Genesis 35:2

35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ¹  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ² 

Genesis 35:4

35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession ³  and the rings that were in their ears. ⁴  Jacob buried them ⁵  under the oak ⁶  near Shechem

Genesis 41:38

41:38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph, ⁷  one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” ⁸ 

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¹ tn Heb “which are in your midst.”

² sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.

³ tn Heb “in their hand.”

⁴ sn On the basis of a comparison with Gen 34 and Num 31, G. J. Wenham argues that the foreign gods and the rings could have been part of the plunder that came from the destruction of Shechem (Genesis [WBC], 2:324).

⁵ sn Jacob buried them. On the burial of the gods, see E. Nielson, “The Burial of the Foreign Gods,” ST 8 (1954/55): 102-22.

⁶ tn Or “terebinth.”

⁷ tn Heb “like this,” but the referent could be misunderstood to be a man like that described by Joseph in v. 33, rather than Joseph himself. For this reason the proper name “Joseph” has been supplied in the translation.

⁸ tn The rhetorical question expects the answer “No, of course not!”