Ulangan 33:17

33:17 May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor,

and may his horns be those of a wild ox;

with them may he gore all peoples,

all the far reaches of the earth.

They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, ¹ 

and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

Ayub 39:12

39:12 Can you count on ²  it to bring in ³  your grain, ⁴ 

and gather the grain ⁵  to your threshing floor? ⁶ 

Mazmur 22:22

22:22 I will declare your name to my countrymen! ⁷ 

In the middle of the assembly I will praise you!

Mazmur 29:6

29:6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf

and Sirion ⁸  like a young ox. ⁹ 

Mazmur 92:11

92:11 I gloat in triumph over those who tried to ambush me; ¹⁰ 

I hear the defeated cries of the evil foes who attacked me. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 34:7

34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered ¹²  along with them,

as well as strong bulls. ¹³ 

Their land is drenched with blood,

their soil is covered with fat.

[33:17]  ¹ sn Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph who became founders of the two tribes into which Joseph’s descendants were split (Gen 48:19-20). Jacob’s blessing granted favored status to Ephraim; this is probably why Ephraim is viewed here as more numerous than Manasseh.

[39:12]  ² tn The word is normally translated “believe” in the Bible. The idea is that of considering something dependable and acting on it. The idea of reliability is found also in the Niphal stem usages.

[39:12]  ³ tc There is a textual problem here: יָשׁוּב (yashuv) is the Kethib, meaning “[that] he will return”; יָשִׁיב (yashiv) is the Qere, meaning “that he will bring in.” This is the preferred reading, since the object follows it. For commentators who think the line too unbalanced for this, the object is moved to the second colon, and the reading “returns” is taken for the first. But the MT is perfectly clear as it stands.

[39:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “your seed”; this must be interpreted figuratively for what the seed produces.

[39:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “gather it”; the referent (the grain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:12]  ⁶ tn Simply, the MT has “and your threshing floor gather.” The “threshing floor” has to be an adverbial accusative of place.

[22:22]  ⁷ tn Or “brothers,” but here the term does not carry a literal familial sense. It refers to the psalmist’s fellow members of the Israelite covenant community (see v. 23).

[29:6]  ⁸ sn Sirion is another name for Mount Hermon (Deut 3:9).

[29:6]  ⁹ sn Lebanon and Sirion are compared to frisky young animals (a calf…a young ox) who skip and jump. The thunderous shout of the Lord is so powerful, one can see the very mountains shake on the horizon.

[92:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my eye gazes upon those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2. The form שׁוּרָי (shuray) should be emended to שׁוֹרְרָי (shorÿray).

[92:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “those who rise up against me, evil [foes], my ears hear.”

[34:7]  ¹² tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”

[34:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.