¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

² tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

³ tn Heb “I.”

⁴ tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

⁵ tn Or “sign.”

⁶ tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).

⁷ tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”

⁸ tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁹ tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.

¹⁰ tn Heb “after me.”

¹¹ tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

¹² tn Heb “daughters.”

¹³ sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.

¹⁴ tn The imperative in this sentence has more of the nuance of a request than a command.

¹⁵ tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.

¹⁶ tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

sn The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife has long been connected with the wisdom warnings about the strange woman who tries to seduce the young man with her boldness and directness (see Prov 5-7, especially 7:6-27). This is part of the literary background of the story of Joseph that gives it a wisdom flavor. See G. von Rad, God at Work in Israel, 19-35; and G. W. Coats, “The Joseph Story and Ancient Wisdom: A Reappraisal,” CBQ 35 (1973): 285-97.

¹⁷ tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”

¹⁸ sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.

¹⁹ tn Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. 14.

²⁰ tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.”

²¹ tn Heb “according to these words.”

²² tn Heb “did to me.”

²³ tn Heb “his anger burned.”

²⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to him.” This has not been translated because it is redundant in English.

²⁵ tn Heb “interpreted.”

²⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁸ sn The name Ephraim (אֶפְרַיִם, ’efrayim), a form of the Hebrew verb פָּרָה (parah), means “to bear fruit.” The theme of fruitfulness is connected with this line of the family from Rachel (30:2) on down (see Gen 49:22, Deut 33:13-17, and Hos 13:15). But there is some difficulty with the name “Ephraim” itself. It appears to be a dual, for which F. Delitzsch simply said it meant “double fruitfulness” (New Commentary on Genesis, 2:305). G. J. Spurrell suggested it was a diphthongal pronunciation of a name ending in -an or -am, often thought to be dual suffixes (Notes on the text of the book of Genesis, 334). Many, however, simply connect the name to the territory of Ephraim and interpret it to be “fertile land” (C. Fontinoy, “Les noms de lieux en -ayim dans la Bible,” UF 3 [1971]: 33-40). The dual would then be an old locative ending. There is no doubt that the name became attached to the land in which the tribe settled, and it is possible that is where the dual ending came from, but in this story it refers to Joseph’s God-given fruitfulness.

²⁹ tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³⁰ tn Or “for.”

³¹ tn The verb may even have a moral connotation here, “Why did you do evil to me?”

³² tn The infinitive construct here explains how they brought trouble on Jacob.

³³ tn Heb “that two sons my wife bore to me.”