Genesis 42:8

42:8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

Genesis 27:23

27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. ¹ 

Genesis 37:33

37:33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! ²  Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”

Genesis 42:7

42:7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger ³  to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered, ⁴  “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.” ⁵ 

Genesis 37:32

37:32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father ⁶  and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

Genesis 38:26

38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright ⁷  than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her ⁸  again.

Genesis 31:32

31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ⁹  In the presence of our relatives ¹⁰  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ¹¹  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ¹² 

Genesis 38:25

38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word ¹³  to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” ¹⁴  Then she said, “Identify ¹⁵  the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.”

¹ tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ sn A wild animal has eaten him. Jacob draws this conclusion on his own without his sons actually having to lie with their words (see v. 20). Dipping the tunic in the goat’s blood was the only deception needed.

¹ sn But pretended to be a stranger. Joseph intends to test his brothers to see if they have changed and have the integrity to be patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. He will do this by putting them in the same situations that they and he were in before. The first test will be to awaken their conscience.

² tn Heb “said.”

³ tn The verb is denominative, meaning “to buy grain”; the word “food” could simply be the direct object, but may also be an adverbial accusative.

¹ tn Heb “and they sent the special tunic and they brought [it] to their father.” The text as it stands is problematic. It sounds as if they sent the tunic on ahead and then came and brought it to their father. Some emend the second verb to a Qal form and read “and they came.” In this case, they sent the tunic on ahead.

¹ tn Traditionally “more righteous”; cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT “more in the right.”

² tn Heb “and he did not add again to know her.” Here “know” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

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.

¹ tn Heb “she was being brought out and she sent.” The juxtaposition of two clauses, both of which place the subject before the predicate, indicates synchronic action.

² tn Heb “who these to him.”

³ tn Or “ recognize; note.” This same Hebrew verb (נָכַר, nakhar) is used at the beginning of v. 26, where it is translated “recognized.”