Notes on the text of the book of Genesis : with an appendix online

dicate to DTT'MI.

6. ^"^rjton^V The LXX, Pesh., Vulg., and some
moderns render, ' lo look at J or ' regard,' a meaning which
b^^^T\ never has. Render, ' to hecoine wise! lit. ' to gain
insight; Di. 'nm Eiiisicht zu gewinnen! Rashi's note here

is yil niD '•V'lV rh ^?:^ IDD 'compare his saying to her, ''know-
ing good and evil." '

75^^^1. Pausal form of b^^*' ; cf Ges., § 29. 4 c, note,
with § 68. I. The LXX and Sam. read li?DK''l (plural), the
waw might have arisen out of the following waw in n^npsni.
The plural is not necessary.

7. DPf Qnil^^ir *'J. The pronoun stands here by M. R.,
§ 125; cf. ver. 11; and Ges., § 141. 4.

n:^^n rhv, Xw.'leaf of a fig; i.e. fig-lea/; here collec-
tive, 'â– fig-leaves!

Qn7 Itoyi ' a?id they made themselves! The personal
pronoun is used for the reflexive, as often with this verb ; cf.
Ges., § 135. 3 ; M. R., § 89 a ; Dav., S., § 11 b.

8. 7"lp, not ''the voice! but 'the sound; as in 2 Sam. 5, 24.
I Kings 14, 6. Render, ' The sound of Y. (while) walking (ace.)
i7i the garden! and cf Driver, p. 204; Dav., S., § 70.

D1*^n TTTO. 'About the cool of the day; so 8, 11 niy nyi?
^ about eventide ;' 17, 21 ntn *iy')Di' ' about this date ;^ also Is. 7,
15 inyi7 'about (the time of) his knowing ; ' cf Ges., § 119. 3c;



40 GENESIS,



M. R., § 51. 2. In the East, towards evening a cool breeze
springs up (cf. Song of Songs 2, 17. 4, 6) and the Oriental
goes out ; so 24, 63 nnyn ^\^^ih. The LXX render well t6
bfLkivou. In 18, I the noontide is called DIM DH '/ke heat of
the day' (LXX, excellently, [xearjfx^plas); Abraham being
described as sitting in the door of his tent.

9. 115''^. The suffix (as it is pointed) is a verbal one ;
cf. Ges.,"§ 100. 5 ; M. R., § 39; ^^.;^? standing for nSfJS; cf.
Prov. 2, II nsn.V^ri, and with the nun, Jer. 22, 24 Jl^p^l^Jl;
see Ges., § 58- 4 ; Dav., §31.5. Stade, § 355 b. 3, remarks
that 'It is due to false analogy if the Pausal suffix J]-^ is
transferred from the verb to a noun/ and cites with this
passage, Prov. 25, 16 ^n> and other instances. It is possible,
however, that the vowel points in these cases are not to be
trusted as they stand in our texts.

The n at the end of n^^X is merely a scriptio plena (found
both in obj. and subj. suffixes), — as Prov. 2, 11 riDiV^n ; cf
ver. 12 nnn^. Ex. 15, II r\ya2 (twice). I Sam. i, 26 ri^Dy, —
and in no way affects the sense.

10. "^^2^^. The Mass. note here is ^yi?D, i.e. the word is,
contrary to rule, accented on the penult.; cf. Ges., § 29. 4 c;
Dav., § 10. 5 b. As a rule the vowel in pause is lengthened,
this cannot take place here as the vowel is already long.
The accents :-^, -^, and (sometimes) — usually effect this
lengthening, when it is possible, in pause. Here the minor
distinctive accent — {Tifcha) exercises a pausal influence,



' On the forms of the Imperf. with the suffix and so-called nun
demonstrative or energetic, the reader may consult Wright, Cornp. Gram.
p. 193 f. It should be remembered that the nnn belongs not to the
suffix, but to the energetic form of the Imperf., which is still preserved
in Arabic.



CHAP. 3, VERS. 9-13. 41

there being a sufficient break in the sense for the voice
naturally to rest; cf. Driver, § 103, and 15, 14 ^"Jpj^^l (the tone
drawn back and the vowel lengthened), which the Massoretes
have not noticed, nns* and nny, like ^3JS*, transfer the
accent to the penult, in pause.

11. Tlil^ lI^^V "^2 is really the object to.Tjn ''JD, see
]\L R., § 161 b, where it is designated 'an object sentence;'
cf. I, 4 and Dav., ^S'., § 146.

^il TH , . Tli'n is used regularly to negative the inf cstr. after
b; cf.Ges., §114.3- R- 2 ; M. R., § 140. R. a; Dav., ^, § 95.

]^n. On the pointing of n interrog., see Ges., § 100. 4,
s.p.; Dav., § 49. 2. Here n introduces a simple interrogative
sentence (cf. Ges., § 150. 2; M. R., § 143; Dav., S., § 122),
the answer being uncertain (affirmative or negative). nS"I =
Latin nomie, the answer expected being in the affirmative.

12. "^"I^I? ♦ , ♦ ntl^Sn, a casus pendeiis. ^ The woman
which etc. . . . she gave me! ^^"l^ is resumptive and is inserted
for emphasis; see Ges., § 135. i. Rem. 2; Driver, §§ 123. Obs.
199 ; cf 15, 4 ^K^T^ Nin TV^?^ ^^^ "^^^ D^< ^3 ; 24, 7 . » . niiT
rh& Nin riNrn. The casus pendens is often used to relieve
a long and unwieldy sentence. See also Dav., S., § 106.

/^^^V The pausal form of the ist person. In ver. 6
we have /^^ oo1, using different words in the two parts of
the clause, but giving C]-i:i' a similar sense in each half. Onq.
paraphrases ^â– ^^ ^^\ r??"]^^^ '^\^ ?1?V1 ^'9 0^] "^^?1 ^'^^ ^'''"^



44 GENESIS,



: NSiDp Hv "1tp3 ' he will remember against thee what thou hast
done to him from the beginnitig, and thou wilt guard agaifist hi??i
to the end! Targg. Jon. and Jer. paraphrase widely, but seem
to have rendered fj^C' ^ crush!

1 6. nnnt^ n3,")n 'â– with a multiplying^ I ivill multiply'^
i.e. ^ I ivill greatly multiply ;' cf. the rule on 2, 16. n2"i has
two forms for the inf. abs. Hifil : (i) ^rP'^ (which would be
the regular form) used as an adverb; (2) niinn, see Ges.,
§ 75. iv. Rem. 15 : only here and 16, 10. 22, 17.

^^I'^m ^]i:}!^y. Not a hendiadys, ' the pain 0/ thy con-
ception! but ' thy pain and {especially') thy conception : ' waw
attaching iht particular ^Jlin to the general "JJnvy; cf. Ps. 18,
I. Is. 2, i; and see Ges., § 154, foot-note b. J1"in is an
abnormal formation, which occurs nowhere else in the O. T.
The abs. state is py\ (Hos. 9, 11. Ruth 4, 13). cstr. p^"jn;
with suffix ^PTI^ and shortened ^i'.i"'^; see Stade, § 296. 2.

"jnplirn. The LXX here, and 4, 7, render with a-no-
(TTpo(f)r], possibly reading '^nniC'n ; cf. their rendering in i Sam.
7, 1 7. Frankel, Einfluss^ p. 10, suggests that the LXX render-
ing is a free euphemistic translation of the Heb. word. The
word nplC^n is only found once again outside the book of
Genesis, viz. in the Song of Songs 7,11 inpltJ'n "'S?i?"l nni> '•JN ;

LXX, cyo) TO) dSeXc^tSo) /iov, koi eV e/xe r] iTTiarpocpr) avTov.

17. D"Tt^7^. On the pointing £^'^^^1, adopted by some,
see the note on 2, 20.

"^"^"Il^yn . The LXX (eV toI? epyois (tov) and Vulg. (' ift
opere tuo') seem to have read "JlUy, which they apparendy
took as '^^'^ny. Tuch considers the variant as perhaps due to
the parallel passage 4, 12. Cf. also Geiger, Urschrift, p. 456.

18. mil yip. Cf. Hos. 10, 8. Only in Isaiah do we



CHAP. 3, VERS. 16-20. 45

find the phrase T)^^) TDC', e. g. Is. 5, 6. nil occurs but
once again in Hos. 1. c.

nT'wl^l. Notice the place of the tone, which has been
thrown forward one place by waw conv. with the perfect ; see
for details, Driver, §§ 106, no : cf. also Ges., § 49. 3; M. R.,
§ 23; and Dav., § 23. 3.

19. nri/ /!2^^n. For position of tone, see note on
4, 17-

nni^^n h^ "fmty IV, On the construction, see Ges.,
§ 114. 2. 3; M. R., § Til b; Dav., S., §§ 91, 92; cf. on 2, 4.
Render, ' mi/i'l thou return;^ ^31^^ (as Arabic shews; see
Wright, Arab. Gram.^ i. p. 311) is to be regarded as a subst.
in the genitive case after iy. Cf. Ges., I.e. i b.

HwOO ''^. Some render, ^from which thou wast taken'
lit. ^ which from it thou wast taken ;' ""S being regarded as
equivalent to the relative "IK'N; so in 4, 25; for constr. cf.
Ges., § 138. I ; M. R., § 156 : so all the Vss. here and in 4,
25, except the Sam., which has A-Z^ here and "Yii in 4, 25.
But as the passages cited in defence of this are not conclusive,
it is better to render 'â– for' here and in 4, 25. ^ Until thou
returnest unto the ground; for thou ivast taken from it ' (pause,
this half of the verse being marked off from the second half
by Alhnach [^, the second strongest prose accent) : 'for
dust thou art,' etc.

20. rr\r\='Life' or 'Living^ not 'Life-giver' H^n^.Tn,
the form used here is antiquated in Heb., but Nin = iTn
vixit, is preserved in Phoenician (Di.). LXX here Zoj;, in
the other passage where it occurs (4, i) Ei/n. Zwj^ is probably
intentionally used by the LXX, being occasioned by the ex-
planatory addition ''"i:*! nnM Nin ^3. Cf. also C. P. Ges., sub voc.



46

2 2. 'â– AndYahweh Elohim said, Behold the man hath become
as one of us, so as to know . . . and now that he may not stretch
forth his hand aJid take' etc.

1^?2?2 "THh^D . On the construct state before the prepo-
sition, see Ges.j § 130. i; M. R., § 73. Rem. a; Dav., S., § 35.
R. 2. It is especially frequent with ^^^? and |D, Lev. 13, 2.
Num. 16, 15. I Sam. 9, 3. i Kings 19, 2, etc.

^^^ r\V\^ = 'so as to know:' cf. i Sam. 12, 17 D^i? h^'^\>
•]ijD; Prov. 26, 2 Pjiyi? IIIID 'y^h "^ISV^. On this gerundial
usage of the inf. with P, see Driver, § 205 ; Dav., -S., § 93.

]3 is used here independently, as in Ex. 13, 17; cf. Ewald,
§ 337 b; M. R., § 164 b; 'without indicating that the sentence
which it introduces is dependent on another.' See also Ges.,
§ 152, 1 i. The formula, ^ For he said . . . lest,' occurs frequently,
and always implies that some precaution is taken by the
speaker to prevent what he fears happening; e.g. Ps. 38, 17
(compare Del., Die Psalmen^^ ad loc); Gen. 38, 11. 42, 4.
Ex. 13, 17, etc. Cf. Dav., -5"., § 127 c.

X\^*\. The perfect with waw conv. after the imperfect
with fS; so 19, 19 TlD') . ♦ . ''Jpnnn JD; Ex. i, 10 HMI nni^ IS.
Three times (Ps. 2, 12. Jer. 51, 46. Prov. 31, 5) we find the
imperf. repeated after JD, instead of a perf. with waw conv.; see
Driver, §115 end, § 116; Ges., § 112. 3 c. a; Dav., ^.,§53^.

^rn . Perf with waw conv. pointed with pretonic qame9 ;

so 19, 19 '•J^jiP^ (notice the tone; cf. the note there); 44, 22
rit?J : see on i, 2.

■^n is perf. from '''H : see Ges., § 76. 2 g; Dav., § 42.

24. â–¡"'^'I'^Dn nt^ ''the cherubim! These appear in the
Old Testament always in connection with God's manifesting
himself to the world. In the tabernacle they hovered over



CHAP. 3, VERS. 22-24. 47



the ark (Ex. 25, 18 ff.). In Solomon's temple they are repre-
sented as stationed on the floor of the Holy of Holies, spread-
ing out their wings from one side to the other (i Kings 6, 23.
I Chron. 28, 18). In Ez. i and 10 they form God's living
chariot, in which he appears to the prophet; and in Ps. 18,
II. 2 Sam. 22, II God is represented as riding on a cherub
to judgment : cf. Ps. 80, 2. i Sam. 4, 4. 2 Sam. 6, 2, where
God is described as '^Dn 2^)\ From i Kings, I.e., we find that
the cherub had an upright form, partly human, with one face
(Ex. 25, 20), two wings (i Kings 6, 24), and possibly hands.
In Ez. I and 10 a somewhat fuller and different description of
the cherubim is given : ' with the similitude of a man, four
wings' (Ez. I, II. 23), two of which served to cover their
bodies, and with two of which they flew ; and under their
wings human hands (Ez. i, 8. 10, 7. 8. 21), with four faces
(Ez. I, 10. 10, 14), one human, one that of a lion, one that of
an ox, and one that of an eagle, and the soles of their feet
like those of a calf (Ez. i, 7). Lastly (Ez. 1,18. 10, 12 ; cf.
Rev. 4, 6), their whole body was studded with eyes. It is
uncertain whence the Hebrews derived their idea of the cheru-
bim ; possibly the winged forms on the Assyrio-Babylonian and
Egyptian monuments exercised some influence on their con-
ception of the cherub, but it is doubtful whether they borrowed
the idea from either the Egyptians or Assyrians (cf. the author-
ities cited below).

The etymology of the word is uncertain, (i) Some con-
nect it with the Aramaic o;^, ^1? aravit ; so '^T\:^ = ara/or,
bos: cf. Ez. 10, 14 with i, 10. (ii) Another view is that
niip is transposed for '^'^'^'^. = ' chariot ,' i.e. '/he divhie chariot:'
cf. I Chron. 28, 18, where the DU1"13 are explained by n^^nn
n33-iDn ; so Rodig. in Ges., Thes.; INI. and V., H. W.B., nth
ed. (iii) Hyde (quoted by Ges., Thes.^ P- 710) considers that



48 GENESIS,



31"lD = 3inp, i.e. ^he ivho is near God,' 'his servant! (iv) Maurer
on Is. 6, 2 explains ITO as from anD==D"i:D, Arab. ^Ji 'nobilis
fiiit! (v) Another view is that ni"i3 is to be connected with
the Arab. ^S ' adstringere^ so nilD 'a strong being' (Rosen-
miiller); cf. viii. (vi) Ges. in the Thes. proposes a derivation
from 3"i:D = D"in, Arab. ^^ 'prohihuit a conwuini usu! 3113 =
Uiistosl ^satelles,' i.e. Dei, 'qui profanos arcet.' All these are
most precarious and improbable, (vii) Valke, see Ges., Thes.,
711, assigned a Persian origin to the word, regarding it as the
same as the Greek ypv^, ypvrros, 'quod a Pers. ^^-:L5^(greifen)
prehendere, tenere, derivabat Chr. Th. Tychsen (Heeren's
Ideen, i. p. 386), vel idem esse volunt atqueypuTro? 7iaso adunco
nostrove praeditus! (viii) Del., Par., 154, connects it with
an Assyrian root ' kardbu ' (from which an adj. ' kartibu ' is
derived) = '/o be great, powerful ;' cf. Schr., C. 0. T., p. 39.
The word reads like a foreign one, but it seems that nothing can
be affirmed as to its meaning with certainty. See further, Di.
in Schenkel's Bibel Lex.^ i. 509 ffi; Keil., Bib. Arch., 2nd ed.,
i. 92 ff.; Winer ^ R. W.B.; Riehm, H. W.B., art. Cherubim;
Del. Comm:' and Di. Conwi. on this passage ; also Cheyne, art.
Cherub, in Ency. Brit.

'^^IT I'^nn tDn7 ^^^â– l ' and the blade of the waving
sword.'

"^ryXlT}. The article (pointed according to Ges., § 35. 2 A;
Dav., § II b) is placed before the genitive, and iiot before the
cstr. state, cf. Ges., § 125. i ; M. R., § 76. 11. a ; Dav., S., § 20.

ni^DnnT^n , lit. = ' the one turning itself about .• ' cf. on 2,11;
also M. R., § 92. Rem. a. The form is a participle fem. sing.
Hithpael of "[an, being formed as a segholate noun, and so
accented on the penult. : see Ges., § 95. Rem. 2. 3 ; Dav.,
add. notes to 3rd Dec.



CHAP. 3, VER. 24 CHAP. 4, VER. I. 49

D"^^nn '^V "]"^1 rit^ '//le way io the tree of life:' so 16, 7
11:^ 1-n 'the way to Shur ;' 38, 14 nn:iDn Tn 'the way to
Timnah;' 48, 7 max ^nn '^« ///^ way to Ephrath^ Cf.
Ges., § 128. 2 b ; Dav., -5"., § 23. Hebrew uses the cstr. state
(implying belonging to) to denote ideas which are made clearer
in English by the use of a preposition.



I. y"T^ 'to get to know,' 'make the acquaintance of so
eM^\\Qrm?>i\c2i\\y ^=-' concubuit cu7n ea;' used again in this sense
vers. 17. 25. 24, 16, and often. This meaning has passed
over into Hellenistic Greek ; cf. yiyvoia-Keiv, often used by the
LXX for the Hebrew VT*, e.g. here. Cf also in the New
Testament, Luke i, 34 eVel avhpa ov -ytyi/wo-Ka). The Pesh.
has ]fia»*, which is again used in the same sense in their

version of Matt. I, 25 ovk eylvcaa-Kev avrrjVzzzo^'^L^ JJo.

Yp ' Kainl elsewhere a nom. app. = ' jr/^(2r,' 2 Sam. 21,
16, or a nom. prop, of a people, Num. 24, 22. Judg. 4, 11.
The text here seems to connect pp with the root Hip 'to gain,'
'acquire;' but this explanation must not be regarded as an
etymology. The name was given, not because it was derived
from nip, but as recalling to mind this word: compare such
proper names as m, ^XlJOtJ', nw (not derived from, but
recalling to mind ntJ'D). Gesenius derives pp here from pp=
' to forge' Arab, ^^li, ^1^, ^a sf7iith,' Syr. HLo ; and
supposes that Hi^ in this passage means ' spear,' as in 2 Sam.
21, 16.

rr\r\^ nb^. LXX, ^l^ toZ eeoO. Pesh. H;.>ciN. 'for the
Lord.' Onq. ^^ D"!^ fJ? 'fro7n before Yahweh! Vulg. 'per
Deum! The Targ. of Ps.-Jon. has ^^l N^N^Jjp'n: Nnn^b ^rr-^r^
' I have gotten as man the angel of the Lord', possibly meaning

E



50 GtN^SIS,



the Messiah. The n^< has been variously explained. I. Di.
and others render ' with Fahweh,' i. e. through his assistance,
with his help ; so LXX, though it is uncertain whether bia is
a free rendering, or whether they had riSD for ^l^^ in their
text, and similarly the Vulg. and Onqelos. Elsewhere, to be
sure, we find Dy used in this sense, and not nx; cf., for
example, i Sam. 14, 45 nb'V D^â– ^7^< Dy ''3 ; still nx may be
regarded as synonymous with Dy, as may be inferred from its
alternative usage with Dy in the phrase ' lo be with one^ i. e.
help him; cf. 26, 3 "iroy with 21, 20 -iy:n ly^. 28, 15. 31, 3
Dy, but 26, 24. 39, 2 T\'^, 11. a. Others (Luther, etc.) render
'7 have gained a man, the Lord;' nin^ DN being a second
ace. of nearer definition, so 6, 10 DC' n&< D^Jl 7\^h^; 26, 34;
Judg. 3, 15; Eve supposing she had given birth to the
Messiah; see Ps.-Jon., above, d. Or as UmbTeit, ' I possess
as a man, Vahweh,' tJ>''X ace. of the predicate. But against a
it may be urged that there is nothing in the text to justify the
idea that Eve thought she had given birth to the Messiah (cf.
also 3, 15) ; and against b that it gives no explanation of the
name of the child.

2. TYvTO nOn'^ ' and she bare again ;' cf. ver. 12. The
finite verb in Hebrew corresponds to the adverb in our idiom.
We find other verbs used in Hebrew to express adverbs, e. g.
"irtD ^ to hasten ;' cf. Ges., § 120. i f. (cf. also § 114. 2. Rem.
3); M. R., §ii4a; Dav., 6"., § 82.

X'P^ \\^'l nv^ hir\ ^rV^. ppl is placed before the verb
to which it belongs in order to slightly emphasize the con-
trast between the occupations of Kain and Abel. M. R., § 131,
I b. Rem. c, compares \xkv . . . de in Greek. i?an has been
explained as meaning ' a breath,' ' nothing^ possibly with
reference to his short life ; but it is doubtful if the name can



CHAP. 4, VERS. 2-4. 51

be brought into connection with this meaning. It has also
been suggested that 7nn might be a variation of 71^ ver. 20.
See Ew., /. B. vi. 7 ff. Others connect the word with the
Assyr. abIu = ?,on; cf. C.O.T. Gloss, s.v. 7ir\.

ni^h is a participle in the cstr. state, 'a shepherd of;'
nj;T would be the abs. state, and |N^ would then be in the
ace. case. Both constructions are possible, cf. 22, 12 D'^nPt? t