45:21 So the sons of Israel did as he said. 7 Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, 8 and he gave them provisions for the journey.
46:1 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. 9 When he came to Beer Sheba 10 he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
46:30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” 12
“By you 22 will Israel bless, 23 saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 24
48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you 25 and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.
49:24 But his bow will remain steady,
and his hands 26 will be skillful;
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of 27 the Shepherd, the Rock 28 of Israel,
49:28 These 29 are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing. 30
1 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the
3 sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el ), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).
4 tn The text uses an interrogative clause: “Are not your brothers,” which means “your brothers are.”
5 sn With these words Joseph is depicted here as an obedient son who is ready to do what his father commands.
6 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here I am.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel did so.”
8 tn Heb “according to the mouth of Pharaoh.”
10 tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”
11 sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.
13 tn Heb “and he appeared to him.”
16 tn Heb “after my seeing your face that you are still alive.”
19 tn Heb “and one told and said.” The verbs have no expressed subject and can be translated with the passive voice.
20 tn Heb “Look, your son Joseph.”
22 tn Heb “heavy.”
23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tn On the meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּלַל (palal) here, see E. A. Speiser, “The Stem pll in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6. Speiser argues that this verb means “to estimate” as in Exod 21:22.
26 tn Heb “your face.”
27 tn Heb “offspring.”
28 tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.
29 tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”
30 sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.
31 tn The pronouns translated “you,” “you,” and “your” in this verse are plural in the Hebrew text.
34 tn Heb “the arms of his hands.”
35 tn Heb “from there,” but the phrase should be revocalized and read “from [i.e., because of] the name of.”
36 tn Or “Stone.”
37 tn Heb “All these.”
38 tn Heb “and he blessed them, each of whom according to his blessing, he blessed them.”
40 tn Heb “his servants the physicians.”