Genesis 37:1--39:23
[A.M. 2276. B.C. 1728.]
father ... stayed <01 04033> [wherein his father was a stranger. Heb. of his father's sojournings.]
account <08435> [the generations.]
{Toledoth,} the history, narrative, or account of the lives and actions of Jacob and his sons; for in this general sense the original must be taken, as in the whole ensuing history there is no genealogy of Jacob's family.
wives <0802> [wives.]
bad report <01681 07451> [evil report.]
loved <0157> [loved.]
sons ...... son <01121> [son.]
tunic <03801> [a coat.]
special <06446> [colours.]
{Kethoneth passim}, a coat made of stripes of different coloured cloth.
hated ...... able <08130 03201> [hated him.]
able ... speak .... kindly <01696 07965 03201> [and could not speak peaceably unto him.]
Or, rather, "and they could not speak peace to him," i.e., they would not accost him in a friendly manner: they would not even wish him well, in the eastern mode of salutation of, Peace be to thee! It is not an unusual thing for an Arab or Turk to hesitate to return the {salÆ’m}, if given by a Christian, or by one of whom he has not a favourable opinion; and this may always be considered as an act of hostility.
had <02492> [dreamed.]
hated <08130> [and they.]
Listen <08085> [Hear.]
sheaves ............ sheaf ......... sheaves .... sheaf <0485> [your sheaves.]
bowed down <07812> [obeisance.]
think .... rule over us or ... dominion <04427 04910> [reign over us.]
another dream .............. dream <02472 0312> [another dream.]
sun <08121> [the sun.]
stars <03556> [stars.]
mother <0517> [Shall I.]
jealous <07065> [envied.]
kept <08104> [observed.]
Shechem <07927> [in Shechem.]
<03212> [come.]
[Here am I.]
check .... welfare <07965 07200> [see whether it be well with. Heb. see the peace of thy brethren, etc.]
Hebron <02275> [Hebron.]
wandering <08582> [he was.]
looking <01245> [What.]
looking <01245> [seek.]
tell ... where <05046 0375> [tell me.]
Dothan ............ Dothan <01886> [Dothan.]
plotted <05230> [conspired.]
this <01976> [Behold.]
Simulated Irony: Where the words in question are used by man either in dissimulation or hypocrisy. For other instances of this figure see 2 Sa 6:20; Ps 22:8; Isa 5:19; Mt 22:16; 27:29; 27:40, 42, 43; Mk 15:29.
master <01167> [dreamer. Heb. master of dreams.]
kill <02026> [and let.]
say .......... see <0559 07200> [and we.]
Reuben heard <08085 07205> [Reuben heard.]
Let's <05221> [not kill him. Heb. {nephesh.}]
Reuben ......................... said <0559 07205> [Reuben said.]
shed <08210> [Shed.]
lay ..... him <07971> [lay.]
stripped <06584> [stript.]
special <06446> [colours. or, pieces.]
threw <07993> [and cast.]
cistern .... cistern <0953> [the pit.]
sat <03427> [they sat.]
Ishmaelites <03459> [Ishmeelites.]
Gilead <01568> [Gilead.]
spices <05219> [spicery.]
{Nechoth,} is rendered by the LXX. "incense;" Syriac, "resin;" Samaritan, "balsam;" Acquila, "storax;" which is followed by Bochart. This drug is abundant in Syria, and here Moses joins with it resin, honey, and myrrh; which agrees with the nature of the storax, which is the resin of a tree of the same name, of a reddish colour, and peculiarly pleasant fragrance.
balm <06875> [balm]
{Tzeri,} which in Arabic, as a verb, is to flow, seems to be a common name, as balm or balsam with us, for many of those oily, resinous substances, which flow spontaneously, or by incision, from various trees or plants; accordingly the ancients have generally interpreted it resin.
myrrh <03910> [myrrh.]
{Lot,} is probably, as Junius, De Dieu, Celsius, and Ursinus contend, the same as the Arabic {ladan}, Greek [ladanon,] and Latin {ladanum}.
profit <01215> [What profit.]
cover <03680> [conceal.]
sell ..... Ishmaelites <04376 03459> [sell him.]
hand <03027> [let not.]
brother ...... brothers <0251> [he is our.]
agreed <08085> [were content. Heb. hearkened.]
Midianite <04084> [Midianites.]
sold <04376> [sold.]
tore <07167> [he rent.]
son's <01121> [thy son's.]
wild animal <02416 07451> [evil beast.]
daughters <01323> [his daughters.]
go <06965> [rose up.]
go ......... Joseph's <03381> [For I.]
<04092> [the Midianites.]
officials <05631> [officer. Heb. eunuch.]
But the word signifies not only eunuchs, but also chamberlains, courtiers, and officers.
captain <08269> [captain. Or, chief marshal. Heb. chief of the slaughtermen, or executioners.]
[A.M. 2265. B.C. 1739.]
time <06256> [it came.]
As there cannot be above 23 years from the selling of Joseph, unto Israel's going down into Egypt; and as it is impossible that Judah should take a wife, and by her have three sons successively, and Shelah, the youngest, marriageable when Judah begat Pharez of Tamar, and Pharez be grown up, married, and have two sons, all within so short a period; Mr. Ainsworth conceives that the time here spoken of is soon after Jacob's coming to Shechem, (ch. 33.) We have accordingly adapted the chronology to correspond with that time.
stayed <05186> [turned.]
Adullamite <05726> [Adullamite.]
An inhabitant of Adullam, a city of Canaan, afterwards given to Judah, situated in the southern part of that tribe, west of Hebron.
saw <07200> [saw.]
Shua <07770> [Shuah.]
[Shua.]
acquired <03947> [took.]
Er <06147> [A.M. 2266. B.C. 1738. Er.]
Onan <0209> [A.M. 2267. B.C. 1737. Onan.]
[A.M. 2268. B.C. 1736.]
Shelah <07956> [Shelah.]
Kezib <03580> [Chezib.]
Chezib is said, by Eusebius and Jerome, to have been situated near Adullam, and to be then uninhabited.
acquired <03947> [took.]
Tamar <08559> [Tamar.]
Er <06147> [Er.]
evil <07451> [wicked.]
Lord's ..... Lord <03068> [and the.]
[A.M. 2282. B.C. 1722.]
[he is.]
not ... give <01115 05414> [lest that.]
<03415> [displeased. Heb. was evil in the eyes of.]
[him also.]
Shelah <07956> [till Shelah.]
father's ............................ father's <01> [in her.]
time Judah's <03117 07235> [in process of time. Heb. the days were multiplied. comforted.]
sheepshearers <01494> [sheep shearers.]
Timnah <08553> [Timnath.]
Timnath is, in all probability, that in the border of Judah, between Jerusalem and Diospolis, given to Dan, and mentioned in the history of Samson as belonging to the Philistines.
[Timnah.]
[Thimnathah.]
sat <03427> [and sat.]
entrance ... Enaim <05869 06607> [an open place. Heb. the door of eyes, or of Enajim}]
Some think {ainayim} means "the two fountains," or "double fountain;" while others regard it as a proper name, and the same as Enaim, a city of Judah, (Jos 15:34.) So the LXX. render it Enan.
Timnah <08553> [Timnath.]
Shelah <07956> [that Shelah.]
Come on <03051> [Go to.]
give <05414> [What wilt.]
send ................... send <07971> [I will.]
goat <05795> [a kid. Heb. a kid of the goats. Wilt thou.]
seal <02368> [Thy signet.]
{Chothem,} or {chothemeth,} as in ver. 25, is properly a ring-seal, with which impressions were made to ascertain property, etc. From Jer 22:24, we find that it was worn on the hand; though it might also have been suspended from the neck by a ribband, as the Arabs still wear it.
cord <06616> [bracelets.]
{Pathil,} from {pathal,} to twist, wreathe, may denote either a wreath for the arm or neck, a twisted collar, or bracelet. In the former sense the LXX. render it by [ormiskon,] and Aquila and Symmachus by [strepton;] and in the latter sense, the Vulgate renders it by {armillam.} It may have been a collar by which the signet was suspended; though its being used in the plural seems to favour the opinion of its being a bracelet.
give .................. gave ...... had sex <05414 0935> [gave it her.]
removed ... veil <06809 05493> [laid by her vail.]
friend <07453> [his friend.]
road <01870 05869> [openly by the way side. or, in Enajim.]
dishonest <0937> [lest we.]
dishonest <0937> [be shamed. Heb. become a contempt.]
prostitution <02181> [played the harlot.]
burned <08313> [let her.]
Identify <05234> [Discern.]
recognized <05234> [acknowledged.]
upright than ... am <06663> [She hath.]
upright than ... am <06663> [more righteous. Not less to blame, but more righteous. because.]
sexual relations <03045> [And he knew.]
broken out <06555> [A.M. 2283. B.C. 1721. How hast, etc. or, Wherefore hast thou made this breach against thee? his name.]
[Perez.]
[Phares. Pharez. i.e., a breach.]
Zerah <02226> [Zarah.]
[Zerah.]
[Zara.]
Joseph <03130> [A.M. 2276. B.C. 1728. Joseph.]
Ishmaelites <03459> [the Ishmeelites.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
household <01004> [house.]
observed .... Lord ........ Lord <07200 03068> [saw that.]
successful <06743> [prosper.]
Joseph <03130> [Joseph.]
appointed <06485> [overseer.]
Joseph's <03130> [for Joseph's.]
left <05800> [he left.]
except <0518> [save.]
well built ... good-looking <08389 03303> [a goodly person.]
{Yephaih toar, weephaih maraih,} "beautiful in person and beautiful in countenance." Joseph's beauty is so celebrated in the East, that a handsome man is frequently compared to him; and the Persian poets vie with each other in descriptions of his comeliness.
took <05375> [A.M. 2285. B.C. 1719. cast.]
sex <07901> [Lie.]
refused <03985> [refused.]
master's ..... master <0113> [my master.]
greater ............................ great <01419> [none.]
do <06213> [how then.]
sin <02398> [sin.]
speak <01696> [as she spake.]
[or to be.]
when <0376> [none of the men.]
grabbed <08610> [caught.]
left <05800> [and he left.]
brought ............ tried <0935> [he hath.]
The base affection of this woman being disappointed, was changed into rancorous hatred, and she exults in the opportunity of being revenged on Joseph. She begins her accusation in the affected language of offended modesty, rage, and disdain, by charging her husband, whom we may reasonably assume she did not greatly love, with being an accessory to the indignity she pretended to have received: "He hath brought in a Hebrew," a very abomination to an Egyptian, "to mock us," insult and treat me in a base, unworthy manner.
servants ............. man <0376> [an Hebrew.]
brought ............ tried <0935> [he came.]
loudly <01419> [loud. Heb. great.]
heard <08085> [heard.]
furious <0639> [his wrath.]
<01004> [into the prison.]
{Baith hassohar,} "the round house," from the form of the building according to some; or, "the watch or guard house," from the Arabic {sahara,} to watch, according to others.
king's <04428> [the king's.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
showed ... kindness <02617 05186> [shewed him mercy. Heb. extended kindness unto him. gave him.]
put <05414> [committed.]
warden <08269> [keeper.]
Lord ........... Lord <03068> [because.]
