Genesis 42:7

42:7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger ¹  to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered, ²  “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.” ³ 

Genesis 42:12

42:12 “No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” ⁴ 

Genesis 42:16

42:16 One of you must go and get ⁵  your brother, while ⁶  the rest of you remain in prison. ⁷  In this way your words may be tested to see if ⁸  you are telling the truth. ⁹  If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”

Genesis 42:30

42:30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us ¹⁰  as if we were ¹¹  spying on the land.

Deuteronomy 6:13

6:13 You must revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name.

Deuteronomy 6:1

Exhortation to Keep the Covenant Principles

6:1 Now these are the commandments, ¹²  statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed ¹³ 

Deuteronomy 1:26

Disobedience at Kadesh Barnea

1:26 You were not willing to go up, however, but instead rebelled against the Lord your God. ¹⁴ 

Deuteronomy 17:1

17:1 You must not sacrifice to him ¹⁵  a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive ¹⁶  to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 20:3

20:3 “Listen, Israel! Today you are moving forward to do battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted. Do not fear and tremble or be terrified because of them,

Jeremiah 5:2

5:2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord. ¹⁷ 

But the fact is, ¹⁸  what they swear to is really a lie.” ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 5:7

5:7 The Lord asked, ²⁰ 

“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? ²¹ 

Your people ²²  have rejected me

and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. ²³ 

Even though I supplied all their needs, ²⁴  they were like an unfaithful wife to me. ²⁵ 

They went flocking ²⁶  to the houses of prostitutes. ²⁷ 

Matthew 5:33-37

Oaths

5:33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ²⁸  ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ ²⁹  5:34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all – not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 5:35 not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, ³⁰  because it is the city of the great King. 5:36 Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 5:37 Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’ More than this is from the evil one. ³¹ 

Matthew 23:16-22

23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ³²  But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 23:17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 23:18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. ³³  But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 23:19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 23:20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 23:21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 23:22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.

James 5:12

5:12 And above all, my brothers and sisters, ³⁴  do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

[42:7]  ¹ sn But pretended to be a stranger. Joseph intends to test his brothers to see if they have changed and have the integrity to be patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. He will do this by putting them in the same situations that they and he were in before. The first test will be to awaken their conscience.

[42:7]  ² tn Heb “said.”

[42:7]  ³ tn The verb is denominative, meaning “to buy grain”; the word “food” could simply be the direct object, but may also be an adverbial accusative.

[42:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he said, ‘No, for the nakedness of the land you have come to see.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for clarity.

[42:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose.

[42:16]  ⁶ tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal.

[42:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “bound.”

[42:16]  ⁸ tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.”

[42:30]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “made us.”

[42:30]  ¹¹ tn The words “if we were” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ¹² tn Heb “commandment.” The word מִצְוָה (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. See note on the word “commandments” in 5:31.

[6:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”

[1:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God.” To include “the mouth” would make for odd English style. The mouth stands by metonymy for the Lord’s command, which in turn represents the Lord himself.

[17:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[17:1]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[5:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Though they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives.” The idea of “swear on oath” comes from the second line.

[5:2]  ¹⁸ tc The translation follows many Hebrew mss and the Syriac version in reading “surely” (אָכֵן, ’akhen) instead of “therefore” (לָכֵן, lakhen) in the MT.

[5:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they swear falsely.”

[5:7]  ²⁰ tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.

[5:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “How can I forgive [or pardon] you.” The pronoun “you” is second feminine singular, referring to the city. See v. 1.

[5:7]  ²² tn Heb “your children.”

[5:7]  ²³ tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”

[5:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I satisfied them to the full.”

[5:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “they committed adultery.” It is difficult to decide whether literal adultery with other women or spiritual adultery with other gods is meant. The word for adultery is used for both in the book of Jeremiah. For examples of its use for spiritual adultery see 3:8, 9; 9:2. For examples of its use for literal adultery see 7:9; 23:14. The context here could argue for either. The swearing by other gods and the implicit contradiction in their actions in contrast to the expected gratitude for supplying their needs argues for spiritual adultery. However, the reference to prostitution in the next line and the reference to chasing after their neighbor’s wives argues for literal adultery. The translation opts for spiritual adultery because of the contrast implicit in the concessive clause.

[5:7]  ²⁶ tn There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of this word. Most of the modern English versions follow the lead of lexicographers who relate this word to a noun meaning “troop” and understand it to mean “they trooped together” (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.2 and compare the usage in Mic 5:1 [4:14 HT]). A few of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the reading of the Greek and read a word meaning “they lodged” (reading ִיתְגּוֹרְרוּ [yitggorÿru] from I גּוּר [gur; cf. HALOT 177 s.v. Hithpo. and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 17:20] instead of יִתְגֹּדָדוּ [yitggodadu]). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:180) sees a reference here to the cultic practice of cutting oneself in supplication to pagan gods (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.1 and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 18:28). The houses of prostitutes would then be a reference to ritual prostitutes at the pagan shrines. The translation follows BDB and the majority of modern English versions.

[5:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “to a house of a prostitute.”

[5:33]  ²⁸ tn Grk “the ancient ones.”

[5:33]  ²⁹ sn A quotation from Lev 19:12.

[5:35]  ³⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:37]  ³¹ tn The term πονηροῦ (ponhrou) may be understood as specific and personified, referring to the devil, or possibly as a general reference to evil. It is most likely personified, however, since it is articular (τοῦ πονηροῦ, tou ponhrou). Cf. also “the evildoer” in v. 39, which is the same construction.

[23:16]  ³² tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”

[23:18]  ³³ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”

[5:12]  ³⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.