Genesis 25

Genesis 25 read aloud, in a fresh direct translation from the Hebrew — plain modern English, nothing added. Translator's notes: • Genesis 25:18 — נָפָל (nafal): chose "he settled". Alternatives: "he fell", "he fell upon". Why: the verb literally means "fell", but in this notice about where Ishmael's line lived it is read as settling in place; both senses are defensible. • Genesis 25:22 — לָמָּה זֶּה אָנֹכִי (lamah zeh anokhi): chose "why do I live?". Alternatives: "why is this happening to me?", "why then am I alive?". Why: Rebekah's words are clipped to the point of obscurity — literally "why this I?" — and any rendering must supply words she does not say. • Genesis 25:27 — אִישׁ תָּם (ish tam): chose "a quiet man". Alternatives: "a plain man", "a complete man", "a blameless man". Why: tam can mean complete, sound, or blameless; beside the man of the field it is usually read as a settled, tent-dwelling life. • Genesis 25:28 — צַיִד בְּפִיו (tzayid befiv): chose "because he ate of his game". Alternatives: "because game was in his mouth", "for he loved the taste of game". Why: the Hebrew — "game in his mouth" — does not spell out whose eating is meant; the sense taken is Isaac's taste for Esau's hunting.