16:12 He will be a wild donkey 2 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 3
and everyone will be hostile to him. 4
He will live away from 5 his brothers.”
42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may 21 put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care 22 and I will bring him back to 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?
50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you 25 and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give 26 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
1 tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.
2 sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.
3 tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.
4 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
5 tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).
6 tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”
7 tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”
8 tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.
9 tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.
10 tn Or “kindness.”
11 tn Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”
12 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.
13 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.
14 tn Heb “see.”
15 tn Heb “between me and you.”
16 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
18 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
19 tn Heb “they traveled from this place.”
20 tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.
21 tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is permissive here.
22 tn Heb “my hand.”
23 tn Heb “upon me, against me,” which might mean something like “to my sorrow.”
24 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
25 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.”
26 tn The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.