Kejadian 49:4

49:4 You are destructive ¹  like water and will not excel, ² 

for you got on your father’s bed, ³ 

then you defiled it – he got on my couch! ⁴ 

Imamat 18:8

18:8 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife; she is your father’s nakedness. ⁵ 

Imamat 18:2

18:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘I am the Lord your God!

1 Samuel 16:21-22

16:21 David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal, ⁶  and he became his armor bearer. 16:22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, “Let David be my servant, for I really like him.” ⁷ 

1 Samuel 20:3

20:3 Taking an oath, David again ⁸  said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact ⁹  that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, ¹⁰  ‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!”

1 Samuel 20:1

Jonathan Seeks to Protect David

20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, ¹¹  “What have I done? What is my offense? ¹²  How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”

1 Samuel 5:1

The Ark Causes Trouble for the Philistines

5:1 Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

1 Samuel 5:1

The Ark Causes Trouble for the Philistines

5:1 Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

Kolose 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹³  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

[49:4]  ¹ tn The Hebrew noun פַּחַז (pakhaz) only occurs here in the OT. A related verb occurs twice in the prophets (Jer 23:32; Zeph 3:4) for false prophets inventing their messages, and once in Judges for unscrupulous men bribed to murder (Judg 9:4). It would describe Reuben as being “frothy, boiling, turbulent” as water. The LXX has “run riot,” the Vulgate has “poured out,” and Tg. Onq. has “you followed your own direction.” It is a reference to Reuben’s misconduct in Gen 35, but the simile and the rare word invite some speculation. H. Pehlke suggests “destructive like water,” for Reuben acted with pride and presumption; see his “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985).

[49:4]  ² tn Heb “Do not excel!” The Hiphil of the verb יָתַר (yatar) has this meaning only here. The negated jussive is rhetorical here. Rather than being a command, it anticipates what will transpire. The prophecy says that because of the character of the ancestor, the tribe of Reuben would not have the character to lead (see 1 Chr 5:1).

[49:4]  ³ sn This is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse with Jacob’s wives (see Gen 35:22).

[49:4]  ⁴ tn The last verb is third masculine singular, as if for the first time Jacob told the brothers, or let them know that he knew. For a discussion of this passage see S. Gevirtz, “The Reprimand of Reuben,” JNES 30 (1971): 87-98.

[18:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “the nakedness of your father she is.” See the note on v. 7 above. This law refers to another wife of the man’s father, who is not that man’s mother. The laws in the Pentateuch sometimes assume the possibility that a man may have more than one wife (cf., e.g., Deut 21:15-17).

[16:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “he loved him.”

[16:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my eyes.”

[20:3]  ⁸ tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word “again.”

[20:3]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[20:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself. So also in v. 25.

[20:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.”

[20:1]  ¹² tn Heb “What is my guilt?”

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.