a royal right by Ya‘aqōv̱. The promise is that tribal authority and legislative expertise will remain with the tribe of Yehūdah until Messiah comes. It should be noted that the scepter did depart from Yehūdah long before Messiah came, as far as kingship is concerned. But even if the tribe of Binyami̱m had retained the kingship, this does not mean that the prophecy would be falsified. The tribe of Yehūdah is being promised a continuity of rule, even if that continuity is interrupted by its own sins. A high place in any kingdom or high position in legislation and administration would suffice to fulfill the prophecy. We see that Calēv̱ and his sons held a very important position under Yehōshū‘a. Also we see that men of Yehūdah held high positions under the king of Babylon. From Yehūdah were chosen the men for design of the Tabernacle. So we see that even though Yehūdah was not given a guarantee of royalty, Yehūdah was always at the head of administration and law, even when exiled to Babylon. Even when the rest of the kingdom was torn away from Yehūdah, that tribe itself still managed to rule itself. And as far as I can tell Jews have always mananged to hold high positions in many nations disproportionate to their numbers in areas of law and administration.

49:10† ^{^} shi̱lōh (שִׁילֹה), but BHS attests to the variant shelōh (שֶׁלֹה). The ה suffix is simply a place holder for the final ō vowel which is the same as וֹ, and means “he” or “it.” The pronoun refers to the scepter or rod. The prefix שֶׁ is a short form of אֲשֶׁר. The meaning is confirmed by Eze. 21:27 [21:32], which passage is about the sceptre departing from Judah, “A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it, yea this [crown] will not have been until he has come whom to him [is] the judgment, and I will have given him [it].” Eze. 21:26 has just referred to the removal of the crown from Judah. The key words are: עַד־בֹּא אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ הַמִּשְׁפָּט, which are the parallel to “until he has come whom [is] to him obedience.” The one to whom belongs the judgment and the obedience of the peoples is the Messiah. Ya‘aqōv̱ is not determining here that the Messianic line will pass through Yehūdah, but he is prophesying his great influence in the government until Messiah comes to rule over the nations. The reading of the NIV is substantialy correct, “until he comes to whom it belongs.” So also the LXX: ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ τὰ ἀποκείμενα αὐτῷ = until he should come that one it is laid up for.

49:10¹ ^{^} or “comes to it”

49:11¹ ^{^} The Kethib is here עִירֹה ‘i̱rōh = his colt. The word for “he” is an aramaism, just as in 49:10. The written text here reinforces the correctness of the BHS reading shelōh.

49:11† ^{^} Kethib: סוּתֹה sūtōh = his garments. Again the written text is correct over what is supposed to be read in place of it. The usage simply reflects the fact that Ya‘aqōv̱ spent a lot of time speaking Aramaic with Lav̱an.

49:13¹ ^{^} = great sea; intensive plural.

49:14¹ ^{^} or “the ash heaps,” “the fireplaces” (הַמִּשְׁפְּתָיִם hammishpetayim)

49:19¹ ^{^} or “attack;” See JPS.

49:22¹ ^{^} i.e. a branch of a fruit tree. It’s daughters are branches off of the branches. The meaning is plain by the gender agreements which cannot be represented in English.

49:23¹ ^{^} It would seem the sons of Yishma‘ē̓l are meant here.

49:24¹ ^{^} Poetic name of Gŏd; the Strong One.

50:9¹ ^{^} or “weighty”; rich; glorious.

50:10¹ ^{^} = bramble, buckthorn.

50:17¹ ^{^} = in.

50:22¹ ^{^} read waw conjunctive: וִיחִי.

50:26¹ ^{^} = ark, chest. Same word as the ark of the covenant.

EHSV Genesis

Translated by Daniel Gregg