Kejadian 1:22

1:22 God blessed them ¹  and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” ² 

Kejadian 34:12

34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, ³  and I’ll give ⁴  whatever you ask ⁵  of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”

Kejadian 43:12

43:12 Take double the money with you; ⁶  you must take back ⁷  the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks – perhaps it was an oversight.

Kejadian 43:15

43:15 So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt ⁸  and stood before Joseph.

Kejadian 43:34

43:34 He gave them portions of the food set before him, ⁹  but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk. ¹⁰ 

[1:22]  ¹ tn While the translation “blessed” has been retained here for the sake of simplicity, it would be most helpful to paraphrase it as “God endowed them with fruitfulness” or something similar, for here it refers to God’s giving the animals the capacity to reproduce. The expression “blessed” needs clarification in its different contexts, for it is one of the unifying themes of the Book of Genesis. The divine blessing occurs after works of creation and is intended to continue that work – the word of blessing guarantees success. The word means “to enrich; to endow,” and the most visible evidence of that enrichment is productivity or fruitfulness. See C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[1:22]  ² sn The instruction God gives to creation is properly a fuller expression of the statement just made (“God blessed them”), that he enriched them with the ability to reproduce. It is not saying that these were rational creatures who heard and obeyed the word; rather, it stresses that fruitfulness in the animal world is a result of the divine decree and not of some pagan cultic ritual for fruitfulness. The repeated emphasis of “be fruitful – multiply – fill” adds to this abundance God has given to life. The meaning is underscored by the similar sounds: בָּרָךְ (barakh) with בָּרָא (bara’), and פָּרָה (parah) with רָבָה (ravah).

[34:12]  ³ tn Heb “Make very great upon me the bride price and gift.” The imperatives are used in a rhetorical manner. Shechem’s point is that he will pay the price, no matter how expensive it might be.

[34:12]  ⁴ tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.

[34:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “say.”

[43:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “in your hand.”

[43:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “take back in your hand.” The imperfect verbal form probably has an injunctive or obligatory force here, since Jacob is instructing his sons.

[43:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.

[43:34]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he lifted up portions from before his face to them.”

[43:34]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they drank and were intoxicated with him” (cf. NIV “drank freely with him”; NEB “grew merry”; NRSV “were merry”). The brothers were apparently relaxed and set at ease, despite Joseph’s obvious favoritism toward Benjamin.