Kejadian 41:39-57

41:39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning ¹  as you are! 41:40 You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. ²  Only I, the king, will be greater than you. ³ 

41:41 “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I place ⁴  you in authority over all the land of Egypt.” ⁵  41:42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen ⁶  clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. 41:43 Pharaoh ⁷  had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, ⁸  and they cried out before him, “Kneel down!” ⁹  So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 41:44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission ¹⁰  no one ¹¹  will move his hand or his foot ¹²  in all the land of Egypt.” 41:45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. ¹³  He also gave him Asenath ¹⁴  daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, ¹⁵  to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of ¹⁶  all the land of Egypt.

41:46 Now Joseph was 30 years old ¹⁷  when he began serving ¹⁸  Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by ¹⁹  Pharaoh and was in charge of ²⁰  all the land of Egypt. 41:47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. ²¹  41:48 Joseph ²²  collected all the excess food ²³  in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. ²⁴  In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it. 41:49 Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, ²⁵  until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure.

41:50 Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. ²⁶  Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. ²⁷  41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, ²⁸  saying, ²⁹  “Certainly ³⁰  God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.” 41:52 He named the second child Ephraim, ³¹  saying, ³²  “Certainly ³³  God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

41:53 The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end. 41:54 Then the seven years of famine began, ³⁴  just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. 41:55 When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, ³⁵  “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

41:56 While the famine was over all the earth, ³⁶  Joseph opened the storehouses ³⁷  and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. 41:57 People from every country ³⁸  came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.

Ezra 7:6-11

7:6 This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. 7:7 In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought ³⁹  up to Jerusalem ⁴⁰  some of the Israelites and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 7:8 He entered Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 7:9 On the first day of the first month he had determined to make ⁴¹  the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, ⁴²  for the good hand of his God was on him. 7:10 Now Ezra had dedicated himself ⁴³  to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching ⁴⁴  its statutes and judgments in Israel.

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

7:11 What follows ⁴⁵  is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. ⁴⁶  Ezra was ⁴⁷  a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

Nehemia 2:4-6

2:4 The king responded, ⁴⁸  “What is it you are seeking?” Then I quickly prayed to the God of heaven 2:5 and said to the king, “If the king is so inclined ⁴⁹  and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.” 2:6 Then the king, with his consort ⁵⁰  sitting beside him, replied, “How long would your trip take, and when would you return?” Since the king was amenable to dispatching me, ⁵¹  I gave him a time.

Ester 10:3

10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking ⁵²  Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. ⁵³  He worked enthusiastically ⁵⁴  for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of ⁵⁵  all his descendants. ⁵⁶ 

Daniel 2:46-49

2:46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed down with his face to the ground ⁵⁷  and paid homage to Daniel. He gave orders to offer sacrifice and incense to him. 2:47 The king replied to Daniel, “Certainly your God is a God of gods and Lord of kings and revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery!” 2:48 Then the king elevated Daniel to high position and bestowed on him many marvelous gifts. He granted him authority over the entire province of Babylon and made him the main prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 2:49 And at Daniel’s request, the king ⁵⁸  appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the administration of the province of Babylon. Daniel himself served in the king’s court. ⁵⁹ 

Daniel 3:30

3:30 Then Nebuchadnezzar ⁶⁰  promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 6:20-23

6:20 As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, ⁶¹  “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?”

6:21 Then Daniel spoke to ⁶²  the king, “O king, live forever! 6:22 My God sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king.”

6:23 Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God.

[41:39]  ¹ tn Heb “as discerning and wise.” The order has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:40]  ² tn Heb “and at your mouth (i.e., instructions) all my people will kiss.” G. J. Wenham translates this “shall kowtow to your instruction” (Genesis [WBC], 2:395). Although there is some textual support for reading “will be judged, ruled by you,” this is probably an attempt to capture the significance of this word. Wenham lists a number of references where individuals have tried to make connections with other words or expressions – such as a root meaning “order themselves” lying behind “kiss,” or an idiomatic idea of “kiss” meaning “seal the mouth,” and so “be silent and submit to.” See K. A. Kitchen, “The Term Nsq in Genesis 41:40,” ExpTim 69 (1957): 30; D. S. Sperling, “Genesis 41:40: A New Interpretation,” JANESCU 10 (1978): 113-19.

[41:40]  ³ tn Heb “only the throne, I will be greater than you.”

[41:41]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is descriptive of a present action. Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, in which case Pharaoh describes a still future action as if it had already occurred in order to emphasize its certainty. In this case one could translate “I have placed” or “I will place.” The verb נָתַן (natan) is translated here as “to place in authority [over].”

[41:41]  ⁵ sn Joseph became the grand vizier of the land of Egypt. See W. A. Ward, “The Egyptian Office of Joseph,” JSS 5 (1960): 144-50; and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 129-31.

[41:42]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew word שֵׁשׁ (shesh) is an Egyptian loanword that describes the fine linen robes that Egyptian royalty wore. The clothing signified Joseph’s rank.

[41:43]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:43]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he caused him to ride in the second chariot which was his.”

[41:43]  ⁹ tn The verb form appears to be a causative imperative from a verbal root meaning “to kneel.” It is a homonym of the word “bless” (identical in root letters but not related etymologically).

[41:44]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “apart from you.”

[41:44]  ¹¹ tn Heb “no man,” but here “man” is generic, referring to people in general.

[41:44]  ¹² tn The idiom “lift up hand or foot” means “take any action” here.

[41:45]  ¹³ sn The meaning of Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah, is uncertain. Many recent commentators have followed the proposal of G. Steindorff that it means “the god has said, ‘he will live’” (“Der Name Josephs Saphenat-Pa‘neach,” ZÄS 31 [1889]: 41-42); others have suggested “the god speaks and lives” (see BDB 861 s.v. צָפְנָת פַּעְנֵחַ); “the man he knows” (J. Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, 145); or “Joseph [who is called] áIp-àankh” (K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 1262).

[41:45]  ¹⁴ sn The name Asenath may mean “she belongs to the goddess Neit” (see HALOT 74 s.v. אָֽסְנַת). A novel was written at the beginning of the first century entitled Joseph and Asenath, which included a legendary account of the conversion of Asenath to Joseph’s faith in Yahweh. However, all that can be determined from this chapter is that their children received Hebrew names. See also V. Aptowitzer, “Asenath, the Wife of Joseph – a Haggadic Literary-Historical Study,” HUCA 1 (1924): 239-306.

[41:45]  ¹⁵ sn On (also in v. 50) is another name for the city of Heliopolis.

[41:45]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he passed through.”

[41:46]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a son of thirty years.”

[41:46]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “when he stood before.”

[41:46]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “went out from before.”

[41:46]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he passed through all the land of Egypt”; this phrase is interpreted by JPS to mean that Joseph “emerged in charge of the whole land.”

[41:47]  ²¹ tn Heb “brought forth by handfuls.”

[41:48]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:48]  ²³ tn Heb “all the food.”

[41:48]  ²⁴ tn Heb “of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt and placed food in the cities.”

[41:49]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and Joseph gathered grain like the sand of the sea, multiplying much.” To emphasize the vast amount of grain he stored up, the Hebrew text modifies the verb “gathered” with an infinitive absolute and an adverb.

[41:50]  ²⁶ tn Heb “before the year of the famine came.”

[41:50]  ²⁷ tn Heb “gave birth for him.”

[41:51]  ²⁸ sn The name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh) describes God’s activity on behalf of Joseph, explaining in general the significance of his change of fortune. The name is a Piel participle, suggesting the meaning “he who brings about forgetfulness.” The Hebrew verb נַשַּׁנִי (nashani) may have been used instead of the normal נִשַּׁנִי (nishani) to provide a closer sound play with the name. The giving of this Hebrew name to his son shows that Joseph retained his heritage and faith; and it shows that a brighter future was in store for him.

[41:51]  ²⁹ tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:51]  ³⁰ tn Or “for.”

[41:52]  ³¹ sn The name Ephraim (אֶפְרַיִם, ’efrayim), a form of the Hebrew verb פָּרָה (parah), means “to bear fruit.” The theme of fruitfulness is connected with this line of the family from Rachel (30:2) on down (see Gen 49:22, Deut 33:13-17, and Hos 13:15). But there is some difficulty with the name “Ephraim” itself. It appears to be a dual, for which F. Delitzsch simply said it meant “double fruitfulness” (New Commentary on Genesis, 2:305). G. J. Spurrell suggested it was a diphthongal pronunciation of a name ending in -an or -am, often thought to be dual suffixes (Notes on the text of the book of Genesis, 334). Many, however, simply connect the name to the territory of Ephraim and interpret it to be “fertile land” (C. Fontinoy, “Les noms de lieux en -ayim dans la Bible,” UF 3 [1971]: 33-40). The dual would then be an old locative ending. There is no doubt that the name became attached to the land in which the tribe settled, and it is possible that is where the dual ending came from, but in this story it refers to Joseph’s God-given fruitfulness.

[41:52]  ³² tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:52]  ³³ tn Or “for.”

[41:54]  ³⁴ tn Heb “began to arrive.”

[41:55]  ³⁵ tn Heb “to all Egypt.” The name of the country is used by metonymy for the inhabitants.

[41:56]  ³⁶ tn Or “over the entire land”; Heb “over all the face of the earth.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal to the next clause.

[41:56]  ³⁷ tc The MT reads “he opened all that was in [or “among”] them.” The translation follows the reading of the LXX and Syriac versions.

[41:57]  ³⁸ tn Heb “all the earth,” which refers here (by metonymy) to the people of the earth. Note that the following verb is plural in form, indicating that the inhabitants of the earth are in view.

[7:7]  ³⁹ tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּעֲל (vayya’al, “he [Ezra] brought up”) rather than the Qal plural וַיַּעַלוּ (vayya’alu, “they came up”) of the MT.

[7:7]  tn Heb “he brought”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:7]  ⁴⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:9]  ⁴¹ tc The translation reads יִסַּד (yissad, “he appointed” [= determined]) rather than the reading יְסֻד (yÿsud, “foundation”) of the MT. (The words “to make” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.)

[7:9]  ⁴² sn Apparently it took the caravan almost four months to make the five hundred mile journey.

[7:10]  ⁴³ tn Heb “established his heart.”

[7:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “to do and to teach.” The expression may be a hendiadys, in which case it would have the sense of “effectively teaching.”

[7:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “this.”

[7:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.

[7:11]  ⁴⁷ tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[2:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “said to me.”

[2:5]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “If upon the king it is good.” So also in v. 7.

[2:6]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “queen,” so most English versions (cf. HALOT 1415 s.v. שֵׁגַל); TEV “empress.”

[2:6]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “It was good before the king and he sent me.”

[10:3]  ⁵² tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”

[10:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”

[10:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”

[10:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”

[10:3]  ⁵⁶ sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).

[2:46]  ⁵⁷ tn Aram “fell on his face.”

[2:49]  ⁵⁸ tn Aram “and Daniel sought from the king and he appointed.”

[2:49]  ⁵⁹ tn Aram “was at the gate of the king.”

[3:30]  ⁶⁰ tn Aram “and the king.” The proper name has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:20]  ⁶¹ tn Aram “The king answered and said to Daniel.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is redundant in English.

[6:21]  ⁶² tn Aram “with.”