28:16 Then Jacob woke up 1 and thought, 2 “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!”
42:1 When Jacob heard 3 there was grain in Egypt, he 4 said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” 5
1 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Heb “said.”
3 tn Heb “saw.”
4 tn Heb “Jacob.” Here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 sn Why are you looking at each other? The point of Jacob’s question is that his sons should be going to get grain rather than sitting around doing nothing. Jacob, as the patriarch, still makes the decisions for the whole clan.
5 tn Heb “and it was from then.”
6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).
8 tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
9 sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.
7 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
9 tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).
10 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
11 tn Or “hear me.”
12 tn Heb “intercede for me with.”
11 tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.
12 tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.
13 tn Heb “all.”
14 tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.
13 sn The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature.
14 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Heb “put into his hand.”
15 tn Heb “and he said.”
16 tn Heb “know.”
17 tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
18 tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
17 tn Heb “and buy for us from there.” The word “grain,” the direct object of “buy,” has been supplied for clarity, and the words “from there” have been omitted in the translation for stylistic reasons.
18 tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result.
19 tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.
19 tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.
20 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”
21 tn Heb “there is to my hand.”
22 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
23 tn Heb “from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 24, is uncertain. See the note on the same phrase in v. 24.
23 tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
24 tn Heb “go down.”