¹ tn Heb “over the matter of.”

² tn Heb “in the beginning,” that is, at the end of their first visit.

³ tn Heb “to roll himself upon us and to cause himself to fall upon us.” The infinitives here indicate the purpose (as viewed by the brothers) for their being brought to Joseph’s house.

⁴ tn The word “take” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form here indicates the subject’s potential.

⁶ tn The Hitpael form of the verb צָדֵק (tsadeq) here means “to prove ourselves just, to declare ourselves righteous, to prove our innocence.”

⁷ sn God has exposed the sin of your servants. The first three questions are rhetorical; Judah is stating that there is nothing they can say to clear themselves. He therefore must conclude that they have been found guilty.

⁸ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.

⁹ sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.

¹⁰ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.

¹¹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.