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? ¹  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ² 

Kejadian 41:27

41:27 The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent ³  seven years of famine.

Kejadian 43:32

43:32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, ⁴  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 ⁵  to do so.) ⁶ 

[20:9]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.

[41:27]  ³ tn Heb “are.” Another option is to translate, “There will be seven years of famine.”

[43:32]  ⁴ tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:32]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.