49:4 You are destructive 1 like water and will not excel, 2
for you got on your father’s bed, 3
then you defiled it – he got on my couch! 4
20:1 The Lord spoke to Moses:
5:1 “‘When a person sins 14 in that he hears a public curse against one who fails to testify 15 and he is a witness (he either saw or knew what had happened 16 ) and he does not make it known, 17 then he will bear his punishment for iniquity. 18
5:1 “‘When a person sins 19 in that he hears a public curse against one who fails to testify 20 and he is a witness (he either saw or knew what had happened 21 ) and he does not make it known, 22 then he will bear his punishment for iniquity. 23
1:1 From Paul, 24 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1 tn The Hebrew noun פַּחַז (pakhaz) only occurs here in the OT. A related verb occurs twice in the prophets (Jer 23:32; Zeph 3:4) for false prophets inventing their messages, and once in Judges for unscrupulous men bribed to murder (Judg 9:4). It would describe Reuben as being “frothy, boiling, turbulent” as water. The LXX has “run riot,” the Vulgate has “poured out,” and Tg. Onq. has “you followed your own direction.” It is a reference to Reuben’s misconduct in Gen 35, but the simile and the rare word invite some speculation. H. Pehlke suggests “destructive like water,” for Reuben acted with pride and presumption; see his “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985).
2 tn Heb “Do not excel!” The Hiphil of the verb יָתַר (yatar) has this meaning only here. The negated jussive is rhetorical here. Rather than being a command, it anticipates what will transpire. The prophecy says that because of the character of the ancestor, the tribe of Reuben would not have the character to lead (see 1 Chr 5:1).
3 sn This is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse with Jacob’s wives (see Gen 35:22).
4 tn The last verb is third masculine singular, as if for the first time Jacob told the brothers, or let them know that he knew. For a discussion of this passage see S. Gevirtz, “The Reprimand of Reuben,” JNES 30 (1971): 87-98.
5 tn Heb “the nakedness of your father she is.” See the note on v. 7 above. This law refers to another wife of the man’s father, who is not that man’s mother. The laws in the Pentateuch sometimes assume the possibility that a man may have more than one wife (cf., e.g., Deut 21:15-17).
6 tn Heb “transgressions to all their sins.”
7 tn Heb “and he shall give them.”
8 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term עִתִּי (’itti) is uncertain. It is apparently related to עֵת (’et, “time”), and could perhaps mean either that he has been properly “appointed” (i.e., designated) for the task (e.g., NIV and NRSV) or “ready” (e.g., NASB and NEB).
9 tn The Hebrew term rendered “inaccessible” derives from a root meaning “to cut off” (cf. NAB “an isolated region”). Another possible translation would be “infertile land” (see HALOT 187 s.v. *גָּזֵּר and cf. NRSV “a barren region”; NLT “a desolate land.”
10 tn Heb “and he [the man (standing) ready, v. 21] shall send the goat away.”
11 tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”
12 sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.
13 tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”
14 tn Heb “And a person when he sins.” Most English versions translate this as the protasis of a conditional clause: “if a person sins” (NASB, NIV).
15 tn The words “against one who fails to testify” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to make sense of the remark about the “curse” (“imprecation” or “oath”; cf. ASV “adjuration”; NIV “public charge”) for the modern reader. For the interpretation of this verse reflected in the present translation see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:292-97.
16 tn The words “what had happened” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
17 tn Heb “and hears a voice of curse, and he is a witness or he saw or he knew, if he does not declare.”
18 tn Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment (for the iniquity)” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity (cf. NRSV, NLT “subject to punishment”). It is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.).
19 tn Heb “And a person when he sins.” Most English versions translate this as the protasis of a conditional clause: “if a person sins” (NASB, NIV).
20 tn The words “against one who fails to testify” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to make sense of the remark about the “curse” (“imprecation” or “oath”; cf. ASV “adjuration”; NIV “public charge”) for the modern reader. For the interpretation of this verse reflected in the present translation see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:292-97.
21 tn The words “what had happened” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
22 tn Heb “and hears a voice of curse, and he is a witness or he saw or he knew, if he does not declare.”
23 tn Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment (for the iniquity)” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity (cf. NRSV, NLT “subject to punishment”). It is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.).
24 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.