¹ tn Grk “refuse younger widows.”

³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the younger son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ sn The need for sandals underlines the younger son’s previous destitution because he was barefoot.

³ tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”

¹ sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).

³ sn The younger son launches into his confession just as he had planned. See vv. 18-19.

¹ sn In this context younger and elder are terms that combine two meanings: relative age and an official structure of leadership in the church. As in v. 1, elder here denotes those who exercise spiritual leadership, who for the most part are older in years. Likewise younger means the rest of the community, who for the most part are younger in age, who are urged to accept the authority of their leaders.

² sn By referring to him as your brother, the father reminded the older brother that the younger brother was part of the family.

³ sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.

² sn With the instructions Hurry! Bring the best robe, there is a total acceptance of the younger son back into the home.

⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the father’s response to the younger son’s request.

³ tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel is Caleb’s nephew).

¹ tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel was Caleb’s nephew; so CEV).

² tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

² sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.

⁷ sn He divided his assets between them. There was advice against doing this in the OT Apocrypha (Sir 33:20). The younger son would get half of what the older son received (Deut 21:17).

³ sn The expected response would be anger or rage, but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.

⁵ sn The appeal to Caesar was known as the provocatio ad Caesarem. It was a Roman citizen’s right to ask for a direct judgment by the emperor (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96). It was one of the oldest rights of Roman citizens.

⁴ sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”

² tn The “heart of a child” (לֶב־נָעַר, lev naʿar) refers here to the natural inclination of a child to foolishness. The younger child is meant in this context, but the word can include youth. R. N. Whybray suggests that this idea might be described as a doctrine of “original folly” (Proverbs [CBC], 125). Cf. TEV “Children just naturally do silly, careless things.”