Genesis 12:13

12:13 So tell them ¹  you are my sister ²  so that it may go well ³  for me because of you and my life will be spared ⁴  on account of you.”

Genesis 12:18

12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this ⁵  you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?

Genesis 21:26

21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ⁶  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

Genesis 24:23

24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ⁷  “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

Genesis 24:33

24:33 When food was served, ⁸  he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” ⁹  “Tell us,” Laban said. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 29:15

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ¹¹  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ¹²  Tell me what your wages should be.”

Genesis 31:5

31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ¹³  but the God of my father has been with me.

Genesis 32:29

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ¹⁴  “Why ¹⁵  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ¹⁶  Then he blessed ¹⁷  Jacob ¹⁸  there.

Genesis 40:8

40:8 They told him, “We both had dreams, ¹⁹  but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them ²⁰  to me.”

Genesis 45:13

45:13 So tell ²¹  my father about all my honor in Egypt and about everything you have seen. But bring my father down here quickly!” ²² 

Genesis 49:1

The Blessing of Jacob

49:1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell you ²³  what will happen to you in the future. ²⁴ 

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¹ tn Heb “say.”

² sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.

³ tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.

⁴ tn Heb “and my life will live.”

⁵ tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

⁶ tn Heb “and also.”

⁷ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁸ tn Heb “and food was placed before him.”

⁹ tn Heb “my words.”

¹⁰ tc Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, “and they said.”

tn Heb “and he said, ‘Speak.’” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

¹² tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

¹³ tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.

¹⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹ tn Heb “a dream we dreamed.”

²⁰ tn The word “them” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

²¹ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive here expresses instruction.

²² tn Heb “and hurry and bring down my father to here.”

²³ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

²⁴ 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.