41:46 Now Joseph was 30 years old 3 when he began serving 4 Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by 5 Pharaoh and was in charge of 6 all the land of Egypt.
41:1 At the end of two full years 7 Pharaoh had a dream. 8 As he was standing by the Nile,
16:1 Now Sarai, 9 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 10 but she had an Egyptian servant 11 named Hagar. 12
16:1 Now Sarai, 13 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 14 but she had an Egyptian servant 15 named Hagar. 16
10:8 Cush was the father of 17 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 18 were Gomer, 19 Magog, 20 Madai, 21 Javan, 22 Tubal, 23 Meshech, 24 and Tiras. 25
9:7 But as for you, 26 be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
15:19 Because of this, the Lord said, 27
“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. 28
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman. 29
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them. 30
1 tn Heb “from all of them.”
2 tn Heb “stood before the king.”
3 tn Heb “a son of thirty years.”
4 tn Heb “when he stood before.”
5 tn Heb “went out from before.”
6 tn Heb “and he passed through all the land of Egypt”; this phrase is interpreted by JPS to mean that Joseph “emerged in charge of the whole land.”
7 tn Heb “two years, days.”
8 tn Heb “was dreaming.”
9 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
10 sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.
11 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
12 sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)
13 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
14 sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.
15 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
16 sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)
17 tn Heb “fathered.” Embedded within Cush’s genealogy is an account of Nimrod, a mighty warrior. There have been many attempts to identify him, but none are convincing.
18 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
19 sn Gomer was the ancestor of the Cimmerians. For a discussion of the Cimmerians see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 49-61.
20 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
21 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
22 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
23 sn Tubal was the ancestor of militaristic tribes that lived north of the Black Sea. For a discussion of ancient references to Tubal see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
24 sn Meshech was the ancestor of the people known in Assyrian records as the Musku. For a discussion of ancient references to them see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
25 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
26 sn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + pronominal subject + verb) here indicates a strong contrast to what has preceded. Against the backdrop of the warnings about taking life, God now instructs the people to produce life, using terms reminiscent of the mandate given to Adam (Gen 1:28).
27 tn Heb “So the
28 tn Heb “If you return [ = repent], I will restore [more literally, ‘cause you to return’] that you may stand before me.” For the idiom of “standing before” in the sense of serving see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 10:8; 12:8; 17:1; Deut 10:8.
29 tn Heb “you shall be as my mouth.”
30 tn Heb “They must turn/return to you and you must not turn/return to them.”
31 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
32 tn Grk “the one who is standing before God.”
33 tn Grk “to announce these things of good news to you.”
34 sn The call to be alert at all times is a call to remain faithful in looking for the Lord’s return.
35 tn For the translation of μέλλω (mellw) as “must,” see L&N 71.36.