Kejadian 28:11

28:11 He reached a certain place ¹  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ²  He took one of the stones ³  and placed it near his head. ⁴  Then he fell asleep ⁵  in that place

Kejadian 39:1

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ⁶  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ⁷  purchased him from ⁸  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

Kejadian 39:23

39:23 The warden did not concern himself ⁹  with anything that was in Joseph’s ¹⁰  care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

Kejadian 44:1

The Final Test

44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.

[28:11]  ¹ tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37.

[28:11]  ² tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ³ tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37.

[28:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “lay down.”

[39:1]  ⁶ tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.

[39:1]  ⁷ sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

[39:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the hand of.”

[39:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”

[39:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.