Genesis 30:15

30:15 But Leah replied, ¹  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ²  Rachel said, “he may sleep ³  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

Genesis 38:16

38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” ⁴  (He did not realize ⁵  it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” ⁶ 

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 ⁷  Pharaoh’s slaves. ⁸  Give us seed that we may live ⁹  and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” ¹⁰ 

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¹ tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “therefore.”

³ tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.

⁴ tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

⁵ tn Heb “for he did not know that.”

⁶ tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

⁷ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.

⁸ 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.

⁹ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.

¹⁰ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.