Discovery BoxGenesis 27:29 
Context27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 1 lord 2 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 3
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
Genesis 37:10
Context37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? 4 Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” 5
Genesis 49:24
Context49:24 But his bow will remain steady,
and his hands 6 will be skillful;
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
1 tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.
2 tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”
3 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
4 sn The question What is this dream that you had? expresses Jacob’s dismay at what he perceives to be Joseph’s audacity.
5 tn Heb “Coming, will we come, I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground?” The verb “come” is preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Jacob said, “You don’t really think we will come…to bow down…do you?”
6 tn Heb “the arms of his hands.”
7 tn Heb “from there,” but the phrase should be revocalized and read “from [i.e., because of] the name of.”
8 tn Or “Stone.”
