Kejadian 29:7

29:7 Then Jacob ¹  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ²  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ³ 

Kejadian 34:9

34:9 Intermarry with us. ⁴  Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. ⁵ 

Kejadian 42:18

42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say ⁶  and you will live, ⁷  for I fear God. ⁸ 

Kejadian 45:5

45:5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, ⁹  for God sent me ¹⁰  ahead of you to preserve life!

[29:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ² tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ³ tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.

[34:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “form marriage alliances with us.”

[34:9]  sn Intermarry with us. This includes the idea of becoming allied by marriage. The incident foreshadows the temptations Israel would eventually face when they entered the promised land (see Deut 7:3; Josh 23:12).

[34:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.” In the translation the words “let…marry” and “as wives” are supplied for clarity.

[42:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “Do this.”

[42:18]  ⁷ tn After the preceding imperative, the imperative with vav (ו) can, as here, indicate logical sequence.

[42:18]  ⁸ sn For I fear God. Joseph brings God into the picture to awaken his brothers’ consciences. The godly person cares about the welfare of people, whether they live or die. So he will send grain back, but keep one of them in Egypt. This action contrasts with their crime of selling their brother into slavery.

[45:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “let there not be anger in your eyes.”

[45:5]  ¹⁰ sn You sold me here, for God sent me. The tension remains as to how the brothers’ wickedness and God’s intentions work together. Clearly God is able to transform the actions of wickedness to bring about some gracious end. But this is saying more than that; it is saying that from the beginning it was God who sent Joseph here. Although harmonization of these ideas remains humanly impossible, the divine intention is what should be the focus. Only that will enable reconciliation.