38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with 15 your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise 16 up a descendant for your brother.” 17
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.”
43:29 When Joseph looked up 25 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.” 26
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 27
all my life long to this day,
1 tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”
2 tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.
3 tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tn Heb “give.”
5 tn Heb “silver.”
6 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.
7 tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”
8 tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
9 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.
10 tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
11 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
12 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.
13 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.
14 tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.
15 tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
16 tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.
17 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.
18 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav indicates purpose/result.
19 tn Heb “that you are not spies, that you are honest men.”
20 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.
21 tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is permissive here.
22 tn Heb “my hand.”
23 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.
24 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.
25 tn Heb “and he lifted his eyes.” The referent of “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 sn Joseph’s language here becomes warmer and more personal, culminating in calling Benjamin my son.
27 tn Heb “shepherded me.” The verb has been translated as an English noun for stylistic reasons.