Genesis 9:27

9:27 May God enlarge Japheth’s territory and numbers! ¹ 

May he live ²  in the tents of Shem

and may Canaan be his slave!”

Genesis 14:18

14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem ³  brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) ⁴ 

Genesis 23:20

23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site ⁵  from the sons of Heth.

Genesis 27:3

27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁶  for me.

Genesis 28:21

28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ⁷  then the Lord will become my God.

Genesis 47:7

47:7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him ⁸  before Pharaoh. Jacob blessed ⁹  Pharaoh.

Genesis 47:12

47:12 Joseph also provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household, according to the number of their little children.

Genesis 47:31

47:31 Jacob ¹⁰  said, “Swear to me that you will do so.” ¹¹  So Joseph ¹²  gave him his word. ¹³  Then Israel bowed down ¹⁴  at the head of his bed. ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “may God enlarge Japheth.” The words “territory and numbers” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn In this context the prefixed verbal form is a jussive (note the distinct jussive forms both before and after this in vv. 26 and 27).

³ sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the Lord declares that the Davidic king is a royal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.

⁴ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.

⁵ tn Heb “possession of a grave.”

⁷ tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).

⁹ tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

¹¹ tn Heb “caused him to stand.”

¹² sn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb translated “blessed” is difficult in this passage, because the content of Jacob’s blessing is not given. The expression could simply mean that he greeted Pharaoh, but that seems insufficient in this setting. Jacob probably praised Pharaoh, for the verb is used this way for praising God. It is also possible that he pronounced a formal prayer of blessing, asking God to reward Pharaoh for his kindness.

¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Heb “swear on oath to me.” The words “that you will do so” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Heb “swore on oath to him.”

¹⁷ sn The Hebrew verb normally means “bow down,” especially in worship or prayer. Here it might simply mean “bend low,” perhaps from weakness or approaching death. The narrative is ambiguous at this point and remains open to all these interpretations.

¹⁸ tc The MT reads מִטָּה (mittah, “bed, couch”). The LXX reads the word as מַטֶּה (matteh, “staff, rod”) and interprets this to mean that Jacob bowed down in worship while leaning on the top of his staff. The LXX reading was used in turn by the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 11:21).