Genesis 20:16

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 1  to your ‘brother.’ 2  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 3 

Genesis 31:50

31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize 4  that God is witness to your actions.” 5 

Genesis 44:32

44:32 Indeed, 6  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.’

Genesis 45:1

The Reconciliation of the Brothers

45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, 7  so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained 8  with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.

Genesis 45:3

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.

1 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).

2 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).

3 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).

4 tn Heb “see.”

5 tn Heb “between me and you.”

6 tn Or “for.”

7 tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”

8 tn Heb “stood.”