Genesis 31:32

31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ¹  In the presence of our relatives ²  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ³  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ⁴ 

Genesis 31:35

31:35 Rachel ⁵  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ⁶  my lord. I cannot stand up ⁷  in your presence because I am having my period.” ⁸  So he searched thoroughly, ⁹  but did not find the idols.

Genesis 31:52

31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 44:26

44:26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there. ¹¹  If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, ¹²  for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

Genesis 45:1

The Reconciliation of the Brothers

45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, ¹³  so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained ¹⁴  with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.

Genesis 47:18-19

47:18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our ¹⁵  lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land. 47:19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become ¹⁶  Pharaoh’s slaves. ¹⁷  Give us seed that we may live ¹⁸  and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” ¹⁹ 

Genesis 47:22

47:22 But he did not purchase the land of the priests because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh and they ate from their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

¹ tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”

² tn Heb “brothers.”

³ tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”

⁴ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

⁵ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.

⁷ tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”

⁸ tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.

⁹ tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

⁹ tn Heb “This pile is a witness and the pillar is a witness, if I go past this pile to you and if you go past this pile and this pillar to me for harm.”

¹³ tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁴ tn Heb “go down.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “stood.”

²¹ tn Heb “my.” The expression “my lord” occurs twice more in this verse.

²⁵ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.

²⁶ sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.

²⁷ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.

²⁸ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.