Kejadian 25:1--50:26

The Death of Abraham

25:1 Abraham had taken ¹  another ²  wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. ³  The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants ⁴  of Keturah.

25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ⁵  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁶ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ⁷  175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ⁸  He joined his ancestors. ⁹  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ¹⁰  near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. ¹¹  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ¹²  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ¹³ 

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ¹⁴  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: ¹⁵  Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes ¹⁶  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ¹⁷  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ¹⁸  25:18 His descendants ¹⁹  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ²⁰  to Egypt all the way ²¹  to Asshur. ²²  They settled ²³  away from all their relatives. ²⁴ 

Jacob and Esau

25:19 This is the account of Isaac, ²⁵  the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, ²⁶  the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ²⁷ 

25:21 Isaac prayed to ²⁸  the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled ²⁹  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ³⁰  So she asked the Lord, ³¹  25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ³²  are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, ³³  there were ³⁴  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ³⁵  all over, ³⁶  like a hairy ³⁷  garment, so they named him Esau. ³⁸  25:26 When his brother came out with ³⁹  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ⁴⁰  Isaac was sixty years old ⁴¹  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ⁴²  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ⁴³  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ⁴⁴  but Rebekah loved ⁴⁵  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ⁴⁶  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ⁴⁷  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ⁴⁸  Edom.) ⁴⁹ 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ⁵⁰  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ⁵¹  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ⁵²  So Esau ⁵³  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ⁵⁴  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ⁵⁵  So Esau despised his birthright. ⁵⁶ 

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁵⁷  in the days of Abraham. ⁵⁸  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; ⁵⁹  settle down in the land that I will point out to you. ⁶⁰  26:3 Stay ⁶¹  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ⁶²  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ⁶³  and I will fulfill ⁶⁴  the solemn promise I made ⁶⁵  to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ⁶⁶  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁶⁷  26:5 All this will come to pass ⁶⁸  because Abraham obeyed me ⁶⁹  and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ⁷⁰  26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” ⁷¹  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ⁷²  “The men of this place will kill me to get ⁷³  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

26:8 After Isaac ⁷⁴  had been there a long time, ⁷⁵  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ⁷⁶  Isaac caressing ⁷⁷  his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really ⁷⁸  your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” ⁷⁹ 

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ⁸⁰  One of the men ⁸¹  might easily have had sexual relations with ⁸²  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ⁸³  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ⁸⁴ 

26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, ⁸⁵  because the Lord blessed him. ⁸⁶  26:13 The man became wealthy. ⁸⁷  His influence continued to grow ⁸⁸  until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had ⁸⁹  so many sheep ⁹⁰  and cattle ⁹¹  and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous ⁹²  of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up ⁹³  all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.

26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, ⁹⁴  for you have become much more powerful ⁹⁵  than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ⁹⁶  26:18 Isaac reopened ⁹⁷  the wells that had been dug ⁹⁸  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁹⁹  after Abraham died. Isaac ¹⁰⁰  gave these wells ¹⁰¹  the same names his father had given them. ¹⁰² 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ¹⁰³  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ¹⁰⁴  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ¹⁰⁵  named the well ¹⁰⁶  Esek ¹⁰⁷  because they argued with him about it. ¹⁰⁸  26:21 His servants ¹⁰⁹  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ¹¹⁰  Sitnah. ¹¹¹  26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ¹¹²  named it ¹¹³  Rehoboth, ¹¹⁴  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

26:23 From there Isaac ¹¹⁵  went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ¹¹⁶  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ¹¹⁷ 

26:26 Now Abimelech had come ¹¹⁸  to him from Gerar along with ¹¹⁹  Ahuzzah his friend ¹²⁰  and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me ¹²¹  and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ¹²²  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ¹²³  a pact between us ¹²⁴  – between us ¹²⁵  and you. Allow us to make ¹²⁶  a treaty with you 26:29 so that ¹²⁷  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ¹²⁸  you, but have always treated you well ¹²⁹  before sending you away ¹³⁰  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ¹³¹ 

26:30 So Isaac ¹³²  held a feast for them and they celebrated. ¹³³  26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. ¹³⁴  Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. ¹³⁵ 

26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. ¹³⁶  26:33 So he named it Shibah; ¹³⁷  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ¹³⁸  to this day.

26:34 When ¹³⁹  Esau was forty years old, ¹⁴⁰  he married ¹⁴¹  Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. ¹⁴² 

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ¹⁴³  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ¹⁴⁴  he called his older ¹⁴⁵  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ¹⁴⁶  replied. 27:2 Isaac ¹⁴⁷  said, “Since ¹⁴⁸  I am so old, I could die at any time. ¹⁴⁹  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ¹⁵⁰  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ¹⁵¹  I will eat it so that I may bless you ¹⁵²  before I die.”

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ¹⁵³  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ¹⁵⁴  27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat ¹⁵⁵  it and bless you ¹⁵⁶  in the presence of the Lord ¹⁵⁷  before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do ¹⁵⁸  exactly what I tell you! ¹⁵⁹  27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ¹⁶⁰  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ¹⁶¹  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ¹⁶²  and ¹⁶³  bless you before he dies.”

27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! ¹⁶⁴  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ¹⁶⁵  and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, ¹⁶⁶  my son! Just obey me! ¹⁶⁷  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ¹⁶⁸  and brought them to his mother. She ¹⁶⁹  prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats ¹⁷⁰  on his hands ¹⁷¹  and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed ¹⁷²  the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac ¹⁷³  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ¹⁷⁴  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ¹⁷⁵  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ¹⁷⁶  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ¹⁷⁷  did you find it so quickly, ¹⁷⁸  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ¹⁷⁹  he replied. ¹⁸⁰  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ¹⁸¹  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ¹⁸²  27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. ¹⁸³  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ¹⁸⁴  replied. 27:25 Isaac ¹⁸⁵  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ¹⁸⁶  Then I will bless you.” ¹⁸⁷  So Jacob ¹⁸⁸  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ¹⁸⁹  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ¹⁹⁰  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ¹⁹¹  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ¹⁹²  my son smells

like the scent of an open field

which the Lord has blessed.

27:28 May God give you

the dew of the sky ¹⁹³ 

and the richness ¹⁹⁴  of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ¹⁹⁵  lord ¹⁹⁶  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ¹⁹⁷ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left ¹⁹⁸  his father’s ¹⁹⁹  presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ²⁰⁰  27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau ²⁰¹  said to him, “My father, get up ²⁰²  and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” ²⁰³  27:32 His father Isaac asked, ²⁰⁴  “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” ²⁰⁵  he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ²⁰⁶  and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. ²⁰⁷  He will indeed be blessed!”

27:34 When Esau heard ²⁰⁸  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ²⁰⁹  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac ²¹⁰  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ²¹¹  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ²¹²  He has tripped me up ²¹³  two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”

27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” ²¹⁴  Then Esau wept loudly. ²¹⁵ 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ²¹⁶  your home will be

away from the richness ²¹⁷  of the earth,

and away from the dew of the sky above.

27:40 You will live by your sword

but you will serve your brother.

When you grow restless,

you will tear off his yoke

from your neck.” ²¹⁸ 

27:41 So Esau hated ²¹⁹  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ²²⁰  Esau said privately, ²²¹  “The time ²²²  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ²²³  my brother Jacob!”

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ²²⁴  she quickly summoned ²²⁵  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ²²⁶  27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ²²⁷  Run away immediately ²²⁸  to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while ²²⁹  until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there ²³⁰  until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. ²³¹  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ²³² 

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ²³³  because of these daughters of Heth. ²³⁴  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ²³⁵ 

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ²³⁶  28:2 Leave immediately ²³⁷  for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God ²³⁸  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ²³⁹  Then you will become ²⁴⁰  a large nation. ²⁴¹  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ²⁴²  so that you may possess the land ²⁴³  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ²⁴⁴  28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. ²⁴⁵  As he blessed him, ²⁴⁶  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ²⁴⁷  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ²⁴⁸  that the Canaanite women ²⁴⁹  were displeasing to ²⁵⁰  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ²⁵¹  Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place ²⁵²  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ²⁵³  He took one of the stones ²⁵⁴  and placed it near his head. ²⁵⁵  Then he fell asleep ²⁵⁶  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ²⁵⁷  He saw ²⁵⁸  a stairway ²⁵⁹  erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. ²⁶⁰  I will give you and your descendants the ground ²⁶¹  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ²⁶²  and you will spread out ²⁶³  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²⁶⁴  using your name and that of your descendants. ²⁶⁵  28:15 I am with you! ²⁶⁶  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

28:16 Then Jacob woke up ²⁶⁷  and thought, ²⁶⁸  “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

28:18 Early ²⁶⁹  in the morning Jacob ²⁷⁰  took the stone he had placed near his head ²⁷¹  and set it up as a sacred stone. ²⁷²  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ²⁷³  although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food ²⁷⁴  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ²⁷⁵  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ²⁷⁶  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ²⁷⁷  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ²⁷⁸ 

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ²⁷⁹  and came to the land of the eastern people. ²⁸⁰  29:2 He saw ²⁸¹  in the field a well with ²⁸²  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ²⁸³  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ²⁸⁴  would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.

29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson ²⁸⁵  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ²⁸⁶  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ²⁸⁷  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ²⁸⁸  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ²⁸⁹  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ²⁹⁰  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ²⁹¹  29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water ²⁹²  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ²⁹³  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ²⁹⁴  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ²⁹⁵  went over ²⁹⁶  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ²⁹⁷  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ²⁹⁸  29:12 When Jacob explained ²⁹⁹  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ³⁰⁰  and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob ³⁰¹  told Laban how he was related to him. ³⁰²  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ³⁰³  So Jacob ³⁰⁴  stayed with him for a month. ³⁰⁵ 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ³⁰⁶  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ³⁰⁷  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ³⁰⁸  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ³⁰⁹  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ³¹⁰  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ³¹¹  Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. ³¹²  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ³¹³  But they seemed like only a few days to him ³¹⁴  because his love for her was so great. ³¹⁵ 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ³¹⁶  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ³¹⁷  I want to have marital relations with her.” ³¹⁸  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ³¹⁹  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ³²⁰  to Jacob, ³²¹  and Jacob ³²²  had marital relations with her. ³²³  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ³²⁴ 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ³²⁵  So Jacob ³²⁶  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ³²⁷  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ³²⁸  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ³²⁹  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ³³⁰  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ³³¹  Then we will give you the younger one ³³²  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ³³³ 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ³³⁴  When Jacob ³³⁵  completed Leah’s bridal week, ³³⁶  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ³³⁷  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ³³⁸  29:30 Jacob ³³⁹  had marital relations ³⁴⁰  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ³⁴¹  for seven more years. ³⁴² 

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ³⁴³  he enabled her to become pregnant ³⁴⁴  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ³⁴⁵  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ³⁴⁶  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ³⁴⁷  Surely my husband will love me now.”

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ³⁴⁸  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ³⁴⁹ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ³⁵⁰  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ³⁵¹ 

29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. ³⁵²  Then she stopped having children.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ³⁵³  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ³⁵⁴  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ³⁵⁵  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ³⁵⁶  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ³⁵⁷  her so that she can bear ³⁵⁸  children ³⁵⁹  for me ³⁶⁰  and I can have a family through her.” ³⁶¹ 

30:4 So Rachel ³⁶²  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ³⁶³  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ³⁶⁴  and gave Jacob a son. ³⁶⁵  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ³⁶⁶  and given me a son.” That is why ³⁶⁷  she named him Dan. ³⁶⁸ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ³⁶⁹  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ³⁷⁰  So she named him Naphtali. ³⁷¹ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ³⁷²  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ³⁷³  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ³⁷⁴  So she named him Gad. ³⁷⁵ 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ³⁷⁶  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ³⁷⁷  for women ³⁷⁸  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ³⁷⁹ 

30:14 At the time ³⁸⁰  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ³⁸¹  in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, ³⁸²  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ³⁸³  Rachel said, “he may sleep ³⁸⁴  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep ³⁸⁵  with me because I have paid for your services ³⁸⁶  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ³⁸⁷  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ³⁸⁸  to Leah; she became pregnant ³⁸⁹  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ³⁹⁰  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ³⁹¹  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ³⁹²  So she named him Issachar. ³⁹³ 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ³⁹⁴  30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. ³⁹⁵ 

30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

30:22 Then God took note of ³⁹⁶  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ³⁹⁷  30:23 She became pregnant ³⁹⁸  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ³⁹⁹  30:24 She named him Joseph, ⁴⁰⁰  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

The Flocks of Jacob

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ⁴⁰¹  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ⁴⁰²  me on my way so that I can go ⁴⁰³  home to my own country. ⁴⁰⁴  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ⁴⁰⁵  Then I’ll depart, ⁴⁰⁶  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ⁴⁰⁷ 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ⁴⁰⁸  for I have learned by divination ⁴⁰⁹  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ⁴¹⁰ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ⁴¹¹  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ⁴¹²  30:30 Indeed, ⁴¹³  you had little before I arrived, ⁴¹⁴  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ⁴¹⁵  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ⁴¹⁶  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ⁴¹⁷ 

30:31 So Laban asked, ⁴¹⁸  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ⁴¹⁹  Jacob replied, ⁴²⁰  “but if you agree to this one condition, ⁴²¹  I will continue to care for ⁴²²  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ⁴²³  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ⁴²⁴  and the spotted or speckled goats. ⁴²⁵  These animals will be my wages. ⁴²⁶  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ⁴²⁷  later on. ⁴²⁸  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ⁴²⁹  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ⁴³⁰  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ⁴³¹ 

30:35 So that day Laban ⁴³²  removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care ⁴³³  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ⁴³⁴  while ⁴³⁵  Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. ⁴³⁶  30:39 When the sheep mated ⁴³⁷  in front of the branches, they ⁴³⁸  gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face ⁴³⁹  the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, ⁴⁴⁰  Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. ⁴⁴¹  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ⁴⁴²  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ⁴⁴³  became extremely prosperous. He owned ⁴⁴⁴  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ⁴⁴⁵  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ⁴⁴⁶  at our father’s expense!” ⁴⁴⁷  31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ⁴⁴⁸ 

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ⁴⁴⁹  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ⁴⁵⁰  31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah ⁴⁵¹  to come to the field ⁴⁵²  where his flocks were. ⁴⁵³  31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ⁴⁵⁴  but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, ⁴⁵⁵  31:7 but your father has humiliated ⁴⁵⁶  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ⁴⁵⁷  ‘The speckled animals ⁴⁵⁸  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

31:10 “Once ⁴⁵⁹  during breeding season I saw ⁴⁶⁰  in a dream that the male goats mating with ⁴⁶¹  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe ⁴⁶²  that all the male goats mating with ⁴⁶³  the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ⁴⁶⁴  where you anointed ⁴⁶⁵  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ⁴⁶⁶  Now leave this land immediately ⁴⁶⁷  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ⁴⁶⁸  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ⁴⁶⁹  the money paid for us! ⁴⁷⁰  31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”

31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. ⁴⁷¹  31:18 He took ⁴⁷²  away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. ⁴⁷³ 

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ⁴⁷⁴  Rachel stole the household idols ⁴⁷⁵  that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived ⁴⁷⁶  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ⁴⁷⁷  31:21 He left ⁴⁷⁸  with all he owned. He quickly crossed ⁴⁷⁹  the Euphrates River ⁴⁸⁰  and headed for ⁴⁸¹  the hill country of Gilead.

31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. ⁴⁸²  31:23 So he took his relatives ⁴⁸³  with him and pursued Jacob ⁴⁸⁴  for seven days. ⁴⁸⁵  He caught up with ⁴⁸⁶  him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ⁴⁸⁷  “Be careful ⁴⁸⁸  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ⁴⁸⁹ 

31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. ⁴⁹⁰  31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ⁴⁹¹  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ⁴⁹²  31:27 Why did you run away secretly ⁴⁹³  and deceive me? ⁴⁹⁴  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ⁴⁹⁵  31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren ⁴⁹⁶  good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have ⁴⁹⁷  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ⁴⁹⁸  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ⁴⁹⁹  31:30 Now I understand that ⁵⁰⁰  you have gone away ⁵⁰¹  because you longed desperately ⁵⁰²  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ⁵⁰³ 

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ⁵⁰⁴  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ⁵⁰⁵  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ⁵⁰⁶  31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ⁵⁰⁷  In the presence of our relatives ⁵⁰⁸  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ⁵⁰⁹  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ⁵¹⁰ 

31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. ⁵¹¹  Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. ⁵¹²  31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ⁵¹³  and sat on them.) ⁵¹⁴  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ⁵¹⁵  31:35 Rachel ⁵¹⁶  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ⁵¹⁷  my lord. I cannot stand up ⁵¹⁸  in your presence because I am having my period.” ⁵¹⁹  So he searched thoroughly, ⁵²⁰  but did not find the idols.

31:36 Jacob became angry ⁵²¹  and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. ⁵²²  “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? ⁵²³  31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ⁵²⁴  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ⁵²⁵  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ⁵²⁶ 

31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. ⁵²⁷  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ⁵²⁸  whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat ⁵²⁹  during the day and by piercing cold ⁵³⁰  at night, and I went without sleep. ⁵³¹  31:41 This was my lot ⁵³²  for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave ⁵³³  for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ⁵³⁴  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ⁵³⁵  and he rebuked you last night.”

31:43 Laban replied ⁵³⁶  to Jacob, “These women ⁵³⁷  are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, ⁵³⁸  and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today ⁵³⁹  or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ⁵⁴⁰  you and I, and it will be ⁵⁴¹  proof that we have made peace.” ⁵⁴² 

31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he ⁵⁴³  said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. ⁵⁴⁴  They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, ⁵⁴⁵  but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁵⁴⁶ 

31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement ⁵⁴⁷  today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah ⁵⁴⁸  because he said, “May the Lord watch ⁵⁴⁹  between us ⁵⁵⁰  when we are out of sight of one another. ⁵⁵¹  31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize ⁵⁵²  that God is witness to your actions.” ⁵⁵³ 

31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. ⁵⁵⁴  31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. ⁵⁵⁵  31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ⁵⁵⁶  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ⁵⁵⁷  31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice ⁵⁵⁸  on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. ⁵⁵⁹  They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

31:55 (32:1) ⁵⁶⁰  Early in the morning Laban kissed ⁵⁶¹  his grandchildren ⁵⁶²  and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. ⁵⁶³ 

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God ⁵⁶⁴  met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ⁵⁶⁵  “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. ⁵⁶⁶ 

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ⁵⁶⁷  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ⁵⁶⁸  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ⁵⁶⁹  Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent ⁵⁷⁰  this message ⁵⁷¹  to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” ⁵⁷²  he thought, ⁵⁷³  “then the other camp will be able to escape.” ⁵⁷⁴ 

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ⁵⁷⁵  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ⁵⁷⁶  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ⁵⁷⁷  32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ⁵⁷⁸  you have shown ⁵⁷⁹  your servant. With only my walking stick ⁵⁸⁰  I crossed the Jordan, ⁵⁸¹  but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, ⁵⁸²  I pray, from the hand ⁵⁸³  of my brother Esau, ⁵⁸⁴  for I am afraid he will come ⁵⁸⁵  and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. ⁵⁸⁶  32:12 But you ⁵⁸⁷  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ⁵⁸⁸  and will make ⁵⁸⁹  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ⁵⁹⁰ 

32:13 Jacob ⁵⁹¹  stayed there that night. Then he sent ⁵⁹²  as a gift ⁵⁹³  to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to ⁵⁹⁴  his servants, who divided them into herds. ⁵⁹⁵  He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, ⁵⁹⁶  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ⁵⁹⁷  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ⁵⁹⁸  32:18 then you must say, ⁵⁹⁹  ‘They belong ⁶⁰⁰  to your servant Jacob. ⁶⁰¹  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ⁶⁰²  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ⁶⁰³ 

32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ⁶⁰⁴  32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ⁶⁰⁵  Jacob thought, ⁶⁰⁶  “I will first appease him ⁶⁰⁷  by sending a gift ahead of me. ⁶⁰⁸  After that I will meet him. ⁶⁰⁹  Perhaps he will accept me.” ⁶¹⁰  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ⁶¹¹  while he spent that night in the camp. ⁶¹² 

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ⁶¹³  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ⁶¹⁴  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ⁶¹⁵  32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. ⁶¹⁶  32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ⁶¹⁷  wrestled ⁶¹⁸  with him until daybreak. ⁶¹⁹  32:25 When the man ⁶²⁰  saw that he could not defeat Jacob, ⁶²¹  he struck ⁶²²  the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then the man ⁶²³  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ⁶²⁴  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ⁶²⁵  “unless you bless me.” ⁶²⁶  32:27 The man asked him, ⁶²⁷  “What is your name?” ⁶²⁸  He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, ⁶²⁹  “but Israel, ⁶³⁰  because you have fought ⁶³¹  with God and with men and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ⁶³²  “Why ⁶³³  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ⁶³⁴  Then he blessed ⁶³⁵  Jacob ⁶³⁶  there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ⁶³⁷  explaining, ⁶³⁸  “Certainly ⁶³⁹  I have seen God face to face ⁶⁴⁰  and have survived.” ⁶⁴¹ 

32:31 The sun rose ⁶⁴²  over him as he crossed over Penuel, ⁶⁴³  but ⁶⁴⁴  he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day ⁶⁴⁵  the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck ⁶⁴⁶  the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.

Jacob Meets Esau

33:1 Jacob looked up ⁶⁴⁷  and saw that Esau was coming ⁶⁴⁸  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ⁶⁴⁹  33:3 But Jacob ⁶⁵⁰  himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached ⁶⁵¹  his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau ⁶⁵²  looked up ⁶⁵³  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ⁶⁵⁴  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ⁶⁵⁵  your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. ⁶⁵⁶  33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

33:8 Esau ⁶⁵⁷  then asked, “What did you intend ⁶⁵⁸  by sending all these herds to meet me?” ⁶⁵⁹  Jacob ⁶⁶⁰  replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. ⁶⁶¹  “If I have found favor in your sight, accept ⁶⁶²  my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, ⁶⁶³  it is as if I have seen the face of God. ⁶⁶⁴  33:11 Please take my present ⁶⁶⁵  that was brought to you, for God has been generous ⁶⁶⁶  to me and I have all I need.” ⁶⁶⁷  When Jacob urged him, he took it. ⁶⁶⁸ 

33:12 Then Esau ⁶⁶⁹  said, “Let’s be on our way! ⁶⁷⁰  I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob ⁶⁷¹  said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, ⁶⁷²  and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. ⁶⁷³  If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, ⁶⁷⁴  until I come to my lord at Seir.”

33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” ⁶⁷⁵  “Why do that?” Jacob replied. ⁶⁷⁶  “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” ⁶⁷⁷ 

33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back ⁶⁷⁸  to Seir. 33:17 But ⁶⁷⁹  Jacob traveled to Succoth ⁶⁸⁰  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ⁶⁸¹  Succoth. ⁶⁸² 

33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near ⁶⁸³  the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it ⁶⁸⁴  from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. ⁶⁸⁵  33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” ⁶⁸⁶ 

Dinah and the Shechemites

34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet ⁶⁸⁷  the young women ⁶⁸⁸  of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, ⁶⁸⁹  and sexually assaulted her. ⁶⁹⁰  34:3 Then he became very attached ⁶⁹¹  to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. ⁶⁹²  34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” ⁶⁹³  34:5 When ⁶⁹⁴  Jacob heard that Shechem ⁶⁹⁵  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ⁶⁹⁶  until they came in.

34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. ⁶⁹⁷  34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ⁶⁹⁸  They ⁶⁹⁹  were offended ⁷⁰⁰  and very angry because Shechem ⁷⁰¹  had disgraced Israel ⁷⁰²  by sexually assaulting ⁷⁰³  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ⁷⁰⁴ 

34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. ⁷⁰⁵  Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. ⁷⁰⁶  Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. ⁷⁰⁷  34:10 You may live ⁷⁰⁸  among us, and the land will be open to you. ⁷⁰⁹  Live in it, travel freely in it, ⁷¹⁰  and acquire property in it.”

34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s ⁷¹¹  father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me ⁷¹²  I’ll give. ⁷¹³  34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, ⁷¹⁴  and I’ll give ⁷¹⁵  whatever you ask ⁷¹⁶  of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”

34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem ⁷¹⁷  had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give ⁷¹⁸  our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace ⁷¹⁹  to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become ⁷²⁰  like us by circumcising ⁷²¹  all your males. 34:16 Then we will give ⁷²²  you our daughters to marry, ⁷²³  and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms ⁷²⁴  by being circumcised, then we will take ⁷²⁵  our sister ⁷²⁶  and depart.”

34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ⁷²⁷  34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ⁷²⁸  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ⁷²⁹  badly. (Now he was more important ⁷³⁰  than anyone in his father’s household.) ⁷³¹  34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate ⁷³²  of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough ⁷³³  for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. ⁷³⁴  34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand ⁷³⁵  that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, ⁷³⁶  won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate ⁷³⁷  agreed with ⁷³⁸  Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate ⁷³⁹  was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword ⁷⁴⁰  and went to the unsuspecting city ⁷⁴¹  and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them ⁷⁴²  and looted the city because their sister had been violated. ⁷⁴³  34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ⁷⁴⁴  34:29 They captured as plunder ⁷⁴⁵  all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.

34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin ⁷⁴⁶  on me by making me a foul odor ⁷⁴⁷  among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I ⁷⁴⁸  am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, ⁷⁴⁹  “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”

The Return to Bethel

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once ⁷⁵⁰  to Bethel ⁷⁵¹  and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ⁷⁵²  35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ⁷⁵³  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ⁷⁵⁴  35:3 Let us go up at once ⁷⁵⁵  to Bethel. Then I will make ⁷⁵⁶  an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress ⁷⁵⁷  and has been with me wherever I went.” ⁷⁵⁸ 

35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession ⁷⁵⁹  and the rings that were in their ears. ⁷⁶⁰  Jacob buried them ⁷⁶¹  under the oak ⁷⁶²  near Shechem 35:5 and they started on their journey. ⁷⁶³  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ⁷⁶⁴  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) ⁷⁶⁵  in the land of Canaan. ⁷⁶⁶  35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ⁷⁶⁷  because there God had revealed himself ⁷⁶⁸  to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, ⁷⁶⁹  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ⁷⁷⁰  Oak of Weeping.) ⁷⁷¹ 

35:9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram and blessed him. 35:10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob; Israel will be your name.” So God named him Israel. ⁷⁷²  35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. ⁷⁷³  Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! ⁷⁷⁴  35:12 The land I gave ⁷⁷⁵  to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants ⁷⁷⁶  I will also give this land.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place ⁷⁷⁷  where he spoke with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. ⁷⁷⁸  He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. ⁷⁷⁹  35:15 Jacob named the place ⁷⁸⁰  where God spoke with him Bethel. ⁷⁸¹ 

35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, ⁷⁸²  Rachel went into labor ⁷⁸³  – and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, ⁷⁸⁴  the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” ⁷⁸⁵  35:18 With her dying breath, ⁷⁸⁶  she named him Ben-Oni. ⁷⁸⁷  But his father called him Benjamin instead. ⁷⁸⁸  35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ⁷⁸⁹  35:20 Jacob set up a marker ⁷⁹⁰  over her grave; it is ⁷⁹¹  the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.

35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. ⁷⁹²  35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with ⁷⁹³  Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.

These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

35:27 So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, ⁷⁹⁴  to Kiriath Arba ⁷⁹⁵  (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ⁷⁹⁶  35:28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. ⁷⁹⁷  35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. ⁷⁹⁸  He died an old man who had lived a full life. ⁷⁹⁹  His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The Descendants of Esau

36:1 What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). ⁸⁰⁰ 

36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: ⁸⁰¹  Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter ⁸⁰²  of Zibeon the Hivite, 36:3 in addition to Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

36:4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 36:5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to a land some distance away from ⁸⁰³  Jacob his brother 36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled ⁸⁰⁴  was not able to support them because of their livestock. 36:8 So Esau (also known as Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. ⁸⁰⁵ 

36:9 This is the account of Esau, the father ⁸⁰⁶  of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.

36:10 These were the names of Esau’s sons:

Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were:

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

36:12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons ⁸⁰⁷  of Esau’s wife Adah.

36:13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons ⁸⁰⁸  of Esau’s wife Basemath.

36:14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter ⁸⁰⁹  of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.

36:15 These were the chiefs ⁸¹⁰  among the descendants ⁸¹¹  of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 36:16 chief Korah, ⁸¹²  chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons ⁸¹³  of Adah.

36:17 These were the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons ⁸¹⁴  of Esau’s wife Basemath.

36:18 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

36:19 These were the sons of Esau (also known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.

36:20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, ⁸¹⁵  who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants ⁸¹⁶  of Seir in the land of Edom.

36:22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; ⁸¹⁷  Lotan’s sister was Timna.

36:23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, ⁸¹⁸  and Onam.

36:24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs ⁸¹⁹  in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).

36:25 These were the children ⁸²⁰  of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

36:26 These were the sons of Dishon: ⁸²¹  Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

36:27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

36:28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

36:29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chief lists in the land of Seir.

36:31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: ⁸²² 

36:32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah.

36:33 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.

36:34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

36:35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith.

36:36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.

36:37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the River ⁸²³  reigned in his place.

36:38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

36:39 When Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad ⁸²⁴  reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. ⁸²⁵  His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.

36:40 These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 36:41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 36:42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 36:43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements ⁸²⁶  in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.

Joseph’s Dreams

37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, ⁸²⁷  in the land of Canaan. ⁸²⁸ 

37:2 This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, ⁸²⁹  was taking care of ⁸³⁰  the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster ⁸³¹  working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. ⁸³²  Joseph brought back a bad report about them ⁸³³  to their father.

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons ⁸³⁴  because he was a son born to him late in life, ⁸³⁵  and he made a special ⁸³⁶  tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s ⁸³⁷  brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, ⁸³⁸  they hated Joseph ⁸³⁹  and were not able to speak to him kindly. ⁸⁴⁰ 

37:5 Joseph ⁸⁴¹  had a dream, ⁸⁴²  and when he told his brothers about it, ⁸⁴³  they hated him even more. ⁸⁴⁴  37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁸⁴⁵  37:7 There we were, ⁸⁴⁶  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 ⁸⁴⁷  to it!” 37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” ⁸⁴⁸  They hated him even more ⁸⁴⁹  because of his dream and because of what he said. ⁸⁵⁰ 

37:9 Then he had another dream, ⁸⁵¹  and told it to his brothers. “Look,” ⁸⁵²  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? ⁸⁵³  Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” ⁸⁵⁴  37:11 His brothers were jealous ⁸⁵⁵  of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said. ⁸⁵⁶ 

37:12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 37:13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers ⁸⁵⁷  are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” ⁸⁵⁸  Joseph replied. ⁸⁵⁹  37:14 So Jacob ⁸⁶⁰  said to him, “Go now and check on ⁸⁶¹  the welfare ⁸⁶²  of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob ⁸⁶³  sent him from the valley of Hebron.

37:15 When Joseph reached Shechem, ⁸⁶⁴  a man found him wandering ⁸⁶⁵  in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 37:16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell ⁸⁶⁶  me where they are grazing their flocks.” 37:17 The man said, “They left this area, ⁸⁶⁷  for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers ⁸⁶⁸  saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams! ⁸⁶⁹  37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild ⁸⁷⁰  animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” ⁸⁷¹ 

37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph ⁸⁷²  from their hands, ⁸⁷³  saying, ⁸⁷⁴  “Let’s not take his life!” ⁸⁷⁵  37:22 Reuben continued, ⁸⁷⁶  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ⁸⁷⁷  (Reuben said this ⁸⁷⁸  so he could rescue Joseph ⁸⁷⁹  from them ⁸⁸⁰  and take him back to his father.)

37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him ⁸⁸¹  of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 37:24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; ⁸⁸²  there was no water in it.)

37:25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up ⁸⁸³  and saw ⁸⁸⁴  a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. ⁸⁸⁵  37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 37:27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him, ⁸⁸⁶  for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. ⁸⁸⁷  37:28 So when the Midianite ⁸⁸⁸  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ⁸⁸⁹  him ⁸⁹⁰  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ⁸⁹¹  then took Joseph to Egypt.

37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! ⁸⁹²  He tore his clothes, 37:30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?” 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat, ⁸⁹³  and dipped the tunic in the blood. 37:32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father ⁸⁹⁴  and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

37:33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! ⁸⁹⁵  Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, ⁸⁹⁶  and mourned for his son many days. 37:35 All his sons and daughters stood by ⁸⁹⁷  him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.” ⁸⁹⁸  So Joseph’s ⁸⁹⁹  father wept for him.

37:36 Now ⁹⁰⁰  in Egypt the Midianites ⁹⁰¹  sold Joseph ⁹⁰²  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ⁹⁰³ 

Judah and Tamar

38:1 At that time Judah left ⁹⁰⁴  his brothers and stayed ⁹⁰⁵  with an Adullamite man ⁹⁰⁶  named Hirah.

38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man ⁹⁰⁷  named Shua. ⁹⁰⁸  Judah acquired her as a wife ⁹⁰⁹  and had marital relations with her. ⁹¹⁰  38:3 She became pregnant ⁹¹¹  and had a son. Judah named ⁹¹²  him Er. 38:4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 38:5 Then she had ⁹¹³  yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. ⁹¹⁴ 

38:6 Judah acquired ⁹¹⁵  a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.

38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with ⁹¹⁶  your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise ⁹¹⁷  up a descendant for your brother.” ⁹¹⁸  38:9 But Onan knew that the child ⁹¹⁹  would not be considered his. ⁹²⁰  So whenever ⁹²¹  he had sexual relations with ⁹²²  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ⁹²³  so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord ⁹²⁴  killed him too.

38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, ⁹²⁵  “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” ⁹²⁶  So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

38:12 After some time ⁹²⁷  Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with ⁹²⁸  his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 38:13 Tamar was told, ⁹²⁹  “Look, your father-in-law is going up ⁹³⁰  to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 38:14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because ⁹³¹  she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) ⁹³² 

38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute ⁹³³  because she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” ⁹³⁴  (He did not realize ⁹³⁵  it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” ⁹³⁶  38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” ⁹³⁷  38:18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her. ⁹³⁸  She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, ⁹³⁹  removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.

38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah ⁹⁴⁰  the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, ⁹⁴¹  but Hirah ⁹⁴²  could not find her. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, ⁹⁴³  “Where is the cult prostitute ⁹⁴⁴  who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things ⁹⁴⁵  for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. ⁹⁴⁶  I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”

38:24 After three months Judah was told, ⁹⁴⁷  “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, ⁹⁴⁸  and as a result she has become pregnant.” ⁹⁴⁹  Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word ⁹⁵⁰  to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” ⁹⁵¹  Then she said, “Identify ⁹⁵²  the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright ⁹⁵³  than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her ⁹⁵⁴  again.

38:27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 38:28 While she was giving birth, one child ⁹⁵⁵  put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 38:29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. ⁹⁵⁶  She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” ⁹⁵⁷  So he was named Perez. ⁹⁵⁸  38:30 Afterward his brother came out – the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand – and he was named Zerah. ⁹⁵⁹ 

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ⁹⁶⁰  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ⁹⁶¹  purchased him from ⁹⁶²  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful ⁹⁶³  and lived ⁹⁶⁴  in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. ⁹⁶⁵  39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. ⁹⁶⁶  Potiphar appointed Joseph ⁹⁶⁷  overseer of his household and put him in charge ⁹⁶⁸  of everything he owned. 39:5 From the time ⁹⁶⁹  Potiphar ⁹⁷⁰  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ⁹⁷¹  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ⁹⁷²  in his house and in his fields. ⁹⁷³  39:6 So Potiphar ⁹⁷⁴  left ⁹⁷⁵  everything he had in Joseph’s care; ⁹⁷⁶  he gave no thought ⁹⁷⁷  to anything except the food he ate. ⁹⁷⁸ 

Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. ⁹⁷⁹  39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of ⁹⁸⁰  Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” ⁹⁸¹  39:8 But he refused, saying ⁹⁸²  to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought ⁹⁸³  to his household with me here, ⁹⁸⁴  and everything that he owns he has put into my care. ⁹⁸⁵  39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do ⁹⁸⁶  such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak ⁹⁸⁷  to Joseph day after day, he did not respond ⁹⁸⁸  to her invitation to have sex with her. ⁹⁸⁹ 

39:11 One day ⁹⁹⁰  he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants ⁹⁹¹  were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran ⁹⁹²  outside. ⁹⁹³  39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought ⁹⁹⁴  in a Hebrew man ⁹⁹⁵  to us to humiliate us. ⁹⁹⁶  He tried to have sex with me, ⁹⁹⁷  but I screamed loudly. ⁹⁹⁸  39:15 When he heard me raise ⁹⁹⁹  my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”

39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: ¹⁰⁰⁰  “That Hebrew slave ¹⁰⁰¹  you brought to us tried to humiliate me, ¹⁰⁰²  39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”

39:19 When his master heard his wife say, ¹⁰⁰³  “This is the way ¹⁰⁰⁴  your slave treated me,” ¹⁰⁰⁵  he became furious. ¹⁰⁰⁶  39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, ¹⁰⁰⁷  the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. ¹⁰⁰⁸ 

39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. ¹⁰⁰⁹  He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. ¹⁰¹⁰  39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. ¹⁰¹¹  39:23 The warden did not concern himself ¹⁰¹²  with anything that was in Joseph’s ¹⁰¹³  care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer ¹⁰¹⁴  to the king of Egypt and the royal baker ¹⁰¹⁵  offended ¹⁰¹⁶  their master, the king of Egypt. 40:2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials, ¹⁰¹⁷  the cupbearer and the baker, 40:3 so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined. 40:4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them. ¹⁰¹⁸ 

They spent some time in custody. ¹⁰¹⁹  40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream ¹⁰²⁰  the same night. ¹⁰²¹  Each man’s dream had its own meaning. ¹⁰²²  40:6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed. ¹⁰²³  40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” ¹⁰²⁴  40:8 They told him, “We both had dreams, ¹⁰²⁵  but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them ¹⁰²⁶  to me.”

40:9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: ¹⁰²⁷  “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. 40:10 On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 40:11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his ¹⁰²⁸  cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” ¹⁰²⁹ 

40:12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent ¹⁰³⁰  three days. 40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you ¹⁰³¹  and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before ¹⁰³²  when you were cupbearer. 40:14 But remember me ¹⁰³³  when it goes well for you, and show ¹⁰³⁴  me kindness. ¹⁰³⁵  Make mention ¹⁰³⁶  of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, ¹⁰³⁷  40:15 for I really was kidnapped ¹⁰³⁸  from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”

40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, ¹⁰³⁹  he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread ¹⁰⁴⁰  on my head. 40:17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”

40:18 Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent ¹⁰⁴¹  three days. 40:19 In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you ¹⁰⁴²  and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” ¹⁰⁴³  the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position ¹⁰⁴⁴  so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 40:22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted. ¹⁰⁴⁵  40:23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph – he forgot him. ¹⁰⁴⁶ 

Joseph’s Rise to Power

41:1 At the end of two full years ¹⁰⁴⁷  Pharaoh had a dream. ¹⁰⁴⁸  As he was standing by the Nile, 41:2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, ¹⁰⁴⁹  and they grazed in the reeds. 41:3 Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, ¹⁰⁵⁰  and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river. ¹⁰⁵¹  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 ¹⁰⁵²  on one stalk, healthy ¹⁰⁵³  and good. 41:6 Then ¹⁰⁵⁴  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. ¹⁰⁵⁵ 

41:8 In the morning he ¹⁰⁵⁶  was troubled, so he called for ¹⁰⁵⁷  all the diviner-priests ¹⁰⁵⁸  of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, ¹⁰⁵⁹  but no one could interpret ¹⁰⁶⁰  them for him. ¹⁰⁶¹  41:9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures. ¹⁰⁶²  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. ¹⁰⁶³  41:12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant ¹⁰⁶⁴  of the captain of the guards, ¹⁰⁶⁵  was with us there. We told him our dreams, ¹⁰⁶⁶  and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. ¹⁰⁶⁷  41:13 It happened just as he had said ¹⁰⁶⁸  to us – Pharaoh ¹⁰⁶⁹  restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” ¹⁰⁷⁰ 

41:14 Then Pharaoh summoned ¹⁰⁷¹  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, ¹⁰⁷²  and there is no one who can interpret ¹⁰⁷³  it. But I have heard about you, that ¹⁰⁷⁴  you can interpret dreams.” ¹⁰⁷⁵  41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power, ¹⁰⁷⁶  but God will speak concerning ¹⁰⁷⁷  the welfare of Pharaoh.” ¹⁰⁷⁸ 

41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing ¹⁰⁷⁹  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. ¹⁰⁸⁰  41:19 Then ¹⁰⁸¹  seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows ¹⁰⁸²  as these in all the land of Egypt! 41:20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven ¹⁰⁸³  fat cows. 41:21 When they had eaten them, ¹⁰⁸⁴  no one would have known ¹⁰⁸⁵  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 ¹⁰⁸⁶  seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 41:23 Then ¹⁰⁸⁷  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 ¹⁰⁸⁸  to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” ¹⁰⁸⁹ 

41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. ¹⁰⁹⁰  God has revealed ¹⁰⁹¹  to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ¹⁰⁹²  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. ¹⁰⁹³  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 ¹⁰⁹⁴  seven years of famine. 41:28 This is just what I told ¹⁰⁹⁵  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 ¹⁰⁹⁶  after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate ¹⁰⁹⁷  the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered ¹⁰⁹⁸  because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. ¹⁰⁹⁹  41:32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh ¹¹⁰⁰  because the matter has been decreed ¹¹⁰¹  by God, and God will make it happen soon. ¹¹⁰² 

41:33 “So now Pharaoh should look ¹¹⁰³  for a wise and discerning man ¹¹⁰⁴  and give him authority ¹¹⁰⁵  over all the land of Egypt. 41:34 Pharaoh should do ¹¹⁰⁶  this – he should appoint ¹¹⁰⁷  officials ¹¹⁰⁸  throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt ¹¹⁰⁹  during the seven years of abundance. 41:35 They should gather all the excess food ¹¹¹⁰  during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority ¹¹¹¹  they should store up grain so the cities will have food, ¹¹¹²  and they should preserve it. ¹¹¹³  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.” ¹¹¹⁴ 

41:37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. ¹¹¹⁵  41:38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph, ¹¹¹⁶  one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” ¹¹¹⁷  41:39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning ¹¹¹⁸  as you are! 41:40 You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. ¹¹¹⁹  Only I, the king, will be greater than you. ¹¹²⁰ 

41:41 “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I place ¹¹²¹  you in authority over all the land of Egypt.” ¹¹²²  41:42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen ¹¹²³  clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. 41:43 Pharaoh ¹¹²⁴  had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, ¹¹²⁵  and they cried out before him, “Kneel down!” ¹¹²⁶  So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 41:44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission ¹¹²⁷  no one ¹¹²⁸  will move his hand or his foot ¹¹²⁹  in all the land of Egypt.” 41:45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. ¹¹³⁰  He also gave him Asenath ¹¹³¹  daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, ¹¹³²  to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of ¹¹³³  all the land of Egypt.

41:46 Now Joseph was 30 years old ¹¹³⁴  when he began serving ¹¹³⁵  Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by ¹¹³⁶  Pharaoh and was in charge of ¹¹³⁷  all the land of Egypt. 41:47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. ¹¹³⁸  41:48 Joseph ¹¹³⁹  collected all the excess food ¹¹⁴⁰  in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. ¹¹⁴¹  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, ¹¹⁴²  until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure.

41:50 Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. ¹¹⁴³  Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. ¹¹⁴⁴  41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, ¹¹⁴⁵  saying, ¹¹⁴⁶  “Certainly ¹¹⁴⁷  God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.” 41:52 He named the second child Ephraim, ¹¹⁴⁸  saying, ¹¹⁴⁹  “Certainly ¹¹⁵⁰  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, ¹¹⁵¹  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, ¹¹⁵²  “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

41:56 While the famine was over all the earth, ¹¹⁵³  Joseph opened the storehouses ¹¹⁵⁴  and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. 41:57 People from every country ¹¹⁵⁵  came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.

Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt

42:1 When Jacob heard ¹¹⁵⁶  there was grain in Egypt, he ¹¹⁵⁷  said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” ¹¹⁵⁸  42:2 He then said, “Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us ¹¹⁵⁹  so that we may live ¹¹⁶⁰  and not die.” ¹¹⁶¹ 

42:3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, ¹¹⁶²  for he said, ¹¹⁶³  “What if some accident ¹¹⁶⁴  happens ¹¹⁶⁵  to him?” 42:5 So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, ¹¹⁶⁶  for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.

42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. ¹¹⁶⁷  Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down ¹¹⁶⁸  before him with ¹¹⁶⁹  their faces to the ground. 42:7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger ¹¹⁷⁰  to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered, ¹¹⁷¹  “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.” ¹¹⁷² 

42:8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 42:9 Then Joseph remembered ¹¹⁷³  the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see if our land is vulnerable!” ¹¹⁷⁴ 

42:10 But they exclaimed, ¹¹⁷⁵  “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food! 42:11 We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”

42:12 “No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” ¹¹⁷⁶  42:13 They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. ¹¹⁷⁷  We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, ¹¹⁷⁸  and one is no longer alive.” ¹¹⁷⁹ 

42:14 But Joseph told them, “It is just as I said to you: ¹¹⁸⁰  You are spies! 42:15 You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives, ¹¹⁸¹  you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 42:16 One of you must go and get ¹¹⁸²  your brother, while ¹¹⁸³  the rest of you remain in prison. ¹¹⁸⁴  In this way your words may be tested to see if ¹¹⁸⁵  you are telling the truth. ¹¹⁸⁶  If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 42:17 He imprisoned ¹¹⁸⁷  them all for three days. 42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say ¹¹⁸⁸  and you will live, ¹¹⁸⁹  for I fear God. ¹¹⁹⁰  42:19 If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison ¹¹⁹¹  while the rest of you go ¹¹⁹²  and take grain back for your hungry families. ¹¹⁹³  42:20 But you must bring ¹¹⁹⁴  your youngest brother to me. Then ¹¹⁹⁵  your words will be verified ¹¹⁹⁶  and you will not die.” They did as he said. ¹¹⁹⁷ 

42:21 They said to one other, ¹¹⁹⁸  “Surely we’re being punished ¹¹⁹⁹  because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was ¹²⁰⁰  when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress ¹²⁰¹  has come on us!” 42:22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” ¹²⁰²  42:23 (Now ¹²⁰³  they did not know that Joseph could understand them, ¹²⁰⁴  for he was speaking through an interpreter.) ¹²⁰⁵  42:24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again, ¹²⁰⁶  he had Simeon taken ¹²⁰⁷  from them and tied up ¹²⁰⁸  before their eyes.

42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill ¹²⁰⁹  their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out. ¹²¹⁰  42:26 So they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. ¹²¹¹ 

42:27 When one of them ¹²¹²  opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, ¹²¹³  he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. ¹²¹⁴  42:28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; ¹²¹⁵  they turned trembling one to another ¹²¹⁶  and said, “What in the world has God done to us?” ¹²¹⁷ 

42:29 They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying, 42:30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us ¹²¹⁸  as if we were ¹²¹⁹  spying on the land. 42:31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies! 42:32 We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father. ¹²²⁰  One is no longer alive, ¹²²¹  and the youngest is with our father at this time ¹²²²  in the land of Canaan.’

42:33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain ¹²²³  for your hungry households and go. 42:34 But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know ¹²²⁴  that you are honest men and not spies. ¹²²⁵  Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’” ¹²²⁶ 

42:35 When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid. 42:36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. ¹²²⁷  Simeon is gone. ¹²²⁸  And now you want to take ¹²²⁹  Benjamin! Everything is against me.”

42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may ¹²³⁰  put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care ¹²³¹  and I will bring him back to you.” 42:38 But Jacob ¹²³²  replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. ¹²³³  If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair ¹²³⁴  in sorrow to the grave.” ¹²³⁵ 

The Second Journey to Egypt

43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. ¹²³⁶  43:2 When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return, buy us a little more food.”

43:3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned ¹²³⁷  us, ‘You will not see my face ¹²³⁸  unless your brother is with you.’ 43:4 If you send ¹²³⁹  our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you. 43:5 But if you will not send him, we won’t go down there because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

43:6 Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble ¹²⁴⁰  on me by telling ¹²⁴¹  the man you had one more brother?”

43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us ¹²⁴²  thoroughly ¹²⁴³  about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ ¹²⁴⁴  So we answered him in this way. ¹²⁴⁵  How could we possibly know ¹²⁴⁶  that he would say, ¹²⁴⁷  ‘Bring your brother down’?”

43:8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. ¹²⁴⁸  Then we will live ¹²⁴⁹  and not die – we and you and our little ones. 43:9 I myself pledge security ¹²⁵⁰  for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. ¹²⁵¹  43:10 But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back ¹²⁵²  twice by now!”

43:11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man – a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. 43:12 Take double the money with you; ¹²⁵³  you must take back ¹²⁵⁴  the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks – perhaps it was an oversight. 43:13 Take your brother too, and go right away ¹²⁵⁵  to the man. ¹²⁵⁶  43:14 May the sovereign God ¹²⁵⁷  grant you mercy before the man so that he may release ¹²⁵⁸  your other brother ¹²⁵⁹  and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” ¹²⁶⁰ 

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 ¹²⁶¹  and stood before Joseph. 43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.” 43:17 The man did just as Joseph said; he ¹²⁶²  brought the men into Joseph’s house. ¹²⁶³ 

43:18 But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of ¹²⁶⁴  the money that was returned in our sacks last time. ¹²⁶⁵  He wants to capture us, ¹²⁶⁶  make us slaves, and take ¹²⁶⁷  our donkeys!” 43:19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 43:20 They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down ¹²⁶⁸  the first time ¹²⁶⁹  to buy food. 43:21 But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money – the full amount ¹²⁷⁰  – in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. ¹²⁷¹  43:22 We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!”

43:23 “Everything is fine,” ¹²⁷²  the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. ¹²⁷³  I had your money.” ¹²⁷⁴  Then he brought Simeon out to them.

43:24 The servant in charge ¹²⁷⁵  brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys. 43:25 They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival ¹²⁷⁶  at noon, for they had heard ¹²⁷⁷  that they were to have a meal ¹²⁷⁸  there.

43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, ¹²⁷⁹  and they bowed down to the ground before him. 43:27 He asked them how they were doing. ¹²⁸⁰  Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?” 43:28 “Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility. ¹²⁸¹ 

43:29 When Joseph looked up ¹²⁸²  and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” ¹²⁸³  43:30 Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother ¹²⁸⁴  and was at the point of tears. ¹²⁸⁵  So he went to his room and wept there.

43:31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, ¹²⁸⁶  “Set out the food.” 43:32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, ¹²⁸⁷  and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting ¹²⁸⁸  to do so.) ¹²⁸⁹  43:33 They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. ¹²⁹⁰  The men looked at each other in astonishment. ¹²⁹¹  43:34 He gave them portions of the food set before him, ¹²⁹²  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. ¹²⁹³ 

The Final Test

44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 44:2 Then put ¹²⁹⁴  my cup – the silver cup – in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed. ¹²⁹⁵ 

44:3 When morning came, ¹²⁹⁶  the men and their donkeys were sent off. ¹²⁹⁷  44:4 They had not gone very far from the city ¹²⁹⁸  when Joseph said ¹²⁹⁹  to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once! ¹³⁰⁰  When you overtake ¹³⁰¹  them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 44:5 Doesn’t my master drink from this cup ¹³⁰²  and use it for divination? ¹³⁰³  You have done wrong!’” ¹³⁰⁴ 

44:6 When the man ¹³⁰⁵  overtook them, he spoke these words to them. 44:7 They answered him, “Why does my lord say such things? ¹³⁰⁶  Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ¹³⁰⁷  44:8 Look, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 44:9 If one of us has it, ¹³⁰⁸  he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves!”

44:10 He replied, “You have suggested your own punishment! ¹³⁰⁹  The one who has it will become my slave, ¹³¹⁰  but the rest of ¹³¹¹  you will go free.” ¹³¹²  44:11 So each man quickly lowered ¹³¹³  his sack to the ground and opened it. 44:12 Then the man ¹³¹⁴  searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack! 44:13 They all tore their clothes! Then each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

44:14 So Judah and his brothers ¹³¹⁵  came back to Joseph’s house. He was still there, ¹³¹⁶  and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 44:15 Joseph said to them, “What did you think you were doing? ¹³¹⁷  Don’t you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?” ¹³¹⁸ 

44:16 Judah replied, “What can we say ¹³¹⁹  to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? ¹³²⁰  God has exposed the sin of your servants! ¹³²¹  We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”

44:17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of ¹³²²  you may go back ¹³²³  to your father in peace.”

44:18 Then Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you. ¹³²⁴  Please do not get angry with your servant, ¹³²⁵  for you are just like Pharaoh. ¹³²⁶  44:19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. ¹³²⁷  The boy’s ¹³²⁸  brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, ¹³²⁹  and his father loves him.’

44:21 “Then you told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see ¹³³⁰  him.’ ¹³³¹  44:22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father ¹³³²  will die.’ ¹³³³  44:23 But you said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 44:24 When we returned to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

44:25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ 44:26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there. ¹³³⁴  If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, ¹³³⁵  for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

44:27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. ¹³³⁶  44:28 The first disappeared ¹³³⁷  and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. 44:29 If you take ¹³³⁸  this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair ¹³³⁹  in tragedy ¹³⁴⁰  to the grave.’ ¹³⁴¹ 

44:30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us – his very life is bound up in his son’s life. ¹³⁴²  44:31 When he sees the boy is not with us, ¹³⁴³  he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. 44:32 Indeed, ¹³⁴⁴  your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.’

44:33 “So now, please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. 44:34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see ¹³⁴⁵  my father’s pain.” ¹³⁴⁶ 

The Reconciliation of the Brothers

45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, ¹³⁴⁷  so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained ¹³⁴⁸  with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 45:2 He wept loudly; ¹³⁴⁹  the Egyptians heard it and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. ¹³⁵⁰ 

45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” His brothers could not answer him because they were dumbfounded before him. 45:4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” so they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 45:5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, ¹³⁵¹  for God sent me ¹³⁵²  ahead of you to preserve life! 45:6 For these past two years there has been famine in ¹³⁵³  the land and for five more years there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 45:7 God sent me ¹³⁵⁴  ahead of you to preserve you ¹³⁵⁵  on the earth and to save your lives ¹³⁵⁶  by a great deliverance. 45:8 So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser ¹³⁵⁷  to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 45:9 Now go up to my father quickly ¹³⁵⁸  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 ¹³⁵⁹  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 ¹³⁶⁰  there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor – you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’ 45:12 You and my brother Benjamin can certainly see with your own eyes that I really am the one who speaks to you. ¹³⁶¹  45:13 So tell ¹³⁶²  my father about all my honor in Egypt and about everything you have seen. But bring my father down here quickly!” ¹³⁶³ 

45:14 Then he threw himself on the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 45:15 He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After this his brothers talked with him.

45:16 Now it was reported ¹³⁶⁴  in the household of Pharaoh, “Joseph’s brothers have arrived.” It pleased ¹³⁶⁵  Pharaoh and his servants. 45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go ¹³⁶⁶  to the land of Canaan! 45:18 Get your father and your households and come to me! Then I will give you ¹³⁶⁷  the best land in Egypt and you will eat ¹³⁶⁸  the best ¹³⁶⁹  of the land.’ 45:19 You are also commanded to say, ¹³⁷⁰  ‘Do this: Take for yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives. Bring your father and come. 45:20 Don’t worry ¹³⁷¹  about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt will be yours.’”

45:21 So the sons of Israel did as he said. ¹³⁷²  Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, ¹³⁷³  and he gave them provisions for the journey. 45:22 He gave sets of clothes to each one of them, ¹³⁷⁴  but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothes. ¹³⁷⁵  45:23 To his father he sent the following: ¹³⁷⁶  ten donkeys loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, food, and provisions for his father’s journey. 45:24 Then he sent his brothers on their way and they left. He said to them, “As you travel don’t be overcome with fear.” ¹³⁷⁷ 

45:25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ¹³⁷⁸  45:26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, ¹³⁷⁹  for he did not believe them. 45:27 But when they related to him everything Joseph had said to them, ¹³⁸⁰  and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, their father Jacob’s spirit revived. 45:28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.”

The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt

46:1 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. ¹³⁸¹  When he came to Beer Sheba ¹³⁸²  he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 46:2 God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night ¹³⁸³  and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!” 46:3 He said, “I am God, ¹³⁸⁴  the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 46:4 I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there. ¹³⁸⁵  Joseph will close your eyes.” ¹³⁸⁶ 

46:5 Then Jacob started out ¹³⁸⁷  from Beer Sheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little children, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent along to transport him. 46:6 Jacob and all his descendants took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they went to Egypt. ¹³⁸⁸  46:7 He brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, ¹³⁸⁹  his daughters and granddaughters – all his descendants.

46:8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt – Jacob and his sons:

Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.

46:9 The sons of Reuben:

Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

46:10 The sons of Simeon:

Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar,

and Shaul (the son of a Canaanite woman).

46:11 The sons of Levi:

Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

46:12 The sons of Judah:

Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah

(but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan).

The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

46:13 The sons of Issachar:

Tola, Puah, ¹³⁹⁰  Jashub, ¹³⁹¹  and Shimron.

46:14 The sons of Zebulun:

Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

46:15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters numbered thirty-three in all. ¹³⁹² 

46:16 The sons of Gad:

Zephon, ¹³⁹³  Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

46:17 The sons of Asher:

Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister.

The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel.

46:18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen in all.

46:19 The sons of Rachel the wife of Jacob:

Joseph and Benjamin.

46:20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, ¹³⁹⁴  bore them to him.

46:21 The sons of Benjamin: ¹³⁹⁵ 

Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.

46:22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob, fourteen in all.

46:23 The son of Dan: Hushim. ¹³⁹⁶ 

46:24 The sons of Naphtali:

Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

46:25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, seven in all.

46:26 All the direct descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt with him were sixty-six in number. (This number does not include the wives of Jacob’s sons.) ¹³⁹⁷  46:27 Counting the two sons ¹³⁹⁸  of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, all the people of the household of Jacob who were in Egypt numbered seventy. ¹³⁹⁹ 

46:28 Jacob ¹⁴⁰⁰  sent Judah before him to Joseph to accompany him to Goshen. ¹⁴⁰¹  So they came to the land of Goshen. 46:29 Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. When he met him, ¹⁴⁰²  he hugged his neck and wept on his neck for quite some time.

46:30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” ¹⁴⁰³  46:31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, ¹⁴⁰⁴  ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. 46:32 The men are shepherds; ¹⁴⁰⁵  they take care of livestock. ¹⁴⁰⁶  They have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 46:33 Pharaoh will summon you and say, ‘What is your occupation?’ 46:34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle ¹⁴⁰⁷  from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, ¹⁴⁰⁸  for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting ¹⁴⁰⁹  to the Egyptians.”

Joseph’s Wise Administration

47:1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father, my brothers, their flocks and herds, and all that they own have arrived from the land of

Canaan. They are now ¹⁴¹⁰  in the land of Goshen.” 47:2 He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh. ¹⁴¹¹ 

47:3 Pharaoh said to Joseph’s ¹⁴¹²  brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did.” ¹⁴¹³  47:4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residents ¹⁴¹⁴  in the land. There ¹⁴¹⁵  is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”

47:5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 47:6 The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men ¹⁴¹⁶  among them, put them in charge ¹⁴¹⁷  of my livestock.”

47:7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him ¹⁴¹⁸  before Pharaoh. Jacob blessed ¹⁴¹⁹  Pharaoh. 47:8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How long have you lived?” ¹⁴²⁰  47:9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All ¹⁴²¹  the years of my travels ¹⁴²²  are 130. All ¹⁴²³  the years of my life have been few and painful; ¹⁴²⁴  the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.” ¹⁴²⁵  47:10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. ¹⁴²⁶ 

47:11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them territory ¹⁴²⁷  in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the land, the land of Rameses, ¹⁴²⁸  just as Pharaoh had commanded. 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.

47:13 But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away ¹⁴²⁹  because of the famine. 47:14 Joseph collected all the money that could be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan as payment ¹⁴³⁰  for the grain they were buying. Then Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s palace. ¹⁴³¹  47:15 When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was used up, all the Egyptians ¹⁴³²  came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die ¹⁴³³  before your very eyes because our money has run out?”

47:16 Then Joseph said, “If your money is gone, bring your livestock, and I will give you food ¹⁴³⁴  in exchange for ¹⁴³⁵  your livestock.” 47:17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. ¹⁴³⁶  He got them through that year by giving them food in exchange for livestock.

47:18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our ¹⁴³⁷  lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land. 47:19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become ¹⁴³⁸  Pharaoh’s slaves. ¹⁴³⁹  Give us seed that we may live ¹⁴⁴⁰  and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” ¹⁴⁴¹ 

47:20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each ¹⁴⁴²  of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe. ¹⁴⁴³  So the land became Pharaoh’s. 47:21 Joseph ¹⁴⁴⁴  made all the people slaves ¹⁴⁴⁵  from one end of Egypt’s border to the other end of it. 47:22 But he did not purchase the land of the priests because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh and they ate from their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

47:23 Joseph said to the people, “Since I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivate ¹⁴⁴⁶  the land. 47:24 When you gather in the crop, ¹⁴⁴⁷  give ¹⁴⁴⁸  one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and the rest ¹⁴⁴⁹  will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.” 47:25 They replied, “You have saved our lives! You are showing us favor, ¹⁴⁵⁰  and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” ¹⁴⁵¹ 

47:26 So Joseph made it a statute, ¹⁴⁵²  which is in effect ¹⁴⁵³  to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

47:27 Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they owned land there. They were fruitful and increased rapidly in number.

47:28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the years ¹⁴⁵⁴  of Jacob’s life were 147 in all. 47:29 The time ¹⁴⁵⁵  for Israel to die approached, so he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh ¹⁴⁵⁶  and show me kindness and faithfulness. ¹⁴⁵⁷  Do not bury me in Egypt, 47:30 but when I rest ¹⁴⁵⁸  with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” Joseph ¹⁴⁵⁹  said, “I will do as you say.”

47:31 Jacob ¹⁴⁶⁰  said, “Swear to me that you will do so.” ¹⁴⁶¹  So Joseph ¹⁴⁶²  gave him his word. ¹⁴⁶³  Then Israel bowed down ¹⁴⁶⁴  at the head of his bed. ¹⁴⁶⁵ 

Manasseh and Ephraim

48:1 After these things Joseph was told, ¹⁴⁶⁶  “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 48:2 When Jacob was told, ¹⁴⁶⁷  “Your son Joseph has just ¹⁴⁶⁸  come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed. 48:3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The sovereign God ¹⁴⁶⁹  appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 48:4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful ¹⁴⁷⁰  and will multiply you. ¹⁴⁷¹  I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants ¹⁴⁷²  as an everlasting possession.’ ¹⁴⁷³ 

48:5 “Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine. ¹⁴⁷⁴  Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are. 48:6 Any children that you father ¹⁴⁷⁵  after them will be yours; they will be listed ¹⁴⁷⁶  under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. ¹⁴⁷⁷  48:7 But as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died – to my sorrow ¹⁴⁷⁸  – in the land of Canaan. It happened along the way, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem). ¹⁴⁷⁹ 

48:8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these?” 48:9 Joseph said to his father, “They are the ¹⁴⁸⁰  sons God has given me in this place.” His father ¹⁴⁸¹  said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.” ¹⁴⁸²  48:10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing ¹⁴⁸³  because of his age; he was not able to see well. So Joseph ¹⁴⁸⁴  brought his sons ¹⁴⁸⁵  near to him, and his father ¹⁴⁸⁶  kissed them and embraced them. 48:11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected ¹⁴⁸⁷  to see you ¹⁴⁸⁸  again, but now God has allowed me to see your children ¹⁴⁸⁹  too.”

48:12 So Joseph moved them from Israel’s knees ¹⁴⁹⁰  and bowed down with his face to the ground. 48:13 Joseph positioned them; ¹⁴⁹¹  he put Ephraim on his right hand across from Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh on his left hand across from Israel’s right hand. Then Joseph brought them closer to his father. ¹⁴⁹²  48:14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger. ¹⁴⁹³  Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

48:15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers

Abraham and Isaac walked –

the God who has been my shepherd ¹⁴⁹⁴ 

all my life long to this day,

48:16 the Angel ¹⁴⁹⁵  who has protected me ¹⁴⁹⁶ 

from all harm –

bless these boys.

May my name be named in them, ¹⁴⁹⁷ 

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

48:17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him. ¹⁴⁹⁸  So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 48:18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude ¹⁴⁹⁹  of nations.” 48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you ¹⁵⁰⁰  will Israel bless, ¹⁵⁰¹  saying,

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ¹⁵⁰² 

48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you ¹⁵⁰³  and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 48:22 As one who is above your ¹⁵⁰⁴  brothers, I give to you the mountain slope, ¹⁵⁰⁵  which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

The Blessing of Jacob

49:1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell you ¹⁵⁰⁶  what will happen to you in the future. ¹⁵⁰⁷ 

49:2 “Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob;

listen to Israel, your father.

49:3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,

my might and the beginning of my strength,

outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power.

49:4 You are destructive ¹⁵⁰⁸  like water and will not excel, ¹⁵⁰⁹ 

for you got on your father’s bed, ¹⁵¹⁰ 

then you defiled it – he got on my couch! ¹⁵¹¹ 

49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers,

weapons of violence are their knives! ¹⁵¹² 

49:6 O my soul, do not come into their council,

do not be united to their assembly, my heart, ¹⁵¹³ 

for in their anger they have killed men,

and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen.

49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,

and their fury, for it was cruel.

I will divide them in Jacob,

and scatter them in Israel! ¹⁵¹⁴ 

49:8 Judah, ¹⁵¹⁵  your brothers will praise you.

Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,

your father’s sons will bow down before you.

49:9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah,

from the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He crouches and lies down like a lion;

like a lioness – who will rouse him?

49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, ¹⁵¹⁶ 

until he comes to whom it belongs; ¹⁵¹⁷ 

the nations will obey him. ¹⁵¹⁸ 

49:11 Binding his foal to the vine,

and his colt to the choicest vine,

he will wash ¹⁵¹⁹  his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes.

49:12 His eyes will be dark from wine,

and his teeth white from milk. ¹⁵²⁰ 

49:13 Zebulun will live ¹⁵²¹  by the haven of the sea

and become a haven for ships;

his border will extend to Sidon. ¹⁵²² 

49:14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey

lying down between two saddlebags.

49:15 When he sees ¹⁵²³  a good resting place,

and the pleasant land,

he will bend his shoulder to the burden

and become a slave laborer. ¹⁵²⁴ 

49:16 Dan ¹⁵²⁵  will judge ¹⁵²⁶  his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

49:17 May Dan be a snake beside the road,

a viper by the path,

that bites the heels of the horse

so that its rider falls backward. ¹⁵²⁷ 

49:18 I wait for your deliverance, O Lord. ¹⁵²⁸ 

49:19 Gad will be raided by marauding bands,

but he will attack them at their heels. ¹⁵²⁹ 

49:20 Asher’s ¹⁵³⁰  food will be rich, ¹⁵³¹ 

and he will provide delicacies ¹⁵³²  to royalty.

49:21 Naphtali is a free running doe, ¹⁵³³ 

he speaks delightful words. ¹⁵³⁴ 

49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, ¹⁵³⁵ 

a fruitful bough near a spring

whose branches ¹⁵³⁶  climb over the wall.

49:23 The archers will attack him, ¹⁵³⁷ 

they will shoot at him and oppose him.

49:24 But his bow will remain steady,

and his hands ¹⁵³⁸  will be skillful;

because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

because of ¹⁵³⁹  the Shepherd, the Rock ¹⁵⁴⁰  of Israel,

49:25 because of the God of your father,

who will help you, ¹⁵⁴¹ 

because of the sovereign God, ¹⁵⁴² 

who will bless you ¹⁵⁴³ 

with blessings from the sky above,

blessings from the deep that lies below,

and blessings of the breasts and womb. ¹⁵⁴⁴ 

49:26 The blessings of your father are greater

than ¹⁵⁴⁵  the blessings of the eternal mountains ¹⁵⁴⁶ 

or the desirable things of the age-old hills.

They will be on the head of Joseph

and on the brow of the prince of his brothers. ¹⁵⁴⁷ 

49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;

in the morning devouring the prey,

and in the evening dividing the plunder.”

49:28 These ¹⁵⁴⁸  are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing. ¹⁵⁴⁹ 

49:29 Then he instructed them, ¹⁵⁵⁰  “I am about to go ¹⁵⁵¹  to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 49:30 It is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought for a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. 49:31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah. 49:32 The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth.” ¹⁵⁵² 

49:33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went ¹⁵⁵³  to his people.

The Burials of Jacob and Joseph

50:1 Then Joseph hugged his father’s face. ¹⁵⁵⁴  He wept over him and kissed him. 50:2 Joseph instructed the physicians in his service ¹⁵⁵⁵  to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel. 50:3 They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming. ¹⁵⁵⁶  The Egyptians mourned ¹⁵⁵⁷  for him seventy days. ¹⁵⁵⁸ 

50:4 When the days of mourning ¹⁵⁵⁹  had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s royal court, ¹⁵⁶⁰  “If I have found favor in your sight, please say to Pharaoh, ¹⁵⁶¹  50:5 ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, ¹⁵⁶²  “I am about to die. Bury me ¹⁵⁶³  in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.’” 50:6 So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, just as he made you swear to do.” ¹⁵⁶⁴ 

50:7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; all Pharaoh’s officials went with him – the senior courtiers ¹⁵⁶⁵  of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt, 50:8 all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. 50:9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him, so it was a very large entourage. ¹⁵⁶⁶ 

50:10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad ¹⁵⁶⁷  on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow. ¹⁵⁶⁸  There Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father. 50:11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion ¹⁵⁶⁹  for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called ¹⁵⁷⁰  Abel Mizraim, ¹⁵⁷¹  which is beyond the Jordan.

50:12 So the sons of Jacob did for him just as he had instructed them. 50:13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. 50:14 After he buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.

50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay ¹⁵⁷²  us in full ¹⁵⁷³  for all the harm ¹⁵⁷⁴  we did to him?” 50:16 So they sent word ¹⁵⁷⁵  to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave these instructions before he died: 50:17 ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept. ¹⁵⁷⁶  50:18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.” 50:19 But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid. Am ¹⁵⁷⁷  I in the place of God? 50:20 As for you, you meant to harm me, ¹⁵⁷⁸  but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day. ¹⁵⁷⁹  50:21 So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly ¹⁵⁸⁰  to them.

50:22 Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family. ¹⁵⁸¹  Joseph lived 110 years. 50:23 Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation. ¹⁵⁸²  He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph. ¹⁵⁸³ 

50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you ¹⁵⁸⁴  and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give ¹⁵⁸⁵  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 50:25 Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 50:26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. ¹⁵⁸⁶  After they embalmed him, his body ¹⁵⁸⁷  was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

[25:1]  ¹ tn Or “took.”

[25:1]  sn Abraham had taken another wife. These events are not necessarily in chronological order following the events of the preceding chapter. They are listed here to summarize Abraham’s other descendants before the narrative of his death.

[25:1]  ² tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”

[25:3]  ³ sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.

[25:4]  ⁴ tn Or “sons.”

[25:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”

[25:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”

[25:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.

[25:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “old and full.”

[25:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[25:9]  ¹⁰ sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).

[25:10]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.

[25:11]  ¹² sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).

[25:11]  ¹³ sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.

[25:12]  ¹⁴ sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).

[25:13]  ¹⁵ tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”

[25:16]  ¹⁶ tn Or “tribal chieftains.”

[25:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”

[25:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[25:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ²² sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ²³ tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.

[25:19]  ²⁵ sn This is the account of Isaac. What follows for several chapters is not the account of Isaac, except briefly, but the account of Jacob and Esau. The next chapters tell what became of Isaac and his family.

[25:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”

[25:20]  ²⁷ sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for twenty years, and that Abraham would have lived to see Jacob and Esau begin to grow up. The death of Abraham was recorded in the first part of the chapter as a “tidying up” of one generation before beginning the account of the next.

[25:21]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the Lord to remove the plagues. The cognate word in Arabic means “to slaughter for sacrifice,” and the word is used in Zeph 3:10 to describe worshipers who bring offerings. Perhaps some ritual accompanied Isaac’s prayer here.

[25:22]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.

[25:22]  ³⁰ tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.

[25:22]  ³¹ sn Asked the Lord. In other passages (e.g., 1 Sam 9:9) this expression refers to inquiring of a prophet, but no details are provided here.

[25:23]  ³² sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.

[25:24]  ³³ tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”

[25:24]  ³⁴ tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.

[25:25]  ³⁵ sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.

[25:25]  ³⁶ tn Heb “all of him.”

[25:25]  ³⁷ sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.

[25:25]  ³⁸ tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.

[25:26]  ³⁹ tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.

[25:26]  sn The name Jacob is a play on the Hebrew word for “heel” (עָקֵב, ’aqev). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. It did not have a negative connotation until Esau redefined it. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. After receiving such an oracle, the parents would have preserved in memory almost every detail of the unusual births.

[25:26]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[25:27]  ⁴² tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ⁴³ tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”

[25:28]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.

[25:28]  ⁴⁵ tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.

[25:29]  ⁴⁶ sn Jacob cooked some stew. There are some significant words and wordplays in this story that help clarify the points of the story. The verb “cook” is זִיד (zid), which sounds like the word for “hunter” (צַיִד, tsayid). This is deliberate, for the hunter becomes the hunted in this story. The word זִיד means “to cook, to boil,” but by the sound play with צַיִד it comes to mean “set a trap by cooking.” The usage of the word shows that it can also have the connotation of acting presumptuously (as in boiling over). This too may be a comment on the scene. For further discussion of the rhetorical devices in the Jacob narratives, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

[25:30]  ⁴⁷ tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.

[25:30]  ⁴⁸ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.

[25:30]  ⁴⁹ sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”

[25:31]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “today.”

[25:32]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”

[25:33]  ⁵² tn Heb “Swear to me today.”

[25:33]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:33]  ⁵⁴ sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.

[25:34]  ⁵⁵ sn The style here is typical of Hebrew narrative; after the tension is resolved with the dialogue, the working out of it is recorded in a rapid sequence of verbs (“gave”; “ate”; “drank”; “got up”; “went out”). See also Gen 3:1-7 for another example.

[25:34]  ⁵⁶ sn So Esau despised his birthright. This clause, which concludes the episode, is a summary statement which reveals the underlying significance of Esau’s actions. “To despise” means to treat something as worthless or with contempt. Esau’s willingness to sell his birthright was evidence that he considered it to be unimportant.

[26:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ⁵⁸ sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

[26:2]  ⁵⁹ sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.

[26:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “say to you.”

[26:3]  ⁶¹ tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.

[26:3]  ⁶² tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  sn I will be with you and I will bless you. The promise of divine presence is a promise to intervene to protect and to bless.

[26:3]  ⁶³ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[26:3]  sn To you and to your descendants. The Abrahamic blessing will pass to Isaac. Everything included in that blessing will now belong to the son, and in turn will be passed on to his sons. But there is a contingency involved: If they are to enjoy the full blessings, they will have to obey the word of the Lord. And so obedience is enjoined here with the example of how well Abraham obeyed.

[26:3]  ⁶⁴ tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.

[26:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[26:3]  sn The solemn promise I made. See Gen 15:18-20; 22:16-18.

[26:4]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ⁶⁷ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[26:5]  ⁶⁸ tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[26:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[26:5]  ⁷⁰ sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.

[26:7]  ⁷¹ sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.

[26:7]  ⁷² tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.

[26:7]  ⁷³ tn Heb “kill me on account of.”

[26:8]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:8]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”

[26:8]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.

[26:8]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “fondling.”

[26:8]  sn The Hebrew word מְצַחֵק (mÿtsakheq), from the root צָחַק (tsakhaq, “laugh”), forms a sound play with the name “Isaac” right before it. Here it depicts an action, probably caressing or fondling, that indicated immediately that Rebekah was Isaac’s wife, not his sister. Isaac’s deception made a mockery of God’s covenantal promise. Ignoring God’s promise to protect and bless him, Isaac lied to protect himself and acted in bad faith to the men of Gerar.

[26:9]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.

[26:9]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).

[26:10]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[26:10]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “people.”

[26:10]  ⁸² tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”

[26:11]  ⁸³ tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.

[26:11]  ⁸⁴ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[26:12]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “a hundredfold.”

[26:12]  ⁸⁶ tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.

[26:13]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.

[26:13]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.

[26:14]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “and there was to him.”

[26:14]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”

[26:14]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”

[26:14]  ⁹² tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).

[26:15]  ⁹³ tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”

[26:16]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “Go away from us.”

[26:16]  ⁹⁵ sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).

[26:17]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”

[26:17]  sn This valley was actually a wadi (a dry river bed where the water would flow in the rainy season, but this would have been rare in the Negev). The water table under it would have been higher than in the desert because of water soaking in during the torrents, making it easier to find water when digging wells. However, this does not minimize the blessing of the Lord, for the men of the region knew this too, but did not have the same results.

[26:18]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[26:19]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[26:20]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ¹⁰⁷ sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”

[26:20]  ¹⁰⁸ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:21]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ¹¹¹ sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.

[26:22]  ¹¹² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:22]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “and he called its name.”

[26:22]  ¹¹⁴ sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.

[26:23]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:25]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.

[26:25]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

[26:26]  ¹¹⁸ tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”

[26:26]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “and.”

[26:26]  ¹²⁰ tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.

[26:27]  ¹²¹ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.

[26:28]  ¹²² tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ¹²³ tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:28]  ¹²⁴ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ¹²⁵ tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ¹²⁶ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”

[26:29]  ¹²⁷ tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”

[26:29]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “touched.”

[26:29]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”

[26:29]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “and we sent you away.”

[26:29]  ¹³¹ tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).

[26:30]  ¹³² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:30]  ¹³³ tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”

[26:31]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”

[26:31]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”

[26:32]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:33]  ¹³⁷ sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.

[26:33]  ¹³⁸ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.

[26:34]  ¹³⁹ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.

[26:34]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “the son of forty years.”

[26:34]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “took as a wife.”

[26:35]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”

[27:1]  ¹⁴³ tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.

[27:1]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ¹⁴⁸ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[27:3]  ¹⁵⁰ 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”).

[27:4]  ¹⁵¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:4]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.

[27:5]  ¹⁵³ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.

[27:5]  ¹⁵⁴ tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.

[27:7]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:7]  ¹⁵⁶ tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.

[27:7]  ¹⁵⁷ tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the Lord,” she stresses how serious this matter is.

[27:8]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”

[27:8]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”

[27:9]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:10]  ¹⁶¹ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.

[27:10]  ¹⁶² tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.

[27:10]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:11]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:12]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”

[27:13]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “upon me your curse.”

[27:13]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”

[27:14]  ¹⁶⁸ tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:14]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:16]  ¹⁷⁰ tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.

[27:16]  ¹⁷¹ tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”

[27:17]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”

[27:18]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ¹⁷⁴ sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.

[27:19]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.

[27:19]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.

[27:20]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”

[27:20]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.

[27:20]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”

[27:20]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the Lord your God….’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:21]  ¹⁸¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:21]  ¹⁸² tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.

[27:23]  ¹⁸³ tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:24]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:25]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.

[27:25]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ¹⁹¹ tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ¹⁹² tn Heb “see.”

[27:28]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[27:29]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

[27:29]  ¹⁹⁶ tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

[27:29]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:30]  ¹⁹⁸ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.

[27:30]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was

[27:30]  ²⁰⁰ tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”

[27:31]  ²⁰¹ tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.

[27:31]  ²⁰² tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).

[27:31]  ²⁰³ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”

[27:32]  ²⁰⁴ tn Heb “said.”

[27:32]  ²⁰⁵ tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[27:33]  ²⁰⁶ tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.

[27:33]  ²⁰⁷ tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”

[27:34]  ²⁰⁸ tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.

[27:34]  ²⁰⁹ tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”

[27:35]  ²¹⁰ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:35]  ²¹¹ tn Or “took”; “received.”

[27:36]  ²¹² tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.

[27:36]  ²¹³ sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”

[27:38]  ²¹⁴ tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:38]  ²¹⁵ tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”

[27:39]  ²¹⁶ tn Heb “look.”

[27:39]  ²¹⁷ tn Heb “from the fatness.”

[27:40]  ²¹⁸ sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.

[27:41]  ²¹⁹ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ²²⁰ tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ²²¹ tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.

[27:41]  ²²² tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ²²³ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[27:42]  ²²⁴ tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”

[27:42]  ²²⁵ tn Heb “she sent and called for.”

[27:42]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.

[27:43]  ²²⁷ tn Heb “listen to my voice.”

[27:43]  ²²⁸ tn Heb “arise, flee.”

[27:44]  ²²⁹ tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.

[27:45]  ²³⁰ tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:45]  ²³¹ tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.

[27:45]  ²³² tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.

[27:46]  ²³³ tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).

[27:46]  ²³⁴ tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

[27:46]  ²³⁵ tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”

[28:1]  ²³⁶ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:2]  ²³⁷ tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.

[28:3]  ²³⁸ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ²³⁹ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ²⁴⁰ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ²⁴¹ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[28:4]  ²⁴² tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.

[28:4]  ²⁴³ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ²⁴⁴ tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.

[28:6]  ²⁴⁵ tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”

[28:6]  ²⁴⁶ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.

[28:6]  ²⁴⁷ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ²⁴⁸ tn Heb “saw.”

[28:8]  ²⁴⁹ tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ²⁵⁰ tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”

[28:9]  ²⁵¹ tn Heb “took for a wife.”

[28:11]  ²⁵² tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37.

[28:11]  ²⁵³ tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ²⁵⁵ tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37.

[28:11]  ²⁵⁶ tn Heb “lay down.”

[28:12]  ²⁵⁷ tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ²⁵⁸ tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the Lord himself” (Narrative Art in Genesis [SSN], 51-52).

[28:12]  ²⁵⁹ tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87.

[28:13]  ²⁶⁰ tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.

[28:13]  ²⁶¹ tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.

[28:14]  ²⁶² tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ²⁶³ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ²⁶⁴ tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ²⁶⁵ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[28:15]  ²⁶⁶ tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).

[28:16]  ²⁶⁷ tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[28:16]  ²⁶⁸ tn Heb “said.”

[28:18]  ²⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”

[28:18]  ²⁷⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:18]  ²⁷¹ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.

[28:18]  ²⁷² tn Heb “standing stone.”

[28:18]  sn Sacred stone. Such a stone could be used as a boundary marker, a burial stone, or as a shrine. Here the stone is intended to be a reminder of the stairway that was “erected” and on which the Lord “stood.” (In Hebrew the word translated “sacred stone” is derived from the verb translated “erected” in v. 12 and “stood” in v. 13. Since the top of the stairway reached the heavens where the Lord stood, Jacob poured oil on the top of the stone. See C. F. Graesser, “Standing Stones in Ancient Palestine,” BA 35 (1972): 34-63; and E. Stockton, “Sacred Pillars in the Bible,” ABR 20 (1972): 16-32.

[28:19]  ²⁷³ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[28:19]  map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[28:20]  ²⁷⁴ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[28:21]  ²⁷⁵ tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

[28:22]  ²⁷⁶ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ²⁷⁷ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ²⁷⁸ tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.

[29:1]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.

[29:1]  ²⁸⁰ tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[29:2]  ²⁸¹ tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.

[29:2]  ²⁸² tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ²⁸³ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[29:3]  ²⁸⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:5]  ²⁸⁵ tn Heb “son.”

[29:5]  ²⁸⁶ tn Heb “and they said, ‘We know.’” The word “him” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the translation several introductory clauses throughout this section have been placed after the direct discourse they introduce for stylistic reasons as well.

[29:6]  ²⁸⁷ tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”

[29:6]  ²⁸⁸ tn Heb “peace.”

[29:7]  ²⁸⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ²⁹⁰ tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ²⁹¹ 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.

[29:8]  ²⁹² tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.

[29:9]  ²⁹³ tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”

[29:10]  ²⁹⁴ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

[29:10]  ²⁹⁵ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:10]  ²⁹⁶ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

[29:10]  ²⁹⁷ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).

[29:11]  ²⁹⁸ tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.

[29:12]  ²⁹⁹ tn Heb “declared.”

[29:12]  ³⁰⁰ tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”

[29:13]  ³⁰¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:13]  ³⁰² tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).

[29:14]  ³⁰³ tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).

[29:14]  ³⁰⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:14]  ³⁰⁵ tn Heb “a month of days.”

[29:15]  ³⁰⁶ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

[29:15]  ³⁰⁷ tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

[29:16]  ³⁰⁸ tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16-17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.

[29:17]  ³⁰⁹ tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.

[29:17]  ³¹⁰ tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”

[29:18]  ³¹¹ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

[29:19]  ³¹² tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”

[29:20]  ³¹³ tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

[29:20]  ³¹⁴ sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.

[29:20]  ³¹⁵ tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[29:21]  ³¹⁶ tn Heb “and Jacob said.”

[29:21]  ³¹⁷ tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”

[29:21]  ³¹⁸ tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).

[29:22]  ³¹⁹ tn Heb “men.”

[29:23]  ³²⁰ tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”

[29:23]  sn His daughter Leah. Laban’s deception of Jacob by giving him the older daughter instead of the younger was God’s way of disciplining the deceiver who tricked his older brother. D. Kidner says this account is “the very embodiment of anti-climax, and this moment a miniature of man’s disillusion, experienced from Eden onwards” (Genesis [TOTC], 160). G. von Rad notes, “That Laban secretly gave the unloved Leah to the man in love was, to be sure, a monstrous blow, a masterpiece of shameless treachery…It was certainly a move by which he won for himself far and wide the coarsest laughter” (Genesis [OTL], 291).

[29:23]  ³²¹ tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ³²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ³²³ tn Heb “went in to her.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

[29:24]  ³²⁴ tn Heb “and Laban gave to her Zilpah his female servant, to Leah his daughter [for] a servant.” This clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.

[29:25]  ³²⁵ tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[29:25]  ³²⁶ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ³²⁷ tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”

[29:25]  ³²⁸ sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.

[29:26]  ³²⁹ tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:26]  ³³⁰ tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[29:27]  ³³¹ tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity.

[29:27]  sn Bridal week. An ancient Hebrew marriage ceremony included an entire week of festivities (cf. Judg 14:12).

[29:27]  ³³² tn Heb “this other one.”

[29:27]  ³³³ tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.”

[29:27]  sn In exchange for seven more years of work. See C. H. Gordon, “The Story of Jacob and Laban in the Light of the Nuzi Tablets,” BASOR 66 (1937): 25-27; and J. Van Seters, “Jacob’s Marriages and Ancient Near Eastern Customs: A Reassessment,” HTR 62 (1969): 377-95.

[29:28]  ³³⁴ tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:28]  ³³⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:28]  ³³⁶ tn Heb “the seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as Leah to avoid confusion with Rachel, mentioned later in the verse.

[29:28]  ³³⁷ tn Heb “and he gave to him Rachel his daughter for him for a wife.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:29]  ³³⁸ tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”

[29:30]  ³³⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ³⁴⁰ tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

[29:30]  ³⁴¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ³⁴² tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:31]  ³⁴³ tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.

[29:31]  ³⁴⁴ tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[29:32]  ³⁴⁵ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ³⁴⁶ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ³⁴⁷ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:32]  sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the Lord has “looked” with pity on her oppressed condition. See further S. R. Driver, Genesis, 273.

[29:33]  ³⁴⁸ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ³⁴⁹ sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

[29:34]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “will be joined to me.”

[29:34]  ³⁵¹ sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.

[29:35]  ³⁵² sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.

[30:1]  ³⁵³ tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:1]  ³⁵⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

[30:2]  ³⁵⁵ tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”

[30:2]  ³⁵⁶ tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”

[30:3]  ³⁵⁷ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ³⁵⁸ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ³⁵⁹ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ³⁶⁰ tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.

[30:3]  ³⁶¹ tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).

[30:4]  ³⁶² tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:4]  ³⁶³ tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:5]  ³⁶⁴ tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).

[30:5]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:6]  ³⁶⁶ tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.

[30:6]  ³⁶⁷ tn Or “therefore.”

[30:6]  ³⁶⁸ sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.

[30:7]  ³⁶⁹ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:8]  ³⁷⁰ tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.

[30:8]  ³⁷¹ sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”

[30:9]  ³⁷² tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”

[30:10]  ³⁷³ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:11]  ³⁷⁴ tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial בְּ (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”

[30:11]  ³⁷⁵ sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.

[30:12]  ³⁷⁶ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:13]  ³⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

[30:13]  ³⁷⁸ tn Heb “daughters.”

[30:13]  ³⁷⁹ sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.

[30:14]  ³⁸⁰ tn Heb “during the days.”

[30:14]  ³⁸¹ sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.

[30:15]  ³⁸² tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:15]  ³⁸³ tn Heb “therefore.”

[30:15]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.

[30:16]  ³⁸⁵ tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.

[30:16]  ³⁸⁶ tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.

[30:16]  ³⁸⁷ tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.

[30:17]  ³⁸⁸ tn Heb “listened to.”

[30:17]  ³⁸⁹ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).

[30:17]  ³⁹⁰ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:18]  ³⁹¹ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

[30:18]  ³⁹² tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

[30:18]  sn Leah seems to regard the act of giving her servant Zilpah to her husband as a sacrifice, for which (she believes) God is now rewarding her with the birth of a son.

[30:18]  ³⁹³ sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.

[30:19]  ³⁹⁴ tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:20]  ³⁹⁵ sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, zevulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.

[30:22]  ³⁹⁶ tn Heb “remembered.”

[30:22]  ³⁹⁷ tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons

[30:23]  ³⁹⁸ tn Or “conceived.”

[30:23]  ³⁹⁹ tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.

[30:24]  ⁴⁰⁰ sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yoseph) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף,’asasf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.

[30:25]  ⁴⁰¹ tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.

[30:25]  ⁴⁰² tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.

[30:25]  sn For Jacob to ask to leave would mean that seven more years had passed. Thus all Jacob’s children were born within the range of seven years of each other, with Joseph coming right at the end of the seven years.

[30:25]  ⁴⁰³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:25]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”

[30:26]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you.” In one sense Laban had already “given” Jacob his two daughters as wives (Gen 29:21, 28). Here Jacob was asking for permission to take his own family along with him on the journey back to Canaan.

[30:26]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:26]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”

[30:27]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:27]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the Lord has blessed me” (cf. NEB). See J. Finkelstein, “An Old Babylonian Herding Contract and Genesis 31:38f.,” JAOS 88 (1968): 34, n. 19.

[30:28]  ⁴¹⁰ tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”

[30:29]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:29]  ⁴¹² tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”

[30:30]  ⁴¹³ tn Or “for.”

[30:30]  ⁴¹⁴ tn Heb “before me.”

[30:30]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”

[30:30]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Heb “at my foot.”

[30:30]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”

[30:31]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:31]  ⁴¹⁹ tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.

[30:31]  ⁴²⁰ tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:31]  ⁴²¹ tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”

[30:31]  ⁴²² tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”

[30:32]  ⁴²³ tn Heb “pass through.”

[30:32]  ⁴²⁴ tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

[30:32]  ⁴²⁵ tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

[30:32]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.

[30:33]  ⁴²⁷ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ⁴²⁸ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ⁴²⁹ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  sn Only the wage we agreed on. Jacob would have to be considered completely honest here, for he would have no control over the kind of animals born; and there could be no disagreement over which animals were his wages.

[30:33]  ⁴³⁰ tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”

[30:34]  ⁴³¹ tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’” On the asseverative use of the particle לוּ (lu) here, see HALOT 521 s.v. לוּ.

[30:35]  ⁴³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:35]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”

[30:36]  ⁴³⁴ tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  sn Three days’ traveling distance from Jacob. E. A. Speiser observes, “Laban is delighted with the terms, and promptly proceeds to violate the spirit of the bargain by removing to a safe distance all the grown animals that would be likely to produce the specified spots” (Genesis [AB], 238). Laban apparently thought that by separating out the spotted, striped, and dark colored animals he could minimize the production of spotted, striped, or dark offspring that would then belong to Jacob.

[30:36]  ⁴³⁵ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.

[30:38]  ⁴³⁶ sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids – in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).

[30:39]  ⁴³⁷ tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.

[30:39]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:40]  ⁴³⁹ tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”

[30:41]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”

[30:42]  ⁴⁴¹ tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.

[30:42]  ⁴⁴² tn Heb “were for Laban.”

[30:43]  ⁴⁴³ tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:43]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Heb “and there were to him.”

[31:1]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ⁴⁴⁶ sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[31:2]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata.

[31:3]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.

[31:3]  ⁴⁵⁰ sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the Lord promised to be.

[31:4]  ⁴⁵¹ tn Heb “sent and called for Rachel and for Leah.” Jacob did not go in person, but probably sent a servant with a message for his wives to meet him in the field.

[31:4]  ⁴⁵² tn Heb “the field.” The word is an adverbial accusative, indicating that this is where Jacob wanted them to meet him. The words “to come to” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[31:4]  ⁴⁵³ tn Heb “to his flock.”

[31:5]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”

[31:6]  ⁴⁵⁵ tn Heb “with all my strength.”

[31:7]  ⁴⁵⁶ tn This rare verb means “to make a fool of” someone. It involves deceiving someone so that their public reputation suffers (see Exod 8:25).

[31:8]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance – whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.

[31:8]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.

[31:10]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”

[31:10]  ⁴⁶⁰ tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”

[31:10]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:12]  ⁴⁶² tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”

[31:12]  ⁴⁶³ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:13]  ⁴⁶⁴ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ⁴⁶⁵ sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.

[31:13]  ⁴⁶⁶ sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.

[31:13]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[31:13]  sn Leave this land immediately. The decision to leave was a wise one in view of the changed attitude in Laban and his sons. But more than that, it was the will of God. Jacob needed to respond to God’s call – the circumstances simply made it easier.

[31:14]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

[31:15]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.

[31:15]  sn He sold us and…wasted our money. The precise nature of Rachel’s and Leah’s complaint is not entirely clear. Since Jacob had to work to pay for them, they probably mean that their father has cheated Jacob and therefore cheated them as well. See M. Burrows, “The Complaint of Laban’s Daughters,” JAOS 57 (1937): 250-76.

[31:15]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn Heb “our money.” The word “money” is used figuratively here; it means the price paid for Leah and Rachel. A literal translation (“our money”) makes it sound as if Laban wasted money that belonged to Rachel and Leah, rather than the money paid for them.

[31:17]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”

[31:18]  ⁴⁷² tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.

[31:18]  ⁴⁷³ tn Heb “and he led away all his cattle and all his moveable property which he acquired, the cattle he obtained, which he acquired in Paddan Aram to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan.”

[31:19]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn This disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new scene. In the English translation it may be subordinated to the following clause.

[31:19]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim) as “teraphim,” which apparently refers to household idols. Some contend that possession of these idols guaranteed the right of inheritance, but it is more likely that they were viewed simply as protective deities. See M. Greenberg, “Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Teraphim,” JBL 81 (1962): 239-48.

[31:20]  ⁴⁷⁶ tn Heb “stole the heart of,” an expression which apparently means “to deceive.” The repetition of the verb “to steal” shows that Jacob and Rachel are kindred spirits. Any thought that Laban would have resigned himself to their departure was now out of the question.

[31:20]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.

[31:21]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “and he fled.”

[31:21]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.

[31:21]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:21]  ⁴⁸¹ tn Heb “he set his face.”

[31:22]  ⁴⁸² tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”

[31:23]  ⁴⁸³ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[31:23]  ⁴⁸⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:23]  ⁴⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”

[31:23]  ⁴⁸⁶ tn Heb “drew close to.”

[31:24]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn Heb “said to him.”

[31:24]  ⁴⁸⁸ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:24]  ⁴⁸⁹ tn Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29, is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.

[31:25]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.

[31:26]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).

[31:26]  ⁴⁹² tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”

[31:27]  ⁴⁹³ tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”

[31:27]  ⁴⁹⁴ tn Heb “and steal me.”

[31:27]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”

[31:28]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn Heb “my sons and my daughters.” Here “sons” refers to “grandsons,” and has been translated “grandchildren” since at least one granddaughter, Dinah, was involved. The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:29]  ⁴⁹⁷ tn Heb “there is to my hand.”

[31:29]  ⁴⁹⁸ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:29]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 24, is uncertain. See the note on the same phrase in v. 24.

[31:30]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[31:30]  ⁵⁰¹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.

[31:30]  ⁵⁰² tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.

[31:30]  ⁵⁰³ sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.

[31:31]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27. Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:31]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn Heb “for I said.”

[31:31]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”

[31:32]  ⁵⁰⁷ tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”

[31:32]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

[31:32]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”

[31:32]  ⁵¹⁰ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[31:33]  ⁵¹¹ tn No direct object is specified for the verb “find” in the Hebrew text. The words “the idols” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:33]  ⁵¹² tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”

[31:34]  ⁵¹³ tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”

[31:34]  ⁵¹⁴ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.

[31:34]  ⁵¹⁵ tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:35]  ⁵¹⁶ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:35]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.

[31:35]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”

[31:35]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.

[31:35]  ⁵²⁰ tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[31:36]  ⁵²¹ tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.

[31:36]  ⁵²² tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘What is my sin?’” The proper name “Jacob” has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation and the order of the introductory clause and direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[31:36]  ⁵²³ tn Heb “What is my sin that you have hotly pursued after me.” The Hebrew verb translated “pursue hotly” is used elsewhere of soldiers chasing defeated enemies (1 Sam 17:53).

[31:37]  ⁵²⁴ tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”

[31:37]  ⁵²⁵ tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.

[31:37]  ⁵²⁶ tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”

[31:39]  ⁵²⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.

[31:39]  ⁵²⁸ tn Heb “from my hand you exacted it.” The imperfect verbal form again indicates that this was a customary or typical action. The words “for every missing animal” are supplied in the translation for clarity; the following clause in Hebrew, “stolen by day or stolen by night,” probably means “stolen by wild beasts” and refers to the same animals “torn by wild beasts” in the previous clause, although it may refer to animals stolen by people. The translation used here, “missing,” is ambiguous enough to cover either eventuality.

[31:40]  ⁵²⁹ tn Or “by drought.”

[31:40]  ⁵³⁰ tn Heb “frost, ice,” though when contrasted with the חֹרֶב (khorev, “drought, parching heat”) of the day, “piercing cold” is more appropriate as a contrast.

[31:40]  ⁵³¹ tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”

[31:41]  ⁵³² tn Heb “this to me.”

[31:41]  ⁵³³ tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”

[31:42]  ⁵³⁴ tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42,53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.

[31:42]  ⁵³⁵ tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”

[31:43]  ⁵³⁶ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[31:43]  ⁵³⁷ tn Heb “daughters.”

[31:43]  ⁵³⁸ tn Heb “children.”

[31:43]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”

[31:44]  ⁵⁴⁰ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[31:44]  ⁵⁴¹ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”

[31:44]  ⁵⁴² tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”

[31:46]  ⁵⁴³ tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:46]  ⁵⁴⁴ sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.

[31:47]  ⁵⁴⁵ sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”

[31:47]  ⁵⁴⁶ sn Galeed also means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness,” but this name is Canaanite or Western Semitic and closer to later Hebrew. Jacob, though certainly capable of speaking Aramaic, here prefers to use the western dialect.

[31:48]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”

[31:49]  ⁵⁴⁸ tn Heb “and Mizpah.”

[31:49]  ⁵⁴⁹ sn The name Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, mitspah), which means “watchpost,” sounds like the verb translated “may he watch” (יִצֶף, yitsef). Neither Laban nor Jacob felt safe with each other, and so they agreed to go their separate ways, trusting the Lord to keep watch at the border. Jacob did not need this treaty, but Laban, perhaps because he had lost his household gods, felt he did.

[31:49]  ⁵⁵⁰ tn Heb “between me and you.”

[31:49]  ⁵⁵¹ tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”

[31:50]  ⁵⁵² tn Heb “see.”

[31:50]  ⁵⁵³ tn Heb “between me and you.”

[31:51]  ⁵⁵⁴ tn Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between men and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:52]  ⁵⁵⁵ tn Heb “This pile is a witness and the pillar is a witness, if I go past this pile to you and if you go past this pile and this pillar to me for harm.”

[31:53]  ⁵⁵⁶ tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.

[31:53]  ⁵⁵⁷ tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.

[31:54]  ⁵⁵⁸ tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.

[31:54]  ⁵⁵⁹ tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.

[31:55]  ⁵⁶⁰ sn Beginning with 31:55, the verse numbers in the English Bible through 32:32 differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 31:55 ET = 32:1 HT, 32:1 ET = 32:2 HT, etc., through 32:32 ET = 32:33 HT. From 33:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[31:55]  ⁵⁶¹ tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”

[31:55]  ⁵⁶² tn Heb “his sons.”

[31:55]  ⁵⁶³ tn Heb “to his place.”

[32:1]  ⁵⁶⁴ sn The phrase angels of God occurs only here and in Gen 28:12 in the OT. Jacob saw a vision of angels just before he left the promised land. Now he encounters angels as he prepares to return to it. The text does not give the details of the encounter, but Jacob’s response suggests it was amicable. This location was a spot where heaven made contact with earth, and where God made his presence known to the patriarch. See C. Houtman, “Jacob at Mahanaim: Some Remarks on Genesis XXXII 2-3,” VT 28 (1978): 37-44.

[32:2]  ⁵⁶⁵ tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”

[32:2]  ⁵⁶⁶ sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.

[32:3]  ⁵⁶⁷ tn Heb “before him.”

[32:3]  ⁵⁶⁸ tn Heb “field.”

[32:4]  ⁵⁶⁹ sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.

[32:5]  ⁵⁷⁰ tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.

[32:5]  ⁵⁷¹ tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ⁵⁷² tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”

[32:8]  ⁵⁷³ tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar) here represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “he thought.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ⁵⁷⁴ tn Heb “the surviving camp will be for escape.” The word “escape” is a feminine noun. The term most often refers to refugees from war.

[32:9]  ⁵⁷⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[32:9]  ⁵⁷⁶ tn Heb “the one who said.”

[32:9]  ⁵⁷⁷ tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.

[32:10]  ⁵⁷⁸ tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

[32:10]  ⁵⁷⁹ tn Heb “you have done with.”

[32:10]  ⁵⁸⁰ tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.

[32:10]  ⁵⁸¹ tn Heb “this Jordan.”

[32:11]  ⁵⁸² tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.

[32:11]  ⁵⁸³ tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”

[32:11]  ⁵⁸⁴ tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”

[32:11]  ⁵⁸⁵ tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”

[32:11]  ⁵⁸⁶ sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.

[32:12]  ⁵⁸⁷ tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[32:12]  sn Some commentators have thought this final verse of the prayer redundant, but it actually follows the predominant form of a lament in which God is motivated to act. The primary motivation Jacob can offer to God is God’s promise, and so he falls back on that at the end of the prayer.

[32:12]  ⁵⁸⁸ tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.

[32:12]  ⁵⁸⁹ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.

[32:12]  ⁵⁹⁰ tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.

[32:13]  ⁵⁹¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ⁵⁹² tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.

[32:13]  ⁵⁹³ sn The Hebrew noun translated gift can in some contexts refer to the tribute paid by a subject to his lord. Such a nuance is possible here, because Jacob refers to Esau as his lord and to himself as Esau’s servant (v. 4).

[32:16]  ⁵⁹⁴ tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”

[32:16]  ⁵⁹⁵ tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.

[32:17]  ⁵⁹⁶ tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.

[32:17]  ⁵⁹⁷ tn Heb “to whom are you?”

[32:17]  ⁵⁹⁸ tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”

[32:18]  ⁵⁹⁹ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ⁶⁰⁰ tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ⁶⁰¹ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ⁶⁰² tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ⁶⁰³ tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:19]  ⁶⁰⁴ tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”

[32:20]  ⁶⁰⁵ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ⁶⁰⁶ tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ⁶⁰⁷ tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ⁶⁰⁸ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ⁶⁰⁹ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ⁶¹⁰ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[32:21]  ⁶¹¹ tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”

[32:21]  ⁶¹² tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.

[32:22]  ⁶¹³ tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.

[32:22]  ⁶¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).

[32:22]  ⁶¹⁵ sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.

[32:23]  ⁶¹⁶ tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”

[32:24]  ⁶¹⁷ sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.

[32:24]  ⁶¹⁸ sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayye’aveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, ya’aqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.

[32:24]  ⁶¹⁹ tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”

[32:25]  ⁶²⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ⁶²¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ⁶²² tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob – it would be comparable to a devastating blow.

[32:26]  ⁶²³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:26]  ⁶²⁴ tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”

[32:26]  ⁶²⁵ tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:26]  ⁶²⁶ sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.

[32:27]  ⁶²⁷ tn Heb “and he said to him.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:27]  ⁶²⁸ sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the Lord obviously knew Jacob’s identity. But since the Lord is going to change Jacob’s name, this question is designed to bring focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.

[32:28]  ⁶²⁹ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:28]  ⁶³⁰ sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the Lord was saying that Jacob would have victory and receive the promises because God would fight for him.

[32:28]  ⁶³¹ sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el ), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).

[32:29]  ⁶³² sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33,” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.

[32:29]  ⁶³³ tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.

[32:29]  ⁶³⁴ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:29]  ⁶³⁵ tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.

[32:29]  ⁶³⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:30]  ⁶³⁷ sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

[32:30]  ⁶³⁸ tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:30]  ⁶³⁹ tn Or “because.”

[32:30]  ⁶⁴⁰ sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

[32:30]  ⁶⁴¹ tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

[32:30]  sn I have survived. It was commonly understood that no one could see God and live (Gen 48:16; Exod 19:21, 24:10; and Judg 6:11, 22). On the surface Jacob seems to be saying that he saw God and survived. But the statement may have a double meaning, in light of his prayer for deliverance in v. 11. Jacob recognizes that he has survived his encounter with God and that his safety has now been guaranteed.

[32:31]  ⁶⁴² tn Heb “shone.”

[32:31]  ⁶⁴³ sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).

[32:31]  ⁶⁴⁴ tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.

[32:32]  ⁶⁴⁵ sn On the use of the expression to this day, see B. S. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until This Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[32:32]  ⁶⁴⁶ tn Or “because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive. On the translation of the word “struck” see the note on this term in v. 25.

[33:1]  ⁶⁴⁷ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”

[33:1]  ⁶⁴⁸ tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[33:2]  ⁶⁴⁹ sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.

[33:3]  ⁶⁵⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:3]  ⁶⁵¹ tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.

[33:5]  ⁶⁵² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ⁶⁵³ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[33:5]  ⁶⁵⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ⁶⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”

[33:6]  ⁶⁵⁶ tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”

[33:8]  ⁶⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:8]  ⁶⁵⁸ tn Heb “Who to you?”

[33:8]  ⁶⁵⁹ tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”

[33:8]  ⁶⁶⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:10]  ⁶⁶¹ tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[33:10]  ⁶⁶² tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence.

[33:10]  ⁶⁶³ tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.

[33:10]  ⁶⁶⁴ tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”

[33:10]  sn This is an allusion to the preceding episode (32:22-31) in which Jacob saw the face of God and realized his prayer was answered.

[33:11]  ⁶⁶⁵ tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.

[33:11]  ⁶⁶⁶ tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.

[33:11]  ⁶⁶⁷ tn Heb “all.”

[33:11]  ⁶⁶⁸ tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.

[33:12]  ⁶⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:12]  ⁶⁷⁰ tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.”

[33:13]  ⁶⁷¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:13]  ⁶⁷² tn Heb “weak.”

[33:13]  ⁶⁷³ tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”

[33:14]  ⁶⁷⁴ tn Heb “and I, I will move along according to my leisure at the foot of the property which is before me and at the foot of the children.”

[33:15]  ⁶⁷⁵ tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.

[33:15]  ⁶⁷⁶ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[33:15]  ⁶⁷⁷ tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”

[33:16]  ⁶⁷⁸ tn Heb “returned on his way.”

[33:17]  ⁶⁷⁹ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.

[33:17]  ⁶⁸⁰ sn But Jacob traveled to Succoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau.

[33:17]  ⁶⁸¹ tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive.

[33:17]  ⁶⁸² sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.

[33:18]  ⁶⁸³ tn Heb “in front of.”

[33:19]  ⁶⁸⁴ tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.

[33:19]  ⁶⁸⁵ tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).

[33:20]  ⁶⁸⁶ tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.

[34:1]  ⁶⁸⁷ tn Heb “went out to see.” The verb “to see,” followed by the preposition בְּ (bÿ), here has the idea of “look over.” The young girl wanted to meet these women and see what they were like.

[34:1]  ⁶⁸⁸ tn Heb “daughters.”

[34:2]  ⁶⁸⁹ tn Heb “and he took her and lay with her.” The suffixed form following the verb appears to be the sign of the accusative instead of the preposition, but see BDB 1012 s.v. שָׁכַב.

[34:2]  ⁶⁹⁰ tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) in the Piel stem can have various shades of meaning, depending on the context: “to defile; to mistreat; to violate; to rape; to shame; to afflict.” Here it means that Shechem violated or humiliated Dinah by raping her.

[34:3]  ⁶⁹¹ tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.

[34:3]  ⁶⁹² tn Heb “and he spoke to the heart of the young woman,” which apparently refers in this context to tender, romantic speech (Hos 2:14). Another option is to translate the expression “he reassured the young woman” (see Judg 19:3, 2 Sam 19:7; cf. NEB “comforted her”).

[34:4]  ⁶⁹³ tn Heb “Take for me this young woman for a wife.”

[34:5]  ⁶⁹⁴ tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.

[34:5]  ⁶⁹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:5]  ⁶⁹⁶ sn The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.

[34:6]  ⁶⁹⁷ tn Heb “went out to Jacob to speak with him.” The words “about Dinah” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁶⁹⁸ tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:7]  ⁶⁹⁹ tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.

[34:7]  ⁷⁰⁰ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.

[34:7]  ⁷⁰¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁷⁰² tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”

[34:7]  ⁷⁰³ tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.

[34:7]  ⁷⁰⁴ tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.

[34:8]  ⁷⁰⁵ tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).

[34:9]  ⁷⁰⁶ 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]  ⁷⁰⁷ 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.

[34:10]  ⁷⁰⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.

[34:10]  ⁷⁰⁹ tn Heb “before you.”

[34:10]  ⁷¹⁰ tn The verb seems to carry the basic meaning “travel about freely,” although the substantival participial form refers to a trader (see E. A. Speiser, “The Verb sh£r in Genesis and Early Hebrew Movements,” BASOR 164 [1961]: 23-28); cf. NIV, NRSV “trade in it.”

[34:11]  ⁷¹¹ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Dinah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ⁷¹² tn Heb “whatever you say.”

[34:11]  ⁷¹³ tn Or “pay.”

[34:12]  ⁷¹⁴ 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]  ⁷¹⁵ tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.

[34:12]  ⁷¹⁶ tn Heb “say.”

[34:13]  ⁷¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:14]  ⁷¹⁸ tn Heb “we are not able to do this thing, to give.” The second infinitive is in apposition to the first, explaining what they are not able to do.

[34:14]  ⁷¹⁹ tn The Hebrew word translated “disgrace” usually means “ridicule; taunt; reproach.” It can also refer to the reason the condition of shame or disgrace causes ridicule or a reproach.

[34:15]  ⁷²⁰ tn Heb “if you are like us.”

[34:15]  ⁷²¹ tn The infinitive here explains how they would become like them.

[34:16]  ⁷²² tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

[34:16]  ⁷²³ tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:17]  ⁷²⁴ tn Heb “listen to us.”

[34:17]  ⁷²⁵ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

[34:17]  ⁷²⁶ tn Heb “daughter.” Jacob’s sons call Dinah their daughter, even though she was their sister (see v. 8). This has been translated as “sister” for clarity.

[34:18]  ⁷²⁷ tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”

[34:19]  ⁷²⁸ tn Heb “doing the thing.”

[34:19]  ⁷²⁹ tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:19]  ⁷³⁰ tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).

[34:19]  ⁷³¹ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).

[34:20]  ⁷³² sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.

[34:21]  ⁷³³ tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.

[34:21]  ⁷³⁴ tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:22]  ⁷³⁵ tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”

[34:23]  ⁷³⁶ tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[34:24]  ⁷³⁷ tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”

[34:24]  ⁷³⁸ tn Heb “listened to.”

[34:24]  ⁷³⁹ tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”

[34:25]  ⁷⁴⁰ tn Heb “a man his sword.”

[34:25]  ⁷⁴¹ tn Heb “and they came upon the city, [which was] secure.” In this case “secure” means the city was caught unprepared and at peace, not expecting an attack.

[34:27]  ⁷⁴² tn Heb “came upon the slain.” Because of this statement the preceding phrase “Jacob’s sons” is frequently taken to mean the other sons of Jacob besides Simeon and Levi, but the text does not clearly affirm this.

[34:27]  ⁷⁴³ tn Heb “because they violated their sister.” The plural verb is active in form, but with no expressed subject, it may be translated passive.

[34:28]  ⁷⁴⁴ tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”

[34:29]  ⁷⁴⁵ tn Heb “they took captive and they plundered,” that is, “they captured as plunder.”

[34:30]  ⁷⁴⁶ tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.

[34:30]  ⁷⁴⁷ tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (ba’ash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.

[34:30]  ⁷⁴⁸ tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.

[34:31]  ⁷⁴⁹ tn Heb “but they said.” The referent of “they” (Simeon and Levi) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[35:1]  ⁷⁵⁰ tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

[35:1]  ⁷⁵¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:1]  ⁷⁵² sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).

[35:2]  ⁷⁵³ tn Heb “which are in your midst.”

[35:2]  ⁷⁵⁴ sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.

[35:3]  ⁷⁵⁵ tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.

[35:3]  ⁷⁵⁶ tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.

[35:3]  ⁷⁵⁷ tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.

[35:3]  ⁷⁵⁸ tn Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).

[35:4]  ⁷⁵⁹ tn Heb “in their hand.”

[35:4]  ⁷⁶⁰ sn On the basis of a comparison with Gen 34 and Num 31, G. J. Wenham argues that the foreign gods and the rings could have been part of the plunder that came from the destruction of Shechem (Genesis [WBC], 2:324).

[35:4]  ⁷⁶¹ sn Jacob buried them. On the burial of the gods, see E. Nielson, “The Burial of the Foreign Gods,” ST 8 (1954/55): 102-22.

[35:4]  ⁷⁶² tn Or “terebinth.”

[35:5]  ⁷⁶³ tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

[35:5]  ⁷⁶⁴ tn Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. NRSV “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. NEB “were panic-stricken”; NASB “a great terror”).

[35:6]  ⁷⁶⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:6]  ⁷⁶⁶ tn Heb “and Jacob came to Luz which is in the land of Canaan – it is Bethel – he and all the people who were with him.”

[35:7]  ⁷⁶⁷ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

[35:7]  ⁷⁶⁸ tn Heb “revealed themselves.” The verb נִגְלוּ (niglu), translated “revealed himself,” is plural, even though one expects the singular form with the plural of majesty. Perhaps אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a numerical plural, referring both to God and the angelic beings that appeared to Jacob. See the note on the word “know” in Gen 3:5.

[35:8]  ⁷⁶⁹ sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.

[35:8]  ⁷⁷⁰ tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

[35:8]  ⁷⁷¹ tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.

[35:10]  ⁷⁷² tn Heb “and he called his name Israel.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[35:10]  sn The name Israel means “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). See Gen 32:28.

[35:11]  ⁷⁷³ tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[35:11]  ⁷⁷⁴ tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”

[35:11]  sn A nation…will descend from you. The promise is rooted in the Abrahamic promise (see Gen 17). God confirms what Isaac told Jacob (see Gen 28:3-4). Here, though, for the first time Jacob is promised kings as descendants.

[35:12]  ⁷⁷⁵ tn The Hebrew verb translated “gave” refers to the Abrahamic promise of the land. However, the actual possession of that land lay in the future. The decree of the Lord made it certain; but it has the sense “promised to give.”

[35:12]  ⁷⁷⁶ tn Heb “and to your offspring after you.”

[35:13]  ⁷⁷⁷ tn Heb “went up from upon him in the place.”

[35:14]  ⁷⁷⁸ tn Heb “and Jacob set up a sacred pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a sacred pillar of stone” (see the notes on the term “sacred stone” in Gen 28:18). This passage stands parallel to Gen 28:18-19, where Jacob set up a sacred stone, poured oil on it, and called the place Bethel. Some commentators see these as two traditions referring to the same event, but it is more likely that Jacob reconsecrated the place in fulfillment of the vow he had made here earlier. In support of this is the fact that the present narrative alludes to and is built on the previous one.

[35:14]  ⁷⁷⁹ tn The verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “to pour out, to make libations,” and the noun נֶסֶךְ (nesekh) is a “drink-offering,” usually of wine or of blood. The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out,” often of anointing oil, but of other elements as well.

[35:15]  ⁷⁸⁰ sn Called the name of the place. In view of the previous naming of Bethel in Gen 28:19, here Jacob was confirming or affirming the name through an official ritual marking the fulfillment of the vow. This place now did become Bethel, the house of God.

[35:15]  ⁷⁸¹ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew.

[35:15]  map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:16]  ⁷⁸² tn Heb “and there was still a stretch of the land to go to Ephrath.”

[35:16]  ⁷⁸³ tn Normally the verb would be translated “she gave birth,” but because that obviously had not happened yet, it is better to translate the verb as ingressive, “began to give birth” (cf. NIV) or “went into labor.”

[35:17]  ⁷⁸⁴ tn The construction uses a Hiphil infinitive, which E. A. Speiser classifies as an elative Hiphil. The contrast is with the previous Piel: there “she had hard labor,” and here, “her labor was at its hardest.” Failure to see this, Speiser notes, has led to redundant translations and misunderstandings (Genesis [AB], 273).

[35:17]  ⁷⁸⁵ sn Another son. The episode recalls and fulfills the prayer of Rachel at the birth of Joseph (Gen 30:24): “may he add” another son.

[35:18]  ⁷⁸⁶ tn Heb “in the going out of her life, for she was dying.” Rachel named the child with her dying breath.

[35:18]  ⁷⁸⁷ sn The name Ben-Oni means “son of my suffering.” It is ironic that Rachel’s words to Jacob in Gen 30:1, “Give me children or I’ll die,” take a different turn here, for it was having the child that brought about her death.

[35:18]  ⁷⁸⁸ tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive.

[35:18]  sn His father called him Benjamin. There was a preference for giving children good or positive names in the ancient world, and “son of my suffering” would not do (see the incident in 1 Chr 4:9-10), because it would be a reminder of the death of Rachel (in this connection, see also D. Daube, “The Night of Death,” HTR 61 [1968]: 629-32). So Jacob named him Benjamin, which means “son of the [or “my”] right hand.” The name Benjamin appears in the Mari texts. There have been attempts to connect this name to the resident tribe listed at Mari, “sons of the south” (since the term “right hand” can also mean “south” in Hebrew), but this assumes a different reading of the story. See J. Muilenburg, “The Birth of Benjamin,” JBL 75 (1956): 194-201.

[35:19]  ⁷⁸⁹ sn This explanatory note links the earlier name Ephrath with the later name Bethlehem.

[35:19]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[35:20]  ⁷⁹⁰ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[35:20]  ⁷⁹¹ tn Or perhaps “it is known as” (cf. NEB).

[35:21]  ⁷⁹² sn The location of Migdal Eder is not given. It appears to be somewhere between Bethlehem and Hebron. Various traditions have identified it as at the shepherds’ fields near Bethlehem (the Hebrew name Migdal Eder means “tower of the flock”; see Mic 4:8) or located it near Solomon’s pools.

[35:22]  ⁷⁹³ tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.

[35:22]  sn Reuben’s act of having sexual relations with Bilhah probably had other purposes than merely satisfying his sexual desire. By having sex with Bilhah, Reuben (Leah’s oldest son) would have prevented Bilhah from succeeding Rachel as the favorite wife, and by sleeping with his father’s concubine he would also be attempting to take over leadership of the clan – something Absalom foolishly attempted later on in Israel’s history (2 Sam 16:21-22).

[35:27]  ⁷⁹⁴ tn This is an adverbial accusative of location.

[35:27]  ⁷⁹⁵ tn The name “Kiriath Arba” is in apposition to the preceding name, “Mamre.”

[35:27]  ⁷⁹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” refers to temporary settlement without ownership rights.

[35:28]  ⁷⁹⁷ tn Heb “And the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.”

[35:29]  ⁷⁹⁸ tn Heb “and Isaac expired and died and he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[35:29]  ⁷⁹⁹ tn Heb “old and full of years.”

[36:1]  ⁸⁰⁰ sn Chapter 36 records what became of Esau. It will list both his actual descendants as well as the people he subsumed under his tribal leadership, people who were aboriginal Edomites. The chapter is long and complicated (see further J. R. Bartlett, “The Edomite King-List of Genesis 36:31-39 and 1 Chronicles 1:43-50,” JTS 16 [1965]: 301-14; and W. J. Horowitz, “Were There Twelve Horite Tribes?” CBQ 35 [1973]: 69-71). In the format of the Book of Genesis, the line of Esau is “tidied up” before the account of Jacob is traced (37:2). As such the arrangement makes a strong contrast with Jacob. As F. Delitzsch says, “secular greatness in general grows up far more rapidly than spiritual greatness” (New Commentary on Genesis, 2:238). In other words, the progress of the world far out distances the progress of the righteous who are waiting for the promise.

[36:2]  ⁸⁰¹ tn Heb “from the daughters of Canaan.”

[36:2]  ⁸⁰² tn Heb “daughter,” but see Gen 36:24-25.

[36:6]  ⁸⁰³ tn Heb “from before.”

[36:7]  ⁸⁰⁴ tn Heb “land of their settlements.”

[36:8]  ⁸⁰⁵ tn Traditionally “Mount Seir,” but in this case the expression בְּהַר שֵׂעִיר (bÿhar se’ir) refers to the hill country or highlands of Seir.

[36:9]  ⁸⁰⁶ sn The term father in genealogical records needs to be carefully defined. It can refer to a literal father, a grandfather, a political overlord, or a founder.

[36:12]  ⁸⁰⁷ tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).

[36:13]  ⁸⁰⁸ tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).

[36:14]  ⁸⁰⁹ tn Heb “daughter,” but see Gen 36:24-25.

[36:15]  ⁸¹⁰ tn Or “clan leaders” (so also throughout this chapter).

[36:15]  ⁸¹¹ tn Or “sons.”

[36:16]  ⁸¹² tc The Samaritan Pentateuch omits the name “Korah” (see v. 11 and 1 Chr 1:36).

[36:16]  ⁸¹³ tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).

[36:17]  ⁸¹⁴ tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).

[36:20]  ⁸¹⁵ sn The same pattern of sons, grandsons, and chiefs is now listed for Seir the Horite. “Seir” is both the name of the place and the name of the ancestor of these tribes. The name “Horite” is probably not to be identified with “Hurrian.” The clan of Esau settled in this area, intermarried with these Horites and eventually dispossessed them, so that they all became known as Edomites (Deut 2:12 telescopes the whole development).

[36:21]  ⁸¹⁶ tn Or “sons.”

[36:22]  ⁸¹⁷ tn Heb “Hemam”; this is probably a variant spelling of “Homam” (1 Chr 1:39); cf. NRSV, NLT “Heman.”

[36:23]  ⁸¹⁸ tn This name is given as “Shephi” in 1 Chr 1:40.

[36:24]  ⁸¹⁹ tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain; Syriac reads “water” and Vulgate reads “hot water.”

[36:25]  ⁸²⁰ tn Heb “sons,” but since a daughter is included in the list, the word must be translated “children.”

[36:26]  ⁸²¹ tn Heb “Dishan,” but this must be either a scribal error or variant spelling, since “Dishan” is mentioned in v. 28 (see also v. 21).

[36:31]  ⁸²² tn Or perhaps “before any Israelite king ruled over [them].”

[36:37]  ⁸²³ tn Typically the Hebrew expression “the River” refers to the Euphrates River, but it is not certain whether that is the case here. Among the modern English versions which take this as a reference to the Euphrates are NASB, NCV, NRSV, CEV, NLT. Cf. NAB, TEV “Rehoboth-on-the-River.”

[36:39]  ⁸²⁴ tc Most mss of the MT read “Hadar” here; “Hadad” is the reading found in some Hebrew mss, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac (cf. also 1 Chr 1:50).

[36:39]  ⁸²⁵ tn The name of the city is given as “Pai” in 1 Chr 1:50.

[36:43]  ⁸²⁶ tn Or perhaps “territories”; Heb “dwelling places.”

[37:1]  ⁸²⁷ tn Heb “the land of the sojournings of his father.”

[37:1]  ⁸²⁸ 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]  ⁸²⁹ tn Heb “a son of seventeen years.” The word “son” is in apposition to the name “Joseph.”

[37:2]  ⁸³⁰ tn Or “tending”; Heb “shepherding” or “feeding.”

[37:2]  ⁸³¹ 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]  ⁸³² 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]  ⁸³³ 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]  ⁸³⁴ 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]  ⁸³⁵ 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]  ⁸³⁶ 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]  ⁸³⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:4]  ⁸³⁸ tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”

[37:4]  ⁸³⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:4]  ⁸⁴⁰ tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”

[37:5]  ⁸⁴¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:5]  ⁸⁴² tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[37:5]  ⁸⁴³ 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]  ⁸⁴⁴ tn The construction uses a hendiadys, “they added to hate,” meaning they hated him even more.

[37:6]  ⁸⁴⁵ tn Heb “hear this dream which I dreamed.”

[37:7]  ⁸⁴⁶ 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]  ⁸⁴⁷ tn The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.

[37:8]  ⁸⁴⁸ 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]  ⁸⁴⁹ tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.

[37:8]  ⁸⁵⁰ 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]  ⁸⁵¹ tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”

[37:9]  ⁸⁵² 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]  ⁸⁵³ 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]  ⁸⁵⁴ 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?”

[37:11]  ⁸⁵⁵ sn Joseph’s brothers were already jealous of him, but this made it even worse. Such jealousy easily leads to action, as the next episode in the story shows. Yet dreams were considered a form of revelation, and their jealousy was not only of the favoritism of their father, but of the dreams. This is why Jacob kept the matter in mind.

[37:11]  ⁸⁵⁶ tn Heb “kept the word.” The referent of the Hebrew term “word” has been specified as “what Joseph said” in the translation for clarity, and the words “in mind” have been supplied for stylistic reasons.

[37:13]  ⁸⁵⁷ tn The text uses an interrogative clause: “Are not your brothers,” which means “your brothers are.”

[37:13]  ⁸⁵⁸ sn With these words Joseph is depicted here as an obedient son who is ready to do what his father commands.

[37:13]  ⁸⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here I am.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[37:14]  ⁸⁶⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:14]  ⁸⁶¹ tn Heb “see.”

[37:14]  ⁸⁶² tn Heb “peace.”

[37:14]  ⁸⁶³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:15]  ⁸⁶⁴ tn Heb “and he [i.e., Joseph] went to Shechem.” The referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:15]  ⁸⁶⁵ tn Heb “and a man found him and look, he was wandering in the field.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the action through this unnamed man’s eyes.

[37:16]  ⁸⁶⁶ tn The imperative in this sentence has more of the nuance of a request than a command.

[37:17]  ⁸⁶⁷ tn Heb “they traveled from this place.”

[37:18]  ⁸⁶⁸ tn Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:19]  ⁸⁶⁹ tn Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.

[37:20]  ⁸⁷⁰ tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.

[37:20]  ⁸⁷¹ tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”

[37:21]  ⁸⁷² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:21]  ⁸⁷³ sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).

[37:21]  ⁸⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he said.”

[37:21]  ⁸⁷⁵ tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”

[37:22]  ⁸⁷⁶ tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”

[37:22]  ⁸⁷⁷ sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.

[37:22]  ⁸⁷⁸ tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:22]  ⁸⁷⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ⁸⁸⁰ tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.

[37:23]  ⁸⁸¹ tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:24]  ⁸⁸² tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.

[37:25]  ⁸⁸³ tn Heb “lifted up their eyes.”

[37:25]  ⁸⁸⁴ tn Heb “and they saw and look.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the event through the eyes of the brothers.

[37:25]  ⁸⁸⁵ tn Heb “and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, going to go down to Egypt.”

[37:27]  ⁸⁸⁶ tn Heb “let not our hand be upon him.”

[37:27]  ⁸⁸⁷ tn Heb “listened.”

[37:28]  ⁸⁸⁸ sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.

[37:28]  ⁸⁸⁹ tn Heb “they drew and they lifted up.” The referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity; otherwise the reader might assume the Midianites had pulled Joseph from the cistern (but cf. NAB).

[37:28]  ⁸⁹⁰ tn Heb “Joseph” (both here and in the following clause); the proper name has been replaced both times by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:28]  ⁸⁹¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:29]  ⁸⁹² tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.

[37:31]  ⁸⁹³ sn It was with two young goats that Jacob deceived his father (Gen 27:9); now with a young goat his sons continue the deception that dominates this family.

[37:32]  ⁸⁹⁴ tn Heb “and they sent the special tunic and they brought [it] to their father.” The text as it stands is problematic. It sounds as if they sent the tunic on ahead and then came and brought it to their father. Some emend the second verb to a Qal form and read “and they came.” In this case, they sent the tunic on ahead.

[37:33]  ⁸⁹⁵ sn A wild animal has eaten him. Jacob draws this conclusion on his own without his sons actually having to lie with their words (see v. 20). Dipping the tunic in the goat’s blood was the only deception needed.

[37:34]  ⁸⁹⁶ tn Heb “and put sackcloth on his loins.”

[37:35]  ⁸⁹⁷ tn Heb “arose, stood”; which here suggests that they stood by him in his time of grief.

[37:35]  ⁸⁹⁸ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Indeed I will go down to my son mourning to Sheol.’” Sheol was viewed as the place where departed spirits went after death.

[37:35]  ⁸⁹⁹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:36]  ⁹⁰⁰ tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.

[37:36]  ⁹⁰¹ tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (mÿdanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the MT is corrupt at this point, with the letter yod (י) being accidentally omitted. The LXX, Vulgate, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”

[37:36]  ⁹⁰² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:36]  ⁹⁰³ sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner.

[38:1]  ⁹⁰⁴ tn Heb “went down from.”

[38:1]  ⁹⁰⁵ tn Heb “and he turned aside unto.”

[38:1]  ⁹⁰⁶ tn Heb “a man, an Adullamite.”

[38:2]  ⁹⁰⁷ tn Heb “a man, a Canaanite.”

[38:2]  ⁹⁰⁸ tn Heb “and his name was Shua.”

[38:2]  ⁹⁰⁹ tn Heb “and he took her.”

[38:2]  ⁹¹⁰ tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:3]  ⁹¹¹ tn Or “she conceived” (also in the following verse).

[38:3]  ⁹¹² tc Some mss read this verb as feminine, “she called,” to match the pattern of the next two verses. But the MT, “he called,” should probably be retained as the more difficult reading.

[38:3]  tn Heb “and he called his name.” The referent (Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:5]  ⁹¹³ tn Heb “and she added again and she gave birth.” The first verb and the adverb emphasize that she gave birth once more.

[38:5]  ⁹¹⁴ tn Or “and he [i.e., Judah] was in Kezib when she gave birth to him.”

[38:6]  ⁹¹⁵ tn Heb “and Judah took.”

[38:8]  ⁹¹⁶ tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:8]  ⁹¹⁷ tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.

[38:8]  ⁹¹⁸ sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.

[38:9]  ⁹¹⁹ tn Heb “offspring.”

[38:9]  ⁹²⁰ tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.

[38:9]  ⁹²¹ tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.

[38:9]  sn The text makes it clear that the purpose of the custom was to produce an heir for the deceased brother. Onan had no intention of doing that. But he would have sex with the girl as much as he wished. He was willing to use the law to gratify his desires, but was not willing to do the responsible thing.

[38:9]  ⁹²² tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:9]  ⁹²³ tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.

[38:10]  ⁹²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:11]  ⁹²⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[38:11]  ⁹²⁶ tn Heb “Otherwise he will die, also he, like his brothers.”

[38:11]  sn I don’t want him to die like his brothers. This clause explains that Judah had no intention of giving Shelah to Tamar for the purpose of the levirate marriage. Judah apparently knew the nature of his sons, and feared that God would be angry with the third son and kill him as well.

[38:12]  ⁹²⁷ sn After some time. There is not enough information in the narrative to know how long this was. The text says “the days increased.” It was long enough for Shelah to mature and for Tamar to realize she would not have him.

[38:12]  ⁹²⁸ tn Heb “and he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and.”

[38:13]  ⁹²⁹ tn Heb “And it was told to Tamar, saying.”

[38:13]  ⁹³⁰ tn The active participle indicates the action was in progress or about to begin.

[38:14]  ⁹³¹ tn The Hebrew text simply has “because,” connecting this sentence to what precedes. For stylistic reasons the words “she did this” are supplied in the translation and a new sentence begun.

[38:14]  ⁹³² tn Heb “she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she was not given to him as a wife.”

[38:15]  ⁹³³ tn Heb “he reckoned her for a prostitute,” which was what Tamar had intended for him to do. She obviously had some idea of his inclinations, or she would not have tried this risky plan.

[38:16]  ⁹³⁴ tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:16]  ⁹³⁵ tn Heb “for he did not know that.”

[38:16]  ⁹³⁶ tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:17]  ⁹³⁷ tn Heb “until you send.”

[38:18]  ⁹³⁸ tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:19]  ⁹³⁹ tn Heb “and she arose and left,” the first verb in the pair emphasizing that she wasted no time.

[38:20]  ⁹⁴⁰ tn Heb “sent by the hand of his friend.” Here the name of the friend (“Hirah”) has been included in the translation for clarity.

[38:20]  ⁹⁴¹ tn Heb “to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand.”

[38:20]  ⁹⁴² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Judah’s friend Hirah the Adullamite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:21]  ⁹⁴³ tn Heb “the men of her place,” that is, who lived at the place where she had been.

[38:21]  ⁹⁴⁴ sn The Hebrew noun translated “cult prostitute” is derived from a verb meaning “to be set apart; to be distinct.” Thus the term refers to a woman who did not marry, but was dedicated to temple service as a cult prostitute. The masculine form of this noun is used for male cult prostitutes. Judah thought he had gone to an ordinary prostitute (v. 15); but Hirah went looking for a cult prostitute, perhaps because it had been a sheep-shearing festival. For further discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, “Cultic Prostitution,” Orient and Occident (AOAT), 213-23.

[38:23]  ⁹⁴⁵ tn The words “the things” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:23]  ⁹⁴⁶ tn Heb “we will become contemptible.” The Hebrew word בּוּז (buz) describes the contempt that a respectable person would have for someone who is worthless, foolish, or disreputable.

[38:24]  ⁹⁴⁷ tn Heb “it was told to Judah, saying.”

[38:24]  ⁹⁴⁸ tn Or “has been sexually promiscuous.” The verb may refer here to loose or promiscuous activity, not necessarily prostitution.

[38:24]  ⁹⁴⁹ tn Heb “and also look, she is with child by prostitution.”

[38:25]  ⁹⁵⁰ tn Heb “she was being brought out and she sent.” The juxtaposition of two clauses, both of which place the subject before the predicate, indicates synchronic action.

[38:25]  ⁹⁵¹ tn Heb “who these to him.”

[38:25]  ⁹⁵² tn Or “ recognize; note.” This same Hebrew verb (נָכַר, nakhar) is used at the beginning of v. 26, where it is translated “recognized.”

[38:26]  ⁹⁵³ tn Traditionally “more righteous”; cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT “more in the right.”

[38:26]  sn She is more upright than I. Judah had been irresponsible and unfaithful to his duty to see that the family line continued through the levirate marriage of his son Shelah. Tamar fought for her right to be the mother of Judah’s line. When she was not given Shelah and Judah’s wife died, she took action on her own to ensure that the line did not die out. Though deceptive, it was a desperate and courageous act. For Tamar it was within her rights; she did nothing that the law did not entitle her to do. But for Judah it was wrong because he thought he was going to a prostitute. See also Susan Niditch, “The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38,” HTR 72 (1979): 143-48.

[38:26]  ⁹⁵⁴ tn Heb “and he did not add again to know her.” Here “know” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:28]  ⁹⁵⁵ tn The word “child” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:29]  ⁹⁵⁶ tn Heb “Look, his brother came out.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through the midwife’s eyes. The words “before him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:29]  ⁹⁵⁷ tn Heb “How you have made a breach for yourself!” The Hebrew verb translated “make a breach” frequently occurs, as here, with a cognate accusative. The event provided the meaningful name Perez, “he who breaks through.”

[38:29]  ⁹⁵⁸ sn The name Perez means “he who breaks through,” referring to Perez reaching out his hand at birth before his brother was born. The naming signified the completion of Tamar’s struggle and also depicted the destiny of the tribe of Perez who later became dominant (Gen 46:12 and Num 26:20). Judah and his brothers had sold Joseph into slavery, thinking they could thwart God’s plan that the elder brothers should serve the younger. God demonstrated that principle through these births in Judah’s own family, affirming that the elder will serve the younger, and that Joseph’s leadership could not so easily be set aside. See J. Goldin, “The Youngest Son; or, Where Does Genesis 38 Belong?” JBL 96 (1977): 27-44.

[38:30]  ⁹⁵⁹ sn Perhaps the child was named Zerah because of the scarlet thread. Though the Hebrew word used for “scarlet thread” in v. 28 is not related to the name Zerah, there is a related root in Babylonian and western Aramaic that means “scarlet” or “scarlet thread.” In Hebrew the name appears to be derived from a root meaning “to shine.” The name could have originally meant something like “shining one” or “God has shined.” Zerah became the head of a tribe (Num 26:20) from whom Achan descended (Josh 7:1).

[39:1]  ⁹⁶⁰ tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.

[39:1]  ⁹⁶¹ sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

[39:1]  ⁹⁶² tn Heb “from the hand of.”

[39:2]  ⁹⁶³ tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).

[39:2]  ⁹⁶⁴ tn Heb “and he was.”

[39:3]  ⁹⁶⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:4]  ⁹⁶⁶ sn The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature.

[39:4]  ⁹⁶⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:4]  ⁹⁶⁸ tn Heb “put into his hand.”

[39:5]  ⁹⁶⁹ tn Heb “and it was from then.”

[39:5]  ⁹⁷⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:5]  ⁹⁷¹ sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).

[39:5]  ⁹⁷² tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:5]  ⁹⁷³ sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.

[39:6]  ⁹⁷⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:6]  ⁹⁷⁵ sn The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else.

[39:6]  ⁹⁷⁶ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:6]  ⁹⁷⁷ tn Heb “did not know.”

[39:6]  ⁹⁷⁸ sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.

[39:6]  ⁹⁷⁹ tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.

[39:7]  ⁹⁸⁰ tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.

[39:7]  ⁹⁸¹ tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:7]  sn The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife has long been connected with the wisdom warnings about the strange woman who tries to seduce the young man with her boldness and directness (see Prov 5-7, especially 7:6-27). This is part of the literary background of the story of Joseph that gives it a wisdom flavor. See G. von Rad, God at Work in Israel, 19-35; and G. W. Coats, “The Joseph Story and Ancient Wisdom: A Reappraisal,” CBQ 35 (1973): 285-97.

[39:8]  ⁹⁸² tn Heb “and he said.”

[39:8]  ⁹⁸³ tn Heb “know.”

[39:8]  ⁹⁸⁴ tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:8]  ⁹⁸⁵ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:9]  ⁹⁸⁶ tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

[39:10]  ⁹⁸⁷ tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition כְּ (kÿ). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal.

[39:10]  ⁹⁸⁸ tn Heb “listen to.”

[39:10]  ⁹⁸⁹ tn Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:11]  ⁹⁹⁰ tn Heb “and it was about this day.”

[39:11]  ⁹⁹¹ tn Heb “the men of the house.”

[39:12]  ⁹⁹² tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.

[39:12]  ⁹⁹³ sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87.

[39:14]  ⁹⁹⁴ tn The verb has no expressed subject, and so it could be treated as a passive (“a Hebrew man was brought in”; cf. NIV). But it is clear from the context that her husband brought Joseph into the household, so Potiphar is the apparent referent here. Thus the translation supplies “my husband” as the referent of the unspecified pronominal subject of the verb (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[39:14]  ⁹⁹⁵ sn A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done.

[39:14]  ⁹⁹⁶ tn Heb “to make fun of us.” The verb translated “to humiliate us” here means to hold something up for ridicule, or to toy with something harmfully. Attempted rape would be such an activity, for it would hold the victim in contempt.

[39:14]  ⁹⁹⁷ tn Heb “he came to me to lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:14]  ⁹⁹⁸ tn Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.”

[39:15]  ⁹⁹⁹ tn Heb “that I raised.”

[39:17]  ¹⁰⁰⁰ tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”

[39:17]  ¹⁰⁰¹ sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.

[39:17]  ¹⁰⁰² tn Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. 14.

[39:19]  ¹⁰⁰³ tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.”

[39:19]  ¹⁰⁰⁴ tn Heb “according to these words.”

[39:19]  ¹⁰⁰⁵ tn Heb “did to me.”

[39:19]  ¹⁰⁰⁶ tn Heb “his anger burned.”

[39:20]  ¹⁰⁰⁷ tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.

[39:20]  ¹⁰⁰⁸ sn The story of Joseph is filled with cycles and repetition: He has two dreams (chap. 37), he interprets two dreams in prison (chap. 40) and the two dreams of Pharaoh (chap. 41), his brothers make two trips to see him (chaps. 42-43), and here, for the second time (see 37:24), he is imprisoned for no good reason, with only his coat being used as evidence. For further discussion see H. Jacobsen, “A Legal Note on Potiphar’s Wife,” HTR 69 (1976): 177.

[39:21]  ¹⁰⁰⁹ tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”

[39:21]  ¹⁰¹⁰ tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).

[39:22]  ¹⁰¹¹ tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison.

[39:23]  ¹⁰¹² tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”

[39:23]  ¹⁰¹³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[40:1]  ¹⁰¹⁴ sn The Hebrew term cupbearer corresponds to the Egyptian wb’, an official (frequently a foreigner) who often became a confidant of the king and wielded political power (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 248). Nehemiah held this post in Persia.

[40:1]  ¹⁰¹⁵ sn The baker may be the Egyptian retehti, the head of the bakers, who had privileges in the royal court.

[40:1]  ¹⁰¹⁶ sn The Hebrew verb translated offended here is the same one translated “sin” in 39:9. Perhaps there is an intended contrast between these officials, who deserve to be imprisoned, and Joseph, who refused to sin against God, but was thrown into prison in spite of his innocence.

[40:2]  ¹⁰¹⁷ tn The Hebrew word סָרִיס (saris), used here of these two men and of Potiphar (see 39:1), normally means “eunuch.” But evidence from Akkadian texts shows that in early times the title was used of a court official in general. Only later did it become more specialized in its use.

[40:4]  ¹⁰¹⁸ sn He served them. This is the same Hebrew verb, meaning “to serve as a personal attendant,” that was translated “became [his] servant” in 39:4.

[40:4]  ¹⁰¹⁹ tn Heb “they were days in custody.”

[40:5]  ¹⁰²⁰ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[40:5]  ¹⁰²¹ tn Heb “a man his dream in one night.”

[40:5]  ¹⁰²² tn Heb “a man according to the interpretation of his dream.”

[40:6]  ¹⁰²³ tn The verb זָעַף (za’af) only occurs here and Dan 1:10. It means “to be sick, to be emaciated,” probably in this case because of depression.

[40:7]  ¹⁰²⁴ tn Heb “why are your faces sad today?”

[40:8]  ¹⁰²⁵ tn Heb “a dream we dreamed.”

[40:8]  ¹⁰²⁶ tn The word “them” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[40:9]  ¹⁰²⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to him.” This has not been translated because it is redundant in English.

[40:11]  ¹⁰²⁸ tn Heb “the cup of Pharaoh.” The pronoun “his” has been used here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[40:11]  ¹⁰²⁹ sn The cupbearer’s dream is dominated by sets of three: three branches, three stages of growth, and three actions of the cupbearer.

[40:12]  ¹⁰³⁰ tn Heb “the three branches [are].”

[40:13]  ¹⁰³¹ tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head.” This Hebrew idiom usually refers to restoring dignity, office, or power. It is comparable to the modern saying “someone can hold his head up high.”

[40:13]  ¹⁰³² tn Heb “according to the former custom.”

[40:14]  ¹⁰³³ tn Heb “but you have remembered me with you.” The perfect verbal form may be used rhetorically here to emphasize Joseph’s desire to be remembered. He speaks of the action as already being accomplished in order to make it clear that he expects it to be done. The form can be translated as volitional, expressing a plea or a request.

[40:14]  ¹⁰³⁴ tn This perfect verbal form with the prefixed conjunction (and the two that immediately follow) carry the same force as the preceding perfect.

[40:14]  ¹⁰³⁵ tn Heb “deal with me [in] kindness.”

[40:14]  ¹⁰³⁶ tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) in the Hiphil stem means “to cause to remember, to make mention, to boast.” The implication is that Joseph would be pleased for them to tell his story and give him the credit due him so that Pharaoh would release him. Since Pharaoh had never met Joseph, the simple translation of “cause him to remember me” would mean little.

[40:14]  ¹⁰³⁷ tn Heb “house.” The word “prison” has been substituted in the translation for clarity.

[40:15]  ¹⁰³⁸ tn The verb גָּנַב (ganav) means “to steal,” but in the Piel/Pual stem “to steal away.” The idea of “kidnap” would be closer to the sense, meaning he was stolen and carried off. The preceding infinitive absolute underscores the point Joseph is making.

[40:16]  ¹⁰³⁹ tn Heb “that [the] interpretation [was] good.” The words “the first dream” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:16]  ¹⁰⁴⁰ tn Or “three wicker baskets.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun חֹרִי (khori, “white bread, cake”) is uncertain; some have suggested the meaning “wicker” instead. Comparison with texts from Ebla suggests the meaning “pastries made with white flour” (M. Dahood, “Eblaite h¬a-rí and Genesis 40,16 h£o„rî,” BN 13 [1980]: 14-16).

[40:18]  ¹⁰⁴¹ tn Heb “the three baskets [are].”

[40:19]  ¹⁰⁴² tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head from upon you.” Joseph repeats the same expression from the first interpretation (see v. 13), but with the added words “from upon you,” which allow the statement to have a more literal and ominous meaning – the baker will be decapitated.

[40:20]  ¹⁰⁴³ tn The translation puts the verb in quotation marks because it is used rhetorically here and has a double meaning. With respect to the cup bearer it means “reinstate” (see v. 13), but with respect to the baker it means “decapitate” (see v. 19).

[40:21]  ¹⁰⁴⁴ tn Heb “his cupbearing.”

[40:22]  ¹⁰⁴⁵ tn Heb “had interpreted for them.”

[40:22]  sn The dreams were fulfilled exactly as Joseph had predicted, down to the very detail. Here was confirmation that Joseph could interpret dreams and that his own dreams were still valid. It would have been a tremendous encouragement to his faith, but it would also have been a great disappointment to spend two more years in jail.

[40:23]  ¹⁰⁴⁶ tn The wayyiqtol verbal form here has a reiterative or emphasizing function.

[41:1]  ¹⁰⁴⁷ tn Heb “two years, days.”

[41:1]  ¹⁰⁴⁸ tn Heb “was dreaming.”

[41:2]  ¹⁰⁴⁹ 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]  ¹⁰⁵⁰ tn Heb “And look, seven other cows were coming up after them from the Nile, bad of appearance and thin of flesh.”

[41:3]  ¹⁰⁵¹ tn Heb “the Nile.” This has been replaced by “the river” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:5]  ¹⁰⁵² tn Heb “coming up.”

[41:5]  ¹⁰⁵³ tn Heb “fat.”

[41:6]  ¹⁰⁵⁴ tn Heb “And look.”

[41:7]  ¹⁰⁵⁵ 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]  ¹⁰⁵⁶ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[41:8]  ¹⁰⁵⁷ tn Heb “he sent and called,” which indicates an official summons.

[41:8]  ¹⁰⁵⁸ 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]  ¹⁰⁵⁹ 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]  ¹⁰⁶⁰ tn “there was no interpreter.”

[41:8]  ¹⁰⁶¹ tn Heb “for Pharaoh.” The pronoun “him” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:9]  ¹⁰⁶² tn Heb “sins, offenses.” He probably refers here to the offenses that landed him in prison (see 40:1).

[41:11]  ¹⁰⁶³ 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]  ¹⁰⁶⁴ tn Or “slave.”

[41:12]  ¹⁰⁶⁵ tn Heb “a servant to the captain of the guards.” On this construction see GKC 419-20 §129.c.

[41:12]  ¹⁰⁶⁶ tn The words “our dreams” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:12]  ¹⁰⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he interpreted for us our dreams, each according to his dream he interpreted.”

[41:13]  ¹⁰⁶⁸ tn Heb “interpreted.”

[41:13]  ¹⁰⁶⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:13]  ¹⁰⁷⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:14]  ¹⁰⁷¹ tn Heb “and Pharaoh sent and called,” indicating a summons to the royal court.

[41:15]  ¹⁰⁷² tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[41:15]  ¹⁰⁷³ tn Heb “there is no one interpreting.”

[41:15]  ¹⁰⁷⁴ tn Heb “saying.”

[41:15]  ¹⁰⁷⁵ 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]  ¹⁰⁷⁶ tn Heb “not within me.”

[41:16]  ¹⁰⁷⁷ tn Heb “God will answer.”

[41:16]  ¹⁰⁷⁸ 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]  ¹⁰⁷⁹ 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]  ¹⁰⁸⁰ 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]  ¹⁰⁸¹ tn Heb “And look.”

[41:19]  ¹⁰⁸² tn The word “cows” is supplied here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:20]  ¹⁰⁸³ tn Heb “the seven first fat cows.”

[41:21]  ¹⁰⁸⁴ tn Heb “when they went inside them.”

[41:21]  ¹⁰⁸⁵ tn Heb “it was not known.”

[41:22]  ¹⁰⁸⁶ tn Heb “and I saw in my dream and look.”

[41:23]  ¹⁰⁸⁷ tn Heb “And look.”

[41:24]  ¹⁰⁸⁸ tn The words “all this” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:24]  ¹⁰⁸⁹ tn Heb “and there was no one telling me.”

[41:25]  ¹⁰⁹⁰ tn Heb “the dream of Pharaoh is one.”

[41:25]  ¹⁰⁹¹ tn Heb “declared.”

[41:25]  ¹⁰⁹² tn The active participle here indicates what is imminent.

[41:26]  ¹⁰⁹³ tn Heb “one dream it is.”

[41:27]  ¹⁰⁹⁴ tn Heb “are.” Another option is to translate, “There will be seven years of famine.”

[41:28]  ¹⁰⁹⁵ tn Heb “it is the word that I spoke.”

[41:30]  ¹⁰⁹⁶ tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.

[41:30]  ¹⁰⁹⁷ 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.

[41:31]  ¹⁰⁹⁸ tn Heb “known.”

[41:31]  ¹⁰⁹⁹ tn Or “heavy.”

[41:32]  ¹¹⁰⁰ 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]  ¹¹⁰¹ tn Heb “established.”

[41:32]  ¹¹⁰² 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]  ¹¹⁰³ tn Heb “let Pharaoh look.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.

[41:33]  ¹¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “a man discerning and wise.” The order of the terms is rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:33]  ¹¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “and let him set him.”

[41:34]  ¹¹⁰⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”

[41:34]  ¹¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.

[41:34]  ¹¹⁰⁸ 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]  ¹¹⁰⁹ 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]  ¹¹¹⁰ tn Heb “all the food.”

[41:35]  ¹¹¹¹ tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”

[41:35]  ¹¹¹² tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.

[41:35]  ¹¹¹³ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.

[41:36]  ¹¹¹⁴ tn Heb “and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”

[41:37]  ¹¹¹⁵ tn Heb “and the matter was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.”

[41:38]  ¹¹¹⁶ 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]  ¹¹¹⁷ tn The rhetorical question expects the answer “No, of course not!”

[41:39]  ¹¹¹⁸ tn Heb “as discerning and wise.” The order has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:40]  ¹¹¹⁹ 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]  ¹¹²⁰ tn Heb “only the throne, I will be greater than you.”

[41:41]  ¹¹²¹ 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]  ¹¹²² 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]  ¹¹²³ 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]  ¹¹²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:43]  ¹¹²⁵ tn Heb “and he caused him to ride in the second chariot which was his.”

[41:43]  ¹¹²⁶ 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]  ¹¹²⁷ tn Heb “apart from you.”

[41:44]  ¹¹²⁸ tn Heb “no man,” but here “man” is generic, referring to people in general.

[41:44]  ¹¹²⁹ tn The idiom “lift up hand or foot” means “take any action” here.

[41:45]  ¹¹³⁰ 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]  ¹¹³¹ 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]  ¹¹³² sn On (also in v. 50) is another name for the city of Heliopolis.

[41:45]  ¹¹³³ tn Heb “and he passed through.”

[41:46]  ¹¹³⁴ tn Heb “a son of thirty years.”

[41:46]  ¹¹³⁵ tn Heb “when he stood before.”

[41:46]  ¹¹³⁶ tn Heb “went out from before.”

[41:46]  ¹¹³⁷ 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]  ¹¹³⁸ tn Heb “brought forth by handfuls.”

[41:48]  ¹¹³⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:48]  ¹¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “all the food.”

[41:48]  ¹¹⁴¹ tn Heb “of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt and placed food in the cities.”

[41:49]  ¹¹⁴² 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]  ¹¹⁴³ tn Heb “before the year of the famine came.”

[41:50]  ¹¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “gave birth for him.”

[41:51]  ¹¹⁴⁵ 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]  ¹¹⁴⁶ tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:51]  ¹¹⁴⁷ tn Or “for.”

[41:52]  ¹¹⁴⁸ 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]  ¹¹⁴⁹ tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:52]  ¹¹⁵⁰ tn Or “for.”

[41:54]  ¹¹⁵¹ tn Heb “began to arrive.”

[41:55]  ¹¹⁵² tn Heb “to all Egypt.” The name of the country is used by metonymy for the inhabitants.

[41:56]  ¹¹⁵³ 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]  ¹¹⁵⁴ 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]  ¹¹⁵⁵ 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.

[42:1]  ¹¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “saw.”

[42:1]  ¹¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “Jacob.” Here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:1]  ¹¹⁵⁸ sn Why are you looking at each other? The point of Jacob’s question is that his sons should be going to get grain rather than sitting around doing nothing. Jacob, as the patriarch, still makes the decisions for the whole clan.

[42:2]  ¹¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “and buy for us from there.” The word “grain,” the direct object of “buy,” has been supplied for clarity, and the words “from there” have been omitted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:2]  ¹¹⁶⁰ tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result.

[42:2]  ¹¹⁶¹ tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.

[42:4]  ¹¹⁶² tn Heb “But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers.” The disjunctive clause highlights the contrast between Benjamin and the other ten.

[42:4]  ¹¹⁶³ tn The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) could also be translated “thought” (i.e., “he said to himself”) here, giving Jacob’s reasoning rather than spoken words.

[42:4]  ¹¹⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew noun אָסוֹן (’ason) is a rare word meaning “accident, harm.” Apart from its use in these passages it occurs in Exodus 21:22-23 of an accident to a pregnant woman. The term is a rather general one, but Jacob was no doubt thinking of his loss of Joseph.

[42:4]  ¹¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “encounters.”

[42:5]  ¹¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “in the midst of the coming ones.”

[42:6]  ¹¹⁶⁷ tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.

[42:6]  ¹¹⁶⁸ sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).

[42:6]  ¹¹⁶⁹ tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.

[42:7]  ¹¹⁷⁰ sn But pretended to be a stranger. Joseph intends to test his brothers to see if they have changed and have the integrity to be patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. He will do this by putting them in the same situations that they and he were in before. The first test will be to awaken their conscience.

[42:7]  ¹¹⁷¹ tn Heb “said.”

[42:7]  ¹¹⁷² tn The verb is denominative, meaning “to buy grain”; the word “food” could simply be the direct object, but may also be an adverbial accusative.

[42:9]  ¹¹⁷³ sn You are spies. Joseph wanted to see how his brothers would react if they were accused of spying.

[42:9]  ¹¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “to see the nakedness of the land you have come.”

[42:10]  ¹¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “and they said to him.” In context this is best understood as an exclamation.

[42:12]  ¹¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “and he said, ‘No, for the nakedness of the land you have come to see.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for clarity.

[42:13]  ¹¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “twelve [were] your servants, brothers [are] we.”

[42:13]  ¹¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “today.”

[42:13]  ¹¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “and the one is not.”

[42:14]  ¹¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “to you, saying.”

[42:15]  ¹¹⁸¹ tn Heb “[By] the life of Pharaoh.”

[42:15]  sn As surely as Pharaoh lives. Joseph uses an oath formula to let the brothers know the certainty of what he said. There is some discussion in the commentaries on swearing by the life of Pharaoh, but since the formulation here reflects the Hebrew practice, it would be hard to connect the ideas exactly to Egyptian practices. Joseph did this to make the point in a way that his Hebrew brothers would understand. See M. R. Lehmann, “Biblical Oaths,” ZAW 81 (1969): 74-92.

[42:16]  ¹¹⁸² tn Heb “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose.

[42:16]  ¹¹⁸³ tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal.

[42:16]  ¹¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “bound.”

[42:16]  ¹¹⁸⁵ tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:16]  ¹¹⁸⁶ tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.”

[42:17]  ¹¹⁸⁷ sn The same Hebrew word is used for Joseph’s imprisonment in 40:3, 4, 7. There is some mirroring going on in the narrative. The Hebrew word used here (אָסַף, ’asaf, “to gather”) is not normally used in a context like this (for placing someone in prison), but it forms a wordplay on the name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yosoef) and keeps the comparison working.

[42:18]  ¹¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “Do this.”

[42:18]  ¹¹⁸⁹ tn After the preceding imperative, the imperative with vav (ו) can, as here, indicate logical sequence.

[42:18]  ¹¹⁹⁰ 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.

[42:19]  ¹¹⁹¹ tn Heb “bound in the house of your prison.”

[42:19]  ¹¹⁹² tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal.

[42:19]  ¹¹⁹³ tn Heb “[for] the hunger of your households.”

[42:20]  ¹¹⁹⁴ tn The imperfect here has an injunctive force.

[42:20]  ¹¹⁹⁵ tn After the injunctive imperfect, this imperfect with vav indicates purpose or result.

[42:20]  ¹¹⁹⁶ tn The Niphal form of the verb has the sense of “to be faithful; to be sure; to be reliable.” Joseph will test his brothers to see if their words are true.

[42:20]  ¹¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “and they did so.”

[42:21]  ¹¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”

[42:21]  ¹¹⁹⁹ tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”

[42:21]  ¹²⁰⁰ tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”

[42:21]  ¹²⁰¹ sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.

[42:22]  ¹²⁰² tn Heb “and also his blood, look, it is required.” God requires compensation, as it were, from those who shed innocent blood (see Gen 9:6). In other words, God exacts punishment for the crime of murder.

[42:23]  ¹²⁰³ tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[42:23]  ¹²⁰⁴ tn “was listening.” The brothers were not aware that Joseph could understand them as they spoke the preceding words in their native language.

[42:23]  ¹²⁰⁵ tn Heb “for [there was] an interpreter between them.” On the meaning of the word here translated “interpreter” see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ and M. A. Canney, “The Hebrew melis (Prov IX 12; Gen XLII 2-3),” AJSL 40 (1923/24): 135-37.

[42:24]  ¹²⁰⁶ tn Heb “and he turned to them and spoke to them.”

[42:24]  ¹²⁰⁷ tn Heb “took Simeon.” This was probably done at Joseph’s command, however; the grand vizier of Egypt would not have personally seized a prisoner.

[42:24]  ¹²⁰⁸ tn Heb “and he bound him.” See the note on the preceding verb “taken.”

[42:25]  ¹²⁰⁹ tn Heb “and they filled.” The clause appears to be elliptical; one expects “Joseph gave orders to fill…and they filled.” See GKC 386 §120.f.

[42:25]  ¹²¹⁰ tn Heb “and he did for them so.” Joseph would appear to be the subject of the singular verb. If the text is retained, the statement seems to be a summary of the preceding, more detailed statement. However, some read the verb as plural, “and they did for them so.” In this case the statement indicates that Joseph’s subordinates carried out his orders. Another alternative is to read the singular verb as passive (with unspecified subject), “and this was done for them so” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[42:26]  ¹²¹¹ tn Heb “and they went from there.”

[42:27]  ¹²¹² tn Heb “and the one.” The article indicates that the individual is vivid in the mind of the narrator, yet it is not important to identify him by name.

[42:27]  ¹²¹³ tn Heb “at the lodging place.”

[42:27]  ¹²¹⁴ tn Heb “and look, it [was] in the mouth of his sack.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to look through the eyes of the character and thereby draws attention to the money.

[42:28]  ¹²¹⁵ tn Heb “and their heart went out.” Since this expression is used only here, the exact meaning is unclear. The following statement suggests that it may refer to a sudden loss of emotional strength, so “They were dismayed” adequately conveys the meaning (cf. NRSV); NIV has “Their hearts sank.”

[42:28]  ¹²¹⁶ tn Heb “and they trembled, a man to his neighbor.”

[42:28]  ¹²¹⁷ tn Heb “What is this God has done to us?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question.

[42:30]  ¹²¹⁸ tn Heb “made us.”

[42:30]  ¹²¹⁹ tn The words “if we were” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:32]  ¹²²⁰ tn Heb “twelve [were] we, brothers, sons of our father [are] we.”

[42:32]  ¹²²¹ tn Heb “the one is not.”

[42:32]  ¹²²² tn Heb “today.”

[42:33]  ¹²²³ tn The word “grain” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:34]  ¹²²⁴ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav indicates purpose/result.

[42:34]  ¹²²⁵ tn Heb “that you are not spies, that you are honest men.”

[42:34]  ¹²²⁶ sn Joseph’s brothers soften the news considerably, making it sound like Simeon was a guest of Joseph (Leave one of your brothers with me) instead of being bound in prison. They do not mention the threat of death and do not at this time speak of the money in the one sack.

[42:36]  ¹²²⁷ tn Heb “is not.”

[42:36]  ¹²²⁸ tn Heb “is not.”

[42:36]  ¹²²⁹ tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is desiderative here.

[42:37]  ¹²³⁰ tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is permissive here.

[42:37]  ¹²³¹ tn Heb “my hand.”

[42:38]  ¹²³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[42:38]  ¹²³³ sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.

[42:38]  ¹²³⁴ sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble.

[42:38]  ¹²³⁵ tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.

[43:1]  ¹²³⁶ tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that is important to the storyline.

[43:3]  ¹²³⁷ tn The infinitive absolute with the finite verb stresses the point. The primary meaning of the verb is “to witness; to testify.” It alludes to Joseph’s oath, which was tantamount to a threat or warning.

[43:3]  ¹²³⁸ tn The idiom “see my face” means “have an audience with me.”

[43:4]  ¹²³⁹ tn Heb “if there is you sending,” that is, “if you send.”

[43:6]  ¹²⁴⁰ tn The verb may even have a moral connotation here, “Why did you do evil to me?”

[43:6]  ¹²⁴¹ tn The infinitive construct here explains how they brought trouble on Jacob.

[43:7]  ¹²⁴² tn The word “us” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[43:7]  ¹²⁴³ tn The infinitive absolute with the perfect verbal form emphasizes that Joseph questioned them thoroughly.

[43:7]  ¹²⁴⁴ sn The report given here concerning Joseph’s interrogation does not exactly match the previous account where they supplied the information to clear themselves (see 42:13). This section may reflect how they remembered the impact of his interrogation, whether he asked the specific questions or not. That may be twisting the truth to protect themselves, not wanting to admit that they volunteered the information. (They admitted as much in 42:31, but now they seem to be qualifying that comment.) On the other hand, when speaking to Joseph later (see 44:19), Judah claims that Joseph asked for the information about their family, making it possible that 42:13 leaves out some of the details of their first encounter.

[43:7]  ¹²⁴⁵ tn Heb “and we told to him according to these words.”

[43:7]  ¹²⁴⁶ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the imperfect verbal form, which here is a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of a past time).

[43:7]  ¹²⁴⁷ tn Once again the imperfect verbal form is used as a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of past time).

[43:8]  ¹²⁴⁸ tn Heb “and we will rise up and we will go.” The first verb is adverbial and gives the expression the sense of “we will go immediately.”

[43:8]  ¹²⁴⁹ tn After the preceding cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form (either imperfect or cohortative) with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or result.

[43:9]  ¹²⁵⁰ tn The pronoun before the first person verbal form draws attention to the subject and emphasizes Judah’s willingness to be personally responsible for the boy.

[43:9]  ¹²⁵¹ sn I will bear the blame before you all my life. It is not clear how this would work out if Benjamin did not come back. But Judah is offering his life for Benjamin’s if Benjamin does not return.

[43:10]  ¹²⁵² tn Heb “we could have returned.”

[43:12]  ¹²⁵³ tn Heb “in your hand.”

[43:12]  ¹²⁵⁴ 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.

[43:13]  ¹²⁵⁵ tn Heb “arise, return,” meaning “get up and go back,” or “go back immediately.”

[43:13]  ¹²⁵⁶ sn The man refers to the Egyptian official, whom the reader or hearer of the narrative knows is Joseph. In this context both the sons and Jacob refer to him simply as “the man” (see vv. 3-7).

[43:14]  ¹²⁵⁷ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[43:14]  ¹²⁵⁸ tn Heb “release to you.” After the jussive this perfect verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) probably indicates logical consequence, as well as temporal sequence.

[43:14]  ¹²⁵⁹ sn Several Jewish commentators suggest that the expression your other brother refers to Joseph. This would mean that Jacob prophesied unwittingly. However, it is much more likely that Simeon is the referent of the phrase “your other brother” (see Gen 42:24).

[43:14]  ¹²⁶⁰ tn Heb “if I am bereaved I am bereaved.” With this fatalistic sounding statement Jacob resolves himself to the possibility of losing both Benjamin and Simeon.

[43:15]  ¹²⁶¹ tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.

[43:17]  ¹²⁶² tn Heb “the man.” This has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[43:17]  ¹²⁶³ sn This verse is a summary statement. The next verses delineate intermediate steps (see v. 24) in the process.

[43:18]  ¹²⁶⁴ tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[43:18]  ¹²⁶⁵ tn Heb “in the beginning,” that is, at the end of their first visit.

[43:18]  ¹²⁶⁶ tn Heb “to roll himself upon us and to cause himself to fall upon us.” The infinitives here indicate the purpose (as viewed by the brothers) for their being brought to Joseph’s house.

[43:18]  ¹²⁶⁷ tn The word “take” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[43:20]  ¹²⁶⁸ tn The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the finite verbal form.

[43:20]  ¹²⁶⁹ tn Heb “in the beginning” (see the note on the phrase “last time” in v. 18).

[43:21]  ¹²⁷⁰ tn Heb “in its weight.”

[43:21]  ¹²⁷¹ tn Heb “brought it back in our hand.”

[43:23]  ¹²⁷² tn Heb “and he said, ‘peace to you.’” Here the statement has the force of “everything is fine,” or perhaps even “calm down.” The referent of “he” (the man in charge of Joseph’ household) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[43:23]  ¹²⁷³ sn Your God and the God of your father…This is the first clear reference in the story to the theme of divine providence – that God works through the human actions to do his will.

[43:23]  ¹²⁷⁴ tn Heb “your money came to me.”

[43:24]  ¹²⁷⁵ tn Heb “the man.”

[43:25]  ¹²⁷⁶ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct after the preposition, followed by the subjective genitive.

[43:25]  ¹²⁷⁷ tn The action precedes the action of preparing the gift, and so must be translated as past perfect.

[43:25]  ¹²⁷⁸ tn Heb “eat bread.” The imperfect verbal form is used here as a historic future (future from the perspective of the past).

[43:26]  ¹²⁷⁹ tn Heb “into the house.”

[43:27]  ¹²⁸⁰ tn Heb “concerning peace.”

[43:28]  ¹²⁸¹ tn Heb “and they bowed low and they bowed down.” The use of synonyms here emphasizes the brothers’ humility.

[43:29]  ¹²⁸² tn Heb “and he lifted his eyes.” The referent of “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:29]  ¹²⁸³ sn Joseph’s language here becomes warmer and more personal, culminating in calling Benjamin my son.

[43:30]  ¹²⁸⁴ tn Heb “for his affection boiled up concerning his brother.” The same expression is used in 1 Kgs 3:26 for the mother’s feelings for her endangered child.

[43:30]  ¹²⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he sought to weep.”

[43:31]  ¹²⁸⁶ tn Heb “and he controlled himself and said.”

[43:32]  ¹²⁸⁷ tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:32]  ¹²⁸⁸ tn Or “disgraceful.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 46:34 and Exod 8:22.

[43:32]  ¹²⁸⁹ tn Heb “and they set for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, for the Egyptians are not able to eat food with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination for the Egyptians.” The imperfect verbal form in the explanatory clause is taken as habitual in force, indicating a practice that was still in effect in the narrator’s time.

[43:32]  sn That the Egyptians found eating with foreigners disgusting is well-attested in extra-biblical literature by writers like Herodotus, Diodorus, and Strabo.

[43:33]  ¹²⁹⁰ tn Heb “the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth.”

[43:33]  ¹²⁹¹ sn The brothers’ astonishment indicates that Joseph arranged them in this way. They were astonished because there was no way, as far as they were concerned, that Joseph could have known the order of their birth.

[43:34]  ¹²⁹² tn Heb “and he lifted up portions from before his face to them.”

[43:34]  ¹²⁹³ 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.

[44:2]  ¹²⁹⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express Joseph’s instructions.

[44:2]  ¹²⁹⁵ tn Heb “and he did according to the word of Joseph which he spoke.”

[44:3]  ¹²⁹⁶ tn Heb “the morning was light.”

[44:3]  ¹²⁹⁷ tn Heb “and the men were sent off, they and their donkeys.” This clause, like the preceding one, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.

[44:4]  ¹²⁹⁸ tn Heb “they left the city, they were not far,” meaning “they had not gone very far.”

[44:4]  ¹²⁹⁹ tn Heb “and Joseph said.” This clause, like the first one in the verse, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.

[44:4]  ¹³⁰⁰ tn Heb “arise, chase after the men.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

[44:4]  ¹³⁰¹ tn After the imperative this perfect verbal form with vav consecutive has the same nuance of instruction. In the translation it is subordinated to the verbal form that follows (also a perfect with vav consecutive): “and overtake them and say,” becomes “when you overtake them, say.”

[44:5]  ¹³⁰² tn Heb “Is this not what my master drinks from.” The word “cup” is not in the Hebrew text, but is obviously the referent of “this,” and so has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[44:5]  ¹³⁰³ tn Heb “and he, divining, divines with it.” The infinitive absolute is emphatic, stressing the importance of the cup to Joseph.

[44:5]  ¹³⁰⁴ tn Heb “you have caused to be evil what you have done.”

[44:6]  ¹³⁰⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:7]  ¹³⁰⁶ tn Heb “Why does my lord speak according to these words?”

[44:7]  ¹³⁰⁷ tn Heb “according to this thing.”

[44:9]  ¹³⁰⁸ tn Heb “The one with whom it is found from your servants.” Here “your servants” (a deferential way of referring to the brothers themselves) has been translated by the pronoun “us” to avoid confusion with Joseph’s servants.

[44:10]  ¹³⁰⁹ tn Heb “Also now, according to your words, so it is.” As the next statement indicates, this does mean that he will do exactly as they say. He does agree with them the culprit should be punished, but not as harshly as they suggest. Furthermore, the innocent parties will not be punished.

[44:10]  ¹³¹⁰ tn Heb “The one with whom it is found will become my slave.”

[44:10]  ¹³¹¹ tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[44:10]  ¹³¹² tn The Hebrew word נָקִי (naqi) means “acquitted,” that is, free of guilt and the responsibility for it.

[44:10]  sn The rest of you will be free. Joseph’s purpose was to single out Benjamin to see if the brothers would abandon him as they had abandoned Joseph. He wanted to see if they had changed.

[44:11]  ¹³¹³ tn Heb “and they hurried and they lowered.” Their speed in doing this shows their presumption of innocence.

[44:12]  ¹³¹⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:14]  ¹³¹⁵ sn Judah and his brothers. The narrative is already beginning to bring Judah to the forefront.

[44:14]  ¹³¹⁶ tn The disjunctive clause here provides supplemental information.

[44:15]  ¹³¹⁷ tn Heb “What is this deed you have done?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question. A literal translation seems to contradict the following statement, in which Joseph affirms that he is able to divine such matters. Thus here the emotive force of the question has been reflected in the translation, “What did you think you were doing?”

[44:15]  ¹³¹⁸ tn Heb “[is] fully able to divine,” meaning that he can find things out by divination. The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis, stressing his ability to do this.

[44:16]  ¹³¹⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form here indicates the subject’s potential.

[44:16]  ¹³²⁰ tn The Hitpael form of the verb צָדֵק (tsadeq) here means “to prove ourselves just, to declare ourselves righteous, to prove our innocence.”

[44:16]  ¹³²¹ sn God has exposed the sin of your servants. The first three questions are rhetorical; Judah is stating that there is nothing they can say to clear themselves. He therefore must conclude that they have been found guilty.

[44:17]  ¹³²² tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[44:17]  ¹³²³ tn Heb “up” (reflecting directions from their point of view – “up” to Canaan; “down” to Egypt).

[44:18]  ¹³²⁴ tn Heb “Please my lord, let your servant speak a word into the ears of my lord.”

[44:18]  ¹³²⁵ tn Heb “and let not your anger burn against your servant.”

[44:18]  ¹³²⁶ sn You are just like Pharaoh. Judah’s speech begins with the fear and trembling of one who stands condemned. Joseph has as much power as Pharaoh, either to condemn or to pardon. Judah will make his appeal, wording his speech in such a way as to appeal to Joseph’s compassion for the father, whom he mentions no less than fourteen times in the speech.

[44:20]  ¹³²⁷ tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.

[44:20]  ¹³²⁸ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:20]  ¹³²⁹ tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”

[44:21]  ¹³³⁰ tn The cohortative after the imperative indicates purpose here.

[44:21]  ¹³³¹ tn Heb “that I may set my eyes upon him.”

[44:22]  ¹³³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the boy’s father, i.e., Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:22]  ¹³³³ tn The last two verbs are perfect tenses with vav consecutive. The first is subordinated to the second as a conditional clause.

[44:26]  ¹³³⁴ tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[44:26]  ¹³³⁵ tn Heb “go down.”

[44:27]  ¹³³⁶ tn Heb “that two sons my wife bore to me.”

[44:28]  ¹³³⁷ tn Heb “went forth from me.”

[44:29]  ¹³³⁸ tn The construction uses a perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive to introduce the conditional clause and then another perfect verbal form with a vav consecutive to complete the sentence: “if you take…then you will bring down.”

[44:29]  ¹³³⁹ sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble. See Gen 42:38.

[44:29]  ¹³⁴⁰ tn Heb “evil/calamity.” The term is different than the one used in the otherwise identical statement recorded in v. 31 (see also 42:38).

[44:29]  ¹³⁴¹ tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.

[44:30]  ¹³⁴² tn Heb “his life is bound up in his life.”

[44:31]  ¹³⁴³ tn Heb “when he sees that there is no boy.”

[44:32]  ¹³⁴⁴ tn Or “for.”

[44:34]  ¹³⁴⁵ tn The Hebrew text has “lest I see,” which expresses a negative purpose – “I cannot go up lest I see.”

[44:34]  ¹³⁴⁶ tn Heb “the calamity which would find my father.”

[45:1]  ¹³⁴⁷ tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”

[45:1]  ¹³⁴⁸ tn Heb “stood.”

[45:2]  ¹³⁴⁹ tn Heb “and he gave his voice in weeping,” meaning that Joseph could not restrain himself and wept out loud.

[45:2]  ¹³⁵⁰ tn Heb “and the Egyptians heard and the household of Pharaoh heard.” Presumably in the latter case this was by means of a report.

[45:5]  ¹³⁵¹ tn Heb “let there not be anger in your eyes.”

[45:5]  ¹³⁵² 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.

[45:6]  ¹³⁵³ tn Heb “the famine [has been] in the midst of.”

[45:7]  ¹³⁵⁴ 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]  ¹³⁵⁵ tn Heb “to make you a remnant.” The verb, followed here by the preposition לְ (lÿ), means “to make.”

[45:7]  ¹³⁵⁶ tn The infinitive gives a second purpose for God’s action.

[45:8]  ¹³⁵⁷ tn Heb “a father.” The term is used here figuratively of one who gives advice, as a father would to his children.

[45:9]  ¹³⁵⁸ tn Heb “hurry and go up.”

[45:10]  ¹³⁵⁹ tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive here expresses instruction.

[45:11]  ¹³⁶⁰ 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.”

[45:12]  ¹³⁶¹ tn Heb “And, look, your eyes see and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that my mouth is the one speaking to you.”

[45:13]  ¹³⁶² tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive here expresses instruction.

[45:13]  ¹³⁶³ tn Heb “and hurry and bring down my father to here.”

[45:16]  ¹³⁶⁴ tn Heb “and the sound was heard.”

[45:16]  ¹³⁶⁵ tn Heb “was good in the eyes of.”

[45:17]  ¹³⁶⁶ tn Heb “and go! Enter!”

[45:18]  ¹³⁶⁷ tn After the imperatives in vv. 17-18a, the cohortative with vav indicates result.

[45:18]  ¹³⁶⁸ tn After the cohortative the imperative with vav states the ultimate goal.

[45:18]  ¹³⁶⁹ tn Heb “fat.”

[45:19]  ¹³⁷⁰ tn The words “to say” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[45:20]  ¹³⁷¹ tn Heb “let not your eye regard.”

[45:21]  ¹³⁷² tn Heb “and the sons of Israel did so.”

[45:21]  ¹³⁷³ tn Heb “according to the mouth of Pharaoh.”

[45:22]  ¹³⁷⁴ tn Heb “to all of them he gave, to each one, changes of outer garments.”

[45:22]  ¹³⁷⁵ tn Heb “changes of outer garments.”

[45:23]  ¹³⁷⁶ tn Heb “according to this.”

[45:24]  ¹³⁷⁷ tn Heb “do not be stirred up in the way.” The verb means “stir up.” Some understand the Hebrew verb רָגָז (ragaz, “to stir up”) as a reference to quarreling (see Prov 29:9, where it has this connotation), but in Exod 15:14 and other passages it means “to fear.” This might refer to a fear of robbers, but more likely it is an assuring word that they need not be fearful about returning to Egypt. They might have thought that once Jacob was in Egypt, Joseph would take his revenge on them.

[45:25]  ¹³⁷⁸ tn Heb “and they entered the land of Canaan to their father.”

[45:26]  ¹³⁷⁹ tn Heb “and his heart was numb.” Jacob was stunned by the unbelievable news and was unable to respond.

[45:27]  ¹³⁸⁰ tn Heb “and they spoke to him all the words of Joseph which he had spoke to them.”

[46:1]  ¹³⁸¹ tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”

[46:1]  ¹³⁸² sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.

[46:2]  ¹³⁸³ tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.

[46:3]  ¹³⁸⁴ tn Heb “the God.”

[46:4]  ¹³⁸⁵ tn Heb “and I, I will bring you up, also bringing up.” The independent personal pronoun before the first person imperfect verbal form draws attention to the speaker/subject, while the infinitive absolute after the imperfect strongly emphasizes the statement: “I myself will certainly bring you up.”

[46:4]  ¹³⁸⁶ tn Heb “and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes.” This is a promise of peaceful death in Egypt with Joseph present to close his eyes.

[46:5]  ¹³⁸⁷ tn Heb “arose.”

[46:6]  ¹³⁸⁸ tn Heb “and they took their livestock and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and they went to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[46:7]  ¹³⁸⁹ tn The Hebrew text adds “with him” here. This is omitted in the translation because it is redundant in English style (note the same phrase earlier in the verse).

[46:13]  ¹³⁹⁰ tc The MT reads “Puvah” (cf. Num 26:23); the Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac read “Puah” (cf. 1 Chr 7:1).

[46:13]  ¹³⁹¹ tc The MT reads “Iob,” but the Samaritan Pentateuch and some LXX mss read “Jashub” (see Num 26:24; 1 Chr 7:1).

[46:15]  ¹³⁹² tn Heb “all the lives of his sons and his daughters, thirty-three.”

[46:16]  ¹³⁹³ tc The MT reads “Ziphion,” but see Num 26:15, the Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, all of which read “Zephon.”

[46:20]  ¹³⁹⁴ sn On is another name for the city of Heliopolis.

[46:21]  ¹³⁹⁵ sn The sons of Benjamin. It is questionable whether youthful Benjamin had ten sons by the time he went into Egypt, but it is not impossible. If Benjamin was born when Joseph was six or seven, he was ten when Joseph was sold into Egypt, and would have been thirty-two at this point. Some suggest that the list originally served another purpose and included the names of all who were in the immediate family of the sons, whether born in Canaan or later in Egypt.

[46:23]  ¹³⁹⁶ tn This name appears as “Shuham” in Num 26:42. The LXX reads “Hashum” here.

[46:26]  ¹³⁹⁷ tn Heb “All the people who went with Jacob to Egypt, the ones who came out of his body, apart from the wives of the sons of Jacob, all the people were sixty-six.”

[46:26]  sn The number sixty-six includes the seventy-one descendants (including Dinah) listed in vv. 8-25 minus Er and Onan (deceased), and Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim (already in Egypt).

[46:27]  ¹³⁹⁸ tn The LXX reads “nine sons,” probably counting the grandsons of Joseph born to Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. 1 Chr 7:14-20).

[46:27]  ¹³⁹⁹ tn Heb “And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two people; all the people belonging to the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.”

[46:27]  sn The number seventy includes Jacob himself and the seventy-one descendants (including Dinah, Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim) listed in vv. 8-25, minus Er and Onan (deceased). The LXX gives the number as “seventy-five” (cf. Acts 7:14).

[46:28]  ¹⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[46:28]  ¹⁴⁰¹ tn Heb “to direct before him to Goshen.”

[46:29]  ¹⁴⁰² tn Heb “and he appeared to him.”

[46:30]  ¹⁴⁰³ tn Heb “after my seeing your face that you are still alive.”

[46:31]  ¹⁴⁰⁴ tn Heb “tell Pharaoh and say to him.”

[46:32]  ¹⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “feeders of sheep.”

[46:32]  ¹⁴⁰⁶ tn Heb “for men of livestock they are.”

[46:34]  ¹⁴⁰⁷ tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”

[46:34]  ¹⁴⁰⁸ sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.

[46:34]  ¹⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.

[47:1]  ¹⁴¹⁰ tn Heb “Look they [are] in the land of Goshen.” Joseph draws attention to the fact of their presence in Goshen.

[47:2]  ¹⁴¹¹ tn Heb “and from the whole of his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.”

[47:3]  ¹⁴¹² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:3]  ¹⁴¹³ tn Heb “both we and our fathers.”

[47:4]  ¹⁴¹⁴ tn Heb “to sojourn.”

[47:4]  ¹⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “for there.” The Hebrew uses a causal particle to connect what follows with what precedes. The translation divides the statement into two sentences for stylistic reasons.

[47:6]  ¹⁴¹⁶ tn Heb “men of skill.”

[47:6]  ¹⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “make them rulers.”

[47:6]  sn Put them in charge of my livestock. Pharaoh is, in effect, offering Joseph’s brothers jobs as royal keepers of livestock, a position mentioned often in Egyptian inscriptions, because the Pharaohs owned huge herds of cattle.

[47:7]  ¹⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “caused him to stand.”

[47:7]  ¹⁴¹⁹ 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.

[47:8]  ¹⁴²⁰ tn Heb “How many are the days of the years of your life?”

[47:9]  ¹⁴²¹ tn Heb “the days of.”

[47:9]  ¹⁴²² tn Heb “sojournings.” Jacob uses a term that depicts him as one who has lived an unsettled life, temporarily residing in many different places.

[47:9]  ¹⁴²³ tn Heb “the days of.”

[47:9]  ¹⁴²⁴ tn The Hebrew word רַע (ra’) can sometimes mean “evil,” but that would give the wrong connotation here, where it refers to pain, difficulty, and sorrow. Jacob is thinking back through all the troubles he had to endure to get to this point.

[47:9]  ¹⁴²⁵ tn Heb “and they have not reached the days of the years of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”

[47:10]  ¹⁴²⁶ tn Heb “from before Pharaoh.”

[47:11]  ¹⁴²⁷ tn Heb “a possession,” or “a holding.” Joseph gave them a plot of land with rights of ownership in the land of Goshen.

[47:11]  ¹⁴²⁸ sn The land of Rameses is another designation for the region of Goshen. It is named Rameses because of a city in that region (Exod 1:11; 12:37). The use of this name may represent a modernization of the text for the understanding of the intended readers, substituting a later name for an earlier one. Alternatively, there may have been an earlier Rameses for which the region was named.

[47:13]  ¹⁴²⁹ tn The verb לַהַה (lahah, = לָאָה, la’ah) means “to faint, to languish”; it figuratively describes the land as wasting away, drooping, being worn out.

[47:14]  ¹⁴³⁰ tn Or “in exchange.” On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. בְּ.

[47:14]  ¹⁴³¹ tn Heb “house.”

[47:15]  ¹⁴³² tn Heb “all Egypt.” The expression is a metonymy and refers to all the people of Egypt.

[47:15]  ¹⁴³³ tn The imperfect verbal form has a deliberative force here.

[47:16]  ¹⁴³⁴ tn The word “food” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[47:16]  ¹⁴³⁵ tn On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. בְּ.

[47:17]  ¹⁴³⁶ tn The definite article is translated here as a possessive pronoun.

[47:18]  ¹⁴³⁷ tn Heb “my.” The expression “my lord” occurs twice more in this verse.

[47:19]  ¹⁴³⁸ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.

[47:19]  ¹⁴³⁹ sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.

[47:19]  ¹⁴⁴⁰ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.

[47:19]  ¹⁴⁴¹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.

[47:20]  ¹⁴⁴² tn The Hebrew text connects this clause with the preceding one with a causal particle (כִּי, ki). The translation divides the clauses into two sentences for stylistic reasons.

[47:20]  ¹⁴⁴³ tn The Hebrew text adds “upon them.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[47:21]  ¹⁴⁴⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:21]  ¹⁴⁴⁵ tc The MT reads “and the people he removed to the cities,” which does not make a lot of sense in this context. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX read “he enslaved them as slaves.”

[47:23]  ¹⁴⁴⁶ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive is equivalent to a command here.

[47:24]  ¹⁴⁴⁷ tn The words “the crop” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[47:24]  ¹⁴⁴⁸ tn The perfect form with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to an imperfect of instruction here.

[47:24]  ¹⁴⁴⁹ tn Heb “four parts.”

[47:25]  ¹⁴⁵⁰ tn Heb “we find favor in the eyes of my lord.” Some interpret this as a request, “may we find favor in the eyes of my lord.”

[47:25]  ¹⁴⁵¹ sn Slaves. See the note on this word in v. 21.

[47:26]  ¹⁴⁵² tn On the term translated “statute” see P. Victor, “A Note on Hoq in the Old Testament,” VT 16 (1966): 358-61.

[47:26]  ¹⁴⁵³ tn The words “which is in effect” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[47:28]  ¹⁴⁵⁴ tn Heb “the days of the years.”

[47:29]  ¹⁴⁵⁵ tn Heb “days.”

[47:29]  ¹⁴⁵⁶ sn On the expression put your hand under my thigh see Gen 24:2.

[47:29]  ¹⁴⁵⁷ tn Or “deal with me in faithful love.”

[47:30]  ¹⁴⁵⁸ tn Heb “lie down.” Here the expression “lie down” refers to death.

[47:30]  ¹⁴⁵⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ¹⁴⁶⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ¹⁴⁶¹ tn Heb “swear on oath to me.” The words “that you will do so” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ¹⁴⁶² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ¹⁴⁶³ tn Heb “swore on oath to him.”

[47:31]  ¹⁴⁶⁴ 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.

[47:31]  ¹⁴⁶⁵ 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).

[48:1]  ¹⁴⁶⁶ tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.

[48:2]  ¹⁴⁶⁷ tn Heb “and one told and said.” The verbs have no expressed subject and can be translated with the passive voice.

[48:2]  ¹⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “Look, your son Joseph.”

[48:3]  ¹⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[48:4]  ¹⁴⁷⁰ tn Heb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.

[48:4]  ¹⁴⁷¹ tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.

[48:4]  ¹⁴⁷² tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[48:4]  ¹⁴⁷³ tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (’akhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ’akhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).

[48:5]  ¹⁴⁷⁴ sn They will be mine. Jacob is here adopting his two grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim as his sons, and so they will have equal share with the other brothers. They will be in the place of Joseph and Levi (who will become a priestly tribe) in the settlement of the land. See I. Mendelsohn, “A Ugaritic Parallel to the Adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh,” IEJ (1959): 180-83.

[48:6]  ¹⁴⁷⁵ tn Or “you fathered.”

[48:6]  ¹⁴⁷⁶ tn Heb “called” or “named.”

[48:6]  ¹⁴⁷⁷ sn Listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. This means that any subsequent children of Joseph will be incorporated into the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

[48:7]  ¹⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “upon me, against me,” which might mean something like “to my sorrow.”

[48:7]  ¹⁴⁷⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[48:9]  ¹⁴⁸⁰ tn Heb “my.”

[48:9]  ¹⁴⁸¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:9]  ¹⁴⁸² tn The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the imperative.

[48:10]  ¹⁴⁸³ tn Heb “heavy.”

[48:10]  sn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is important to the story. The weakness of Israel’s sight is one of several connections between this chapter and Gen 27. Here there are two sons, and it appears that the younger is being blessed over the older by a blind old man. While it was by Jacob’s deception in chap. 27, here it is with Jacob’s full knowledge.

[48:10]  ¹⁴⁸⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:10]  ¹⁴⁸⁵ tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:10]  ¹⁴⁸⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:11]  ¹⁴⁸⁷ tn On the meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּלַל (palal) here, see E. A. Speiser, “The Stem pll in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6. Speiser argues that this verb means “to estimate” as in Exod 21:22.

[48:11]  ¹⁴⁸⁸ tn Heb “your face.”

[48:11]  ¹⁴⁸⁹ tn Heb “offspring.”

[48:12]  ¹⁴⁹⁰ tn Heb “and Joseph brought them out from with his knees.” The two boys had probably been standing by Israel’s knees when being adopted and blessed. The referent of the pronoun “his” (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:13]  ¹⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “and Joseph took the two of them.”

[48:13]  ¹⁴⁹² tn Heb “and he brought near to him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” and “him” (Joseph and his father respectively) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:14]  ¹⁴⁹³ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-concessive here.

[48:15]  ¹⁴⁹⁴ tn Heb “shepherded me.” The verb has been translated as an English noun for stylistic reasons.

[48:16]  ¹⁴⁹⁵ sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.

[48:16]  ¹⁴⁹⁶ tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).

[48:16]  ¹⁴⁹⁷ tn Or “be recalled through them.”

[48:17]  ¹⁴⁹⁸ tn Heb “it was bad in his eyes.”

[48:19]  ¹⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “fullness.”

[48:20]  ¹⁵⁰⁰ tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.

[48:20]  ¹⁵⁰¹ tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”

[48:20]  ¹⁵⁰² sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.

[48:21]  ¹⁵⁰³ tn The pronouns translated “you,” “you,” and “your” in this verse are plural in the Hebrew text.

[48:22]  ¹⁵⁰⁴ tn The pronouns translated “your” and “you” in this verse are singular in the Hebrew text.

[48:22]  ¹⁵⁰⁵ tn The Hebrew word שְׁכֶם (shÿkhem) could be translated either as “mountain slope” or “shoulder, portion,” or even taken as the proper name “Shechem.” Jacob was giving Joseph either (1) one portion above his brothers, or (2) the mountain ridge he took from the Amorites, or (3) Shechem. The ambiguity actually allows for all three to be the referent. He could be referring to the land in Shechem he bought in Gen 33:18-19, but he mentions here that it was acquired by warfare, suggesting that the events of 34:25-29 are in view (even though at the time he denounced it, 34:30). Joseph was later buried in Shechem (Josh 24:32).

[49:1]  ¹⁵⁰⁶ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[49:1]  ¹⁵⁰⁷ tn The expression “in the future” (אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים, ’akharit hayyamim, “in the end of days”) is found most frequently in prophetic passages; it may refer to the end of the age, the eschaton, or to the distant future. The contents of some of the sayings in this chapter stretch from the immediate circumstances to the time of the settlement in the land to the coming of Messiah. There is a great deal of literature on this chapter, including among others C. Armerding, “The Last Words of Jacob: Genesis 49,” BSac 112 (1955): 320-28; H. Pehlke, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985); and B. Vawter, “The Canaanite Background of Genesis 49,” CBQ 17 (1955): 1-18.

[49:4]  ¹⁵⁰⁸ tn The Hebrew noun פַּחַז (pakhaz) only occurs here in the OT. A related verb occurs twice in the prophets (Jer 23:32; Zeph 3:4) for false prophets inventing their messages, and once in Judges for unscrupulous men bribed to murder (Judg 9:4). It would describe Reuben as being “frothy, boiling, turbulent” as water. The LXX has “run riot,” the Vulgate has “poured out,” and Tg. Onq. has “you followed your own direction.” It is a reference to Reuben’s misconduct in Gen 35, but the simile and the rare word invite some speculation. H. Pehlke suggests “destructive like water,” for Reuben acted with pride and presumption; see his “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985).

[49:4]  ¹⁵⁰⁹ tn Heb “Do not excel!” The Hiphil of the verb יָתַר (yatar) has this meaning only here. The negated jussive is rhetorical here. Rather than being a command, it anticipates what will transpire. The prophecy says that because of the character of the ancestor, the tribe of Reuben would not have the character to lead (see 1 Chr 5:1).

[49:4]  ¹⁵¹⁰ sn This is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse with Jacob’s wives (see Gen 35:22).

[49:4]  ¹⁵¹¹ tn The last verb is third masculine singular, as if for the first time Jacob told the brothers, or let them know that he knew. For a discussion of this passage see S. Gevirtz, “The Reprimand of Reuben,” JNES 30 (1971): 87-98.

[49:5]  ¹⁵¹² tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מְכֵרָה (mÿkherah) is uncertain. It has been rendered (1) “habitations”; (2) “merchandise”; (3) “counsels”; (4) “swords”; (5) “wedding feasts.” If it is from the verb כָּרַת (karat) and formed after noun patterns for instruments and tools (maqtil, miqtil form), then it would refer to “knives.” Since the verb is used in Exod 4:25 for circumcision, the idea would be “their circumcision knives,” an allusion to the events of Gen 34 (see M. J. Dahood, “‘MKRTYHM’ in Genesis 49,5,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 54-56). Another explanation also connects the word to the events of Gen 34 as a reference to the intended “wedding feast” for Dinah which could take place only after the men of Shechem were circumcised (see D. W. Young, “A Ghost Word in the Testament of Jacob (Gen 49:5)?” JBL 100 [1981]: 335-422).

[49:6]  ¹⁵¹³ tn The Hebrew text reads “my glory,” but it is preferable to repoint the form and read “my liver.” The liver was sometimes viewed as the seat of the emotions and will (see HALOT 456 s.v. II כָּבֵד) for which the heart is the modern equivalent.

[49:7]  ¹⁵¹⁴ sn Divide…scatter. What is predicted here is a division of their tribes. Most commentators see here an anticipation of Levi being in every area but not their own. That may be part of it, but not entirely what the curse intended. These tribes for their ruthless cruelty would be eliminated from the power and prestige of leadership.

[49:8]  ¹⁵¹⁵ sn There is a wordplay here; the name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) sounds in Hebrew like the verb translated praise (יוֹדוּךָ, yodukha). The wordplay serves to draw attention to the statement as having special significance.

[49:10]  ¹⁵¹⁶ tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.

[49:10]  ¹⁵¹⁷ tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.

[49:10]  ¹⁵¹⁸ tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.

[49:11]  ¹⁵¹⁹ tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, describing coming events as though they have already taken place.

[49:12]  ¹⁵²⁰ tn Some translate these as comparatives, “darker than wine…whiter than milk,” and so a reference to his appearance (so NEB, NIV, NRSV). But if it is in the age of abundance, symbolized by wine and milk, then the dark (i.e., red or perhaps dull) eyes would be from drinking wine, and the white teeth from drinking milk.

[49:13]  ¹⁵²¹ tn The verb שָׁכַן (shakhan) means “to settle,” but not necessarily as a permanent dwelling place. The tribal settlements by the sea would have been temporary and not the tribe’s territory.

[49:13]  ¹⁵²² map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[49:15]  ¹⁵²³ tn The verb forms in this verse (“sees,” “will bend,” and “[will] become”) are preterite; they is used in a rhetorical manner, describing the future as if it had already transpired.

[49:15]  ¹⁵²⁴ sn The oracle shows that the tribe of Issachar will be willing to trade liberty for the material things of life. Issachar would work (become a slave laborer) for the Canaanites, a reversal of the oracle on Canaan. See C. M. Carmichael, “Some Sayings in Genesis 49,” JBL 88 (1969): 435-44; and S. Gevirtz, “The Issachar Oracle in the Testament of Jacob,” ErIsr 12 (1975): 104-12.

[49:16]  ¹⁵²⁵ sn The name Dan (דָּן, dan) means “judge” and forms a wordplay with the following verb.

[49:16]  ¹⁵²⁶ tn Or “govern.”

[49:17]  ¹⁵²⁷ sn The comparison of the tribe of Dan to a venomous serpent is meant to say that Dan, though small, would be potent, gaining victory through its skill and shrewdness. Jewish commentators have linked the image in part with Samson. That link at least illustrates the point: Though a minority tribe, Dan would gain the upper hand over others.

[49:18]  ¹⁵²⁸ sn I wait for your deliverance, O Lord. As Jacob sees the conflicts that lie ahead for Dan and Gad (see v. 19), he offers a brief prayer for their security.

[49:19]  ¹⁵²⁹ tc Heb “heel.” The MT has suffered from misdivision at this point. The initial mem on the first word in the next verse should probably be taken as a plural ending on the word “heel.”

[49:19]  sn In Hebrew the name Gad (גָּד, gad ) sounds like the words translated “raided” (יְגוּדֶנּוּ, yÿgudennu) and “marauding bands” (גְּדוּד, gÿdud).

[49:20]  ¹⁵³⁰ tc Heb “from Asher,” but the initial mem (מ) of the MT should probably be moved to the end of the preceding verse and taken as a plural ending on “heel.”

[49:20]  ¹⁵³¹ tn The Hebrew word translated “rich,” when applied to products of the ground, means abundant in quantity and quality.

[49:20]  ¹⁵³² tn The word translated “delicacies” refers to foods that were delightful, the kind fit for a king.

[49:21]  ¹⁵³³ tn Heb “a doe set free.”

[49:21]  ¹⁵³⁴ tn Heb “the one who gives words of beauty.” The deer imagery probably does not continue into this line; Naphtali is the likely antecedent of the substantival participle, which is masculine, not feminine, in form. If the animal imagery is retained from the preceding line, the image of a talking deer is preposterous. For this reason some read the second line “the one who bears beautiful fawns,” interpreting אִמְרֵי (’imre) as a reference to young animals, not words (see HALOT 67 s.v. *אִמֵּר).

[49:21]  sn Almost every word in the verse is difficult. Some take the imagery to mean that Naphtali will be swift and agile (like a doe), and be used to take good messages (reading “words of beauty”). Others argue that the tribe was free-spirited (free running), but then settled down with young children.

[49:22]  ¹⁵³⁵ tn The Hebrew text appears to mean “[is] a son of fruitfulness.” The second word is an active participle, feminine singular, from the verb פָּרָה (parah, “to be fruitful”). The translation “bough” is employed for בֵּן (ben, elsewhere typically “son”) because Joseph is pictured as a healthy and fruitful vine growing by the wall. But there are difficulties with this interpretation. The word “son” nowhere else refers to a plant and the noun translated “branches” (Heb “daughters”) in the third line is a plural form whereas its verb is singular. In the other oracles of Gen 49 an animal is used for comparison and not a plant, leading some to translate the opening phrase בֵּן פָּרָה (ben parah, “fruitful bough”) as “wild donkey” (JPS, NAB). Various other interpretations involving more radical emendation of the text have also been offered.

[49:22]  ¹⁵³⁶ tn Heb “daughters.”

[49:23]  ¹⁵³⁷ tn The verb forms in vv. 23-24 are used in a rhetorical manner, describing future events as if they had already taken place.

[49:24]  ¹⁵³⁸ tn Heb “the arms of his hands.”

[49:24]  ¹⁵³⁹ tn Heb “from there,” but the phrase should be revocalized and read “from [i.e., because of] the name of.”

[49:24]  ¹⁵⁴⁰ tn Or “Stone.”

[49:25]  ¹⁵⁴¹ tn Heb “and he will help you.”

[49:25]  ¹⁵⁴² tn Heb “Shaddai.” See the note on the title “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1. The preposition אֵת (’et) in the Hebrew text should probably be emended to אֵל (’el, “God”).

[49:25]  ¹⁵⁴³ tn Heb “and he will bless you.”

[49:25]  ¹⁵⁴⁴ sn Jacob envisions God imparting both agricultural (blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below) and human fertility (blessings of the breasts and womb) to Joseph and his family.

[49:26]  ¹⁵⁴⁵ tn Heb “have prevailed over.”

[49:26]  ¹⁵⁴⁶ tn One could interpret the phrase הוֹרַי (horay) to mean “my progenitors” (literally, “the ones who conceived me”), but the masculine form argues against this. It is better to emend the text to הַרֲרֵי (harare, “mountains of”) because it forms a better parallel with the next clause. In this case the final yod (י) on the form is a construct plural marker, not a pronominal suffix.

[49:26]  ¹⁵⁴⁷ tn For further discussion of this passage, see I. Sonne, “Genesis 49:24-26,” JBL 65 (1946): 303-6.

[49:28]  ¹⁵⁴⁸ tn Heb “All these.”

[49:28]  ¹⁵⁴⁹ tn Heb “and he blessed them, each of whom according to his blessing, he blessed them.”

[49:29]  ¹⁵⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to them,” which is not included in the translation because it is redundant in English.

[49:29]  ¹⁵⁵¹ tn Heb “I am about to be gathered” The participle is used here to describe what is imminent.

[49:32]  ¹⁵⁵² tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

[49:33]  ¹⁵⁵³ tn Heb “was gathered.”

[50:1]  ¹⁵⁵⁴ tn Heb “fell on.” The expression describes Joseph’s unrestrained sorrow over Jacob’s death; he probably threw himself across the body and embraced his father.

[50:2]  ¹⁵⁵⁵ tn Heb “his servants the physicians.”

[50:3]  ¹⁵⁵⁶ tn Heb “and forty days were fulfilled for him, for thus are fulfilled the days of embalming.”

[50:3]  ¹⁵⁵⁷ tn Heb “wept.”

[50:3]  ¹⁵⁵⁸ sn Seventy days. This probably refers to a time of national mourning.

[50:4]  ¹⁵⁵⁹ tn Heb “weeping.”

[50:4]  ¹⁵⁶⁰ tn Heb “the house of Pharaoh.”

[50:4]  ¹⁵⁶¹ tn Heb “in the ears of Pharaoh.”

[50:5]  ¹⁵⁶² tn Heb “saying.”

[50:5]  ¹⁵⁶³ tn The imperfect verbal form here has the force of a command.

[50:6]  ¹⁵⁶⁴ tn Heb “he made you swear on oath.”

[50:7]  ¹⁵⁶⁵ tn Or “dignitaries”; Heb “elders.”

[50:9]  ¹⁵⁶⁶ tn Heb “camp.”

[50:10]  ¹⁵⁶⁷ sn The location of the threshing floor of Atad is not certain. The expression the other side of the Jordan could refer to the eastern or western bank, depending on one’s perspective. However, it is commonly used in the OT for Transjordan. This would suggest that the entourage came up the Jordan Valley and crossed into the land at Jericho, just as the Israelites would in the time of Joshua.

[50:10]  ¹⁵⁶⁸ tn Heb “and they mourned there [with] very great and heavy mourning.” The cognate accusative, as well as the two adjectives and the adverb, emphasize the degree of their sorrow.

[50:11]  ¹⁵⁶⁹ tn Heb “this is heavy mourning for Egypt.”

[50:11]  ¹⁵⁷⁰ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so it may be translated as passive.

[50:11]  ¹⁵⁷¹ sn The name Abel Mizraim means “the mourning of Egypt.”

[50:15]  ¹⁵⁷² tn The imperfect tense could be a simple future; it could also have a desiderative nuance.

[50:15]  ¹⁵⁷³ tn The infinitive absolute makes the statement emphatic, “repay in full.”

[50:15]  ¹⁵⁷⁴ tn Or “evil.”

[50:16]  ¹⁵⁷⁵ tn The verb means “command,” but they would hardly be commanding him. It probably means they sent their father’s instructions to Joseph.

[50:17]  ¹⁵⁷⁶ tn Heb “and Joseph wept when they spoke to him.”

[50:19]  ¹⁵⁷⁷ tn Heb “For am I.”

[50:20]  ¹⁵⁷⁸ tn Heb “you devised against me evil.”

[50:20]  ¹⁵⁷⁹ tn Heb “God devised it for good in order to do, like this day, to preserve alive a great nation.”

[50:21]  ¹⁵⁸⁰ tn Heb “spoke to their heart.”

[50:22]  ¹⁵⁸¹ tn Heb “he and the house of his father.”

[50:23]  ¹⁵⁸² tn Heb “saw Ephraim, the children of the third.”

[50:23]  ¹⁵⁸³ tn Heb “they were born on the knees of Joseph.” This expression implies their adoption by Joseph, which meant that they received an inheritance from him.

[50:24]  ¹⁵⁸⁴ tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” i.e., to intervene for blessing or cursing; here Joseph announces that God would come to fulfill the promises by delivering them from Egypt. The statement is emphasized by the use of the infinitive absolute with the verb: “God will surely visit you.”

[50:24]  ¹⁵⁸⁵ tn The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[50:26]  ¹⁵⁸⁶ tn Heb “son of a hundred and ten years.”

[50:26]  ¹⁵⁸⁷ tn Heb “he.”