Genesis 27:29

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ¹  lord ²  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ³ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

Genesis 42:38

42:38 But Jacob ⁴  replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. ⁵  If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair ⁶  in sorrow to the grave.” ⁷ 

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¹ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

² tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

³ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.

⁶ sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble.

⁷ tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.