21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 1 some food 2 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 3 and sent her away. So she went wandering 4 aimlessly through the wilderness 5 of Beer Sheba.
37:25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up 7 and saw 8 a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. 9
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. 15
1 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
2 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
3 tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”
4 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
5 tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.
6 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
11 tn Heb “lifted up their eyes.”
12 tn Heb “and they saw and look.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the event through the eyes of the brothers.
13 tn Heb “and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, going to go down to Egypt.”
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 sn The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else.
18 tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
19 tn Heb “did not know.”
20 sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.
21 tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.
21 tn Heb “to all Egypt.” The name of the country is used by metonymy for the inhabitants.
26 tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 tn Or “disgraceful.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 46:34 and Exod 8:22.
28 tn Heb “and they set for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, for the Egyptians are not able to eat food with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination for the Egyptians.” The imperfect verbal form in the explanatory clause is taken as habitual in force, indicating a practice that was still in effect in the narrator’s time.
31 tn Heb “all Egypt.” The expression is a metonymy and refers to all the people of Egypt.
32 tn The imperfect verbal form has a deliberative force here.
36 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.
37 sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.
38 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.
39 tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.