2 Samuel 14:4

14:4 So the Tekoan woman went ¹  to the king. She bowed down with her face to the ground in deference to him and said, “Please help me, ²  O king!”

Genesis 37:7-10

37:7 There we were, ³  binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down ⁴  to it!” 37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” ⁵  They hated him even more ⁶  because of his dream and because of what he said. ⁷ 

37:9 Then he had another dream, ⁸  and told it to his brothers. “Look,” ⁹  he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? ¹⁰  Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” ¹¹ 

Genesis 43:28

43:28 “Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility. ¹² 

Genesis 43:1

The Second Journey to Egypt

43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. ¹³ 

Genesis 20:1

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ¹⁴  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ¹⁵  in Gerar,

Genesis 25:23

25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ¹⁶  are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

Psalms 66:3

66:3 Say to God:

“How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ¹⁷  before you.

Revelation 3:9

3:9 Listen! ¹⁸  I am going to make those people from the synagogue ¹⁹  of Satan – who say they are Jews yet ²⁰  are not, but are lying – Look, I will make ²¹  them come and bow down ²²  at your feet and acknowledge ²³  that I have loved you.

[14:4]  ¹ tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וַתַּבֹא (vattavo’, “and she went”) rather than the MT וַתֹּאמֶר (vatto’mer, “and she said”). The MT reading shows confusion with וַתֹּאמֶר later in the verse. The emendation suggested here is supported by the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, some mss of the Targum, and Vulgate.

[14:4]  ² tn The word “me” is left to be inferred in the Hebrew text; it is present in the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate.

[37:7]  ³ tn All three clauses in this dream report begin with וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), which lends vividness to the report. This is represented in the translation by the expression “there we were.”

[37:7]  ⁴ tn The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.

[37:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “Ruling, will you rule over us, or reigning, will you reign over us?” The statement has a poetic style, with the two questions being in synonymous parallelism. Both verbs in this statement are preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Joseph’s brothers said, “You don’t really think you will rule over us, do you? You don’t really think you will have dominion over us, do you?”

[37:8]  ⁶ tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.

[37:8]  ⁷ sn The response of Joseph’s brothers is understandable, given what has already been going on in the family. But here there is a hint of uneasiness – they hated him because of his dream and because of his words. The dream bothered them, as well as his telling them. And their words in the rhetorical question are ironic, for this is exactly what would happen. The dream was God’s way of revealing it.

[37:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”

[37:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.

[37:10]  ¹⁰ sn The question What is this dream that you had? expresses Jacob’s dismay at what he perceives to be Joseph’s audacity.

[37:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Coming, will we come, I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground?” The verb “come” is preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Jacob said, “You don’t really think we will come…to bow down…do you?”

[43:28]  ¹² tn Heb “and they bowed low and they bowed down.” The use of synonyms here emphasizes the brothers’ humility.

[43:1]  ¹³ tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that is important to the storyline.

[20:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[25:23]  ¹⁶ sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.

[66:3]  ¹⁷ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).

[3:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “behold” (L&N 91.13).

[3:9]  ¹⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 2:9.

[3:9]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast between what these people claimed and what they were.

[3:9]  ²¹ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew), but in this context it has virtually the same meaning as δίδωμι (didwmi) used at the beginning of the verse. Stylistic variation like this is typical of Johannine literature.

[3:9]  ²² tn The verb here is προσκυνήσουσιν (proskunhsousin), normally used to refer to worship.

[3:9]  ²³ tn Or “and know,” “and recognize.”