1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together 5 in him.
1 tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”
2 sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.
3 tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.
4 tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.
5 tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.