Genesis 29:2

29:2 He saw ¹  in the field a well with ²  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ³  a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

Genesis 29:10

29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ⁴  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ⁵  went over ⁶  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ⁷ 

Genesis 43:21

43:21 But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money – the full amount ⁸  – in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. ⁹ 

Genesis 44:1-2

The Final Test

44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 44:2 Then put ¹⁰  my cup – the silver cup – in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed. ¹¹ 

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¹ tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.

² tn Heb “and look, there.”

³ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

⁴ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

⁵ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

⁷ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).

⁸ tn Heb “in its weight.”

⁹ tn Heb “brought it back in our hand.”

¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express Joseph’s instructions.

¹¹ tn Heb “and he did according to the word of Joseph which he spoke.”