Genesis 48:10

48:10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing ¹  because of his age; he was not able to see well. So Joseph ²  brought his sons ³  near to him, and his father ⁴  kissed them and embraced them.

Genesis 48:1

Manasseh and Ephraim

48:1 After these things Joseph was told, ⁵  “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.

Genesis 3:2

3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat ⁶  of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;

Ecclesiastes 12:3

12:3 when those who keep watch over the house ⁷  begin to tremble, ⁸ 

and the virile men begin to stoop over, ⁹ 

and the grinders ¹⁰  begin to cease because they grow few,

and those who look through the windows grow dim, ¹¹ 

John 9:3

9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man ¹²  nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that ¹³  the acts ¹⁴  of God may be revealed ¹⁵  through what happens to him. ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “heavy.”

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.

⁶ tn There is a notable change between what the Lord God had said and what the woman says. God said “you may freely eat” (the imperfect with the infinitive absolute, see 2:16), but the woman omits the emphatic infinitive, saying simply “we may eat.” Her words do not reflect the sense of eating to her heart’s content.

⁷ tn Heb “the watchers of the house.”

⁸ tn The verb זְוּעַ (zÿua’, “to tremble”) probably does not refer to physical tremors but to trembling in fear (e.g., Esth 5:9; Hab 2:7; Sir 48:12); cf. HALOT 267 s.v. זוע). At the onset of old age, those who had been the most courageous during their youth suddenly become fearful.

⁹ tn The verb עָוַת (’avat, “to bend; to stoop”) means “to be stooped” (HALOT 804 s.v. עות) rather than “to bend themselves” (BDB 736 s.v. עות). The perfect tense may be taken in an ingressive sense (“begin to stoop over”).

¹⁰ tn The term הַטֹּחֲנוֹת (hattokhanot, Qal active participle feminine plural from טָחַן, takhan, “to grind”) is a double entendre. In its literal sense, it refers to female mill-grinders; in its figurative sense, it refers to molar teeth (HALOT 374 s.v. *טֹחֲנָה). The related Hebrew noun טַחֲנָה (takhanah) refers to a “mill,” and the related Arabic noun tahinat means “molar tooth” (HALOT 374 s.v. *טַחֲנָה).

¹¹ tn The verb חָשַׁךְ (khashakh, “to grow dim”) is used elsewhere in reference to failing eyesight (e.g., Ps 69:24; Lam 5:17); see HALOT 361 s.v. חשׁך 2. Therefore, the phrase “those who look through the windows” is probably a figurative description of the eyes, picturing failing eyesight at the onset of old age.

¹² tn Grk “this one.”

¹³ tn Grk “but so that.” There is an ellipsis that must be supplied: “but [he was born blind] so that” or “but [it happened to him] so that.”

¹⁴ tn Or “deeds”; Grk “works.”

¹⁵ tn Or “manifested,” “brought to light.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “in him.”