12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt 1 to stay for a while 2 because the famine was severe. 3
13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 4 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 5
41:33 “So now Pharaoh should look 19 for a wise and discerning man 20 and give him authority 21 over all the land of Egypt.
41:56 While the famine was over all the earth, 25 Joseph opened the storehouses 26 and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt.
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 30 and stood before Joseph.
46:8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt – Jacob and his sons:
Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.
46:20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, 37 bore them to him.
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.
1 sn Abram went down to Egypt. The Abrahamic narrative foreshadows some of the events in the life of the nation of Israel. This sojourn in Egypt is typological of Israel’s bondage there. In both stories there is a famine that forces the family to Egypt, death is a danger to the males while the females are preserved alive, great plagues bring about their departure, there is a summons to stand before Pharaoh, and there is a return to the land of Canaan with great wealth.
2 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” means “to stay for a while.” The “stranger” (traditionally “sojourner”) is one who is a temporary resident, a visitor, one who is passing through. Abram had no intention of settling down in Egypt or owning property. He was only there to wait out the famine.
3 tn Heb “heavy in the land.” The words “in the land,” which also occur at the beginning of the verse in the Hebrew text, have not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
sn Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.
5 tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”
6 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
7 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
sn To your descendants I give this land. The
8 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.
11 tn Heb “as you go.”
12 sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.
13 tn Heb “he fell.”
14 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.
15 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.
16 tn Heb “say to you.”
17 tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.
18 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.
19 tn Heb “let Pharaoh look.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
20 tn Heb “a man discerning and wise.” The order of the terms is rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
21 tn Heb “and let him set him.”
22 tn Heb “apart from you.”
23 tn Heb “no man,” but here “man” is generic, referring to people in general.
24 tn The idiom “lift up hand or foot” means “take any action” here.
25 tn Or “over the entire land”; Heb “over all the face of the earth.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal to the next clause.
26 tc The MT reads “he opened all that was in [or “among”] them.” The translation follows the reading of the LXX and Syriac versions.
27 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.
28 tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result.
29 tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.
30 tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.
31 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive here expresses instruction.
32 tn Heb “and hurry and bring down my father to here.”
33 tn Heb “and his heart was numb.” Jacob was stunned by the unbelievable news and was unable to respond.
34 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.”
35 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.
36 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.
37 sn On is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
38 tn Heb “lie down.” Here the expression “lie down” refers to death.
39 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
40 tn Heb “son of a hundred and ten years.”
41 tn Heb “he.”