37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! 1 He tore his clothes,
37:2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, 3 was taking care of 4 the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster 5 working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. 6 Joseph brought back a bad report about them 7 to their father.
3:1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. 12 Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.
3:1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. 13 Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.
6:1 Now in those 25 days, when the disciples were growing in number, 26 a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews 27 against the native Hebraic Jews, 28 because their widows 29 were being overlooked 30 in the daily distribution of food. 31
2:13 Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and boundless in loyal love 33 – often relenting from calamitous punishment. 34
1 tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.
2 tn Heb “and put sackcloth on his loins.”
3 tn Heb “a son of seventeen years.” The word “son” is in apposition to the name “Joseph.”
4 tn Or “tending”; Heb “shepherding” or “feeding.”
5 tn Or perhaps “a helper.” The significance of this statement is unclear. It may mean “now the lad was with,” or it may suggest Joseph was like a servant to them.
6 tn Heb “and he [was] a young man with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father.”
7 tn Heb “their bad report.” The pronoun is an objective genitive, specifying that the bad or damaging report was about the brothers.
sn Some interpreters portray Joseph as a tattletale for bringing back a bad report about them [i.e., his brothers], but the entire Joseph story has some of the characteristics of wisdom literature. Joseph is presented in a good light – not because he was perfect, but because the narrative is showing how wisdom rules. In light of that, this section portrays Joseph as faithful to his father in little things, even though unpopular – and so he will eventually be given authority over greater things.
8 tn Heb “if looking you look.” The expression can refer, as here, to looking favorably upon another, in this case with compassion.
9 tn Heb “handmaid.” The use of this term (translated two more times in this verse and once each in vv. 16, 17 simply as “servant” for stylistic reasons) is an expression of humility.
10 tn Heb “seed of men.”
11 tn Heb “a razor will not go up upon his head.”
12 tn Heb “before Eli.”
13 tn Heb “before Eli.”
14 tn BDAG 975 s.v. συντελέω 4 has “to come to an end of a duration, come to an end, be over…Ac 21:27.”
15 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
sn Note how there is a sense of Paul being pursued from a distance. These Jews may well have been from Ephesus, since they recognized Trophimus the Ephesian (v. 29).
16 tn Grk “in the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.
17 tn Or “threw the whole crowd into consternation.” L&N 25.221 has “συνέχεον πάντα τὸν ὄχλον ‘they threw the whole crowd into consternation’ Ac 21:27. It is also possible to render the expression in Ac 21:27 as ‘they stirred up the whole crowd.’”
18 tn Grk “and laid hands on.”
19 tn Grk “and finding.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeuronte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun in the translation.
20 sn Phoenicia was the name of an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.
21 tn Grk “going aboard, we put out to sea.” The participle ἐπιβάντες (epibante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
22 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
23 tn Grk “It happened that after an interval of about three hours.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
24 tn Grk “came in, not knowing.” The participle has been translated with concessive or adversative force: “although she did not know.” In English, the adversative conjunction (“but”) conveys this nuance more smoothly.
25 tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.
26 tn Grk “were multiplying.”
27 tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.
sn The Greek-speaking Jews were the Hellenists, Jews who to a greater or lesser extent had adopted Greek thought, customs, and lifestyle, as well as the Greek language. The city of Alexandria in Egypt was a focal point for them, but they were scattered throughout the Roman Empire.
28 tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.
29 sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.
30 tn Or “neglected.”
31 tn Grk “in the daily serving.”
sn The daily distribution of food. The early church saw it as a responsibility to meet the basic needs of people in their group.
32 tn Heb “Neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words were afraid or tore their clothes.” The sentence has been broken up into two shorter sentences to better conform to English style and some of the terms explained (e.g., tore their clothes) for the sake of clarity.
sn There are some interesting wordplays and contrasts involved here. The action of the king and his attendants should be contrasted with that of the officials who heard the same things read (v. 16). The king and his officials did not tear their garments in grief and sorrow; instead the king cut up the scroll (the words “tear” and “cut off” are the same in Hebrew [קָרַע, qara’]). Likewise, the actions of Jehoiakim and his attendants is to be contrasted with that of his father Josiah who some twenty or more years earlier tore his clothes in grief and sorrow (2 Kgs 22:11-20) and led the people in renewing their commitment to the covenant (2 Kgs 23:1-3). That was what the
33 tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”
34 tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”
35 tn Grk “who.” The relative clause makes for awkward English style here, so the following clause was made coordinate with the conjunction “and” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun.
36 tn The participle παραγενόμενον (paragenomenon) is taken temporally.
37 tn Grk “and all.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
38 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
39 tn Or “shirts” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.
40 tn Grk “and garments,” referring here to other types of clothing besides the tunics just mentioned.
41 tn The verb ἐποίει (epoiei) has been translated as a customary imperfect.