38:1 At that time Judah left 3 his brothers and stayed 4 with an Adullamite man 5 named Hirah.
39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. 6 He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 7
49:15 When he sees 8 a good resting place,
and the pleasant land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and become a slave laborer. 9
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 Heb “went down from.”
4 tn Heb “and he turned aside unto.”
5 tn Heb “a man, an Adullamite.”
5 tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”
6 tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).
7 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.
8 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.