4:1 Now 1 the man had marital relations with 2 his wife Eve, and she became pregnant 3 and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created 4 a man just as the Lord did!” 5
4:17 Cain had marital relations 6 with his wife, and she became pregnant 7 and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after 8 his son Enoch.
4:25 And Adam had marital relations 10 with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given 11 me another child 12 in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”
24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka 13 and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels 14 and gave them to her. 15
29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 25 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 26
32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 27
35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession 28 and the rings that were in their ears. 29 Jacob buried them 30 under the oak 31 near Shechem
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. 38
42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill 39 their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out. 40
47:11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them territory 43 in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the land, the land of Rameses, 44 just as Pharaoh had commanded.
1 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.
2 tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
3 tn Or “she conceived.”
4 tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.
5 tn Heb “with the
sn Since Exod 6:3 seems to indicate that the name Yahweh (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, translated
6 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
7 tn Or “she conceived.”
8 tn Heb “according to the name of.”
9 tn The traditional rendering here, “who forged” (or “a forger of”) is now more commonly associated with counterfeit or fraud (e.g., “forged copies” or “forged checks”) than with the forging of metal. The phrase “heated metal and shaped [it]” has been used in the translation instead.
10 tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
11 sn The name Seth probably means something like “placed”; “appointed”; “set”; “granted,” assuming it is actually related to the verb that is used in the sentiment. At any rate, the name שֵׁת (shet) and the verb שָׁת (shat, “to place, to appoint, to set, to grant”) form a wordplay (paronomasia).
12 tn Heb “offspring.”
13 sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).
14 sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).
15 tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
16 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
17 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
18 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
19 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
22 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
23 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
24 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the
25 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
26 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the
27 tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”
28 tn Heb “in their hand.”
29 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).
30 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.
31 tn Or “terebinth.”
32 tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
34 sn The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else.
35 tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
36 tn Heb “did not know.”
37 sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.
38 tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.
39 tn Heb “and they filled.” The clause appears to be elliptical; one expects “Joseph gave orders to fill…and they filled.” See GKC 386 §120.f.
40 tn Heb “and he did for them so.” Joseph would appear to be the subject of the singular verb. If the text is retained, the statement seems to be a summary of the preceding, more detailed statement. However, some read the verb as plural, “and they did for them so.” In this case the statement indicates that Joseph’s subordinates carried out his orders. Another alternative is to read the singular verb as passive (with unspecified subject), “and this was done for them so” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
41 tn Heb “and he lifted up portions from before his face to them.”
42 tn Heb “and they drank and were intoxicated with him” (cf. NIV “drank freely with him”; NEB “grew merry”; NRSV “were merry”). The brothers were apparently relaxed and set at ease, despite Joseph’s obvious favoritism toward Benjamin.
43 tn Heb “a possession,” or “a holding.” Joseph gave them a plot of land with rights of ownership in the land of Goshen.
44 sn The land of Rameses is another designation for the region of Goshen. It is named Rameses because of a city in that region (Exod 1:11; 12:37). The use of this name may represent a modernization of the text for the understanding of the intended readers, substituting a later name for an earlier one. Alternatively, there may have been an earlier Rameses for which the region was named.