Genesis 37:3

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons ¹  because he was a son born to him late in life, ²  and he made a special ³  tunic for him.

Genesis 44:20

44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. ⁴  The boy’s ⁵  brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, ⁶  and his father loves him.’

¹ tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.

² tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”

³ tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.

⁴ tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.

⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”