38:1 At that time Judah left 5 his brothers and stayed 6 with an Adullamite man 7 named Hirah.
39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. 8 He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 9
49:15 When he sees 10 a good resting place,
and the pleasant land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and become a slave laborer. 11
1 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
2 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
3 tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.
4 tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).
5 tn Heb “went down from.”
6 tn Heb “and he turned aside unto.”
7 tn Heb “a man, an Adullamite.”
7 tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”
8 tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).
9 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.
10 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.