Discovery BoxGenesis 22:12 
Context22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 1 the angel said. 2 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 3 that you fear 4 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
Genesis 26:29
Context26:29 so that 5 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 6 you, but have always treated you well 7 before sending you away 8 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 9
Genesis 48:16
Context48:16 the Angel 10 who has protected me 11
from all harm –
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them, 12
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
Genesis 50:15
Context50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay 13 us in full 14 for all the harm 15 we did to him?”
Genesis 50:20
Context50:20 As for you, you meant to harm me, 16 but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day. 17
1 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
2 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
4 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
5 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
6 tn Heb “touched.”
7 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
8 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
9 tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).
10 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.
11 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).
12 tn Or “be recalled through them.”
13 tn The imperfect tense could be a simple future; it could also have a desiderative nuance.
14 tn The infinitive absolute makes the statement emphatic, “repay in full.”
15 tn Or “evil.”
16 tn Heb “you devised against me evil.”
17 tn Heb “God devised it for good in order to do, like this day, to preserve alive a great nation.”
