Daniel 4:8

4:8 Later Daniel entered (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, ¹  and in whom there is a spirit of the holy gods). I recounted the dream for him as well,

Daniel 5:12

5:12 Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret ²  dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. ³  Now summon ⁴  Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”

Genesis 41:45

41:45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. ⁵  He also gave him Asenath ⁶  daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, ⁷  to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of ⁸  all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:2

41:2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, ⁹  and they grazed in the reeds.

Genesis 23:1

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 24:17

24:17 Abraham’s servant ¹¹  ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.”

¹ sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.

² tc The translation reads מִפְשַׁר (mifshar) rather than the MT מְפַשַּׁר (mÿfashar) and later in the verse reads וּמִשְׁרֵא (mishre’) rather than the MT וּמְשָׁרֵא (mÿshare’). The Masoretes have understood these Aramaic forms to be participles, but they are more likely to be vocalized as infinitives. As such, they have an epexegetical function in the syntax of their clause.

³ tn Aram “to loose knots.”

⁴ tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”

⁵ sn The meaning of Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah, is uncertain. Many recent commentators have followed the proposal of G. Steindorff that it means “the god has said, ‘he will live’” (“Der Name Josephs Saphenat-Pa‘neach,” ZÄS 31 [1889]: 41-42); others have suggested “the god speaks and lives” (see BDB 861 s.v. צָפְנָת פַּעְנֵחַ); “the man he knows” (J. Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, 145); or “Joseph [who is called] áIp-àankh” (K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 1262).

⁶ sn The name Asenath may mean “she belongs to the goddess Neit” (see HALOT 74 s.v. אָֽסְנַת). A novel was written at the beginning of the first century entitled Joseph and Asenath, which included a legendary account of the conversion of Asenath to Joseph’s faith in Yahweh. However, all that can be determined from this chapter is that their children received Hebrew names. See also V. Aptowitzer, “Asenath, the Wife of Joseph – a Haggadic Literary-Historical Study,” HUCA 1 (1924): 239-306.

⁷ sn On (also in v. 50) is another name for the city of Heliopolis.

⁸ tn Heb “and he passed through.”

⁹ tn Heb “And look, he was standing by the Nile, and look, from the Nile were coming up seven cows, attractive of appearance and fat of flesh.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to see the dream through Pharaoh’s eyes.

¹⁰ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.