Kejadian 17:20

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ¹  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ²  He will become the father of twelve princes; ³  I will make him into a great nation.

Kejadian 37:28

37:28 So when the Midianite ⁴  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ⁵  him ⁶  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ⁷  then took Joseph to Egypt.

Kejadian 38:11

38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, ⁸  “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” ⁹  So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

[17:20]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ³ 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.

[37:28]  ⁴ sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.

[37:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “they drew and they lifted up.” The referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity; otherwise the reader might assume the Midianites had pulled Joseph from the cistern (but cf. NAB).

[37:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “Joseph” (both here and in the following clause); the proper name has been replaced both times by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “said.”

[38:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “Otherwise he will die, also he, like his brothers.”

[38:11]  sn I don’t want him to die like his brothers. This clause explains that Judah had no intention of giving Shelah to Tamar for the purpose of the levirate marriage. Judah apparently knew the nature of his sons, and feared that God would be angry with the third son and kill him as well.