49:14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey
lying down between two saddlebags.
49:15 When he sees 1 a good resting place,
and the pleasant land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and become a slave laborer. 2
49:2 “Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 3 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 4 in Gerar,
24:21 Fear the Lord, my child, 5 as well as the king,
and do not associate 6 with rebels, 7
3:12 I have concluded 8 that there is nothing better for people 9
than 10 to be happy and to enjoy
themselves 11 as long as they live,
3:13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil,
for these things 12 are a gift from God.
8:2 Obey the king’s command, 13
because you took 14 an oath before God 15 to be loyal to him. 16
8:3 Do not rush out of the king’s presence in haste – do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, 17
for he can do whatever he pleases.
8:4 Surely the king’s authority 18 is absolute; 19
no one can say 20 to him, “What are you doing?”
8:5 Whoever obeys his 21 command will not experience harm,
and a wise person 22 knows the proper time 23 and procedure.
12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, 25 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God 26 – which is your reasonable service.
12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, 30 for without it no one will see the Lord.
1 tn The verb forms in this verse (“sees,” “will bend,” and “[will] become”) are preterite; they is used in a rhetorical manner, describing the future as if it had already transpired.
2 sn The oracle shows that the tribe of Issachar will be willing to trade liberty for the material things of life. Issachar would work (become a slave laborer) for the Canaanites, a reversal of the oracle on Canaan. See C. M. Carmichael, “Some Sayings in Genesis 49,” JBL 88 (1969): 435-44; and S. Gevirtz, “The Issachar Oracle in the Testament of Jacob,” ErIsr 12 (1975): 104-12.
3 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
4 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
5 tn Heb “my son,” but there is no indication in the immediate context that this should be limited only to male children.
6 tn Heb “do not get mixed up with”; cf. TEV “Have nothing to do with”; NIV “do not join with.” The verb עָרַב (’arav) is used elsewhere meaning “to exchange; to take on pledge.” In the Hitpael stem it means “to have fellowship; to share; to associate with.” Some English versions (e.g., KJV) interpret as “to meddle” in this context, because “to have fellowship” is certainly not what is meant.
7 tn The form rendered “rebellious” is difficult; it appears to be the Qal active participle, plural, from שָׁנָה (shanah), “to change” – “those who change.” The RV might have thought of the idea of “change” when they rendered it “political agitators.” The Syriac and Tg. Prov 24:21 have “fools,” the Latin has “detractors,” and the LXX reads, “do not disobey either of them,” referring to God and the king in the first line. Accordingly the ruin predicted in the next line would be the ruin that God and the king can inflict. If the idea of “changers” is retained, it would have to mean people who at one time feared God and the king but no longer do.
8 tn Heb “I know.”
9 tn Heb “for them”; the referent (people, i.e., mankind) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Qoheleth uses the exceptive particle אִם…כִּי (ki…’im, “except”) to identify the only exception to the futility within man’s life (BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 2).
11 tn Heb “to do good.” The phrase לַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹב (la’asot tov) functions idiomatically for “to experience [or see] happiness [or joy].” The verb עָשַׂה (’asah) probably denotes “to acquire; to obtain” (BDB 795 s.v. עָשַׂה II.7), and טוֹב (tov) means “good; pleasure; happiness,” e.g., Eccl 2:24; 3:13; 5:17 (BDB 375 s.v. טוֹב 1).
12 tn Heb “for it.” The referent of the 3rd person feminine singular independent person pronoun (“it”) is probably the preceding statement: “to eat, drink, and find satisfaction.” This would be an example of an anacoluthon (GKC 505-6 §167.b). Thus the present translation uses “these things” to indicate the reference back to the preceding.
13 tc The Leningrad Codex (the basis of BHS) reads אֲנִי (’ani, 1st person common singular independent personal pronoun): “I obey the king’s command.” Other medieval Hebrew
14 tn The phrase “you took” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
15 tn The genitive-construct שְׁבוּעַת אֱלֹהִים (shÿvu’at ’elohim, “an oath of God”) functions as a genitive of location (“an oath before God”) or an adjectival genitive of attribute (“a supreme oath”).
16 tn The words “to be loyal to him” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
17 tn Or “do not stand up for a bad cause.”
18 tn Heb “word.”
19 tn Heb “supreme.”
20 tn Heb “Who can say…?”
21 tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.
22 tn Heb “the heart of a wise man.”
23 tn The term עֵת (’et, “time”) connotes “a proper, suitable time for an event; the right moment” (HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6; BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.b); e.g., “it was the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13); “a time of judgment for the nations” (Ezek 30:3); “there is an appropriate time for every occasion” (Eccl 3:1); “the time when mountain goats are born” (Job 39:1); “the rain in its season” (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24); “the time for the harvest” (Hos 2:11; Ps 1:3); “food in its season” (Ps 104:27).
24 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
25 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
26 tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.
27 tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”
28 tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.
29 tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”
30 sn The references to peace and holiness show the close connection between this paragraph and the previous one. The pathway toward “holiness” and the need for it is cited in Heb 12:10 and 14. More importantly Prov 4:26-27 sets up the transition from one paragraph to the next: It urges people to stay on godly paths (Prov 4:26, quoted here in v. 13) and promises that God will lead them in peace if they do so (Prov 4:27 [LXX], quoted in v. 14).