Genesis 25:8

25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ¹  He joined his ancestors. ² 

Genesis 27:2-4

27:2 Isaac ³  said, “Since ⁴  I am so old, I could die at any time. ⁵  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁶  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ⁷  I will eat it so that I may bless you ⁸  before I die.”

Genesis 48:21

48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you ⁹  and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.

Genesis 49:18

49:18 I wait for your deliverance, O Lord. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 49:28

49:28 These ¹¹  are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing. ¹² 

Genesis 49:33

49:33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went ¹³  to his people.

Genesis 50:24

50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you ¹⁴  and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give ¹⁵  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

¹ tn Heb “old and full.”

² tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

⁵ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

⁵ tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).

⁷ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

⁸ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.

⁹ tn The pronouns translated “you,” “you,” and “your” in this verse are plural in the Hebrew text.

¹¹ sn I wait for your deliverance, O Lord. As Jacob sees the conflicts that lie ahead for Dan and Gad (see v. 19), he offers a brief prayer for their security.

¹³ tn Heb “All these.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and he blessed them, each of whom according to his blessing, he blessed them.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “was gathered.”

¹⁷ tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” i.e., to intervene for blessing or cursing; here Joseph announces that God would come to fulfill the promises by delivering them from Egypt. The statement is emphasized by the use of the infinitive absolute with the verb: “God will surely visit you.”

¹⁸ tn The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.