Genesis 19:31

 Genesis 19:31

 

And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

 

a. NLT: One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

 

b. NIV: One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

 

c. YLT: And the first-born saith unto the younger, 'Our father is old, and a man there is not in the earth to come in unto us, as is the way of all the earth; [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

 

d. Amplified Bible: The elder said to the younger, Our father is aging, and there is not a man on earth to live with us in the customary way. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

 

e. Septuagint: And the elder said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no one on the earth who shall come in to us, as it is fit in all the earth.

 

f. Stone Edition Torah/Writings/Prophets: The older one said to the younger, “Our father is old and there is no man in the land to marry us in the usual manner. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

 

1. “And the firstborn said unto the younger…”

 

a. [And the] firstborn [Strong: 1067 bekiyrah bek-ee-raw'; feminine from 1069; the eldest daughter:--firstborn.]

 

b. said [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

 

c. unto [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

d. [the] younger [Strong: 6810 tsa`iyr tsaw-eer' or tsanowr {tsaw-ore'}; from 6819; little; (in number) few; (in age) young, (in value) ignoble:--least, little (one), small (one), + young(-er, -est).]

 

2. “…Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:”

 

a. [)ur] father [Strong: 1 'ab awb;  a primitive word; father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application):--chief, (fore-)father(-less), X patrimony, principal.

 

b. [is] old [Strong: 2204 zaqen zaw-kane';  a primitive root; to be old:--aged man, be (wax) old (man).]

 

c. [and this is] not [Strong:  369 'ayin ah'-yin as if from a primitive root meaning to be nothing or not exist; a non-entity; generally used as a negative particle:--else, except, fail, (father-)less, be gone, in(-curable), neither, never, no (where), none, nor, (any, thing), not, nothing, to nought, past, un(-searchable), well-nigh, without. 

d. [a] man [Strong: 376 * ‘iysh] [Strong: contracted for 582 (or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant); a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation):--also, another, any (man), a certain, + champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-)man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), + none, one, people, person, + steward, what (man) soever, whoso(-ever), worthy.]

 

d. [in the] earth [Strong: 776 'erets eh'-rets; from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):--X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X natins, way, + wilderness, world.]

 

1). Her statement “there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us” sounds ridiculous in light of the fact they just came out of Zoar where there no doubt was men. Some commentators say the daughters believed that Zoar was only spared while they were there, that Zoar was destroyed after they left. How about everyman in Zoar was queer and their chances of getting a man were none.

 

e. [to] come in [Strong: 935 bow' bo; a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications):--abide, apply, attain, X be, befall, + besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, X certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, X doubtless again, + eat, + employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, + follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, + have, X indeed, (in-)vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, X (well) stricken (in age), X surely, take (in), way.]

 

f. unto [us] [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

g. [after the] manner [Strong: 1870 derek deh'-rek;  from 1869; a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb:--along, away, because of, + by, conversation, custom, (east-)ward, journey, manner, passenger, through, toward, (high-) (path-)way(-side), whither(-soever).]

 

g. [of] all [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

h. [the] earth [Strong: 776 'erets eh'-rets; from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):--X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X natins, way, + wilderness, world.]