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 47:18
Context47:18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our 4 lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land.
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 tn Heb “my.” The expression “my lord” occurs twice more in this verse.
