Kejadian 1:26

1:26 Then God said, “Let us make ¹ 

humankind ²  in our image, after our likeness, ³  so they may rule ⁴  over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, ⁵  and over all the creatures that move ⁶  on the earth.”

Kejadian 1:28

1:28 God blessed ⁷  them and said ⁸  to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! ⁹  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” ¹⁰ 

Kejadian 2:9

2:9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, ¹¹  every tree that was pleasing to look at ¹²  and good for food. (Now ¹³  the tree of life ¹⁴  and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ¹⁵  were in the middle of the orchard.)

Kejadian 6:16

6:16 Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches ¹⁶  from the top. ¹⁷  Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks.

Kejadian 7:23

7:23 So the Lord ¹⁸  destroyed ¹⁹  every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. ²⁰  They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. ²¹ 

Kejadian 8:21

8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ²²  and said ²³  to himself, ²⁴  “I will never again curse ²⁵  the ground because of humankind, even though ²⁶  the inclination of their minds ²⁷  is evil from childhood on. ²⁸  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

Kejadian 14:5

14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated ²⁹  the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

Kejadian 17:20

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ³⁰  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ³¹  He will become the father of twelve princes; ³²  I will make him into a great nation.

Kejadian 18:25

18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge ³³  of the whole earth do what is right?” ³⁴ 

Kejadian 19:12

19:12 Then the two visitors ³⁵  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ³⁶  Do you have ³⁷  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ³⁸  Get them out of this ³⁹  place

Kejadian 19:14

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ⁴⁰  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ⁴¹  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ⁴² 

Kejadian 19:34

19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ⁴³  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ⁴⁴  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ⁴⁵ 

Kejadian 20:9

20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? ⁴⁶  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ⁴⁷ 

Kejadian 22:9

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ⁴⁸  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ⁴⁹  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.

Kejadian 23:6

23:6 “Listen, sir, ⁵⁰  you are a mighty prince ⁵¹  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ⁵²  from burying your dead.”

Kejadian 24:35

24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. ⁵³  The Lord ⁵⁴  has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

Kejadian 24:40

24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ⁵⁵  will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.

Kejadian 26:24

26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

Kejadian 27:27

27:27 So Jacob ⁵⁶  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ⁵⁷  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ⁵⁸  my son smells

like the scent of an open field

which the Lord has blessed.

Kejadian 28:6

28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. ⁵⁹  As he blessed him, ⁶⁰  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ⁶¹ 

Kejadian 31:32

31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ⁶²  In the presence of our relatives ⁶³  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ⁶⁴  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ⁶⁵ 

Kejadian 32:10

32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ⁶⁶  you have shown ⁶⁷  your servant. With only my walking stick ⁶⁸  I crossed the Jordan, ⁶⁹  but now I have become two camps.

Kejadian 33:13

33:13 But Jacob ⁷⁰  said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, ⁷¹  and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. ⁷²  If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die.

Kejadian 42:25

42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill ⁷³  their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out. ⁷⁴ 

Kejadian 42:33

42:33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain ⁷⁵  for your hungry households and go.

Kejadian 42:38

42:38 But Jacob ⁷⁶  replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. ⁷⁷  If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair ⁷⁸  in sorrow to the grave.” ⁷⁹ 

Kejadian 43:16

43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.”

Kejadian 43:32

43:32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, ⁸⁰  and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting ⁸¹  to do so.) ⁸² 

Kejadian 45:23

45:23 To his father he sent the following: ⁸³  ten donkeys loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, food, and provisions for his father’s journey.

Kejadian 46:34

46:34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle ⁸⁴  from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, ⁸⁵  for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting ⁸⁶  to the Egyptians.”

Kejadian 48:19

48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude ⁸⁷  of nations.”

Kejadian 49:29

49:29 Then he instructed them, ⁸⁸  “I am about to go ⁸⁹  to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

[1:26]  ¹ sn The plural form of the verb has been the subject of much discussion through the years, and not surprisingly several suggestions have been put forward. Many Christian theologians interpret it as an early hint of plurality within the Godhead, but this view imposes later trinitarian concepts on the ancient text. Some have suggested the plural verb indicates majesty, but the plural of majesty is not used with verbs. C. Westermann (Genesis, 1:145) argues for a plural of “deliberation” here, but his proposed examples of this use (2 Sam 24:14; Isa 6:8) do not actually support his theory. In 2 Sam 24:14 David uses the plural as representative of all Israel, and in Isa 6:8 the Lord speaks on behalf of his heavenly court. In its ancient Israelite context the plural is most naturally understood as referring to God and his heavenly court (see 1 Kgs 22:19-22; Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6; Isa 6:1-8). (The most well-known members of this court are God’s messengers, or angels. In Gen 3:5 the serpent may refer to this group as “gods/divine beings.” See the note on the word “evil” in 3:5.) If this is the case, God invites the heavenly court to participate in the creation of humankind (perhaps in the role of offering praise, see Job 38:7), but he himself is the one who does the actual creative work (v. 27). Of course, this view does assume that the members of the heavenly court possess the divine “image” in some way. Since the image is closely associated with rulership, perhaps they share the divine image in that they, together with God and under his royal authority, are the executive authority over the world.

[1:26]  ² tn The Hebrew word is אָדָם (’adam), which can sometimes refer to man, as opposed to woman. The term refers here to humankind, comprised of male and female. The singular is clearly collective (see the plural verb, “[that] they may rule” in v. 26b) and the referent is defined specifically as “male and female” in v. 27. Usage elsewhere in Gen 1-11 supports this as well. In 5:2 we read: “Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and called their name ‘humankind’ (אָדָם).” The noun also refers to humankind in 6:1, 5-7 and in 9:5-6.

[1:26]  ³ tn The two prepositions translated “in” and “according to” have overlapping fields of meaning and in this context seem to be virtually equivalent. In 5:3 they are reversed with the two words. The word צֶלֶם (tselem, “image”) is used frequently of statues, models, and images – replicas (see D. J. A. Clines, “The Etymology of Hebrew selem,” JNSL 3 [1974]: 19-25). The word דְּמוּת (dÿmut, “likeness”) is an abstract noun; its verbal root means “to be like; to resemble.” In the Book of Genesis the two terms describe human beings who in some way reflect the form and the function of the creator. The form is more likely stressing the spiritual rather than the physical. The “image of God” would be the God-given mental and spiritual capacities that enable people to relate to God and to serve him by ruling over the created order as his earthly vice-regents.

[1:26]  sn In our image, after our likeness. Similar language is used in the instructions for building the tabernacle. Moses was told to make it “according to the pattern” he was shown on the mount (Exod 25:9, 10). Was he shown a form, a replica, of the spiritual sanctuary in the heavenly places? In any case, what was produced on earth functioned as the heavenly sanctuary does, but with limitations.

[1:26]  ⁴ tn Following the cohortative (“let us make”), the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result (see Gen 19:20; 34:23; 2 Sam 3:21). God’s purpose in giving humankind his image is that they might rule the created order on behalf of the heavenly king and his royal court. So the divine image, however it is defined, gives humankind the capacity and/or authority to rule over creation.

[1:26]  ⁵ tc The MT reads “earth”; the Syriac reads “wild animals” (cf. NRSV).

[1:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “creep” (also in v. 28).

[1:28]  ⁷ tn As in v. 22 the verb “bless” here means “to endow with the capacity to reproduce and be fruitful,” as the following context indicates. As in v. 22, the statement directly precedes the command “be fruitful and multiply.” The verb carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); Gen 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).

[1:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “and God said.” For stylistic reasons “God” has not been repeated here in the translation.

[1:28]  ⁹ tn Elsewhere the Hebrew verb translated “subdue” means “to enslave” (2 Chr 28:10; Neh 5:5; Jer 34:11, 16), “to conquer,” (Num 32:22, 29; Josh 18:1; 2 Sam 8:11; 1 Chr 22:18; Zech 9:13; and probably Mic 7:19), and “to assault sexually” (Esth 7:8). None of these nuances adequately meets the demands of this context, for humankind is not viewed as having an adversarial relationship with the world. The general meaning of the verb appears to be “to bring under one’s control for one’s advantage.” In Gen 1:28 one might paraphrase it as follows: “harness its potential and use its resources for your benefit.” In an ancient Israelite context this would suggest cultivating its fields, mining its mineral riches, using its trees for construction, and domesticating its animals.

[1:28]  ¹⁰ sn The several imperatives addressed to both males and females together (plural imperative forms) actually form two commands: reproduce and rule. God’s word is not merely a form of blessing, but is now addressed to them personally; this is a distinct emphasis with the creation of human beings. But with the blessing comes the ability to be fruitful and to rule. In procreation they will share in the divine work of creating human life and passing on the divine image (see 5:1-3); in ruling they will serve as God’s vice-regents on earth. They together, the human race collectively, have the responsibility of seeing to the welfare of that which is put under them and the privilege of using it for their benefit.

[2:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “ground,” referring to the fertile soil.

[2:9]  ¹² tn Heb “desirable of sight [or “appearance”].” The phrase describes the kinds of trees that are visually pleasing and yield fruit that is desirable to the appetite.

[2:9]  ¹³ tn The verse ends with a disjunctive clause providing a parenthetical bit of information about the existence of two special trees in the garden.

[2:9]  ¹⁴ tn In light of Gen 3:22, the construction “tree of life” should be interpreted to mean a tree that produces life-giving fruit (objective genitive) rather than a living tree (attributive genitive). See E. O. James, The Tree of Life (SHR); and R. Marcus, “The Tree of Life in Proverbs,” JBL 62 (1943): 117-20.

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn The expression “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” must be interpreted to mean that the tree would produce fruit which, when eaten, gives special knowledge of “good and evil.” Scholars debate what this phrase means here. For a survey of opinions, see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:62-64. One view is that “good” refers to that which enhances, promotes, and produces life, while “evil” refers to anything that hinders, interrupts or destroys life. So eating from this tree would change human nature – people would be able to alter life for better (in their thinking) or for worse. See D. J. A. Clines, “The Tree of Knowledge and the Law of Yahweh,” VT 24 (1974): 8-14; and I. Engnell, “‘Knowledge’ and ‘Life’ in the Creation Story,” Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East [VTSup], 103-19. Another view understands the “knowledge of good and evil” as the capacity to discern between moral good and evil. The following context suggests the tree’s fruit gives one wisdom (see the phrase “capable of making one wise” in 3:6, as well as the note there on the word “wise”), which certainly includes the capacity to discern between good and evil. Such wisdom is characteristic of divine beings, as the serpent’s promise implies (3:5) and as 3:22 makes clear. (Note, however, that this capacity does not include the ability to do what is right.) God prohibits man from eating of the tree. The prohibition becomes a test to see if man will be satisfied with his role and place, or if he will try to ascend to the divine level. There will be a time for man to possess moral discernment/wisdom, as God reveals and imparts it to him, but it is not something to be grasped at in an effort to become “a god.” In fact, the command to be obedient was the first lesson in moral discernment/wisdom. God was essentially saying: “Here is lesson one – respect my authority and commands. Disobey me and you will die.” When man disobeys, he decides he does not want to acquire moral wisdom God’s way, but instead tries to rise immediately to the divine level. Once man has acquired such divine wisdom by eating the tree’s fruit (3:22), he must be banned from the garden so that he will not be able to achieve his goal of being godlike and thus live forever, a divine characteristic (3:24). Ironically, man now has the capacity to discern good from evil (3:22), but he is morally corrupted and rebellious and will not consistently choose what is right.

[6:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a cubit.”

[6:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to a cubit you shall finish it from above.” The idea is that Noah was to leave an 18-inch opening from the top for a window for light.

[7:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:23]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).

[7:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”

[7:23]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁאָר (sha’ar) means “to be left over; to survive” in the Niphal verb stem. It is the word used in later biblical texts for the remnant that escapes judgment. See G. F. Hasel, “Semantic Values of Derivatives of the Hebrew Root só’r,” AUSS 11 (1973): 152-69.

[8:21]  ²² tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיהֹחַ, reakh hannihoakh). The object forms a cognate accusative with the verb. The language is anthropomorphic. The offering had a sweet aroma that pleased or soothed. The expression in Lev 1 signifies that God accepts the offering with pleasure, and in accepting the offering he accepts the worshiper.

[8:21]  ²³ tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

[8:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in his heart.”

[8:21]  ²⁵ tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

[8:21]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.

[8:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

[8:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “from his youth.”

[14:5]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to attack, to strike, to smite.” In this context it appears that the strike was successful, and so a translation of “defeated” is preferable.

[17:20]  ³⁰ sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

[17:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ³² tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

[18:25]  ³³ tn Or “ruler.”

[18:25]  ³⁴ sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.

[19:12]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ³⁷ tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ³⁸ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:14]  ⁴⁰ sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

[19:14]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

[19:34]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[20:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.

[20:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.

[22:9]  ⁴⁸ sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?

[22:9]  ⁴⁹ sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.

[23:6]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”

[23:6]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.

[23:6]  ⁵² tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:35]  ⁵³ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.

[24:35]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:40]  ⁵⁵ tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the Lord or it may have a more positive moral connotation (“serve faithfully”).

[27:27]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “see.”

[28:6]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”

[28:6]  ⁶⁰ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.

[28:6]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[31:32]  ⁶² tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”

[31:32]  ⁶³ tn Heb “brothers.”

[31:32]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”

[31:32]  ⁶⁵ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[32:10]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

[32:10]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “you have done with.”

[32:10]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.

[32:10]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “this Jordan.”

[33:13]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:13]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “weak.”

[33:13]  ⁷² tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”

[42:25]  ⁷³ tn Heb “and they filled.” The clause appears to be elliptical; one expects “Joseph gave orders to fill…and they filled.” See GKC 386 §120.f.

[42:25]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he did for them so.” Joseph would appear to be the subject of the singular verb. If the text is retained, the statement seems to be a summary of the preceding, more detailed statement. However, some read the verb as plural, “and they did for them so.” In this case the statement indicates that Joseph’s subordinates carried out his orders. Another alternative is to read the singular verb as passive (with unspecified subject), “and this was done for them so” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[42:33]  ⁷⁵ tn The word “grain” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:38]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[42:38]  ⁷⁷ sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.

[42:38]  ⁷⁸ sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble.

[42:38]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.

[43:32]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:32]  ⁸¹ tn Or “disgraceful.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 46:34 and Exod 8:22.

[43:32]  ⁸² tn Heb “and they set for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, for the Egyptians are not able to eat food with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination for the Egyptians.” The imperfect verbal form in the explanatory clause is taken as habitual in force, indicating a practice that was still in effect in the narrator’s time.

[43:32]  sn That the Egyptians found eating with foreigners disgusting is well-attested in extra-biblical literature by writers like Herodotus, Diodorus, and Strabo.

[45:23]  ⁸³ tn Heb “according to this.”

[46:34]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”

[46:34]  ⁸⁵ sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.

[46:34]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.

[48:19]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “fullness.”

[49:29]  ⁸⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to them,” which is not included in the translation because it is redundant in English.

[49:29]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “I am about to be gathered” The participle is used here to describe what is imminent.