Discovery BoxGenesis 19:13 
Context19:13 because we are about to destroy 1 it. The outcry against this place 2 is so great before the Lord that he 3 has sent us to destroy it.”
Genesis 19:24
Context19:24 Then the Lord rained down 4 sulfur and fire 5 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 6
Genesis 20:2
Context20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
Genesis 24:59
Context24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men.
Genesis 25:6
Context25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines 7 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 8
Genesis 26:31
Context26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 9 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 10
Genesis 32:5
Context32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent 11 this message 12 to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
Genesis 32:18
Context32:18 then you must say, 13 ‘They belong 14 to your servant Jacob. 15 They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. 16 In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” 17
Genesis 45:5
Context45:5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, 18 for God sent me 19 ahead of you to preserve life!
Genesis 45:7
Context45:7 God sent me 20 ahead of you to preserve you 21 on the earth and to save your lives 22 by a great deliverance.
Genesis 45:24
Context45:24 Then he sent his brothers on their way and they left. He said to them, “As you travel don’t be overcome with fear.” 23
1 tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
2 tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “the
4 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
5 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
6 tn Heb “from the
sn The text explicitly states that the sulfur and fire that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah was sent down from the sky by the
7 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
8 tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”
9 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
10 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
11 tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.
12 tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
13 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.
14 tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
15 tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”
16 tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”
17 tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Heb “let there not be anger in your eyes.”
19 sn You sold me here, for God sent me. The tension remains as to how the brothers’ wickedness and God’s intentions work together. Clearly God is able to transform the actions of wickedness to bring about some gracious end. But this is saying more than that; it is saying that from the beginning it was God who sent Joseph here. Although harmonization of these ideas remains humanly impossible, the divine intention is what should be the focus. Only that will enable reconciliation.
20 sn God sent me. The repetition of this theme that God sent Joseph is reminiscent of commission narratives in which the leader could announce that God sent him (e.g., Exod 3:15).
21 tn Heb “to make you a remnant.” The verb, followed here by the preposition לְ (lÿ), means “to make.”
22 tn The infinitive gives a second purpose for God’s action.
23 tn Heb “do not be stirred up in the way.” The verb means “stir up.” Some understand the Hebrew verb רָגָז (ragaz, “to stir up”) as a reference to quarreling (see Prov 29:9, where it has this connotation), but in Exod 15:14 and other passages it means “to fear.” This might refer to a fear of robbers, but more likely it is an assuring word that they need not be fearful about returning to Egypt. They might have thought that once Jacob was in Egypt, Joseph would take his revenge on them.
