Discovery BoxGenesis 18:30 
Context18:30 Then Abraham 1 said, “May the Lord not be angry 2 so that I may speak! 3 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
Genesis 18:32
Context18:32 Finally Abraham 4 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
Genesis 28:4
Context28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 5 so that you may possess the land 6 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 7
Genesis 43:14
Context43:14 May the sovereign God 8 grant you mercy before the man so that he may release 9 your other brother 10 and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” 11
Genesis 48:16
Context48:16 the Angel 12 who has protected me 13
from all harm –
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them, 14
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
3 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.
6 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.
8 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
9 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.
10 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).
11 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.
12 sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.
13 tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).
14 tn Or “be recalled through them.”
