Genesis 24:23

24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ¹  “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

Genesis 24:58

24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want ²  to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”

Genesis 27:20

27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ³  did you find it so quickly, ⁴  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ⁵  he replied. ⁶ 

Genesis 32:29

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ⁷  “Why ⁸  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ⁹  Then he blessed ¹⁰  Jacob ¹¹  there.

Genesis 33:8

33:8 Esau ¹²  then asked, “What did you intend ¹³  by sending all these herds to meet me?” ¹⁴  Jacob ¹⁵  replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.”

Genesis 37:15

37:15 When Joseph reached Shechem, ¹⁶  a man found him wandering ¹⁷  in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”

Genesis 38:17

38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” ¹⁸ 

Genesis 40:7

40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” ¹⁹ 

Genesis 41:38

41:38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph, ²⁰  one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” ²¹ 

Genesis 43:27

43:27 He asked them how they were doing. ²²  Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?”

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¹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.

³ tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”

⁴ tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.

⁵ tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”

⁶ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the Lord your God….’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.

¹¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn Heb “Who to you?”

¹⁴ tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Heb “and he [i.e., Joseph] went to Shechem.” The referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Heb “and a man found him and look, he was wandering in the field.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the action through this unnamed man’s eyes.

¹⁸ tn Heb “until you send.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “why are your faces sad today?”

²⁰ tn Heb “like this,” but the referent could be misunderstood to be a man like that described by Joseph in v. 33, rather than Joseph himself. For this reason the proper name “Joseph” has been supplied in the translation.

²¹ tn The rhetorical question expects the answer “No, of course not!”

²² tn Heb “concerning peace.”