Kejadian 37:1-10
Konteks37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, 1 in the land of Canaan. 2
37:2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, 3 was taking care of 4 the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster 5 working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. 6 Joseph brought back a bad report about them 7 to their father.
37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons 8 because he was a son born to him late in life, 9 and he made a special 10 tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s 11 brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, 12 they hated Joseph 13 and were not able to speak to him kindly. 14
37:5 Joseph 15 had a dream, 16 and when he told his brothers about it, 17 they hated him even more. 18 37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 19 37:7 There we were, 20 binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down 21 to it!” 37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” 22 They hated him even more 23 because of his dream and because of what he said. 24
37:9 Then he had another dream, 25 and told it to his brothers. “Look,” 26 he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? 27 Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” 28
Kejadian 41:1-57
Konteks41:1 At the end of two full years 29 Pharaoh had a dream. 30 As he was standing by the Nile, 41:2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, 31 and they grazed in the reeds. 41:3 Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, 32 and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river. 33 41:4 The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
41:5 Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing 34 on one stalk, healthy 35 and good. 41:6 Then 36 seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 41:7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. 37
41:8 In the morning he 38 was troubled, so he called for 39 all the diviner-priests 40 of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, 41 but no one could interpret 42 them for him. 43 41:9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures. 44 41:10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards – me and the chief baker. 41:11 We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. 45 41:12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant 46 of the captain of the guards, 47 was with us there. We told him our dreams, 48 and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. 49 41:13 It happened just as he had said 50 to us – Pharaoh 51 restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” 52
41:14 Then Pharaoh summoned 53 Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh. 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, 54 and there is no one who can interpret 55 it. But I have heard about you, that 56 you can interpret dreams.” 57 41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power, 58 but God will speak concerning 59 the welfare of Pharaoh.” 60
41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing 61 by the edge of the Nile. 41:18 Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. 62 41:19 Then 63 seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows 64 as these in all the land of Egypt! 41:20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven 65 fat cows. 41:21 When they had eaten them, 66 no one would have known 67 that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. 41:22 I also saw in my dream 68 seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 41:23 Then 69 seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 41:24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this 70 to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” 71
41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. 72 God has revealed 73 to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 74 41:26 The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. 75 41:27 The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent 76 seven years of famine. 41:28 This is just what I told 77 Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. 41:30 But seven years of famine will occur 78 after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate 79 the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered 80 because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. 81 41:32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh 82 because the matter has been decreed 83 by God, and God will make it happen soon. 84
41:33 “So now Pharaoh should look 85 for a wise and discerning man 86 and give him authority 87 over all the land of Egypt. 41:34 Pharaoh should do 88 this – he should appoint 89 officials 90 throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt 91 during the seven years of abundance. 41:35 They should gather all the excess food 92 during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority 93 they should store up grain so the cities will have food, 94 and they should preserve it. 95 41:36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.” 96
41:37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. 97 41:38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph, 98 one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” 99 41:39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning 100 as you are! 41:40 You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. 101 Only I, the king, will be greater than you. 102
41:41 “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I place 103 you in authority over all the land of Egypt.” 104 41:42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen 105 clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. 41:43 Pharaoh 106 had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, 107 and they cried out before him, “Kneel down!” 108 So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 41:44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission 109 no one 110 will move his hand or his foot 111 in all the land of Egypt.” 41:45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. 112 He also gave him Asenath 113 daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, 114 to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of 115 all the land of Egypt.
41:46 Now Joseph was 30 years old 116 when he began serving 117 Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by 118 Pharaoh and was in charge of 119 all the land of Egypt. 41:47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. 120 41:48 Joseph 121 collected all the excess food 122 in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. 123 In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it. 41:49 Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, 124 until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure.
41:50 Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. 125 Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. 126 41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, 127 saying, 128 “Certainly 129 God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.” 41:52 He named the second child Ephraim, 130 saying, 131 “Certainly 132 God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
41:53 The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end. 41:54 Then the seven years of famine began, 133 just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. 41:55 When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, 134 “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”
41:56 While the famine was over all the earth, 135 Joseph opened the storehouses 136 and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. 41:57 People from every country 137 came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.
[37:1] 1 tn Heb “the land of the sojournings of his father.”
[37:1] 2 sn The next section begins with the heading This is the account of Jacob in Gen 37:2, so this verse actually forms part of the preceding section as a concluding contrast with Esau and his people. In contrast to all the settled and expanded population of Esau, Jacob was still moving about in the land without a permanent residence and without kings. Even if the Edomite king list was added later (as the reference to kings in Israel suggests), its placement here in contrast to Jacob and his descendants is important. Certainly the text deals with Esau before dealing with Jacob – that is the pattern. But the detail is so great in chap. 36 that the contrast cannot be missed.
[37:2] 3 tn Heb “a son of seventeen years.” The word “son” is in apposition to the name “Joseph.”
[37:2] 4 tn Or “tending”; Heb “shepherding” or “feeding.”
[37:2] 5 tn Or perhaps “a helper.” The significance of this statement is unclear. It may mean “now the lad was with,” or it may suggest Joseph was like a servant to them.
[37:2] 6 tn Heb “and he [was] a young man with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father.”
[37:2] 7 tn Heb “their bad report.” The pronoun is an objective genitive, specifying that the bad or damaging report was about the brothers.
[37:2] sn Some interpreters portray Joseph as a tattletale for bringing back a bad report about them [i.e., his brothers], but the entire Joseph story has some of the characteristics of wisdom literature. Joseph is presented in a good light – not because he was perfect, but because the narrative is showing how wisdom rules. In light of that, this section portrays Joseph as faithful to his father in little things, even though unpopular – and so he will eventually be given authority over greater things.
[37:3] 8 tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.
[37:3] sn The statement Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons brings forward a motif that played an important role in the family of Isaac – parental favoritism. Jacob surely knew what that had done to him and his brother Esau, and to his own family. But now he showers affection on Rachel’s son Joseph.
[37:3] 9 tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”
[37:3] 10 tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.
[37:4] 11 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:4] 12 tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”
[37:4] 13 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:4] 14 tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”
[37:5] 15 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:5] 16 tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”
[37:5] 17 sn Some interpreters see Joseph as gloating over his brothers, but the text simply says he told his brothers about it (i.e., the dream). The text gives no warrant for interpreting his manner as arrogant or condescending. It seems normal that he would share a dream with the family.
[37:5] 18 tn The construction uses a hendiadys, “they added to hate,” meaning they hated him even more.
[37:6] 19 tn Heb “hear this dream which I dreamed.”
[37:7] 20 tn All three clauses in this dream report begin with וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), which lends vividness to the report. This is represented in the translation by the expression “there we were.”
[37:7] 21 tn The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.
[37:8] 22 tn Heb “Ruling, will you rule over us, or reigning, will you reign over us?” The statement has a poetic style, with the two questions being in synonymous parallelism. Both verbs in this statement are preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Joseph’s brothers said, “You don’t really think you will rule over us, do you? You don’t really think you will have dominion over us, do you?”
[37:8] 23 tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.
[37:8] 24 sn The response of Joseph’s brothers is understandable, given what has already been going on in the family. But here there is a hint of uneasiness – they hated him because of his dream and because of his words. The dream bothered them, as well as his telling them. And their words in the rhetorical question are ironic, for this is exactly what would happen. The dream was God’s way of revealing it.
[37:9] 25 tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”
[37:9] 26 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.
[37:10] 27 sn The question What is this dream that you had? expresses Jacob’s dismay at what he perceives to be Joseph’s audacity.
[37:10] 28 tn Heb “Coming, will we come, I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground?” The verb “come” is preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Jacob said, “You don’t really think we will come…to bow down…do you?”
[41:1] 29 tn Heb “two years, days.”
[41:1] 30 tn Heb “was dreaming.”
[41:2] 31 tn Heb “And look, he was standing by the Nile, and look, from the Nile were coming up seven cows, attractive of appearance and fat of flesh.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to see the dream through Pharaoh’s eyes.
[41:3] 32 tn Heb “And look, seven other cows were coming up after them from the Nile, bad of appearance and thin of flesh.”
[41:3] 33 tn Heb “the Nile.” This has been replaced by “the river” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:7] 37 tn Heb “And look, a dream.”
[41:7] sn Pharaoh’s two dreams, as explained in the following verses, pertained to the economy of Egypt. Because of the Nile River, the land of Egypt weathered all kinds of famines – there was usually grain in Egypt, and if there was grain and water the livestock would flourish. These two dreams, however, indicated that poverty would overtake plenty and that the blessing of the herd and the field would cease.
[41:8] 38 tn Heb “his spirit.”
[41:8] 39 tn Heb “he sent and called,” which indicates an official summons.
[41:8] 40 tn The Hebrew term חַרְטֹם (khartom) is an Egyptian loanword (hyr-tp) that describes a class of priests who were skilled in such interpretations.
[41:8] 41 tn The Hebrew text has the singular (though the Samaritan Pentateuch reads the plural). If retained, the singular must be collective for the set of dreams. Note the plural pronoun “them,” referring to the dreams, in the next clause. However, note that in v. 15 Pharaoh uses the singular to refer to the two dreams. In vv. 17-24 Pharaoh seems to treat the dreams as two parts of one dream (see especially v. 22).
[41:8] 42 tn “there was no interpreter.”
[41:8] 43 tn Heb “for Pharaoh.” The pronoun “him” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:9] 44 tn Heb “sins, offenses.” He probably refers here to the offenses that landed him in prison (see 40:1).
[41:11] 45 tn Heb “and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we dreamed.”
[41:12] 47 tn Heb “a servant to the captain of the guards.” On this construction see GKC 419-20 §129.c.
[41:12] 48 tn The words “our dreams” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:12] 49 tn Heb “and he interpreted for us our dreams, each according to his dream he interpreted.”
[41:13] 50 tn Heb “interpreted.”
[41:13] 51 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[41:13] 52 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[41:14] 53 tn Heb “and Pharaoh sent and called,” indicating a summons to the royal court.
[41:15] 54 tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”
[41:15] 55 tn Heb “there is no one interpreting.”
[41:15] 57 tn Heb “you hear a dream to interpret it,” which may mean, “you only have to hear a dream to be able to interpret it.”
[41:16] 58 tn Heb “not within me.”
[41:16] 59 tn Heb “God will answer.”
[41:16] 60 tn The expression שְׁלוֹם פַּרְעֹה (shÿlom par’oh) is here rendered “the welfare of Pharaoh” because the dream will be about life in his land. Some interpret it to mean an answer of “peace” – one that will calm his heart, or give him the answer that he desires (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[41:17] 61 tn Heb “In my dream look, I was standing.” The use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here (and also in vv. 18, 19, 22, 23) invites the hearer (within the context of the narrative, Joseph; but in the broader sense the reader or hearer of the Book of Genesis) to observe the scene through Pharaoh’s eyes.
[41:18] 62 tn Heb “and look, from the Nile seven cows were coming up, fat of flesh and attractive of appearance, and they grazed in the reeds.”
[41:19] 64 tn The word “cows” is supplied here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:20] 65 tn Heb “the seven first fat cows.”
[41:21] 66 tn Heb “when they went inside them.”
[41:21] 67 tn Heb “it was not known.”
[41:22] 68 tn Heb “and I saw in my dream and look.”
[41:24] 70 tn The words “all this” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:24] 71 tn Heb “and there was no one telling me.”
[41:25] 72 tn Heb “the dream of Pharaoh is one.”
[41:25] 74 tn The active participle here indicates what is imminent.
[41:26] 75 tn Heb “one dream it is.”
[41:27] 76 tn Heb “are.” Another option is to translate, “There will be seven years of famine.”
[41:28] 77 tn Heb “it is the word that I spoke.”
[41:30] 78 tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.
[41:30] 79 tn The Hebrew verb כָּלָה (kalah) in the Piel stem means “to finish, to destroy, to bring an end to.” The severity of the famine will ruin the land of Egypt.
[41:32] 82 tn Heb “and concerning the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh two times.” The Niphal infinitive here is the object of the preposition; it is followed by the subjective genitive “of the dream.”
[41:32] 83 tn Heb “established.”
[41:32] 84 tn The clause combines a participle and an infinitive construct: God “is hurrying…to do it,” meaning he is going to do it soon.
[41:33] 85 tn Heb “let Pharaoh look.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
[41:33] 86 tn Heb “a man discerning and wise.” The order of the terms is rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:33] 87 tn Heb “and let him set him.”
[41:34] 88 tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”
[41:34] 89 tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
[41:34] 90 tn Heb “appointees.” The noun is a cognate accusative of the preceding verb. Since “appoint appointees” would be redundant in English, the term “officials” was used in the translation instead.
[41:34] 91 tn Heb “and he shall collect a fifth of the land of Egypt.” The language is figurative (metonymy); it means what the land produces, i.e., the harvest.
[41:35] 92 tn Heb “all the food.”
[41:35] 93 tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”
[41:35] 94 tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.
[41:35] 95 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.
[41:36] 96 tn Heb “and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”
[41:37] 97 tn Heb “and the matter was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.”
[41:38] 98 tn Heb “like this,” but the referent could be misunderstood to be a man like that described by Joseph in v. 33, rather than Joseph himself. For this reason the proper name “Joseph” has been supplied in the translation.
[41:38] 99 tn The rhetorical question expects the answer “No, of course not!”
[41:39] 100 tn Heb “as discerning and wise.” The order has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:40] 101 tn Heb “and at your mouth (i.e., instructions) all my people will kiss.” G. J. Wenham translates this “shall kowtow to your instruction” (Genesis [WBC], 2:395). Although there is some textual support for reading “will be judged, ruled by you,” this is probably an attempt to capture the significance of this word. Wenham lists a number of references where individuals have tried to make connections with other words or expressions – such as a root meaning “order themselves” lying behind “kiss,” or an idiomatic idea of “kiss” meaning “seal the mouth,” and so “be silent and submit to.” See K. A. Kitchen, “The Term Nsq in Genesis 41:40,” ExpTim 69 (1957): 30; D. S. Sperling, “Genesis 41:40: A New Interpretation,” JANESCU 10 (1978): 113-19.
[41:40] 102 tn Heb “only the throne, I will be greater than you.”
[41:41] 103 tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is descriptive of a present action. Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, in which case Pharaoh describes a still future action as if it had already occurred in order to emphasize its certainty. In this case one could translate “I have placed” or “I will place.” The verb נָתַן (natan) is translated here as “to place in authority [over].”
[41:41] 104 sn Joseph became the grand vizier of the land of Egypt. See W. A. Ward, “The Egyptian Office of Joseph,” JSS 5 (1960): 144-50; and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 129-31.
[41:42] 105 tn The Hebrew word שֵׁשׁ (shesh) is an Egyptian loanword that describes the fine linen robes that Egyptian royalty wore. The clothing signified Joseph’s rank.
[41:43] 106 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[41:43] 107 tn Heb “and he caused him to ride in the second chariot which was his.”
[41:43] 108 tn The verb form appears to be a causative imperative from a verbal root meaning “to kneel.” It is a homonym of the word “bless” (identical in root letters but not related etymologically).
[41:44] 109 tn Heb “apart from you.”
[41:44] 110 tn Heb “no man,” but here “man” is generic, referring to people in general.
[41:44] 111 tn The idiom “lift up hand or foot” means “take any action” here.
[41:45] 112 sn The meaning of Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah, is uncertain. Many recent commentators have followed the proposal of G. Steindorff that it means “the god has said, ‘he will live’” (“Der Name Josephs Saphenat-Pa‘neach,” ZÄS 31 [1889]: 41-42); others have suggested “the god speaks and lives” (see BDB 861 s.v. צָפְנָת פַּעְנֵחַ); “the man he knows” (J. Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, 145); or “Joseph [who is called] áIp-àankh” (K. A. Kitchen, NBD3 1262).
[41:45] 113 sn The name Asenath may mean “she belongs to the goddess Neit” (see HALOT 74 s.v. אָֽסְנַת). A novel was written at the beginning of the first century entitled Joseph and Asenath, which included a legendary account of the conversion of Asenath to Joseph’s faith in Yahweh. However, all that can be determined from this chapter is that their children received Hebrew names. See also V. Aptowitzer, “Asenath, the Wife of Joseph – a Haggadic Literary-Historical Study,” HUCA 1 (1924): 239-306.
[41:45] 114 sn On (also in v. 50) is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
[41:45] 115 tn Heb “and he passed through.”
[41:46] 116 tn Heb “a son of thirty years.”
[41:46] 117 tn Heb “when he stood before.”
[41:46] 118 tn Heb “went out from before.”
[41:46] 119 tn Heb “and he passed through all the land of Egypt”; this phrase is interpreted by JPS to mean that Joseph “emerged in charge of the whole land.”
[41:47] 120 tn Heb “brought forth by handfuls.”
[41:48] 121 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[41:48] 122 tn Heb “all the food.”
[41:48] 123 tn Heb “of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt and placed food in the cities.”
[41:49] 124 tn Heb “and Joseph gathered grain like the sand of the sea, multiplying much.” To emphasize the vast amount of grain he stored up, the Hebrew text modifies the verb “gathered” with an infinitive absolute and an adverb.
[41:50] 125 tn Heb “before the year of the famine came.”
[41:50] 126 tn Heb “gave birth for him.”
[41:51] 127 sn The name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh) describes God’s activity on behalf of Joseph, explaining in general the significance of his change of fortune. The name is a Piel participle, suggesting the meaning “he who brings about forgetfulness.” The Hebrew verb נַשַּׁנִי (nashani) may have been used instead of the normal נִשַּׁנִי (nishani) to provide a closer sound play with the name. The giving of this Hebrew name to his son shows that Joseph retained his heritage and faith; and it shows that a brighter future was in store for him.
[41:51] 128 tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:52] 130 sn The name Ephraim (אֶפְרַיִם, ’efrayim), a form of the Hebrew verb פָּרָה (parah), means “to bear fruit.” The theme of fruitfulness is connected with this line of the family from Rachel (30:2) on down (see Gen 49:22, Deut 33:13-17, and Hos 13:15). But there is some difficulty with the name “Ephraim” itself. It appears to be a dual, for which F. Delitzsch simply said it meant “double fruitfulness” (New Commentary on Genesis, 2:305). G. J. Spurrell suggested it was a diphthongal pronunciation of a name ending in -an or -am, often thought to be dual suffixes (Notes on the text of the book of Genesis, 334). Many, however, simply connect the name to the territory of Ephraim and interpret it to be “fertile land” (C. Fontinoy, “Les noms de lieux en -ayim dans la Bible,” UF 3 [1971]: 33-40). The dual would then be an old locative ending. There is no doubt that the name became attached to the land in which the tribe settled, and it is possible that is where the dual ending came from, but in this story it refers to Joseph’s God-given fruitfulness.
[41:52] 131 tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:54] 133 tn Heb “began to arrive.”
[41:55] 134 tn Heb “to all Egypt.” The name of the country is used by metonymy for the inhabitants.
[41:56] 135 tn Or “over the entire land”; Heb “over all the face of the earth.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal to the next clause.
[41:56] 136 tc The MT reads “he opened all that was in [or “among”] them.” The translation follows the reading of the LXX and Syriac versions.
[41:57] 137 tn Heb “all the earth,” which refers here (by metonymy) to the people of the earth. Note that the following verb is plural in form, indicating that the inhabitants of the earth are in view.
