Genesis 24:67

24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ¹  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ²  as his wife and loved her. ³  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ⁴ 

Genesis 27:4

27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ⁵  I will eat it so that I may bless you ⁶  before I die.”

Genesis 27:9

27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ⁷  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them.

Genesis 29:30

29:30 Jacob ⁸  had marital relations ⁹  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ¹⁰  for seven more years. ¹¹ 

Genesis 29:32

29:32 So Leah became pregnant ¹²  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ¹³  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ¹⁴  Surely my husband will love me now.”

Genesis 37:3-4

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons ¹⁵  because he was a son born to him late in life, ¹⁶  and he made a special ¹⁷  tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s ¹⁸  brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, ¹⁹  they hated Joseph ²⁰  and were not able to speak to him kindly. ²¹ 

Genesis 44:20

44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. ²²  The boy’s ²³  brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, ²⁴  and his father loves him.’

¹ tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”

⁴ tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.

⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

⁶ 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 Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

¹³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

¹⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

¹⁷ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

¹⁸ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

²¹ tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.

²² tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”

²³ tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.

²⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁶ tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”

²⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁸ tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”

²⁹ tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.

³⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³¹ tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”