Discovery BoxGenesis 37:10 
Context37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? 1 Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” 2
Genesis 46:31
Context46:31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, 3 ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me.
Genesis 9:22
Context9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, 4 saw his father’s nakedness 5 and told his two brothers who were outside.
Genesis 37:5
Context37:5 Joseph 6 had a dream, 7 and when he told his brothers about it, 8 they hated him even more. 9
Genesis 37:16
Context37:16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell 10 me where they are grazing their flocks.”
Genesis 37:18
Context37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers 11 saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
Genesis 37:23
Context37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him 12 of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore.
Genesis 37:26
Context37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
Genesis 37:30
Context37:30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?”
Genesis 45:17
Context45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go 13 to the land of Canaan!
Genesis 50:18
Context50:18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.”
1 sn The question What is this dream that you had? expresses Jacob’s dismay at what he perceives to be Joseph’s audacity.
2 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?”
3 tn Heb “tell Pharaoh and say to him.”
4 sn For the second time (see v. 18) the text informs the reader of the relationship between Ham and Canaan. Genesis 10 will explain that Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes living in the promised land.
5 tn Some would translate “had sexual relations with,” arguing that Ham committed a homosexual act with his drunken father for which he was cursed. However, the expression “see nakedness” usually refers to observation of another’s nakedness, not a sexual act (see Gen 42:9, 12 where “nakedness” is used metaphorically to convey the idea of “weakness” or “vulnerability”; Deut 23:14 where “nakedness” refers to excrement; Isa 47:3; Ezek 16:37; Lam 1:8). The following verse (v. 23) clearly indicates that visual observation, not a homosexual act, is in view here. In Lev 20:17 the expression “see nakedness” does appear to be a euphemism for sexual intercourse, but the context there, unlike that of Gen 9:22, clearly indicates that in that passage sexual contact is in view. The expression “see nakedness” does not in itself suggest a sexual connotation. Some relate Gen 9:22 to Lev 18:6-11, 15-19, where the expression “uncover [another’s] nakedness” (the Piel form of גָּלָה, galah) refers euphemistically to sexual intercourse. However, Gen 9:22 does not say Ham “uncovered” the nakedness of his father. According to the text, Noah uncovered himself; Ham merely saw his father naked. The point of the text is that Ham had no respect for his father. Rather than covering his father up, he told his brothers. Noah then gave an oracle that Ham’s descendants, who would be characterized by the same moral abandonment, would be cursed. Leviticus 18 describes that greater evil of the Canaanites (see vv. 24-28).
sn Saw the nakedness. It is hard for modern people to appreciate why seeing another’s nakedness was such an abomination, because nakedness is so prevalent today. In the ancient world, especially in a patriarchal society, seeing another’s nakedness was a major offense. (See the account in Herodotus, Histories 1.8-13, where a general saw the nakedness of his master’s wife, and one of the two had to be put to death.) Besides, Ham was not a little boy wandering into his father’s bedroom; he was over a hundred years old by this time. For fuller discussion see A. P. Ross, “The Curse of Canaan,” BSac 137 (1980): 223-40.
6 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”
8 sn Some interpreters see Joseph as gloating over his brothers, but the text simply says he told his brothers about it (i.e., the dream). The text gives no warrant for interpreting his manner as arrogant or condescending. It seems normal that he would share a dream with the family.
9 tn The construction uses a hendiadys, “they added to hate,” meaning they hated him even more.
10 tn The imperative in this sentence has more of the nuance of a request than a command.
11 tn Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
13 tn Heb “and go! Enter!”
