And the first-born said to the younger: some languages require a time transition between verses 30 and 31 to separate the setting of verse 30 from the opening event in verse 31. For example, we may say “Some time later the older daughter said…” or “One day the older daughter said…” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Bible en français courant).

Our father is old: the older daughter takes the initiative to do something, drastic though it may be, to provide for the survival of her father’s family line. When translating old, care must be taken not to give the impression of a man who is so aged as to be unable to produce offspring. Note Good News Translation “Our father is getting old.”

There is not a man on earth to come in to us: Lot and his daughters may believe they are the only survivors in the world after the destruction that has taken place around them. In that case the observation of the older daughter should be taken literally. On the other hand man on earth may be understood as no man left in that land, that is, the land or region that has been destroyed. See Good News Translation footnote. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Bible en français courant translate “There is no man in all the region.” The sense may also be that, as survivors from Sodom, Lot’s daughters were considered taboo by the people of Zoar. The expression to come in to was first used in 6.4. See there for discussion. The meaning of this expression is to have sexual relations, and it is often best translated by an equally indirect expression. Many translations say simply “There are no men … to marry us.”

After the manner of all the earth: that is, “as is the custom” or “as people everywhere do.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .