30:31 So Laban asked, 8 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 9 Jacob replied, 10 “but if you agree to this one condition, 11 I will continue to care for 12 your flocks and protect them:
33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” 13 “Why do that?” Jacob replied. 14 “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” 15
37:9 Then he had another dream, 16 and told it to his brothers. “Look,” 17 he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. 18 Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down 19 before him with 20 their faces to the ground.
1 tn The word translated “garment” has the Hebrew definite article on it. The article may simply indicate that the garment is definite and vivid in the mind of the narrator, but it could refer instead to Noah’s garment. Did Ham bring it out when he told his brothers?
2 tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”
3 tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.
4 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.
5 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
6 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
7 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
8 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
10 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
11 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
12 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
13 tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.
14 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
15 tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”
16 tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”
17 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.
18 tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.
19 sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).
20 tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.
21 tn Heb “and their heart went out.” Since this expression is used only here, the exact meaning is unclear. The following statement suggests that it may refer to a sudden loss of emotional strength, so “They were dismayed” adequately conveys the meaning (cf. NRSV); NIV has “Their hearts sank.”
22 tn Heb “and they trembled, a man to his neighbor.”
23 tn Heb “What is this God has done to us?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question.
24 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
25 tn Heb “release to you.” After the jussive this perfect verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) probably indicates logical consequence, as well as temporal sequence.
26 sn Several Jewish commentators suggest that the expression your other brother refers to Joseph. This would mean that Jacob prophesied unwittingly. However, it is much more likely that Simeon is the referent of the phrase “your other brother” (see Gen 42:24).
27 tn Heb “if I am bereaved I am bereaved.” With this fatalistic sounding statement Jacob resolves himself to the possibility of losing both Benjamin and Simeon.
28 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-concessive here.
29 tn Heb “this is heavy mourning for Egypt.”
30 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so it may be translated as passive.
31 sn The name Abel Mizraim means “the mourning of Egypt.”