Discovery BoxGenesis 37:8 
Context37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” 1 They hated him even more 2 because of his dream and because of what he said. 3
Genesis 40:8
Context40:8 They told him, “We both had dreams, 4 but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them 5 to me.”
Genesis 48:20
Context48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you 6 will Israel bless, 7 saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 8
1 tn Heb “Ruling, will you rule over us, or reigning, will you reign over us?” The statement has a poetic style, with the two questions being in synonymous parallelism. Both verbs in this statement are preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Joseph’s brothers said, “You don’t really think you will rule over us, do you? You don’t really think you will have dominion over us, do you?”
2 tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.
3 sn The response of Joseph’s brothers is understandable, given what has already been going on in the family. But here there is a hint of uneasiness – they hated him because of his dream and because of his words. The dream bothered them, as well as his telling them. And their words in the rhetorical question are ironic, for this is exactly what would happen. The dream was God’s way of revealing it.
4 tn Heb “a dream we dreamed.”
5 tn The word “them” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.
7 tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”
8 sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.
