Genesis 24:2

24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ¹  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ² 

Genesis 27:15

27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.

Genesis 31:46

31:46 Then he ³  said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. ⁴  They ate there by the pile of stones.

Genesis 33:2

33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ⁵ 

Genesis 39:4

39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. ⁶  Potiphar appointed Joseph ⁷  overseer of his household and put him in charge ⁸  of everything he owned.

Genesis 40:11

40:11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his ⁹  cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” ¹⁰ 

Genesis 40:15

40:15 for I really was kidnapped ¹¹  from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”

Genesis 41:10

41:10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards – me and the chief baker.

Genesis 43:22

43:22 We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!”

Genesis 48:18

48:18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

Genesis 48:20

48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you ¹²  will Israel bless, ¹³  saying,

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ¹⁴ 

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¹ tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).

² sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.

³ tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴ sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.

⁵ sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.

⁶ sn The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature.

⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “put into his hand.”

⁹ tn Heb “the cup of Pharaoh.” The pronoun “his” has been used here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰ sn The cupbearer’s dream is dominated by sets of three: three branches, three stages of growth, and three actions of the cupbearer.

¹¹ tn The verb גָּנַב (ganav) means “to steal,” but in the Piel/Pual stem “to steal away.” The idea of “kidnap” would be closer to the sense, meaning he was stolen and carried off. The preceding infinitive absolute underscores the point Joseph is making.

¹² tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.

¹³ tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”

¹⁴ sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.