42:21 They said to one other, 4 “Surely we’re being punished 5 because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was 6 when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress 7 has come on us!”
1 tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).
2 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “a month of days.”
4 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”
5 tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”
6 tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”
7 sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.