Kejadian 45:7-11

45:7 God sent me ¹  ahead of you to preserve you ²  on the earth and to save your lives ³  by a great deliverance. 45:8 So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser ⁴  to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 45:9 Now go up to my father quickly ⁵  and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay! 45:10 You will live ⁶  in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me – you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything you have. 45:11 I will provide you with food ⁷  there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor – you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’

[45:7]  ¹ sn God sent me. The repetition of this theme that God sent Joseph is reminiscent of commission narratives in which the leader could announce that God sent him (e.g., Exod 3:15).

[45:7]  ² tn Heb “to make you a remnant.” The verb, followed here by the preposition לְ (lÿ), means “to make.”

[45:7]  ³ tn The infinitive gives a second purpose for God’s action.

[45:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “a father.” The term is used here figuratively of one who gives advice, as a father would to his children.

[45:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “hurry and go up.”

[45:10]  ⁶ tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive here expresses instruction.

[45:11]  ⁷ tn The verb כּוּל (kul) in the Pilpel stem means “to nourish, to support, to sustain.” As in 1 Kgs 20:27, it here means “to supply with food.”