27:14 So he went and got the goats 1 and brought them to his mother. She 2 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it.
37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons 7 because he was a son born to him late in life, 8 and he made a special 9 tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s 10 brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, 11 they hated Joseph 12 and were not able to speak to him kindly. 13
1 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
5 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
7 tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.
sn The statement Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons brings forward a motif that played an important role in the family of Isaac – parental favoritism. Jacob surely knew what that had done to him and his brother Esau, and to his own family. But now he showers affection on Rachel’s son Joseph.
8 tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”
9 tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.
10 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”
12 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”