Genesis 26:7

26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” ¹  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ²  “The men of this place will kill me to get ³  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

Genesis 34:7

34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ⁴  They ⁵  were offended ⁶  and very angry because Shechem ⁷  had disgraced Israel ⁸  by sexually assaulting ⁹  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 47:19

47:19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become ¹¹  Pharaoh’s slaves. ¹²  Give us seed that we may live ¹³  and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” ¹⁴ 

Genesis 50:11

50:11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion ¹⁵  for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called ¹⁶  Abel Mizraim, ¹⁷  which is beyond the Jordan.

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¹ sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.

² tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.

³ tn Heb “kill me on account of.”

⁴ tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.

⁶ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.

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

⁸ tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”

⁹ tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.

¹¹ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.

¹² sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.

¹³ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.

¹⁴ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.

¹⁵ tn Heb “this is heavy mourning for Egypt.”

¹⁶ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so it may be translated as passive.

¹⁷ sn The name Abel Mizraim means “the mourning of Egypt.”