Discovery BoxGenesis 43:1-34
Context43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 1 43:2 When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return, buy us a little more food.”
43:3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned 2 us, ‘You will not see my face 3 unless your brother is with you.’ 43:4 If you send 4 our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you. 43:5 But if you will not send him, we won’t go down there because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”
43:6 Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble 5 on me by telling 6 the man you had one more brother?”
43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us 7 thoroughly 8 about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ 9 So we answered him in this way. 10 How could we possibly know 11 that he would say, 12 ‘Bring your brother down’?”
43:8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. 13 Then we will live 14 and not die – we and you and our little ones. 43:9 I myself pledge security 15 for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. 16 43:10 But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back 17 twice by now!”
43:11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man – a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. 43:12 Take double the money with you; 18 you must take back 19 the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks – perhaps it was an oversight. 43:13 Take your brother too, and go right away 20 to the man. 21 43:14 May the sovereign God 22 grant you mercy before the man so that he may release 23 your other brother 24 and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” 25
43:15 So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt 26 and stood before Joseph. 43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.” 43:17 The man did just as Joseph said; he 27 brought the men into Joseph’s house. 28
43:18 But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of 29 the money that was returned in our sacks last time. 30 He wants to capture us, 31 make us slaves, and take 32 our donkeys!” 43:19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 43:20 They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down 33 the first time 34 to buy food. 43:21 But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money – the full amount 35 – in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. 36 43:22 We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!”
43:23 “Everything is fine,” 37 the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. 38 I had your money.” 39 Then he brought Simeon out to them.
43:24 The servant in charge 40 brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys. 43:25 They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival 41 at noon, for they had heard 42 that they were to have a meal 43 there.
43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, 44 and they bowed down to the ground before him. 43:27 He asked them how they were doing. 45 Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?” 43:28 “Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility. 46
43:29 When Joseph looked up 47 and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” 48 43:30 Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother 49 and was at the point of tears. 50 So he went to his room and wept there.
43:31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, 51 “Set out the food.” 43:32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, 52 and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting 53 to do so.) 54 43:33 They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. 55 The men looked at each other in astonishment. 56 43:34 He gave them portions of the food set before him, 57 but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk. 58
Genesis 1:11
Context1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: 59 plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, 60 and 61 trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so.
Genesis 3:18-21
Context3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the grain 62 of the field.
3:19 By the sweat of your brow 63 you will eat food
until you return to the ground, 64
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you will return.” 65
3:20 The man 66 named his wife Eve, 67 because 68 she was the mother of all the living. 69 3:21 The Lord God made garments from skin 70 for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
Genesis 12:1
Context12:1 Now the Lord said 71 to Abram, 72
“Go out 73 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 74
Isaiah 49:7
Context49:7 This is what the Lord,
the protector 75 of Israel, their Holy One, 76 says
to the one who is despised 77 and rejected 78 by nations, 79
a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and rise in respect, 80
princes will bow down,
because of the faithful Lord,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”
Isaiah 53:1-3
Context53:1 Who would have believed 81 what we 82 just heard? 83
When 84 was the Lord’s power 85 revealed through him?
53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, 86
like a root out of parched soil; 87
he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, 88
no special appearance that we should want to follow him. 89
53:3 He was despised and rejected by people, 90
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him; 91
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. 92
[43:1] 1 tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that is important to the storyline.
[43:3] 2 tn The infinitive absolute with the finite verb stresses the point. The primary meaning of the verb is “to witness; to testify.” It alludes to Joseph’s oath, which was tantamount to a threat or warning.
[43:3] 3 tn The idiom “see my face” means “have an audience with me.”
[43:4] 4 tn Heb “if there is you sending,” that is, “if you send.”
[43:6] 5 tn The verb may even have a moral connotation here, “Why did you do evil to me?”
[43:6] 6 tn The infinitive construct here explains how they brought trouble on Jacob.
[43:7] 7 tn The word “us” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[43:7] 8 tn The infinitive absolute with the perfect verbal form emphasizes that Joseph questioned them thoroughly.
[43:7] 9 sn The report given here concerning Joseph’s interrogation does not exactly match the previous account where they supplied the information to clear themselves (see 42:13). This section may reflect how they remembered the impact of his interrogation, whether he asked the specific questions or not. That may be twisting the truth to protect themselves, not wanting to admit that they volunteered the information. (They admitted as much in 42:31, but now they seem to be qualifying that comment.) On the other hand, when speaking to Joseph later (see 44:19), Judah claims that Joseph asked for the information about their family, making it possible that 42:13 leaves out some of the details of their first encounter.
[43:7] 10 tn Heb “and we told to him according to these words.”
[43:7] 11 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the imperfect verbal form, which here is a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of a past time).
[43:7] 12 tn Once again the imperfect verbal form is used as a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of past time).
[43:8] 13 tn Heb “and we will rise up and we will go.” The first verb is adverbial and gives the expression the sense of “we will go immediately.”
[43:8] 14 tn After the preceding cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form (either imperfect or cohortative) with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or result.
[43:9] 15 tn The pronoun before the first person verbal form draws attention to the subject and emphasizes Judah’s willingness to be personally responsible for the boy.
[43:9] 16 sn I will bear the blame before you all my life. It is not clear how this would work out if Benjamin did not come back. But Judah is offering his life for Benjamin’s if Benjamin does not return.
[43:10] 17 tn Heb “we could have returned.”
[43:12] 18 tn Heb “in your hand.”
[43:12] 19 tn Heb “take back in your hand.” The imperfect verbal form probably has an injunctive or obligatory force here, since Jacob is instructing his sons.
[43:13] 20 tn Heb “arise, return,” meaning “get up and go back,” or “go back immediately.”
[43:13] 21 sn The man refers to the Egyptian official, whom the reader or hearer of the narrative knows is Joseph. In this context both the sons and Jacob refer to him simply as “the man” (see vv. 3-7).
[43:14] 22 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
[43:14] 23 tn Heb “release to you.” After the jussive this perfect verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) probably indicates logical consequence, as well as temporal sequence.
[43:14] 24 sn Several Jewish commentators suggest that the expression your other brother refers to Joseph. This would mean that Jacob prophesied unwittingly. However, it is much more likely that Simeon is the referent of the phrase “your other brother” (see Gen 42:24).
[43:14] 25 tn Heb “if I am bereaved I am bereaved.” With this fatalistic sounding statement Jacob resolves himself to the possibility of losing both Benjamin and Simeon.
[43:15] 26 tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.
[43:17] 27 tn Heb “the man.” This has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.
[43:17] 28 sn This verse is a summary statement. The next verses delineate intermediate steps (see v. 24) in the process.
[43:18] 29 tn Heb “over the matter of.”
[43:18] 30 tn Heb “in the beginning,” that is, at the end of their first visit.
[43:18] 31 tn Heb “to roll himself upon us and to cause himself to fall upon us.” The infinitives here indicate the purpose (as viewed by the brothers) for their being brought to Joseph’s house.
[43:18] 32 tn The word “take” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[43:20] 33 tn The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the finite verbal form.
[43:20] 34 tn Heb “in the beginning” (see the note on the phrase “last time” in v. 18).
[43:21] 35 tn Heb “in its weight.”
[43:21] 36 tn Heb “brought it back in our hand.”
[43:23] 37 tn Heb “and he said, ‘peace to you.’” Here the statement has the force of “everything is fine,” or perhaps even “calm down.” The referent of “he” (the man in charge of Joseph’ household) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
[43:23] 38 sn Your God and the God of your father…This is the first clear reference in the story to the theme of divine providence – that God works through the human actions to do his will.
[43:23] 39 tn Heb “your money came to me.”
[43:25] 41 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct after the preposition, followed by the subjective genitive.
[43:25] 42 tn The action precedes the action of preparing the gift, and so must be translated as past perfect.
[43:25] 43 tn Heb “eat bread.” The imperfect verbal form is used here as a historic future (future from the perspective of the past).
[43:26] 44 tn Heb “into the house.”
[43:27] 45 tn Heb “concerning peace.”
[43:28] 46 tn Heb “and they bowed low and they bowed down.” The use of synonyms here emphasizes the brothers’ humility.
[43:29] 47 tn Heb “and he lifted his eyes.” The referent of “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[43:29] 48 sn Joseph’s language here becomes warmer and more personal, culminating in calling Benjamin my son.
[43:30] 49 tn Heb “for his affection boiled up concerning his brother.” The same expression is used in 1 Kgs 3:26 for the mother’s feelings for her endangered child.
[43:30] 50 tn Heb “and he sought to weep.”
[43:31] 51 tn Heb “and he controlled himself and said.”
[43:32] 52 tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[43:32] 53 tn Or “disgraceful.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 46:34 and Exod 8:22.
[43:32] 54 tn Heb “and they set for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, for the Egyptians are not able to eat food with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination for the Egyptians.” The imperfect verbal form in the explanatory clause is taken as habitual in force, indicating a practice that was still in effect in the narrator’s time.
[43:33] 55 tn Heb “the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth.”
[43:33] 56 sn The brothers’ astonishment indicates that Joseph arranged them in this way. They were astonished because there was no way, as far as they were concerned, that Joseph could have known the order of their birth.
[43:34] 57 tn Heb “and he lifted up portions from before his face to them.”
[43:34] 58 tn Heb “and they drank and were intoxicated with him” (cf. NIV “drank freely with him”; NEB “grew merry”; NRSV “were merry”). The brothers were apparently relaxed and set at ease, despite Joseph’s obvious favoritism toward Benjamin.
[1:11] 59 tn The Hebrew construction employs a cognate accusative, where the nominal object (“vegetation”) derives from the verbal root employed. It stresses the abundant productivity that God created.
[1:11] 60 sn After their kinds. The Hebrew word translated “kind” (מִין, min) indicates again that God was concerned with defining and dividing time, space, and species. The point is that creation was with order, as opposed to chaos. And what God created and distinguished with boundaries was not to be confused (see Lev 19:19 and Deut 22:9-11).
[1:11] 61 tn The conjunction “and” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to clarify the relationship of the clauses.
[3:18] 62 tn The Hebrew term עֵשֶׂב (’esev), when referring to human food, excludes grass (eaten by cattle) and woody plants like vines.
[3:19] 63 tn The expression “the sweat of your brow” is a metonymy, the sweat being the result of painful toil in the fields.
[3:19] 64 sn Until you return to the ground. The theme of humankind’s mortality is critical here in view of the temptation to be like God. Man will labor painfully to provide food, obviously not enjoying the bounty that creation promised. In place of the abundance of the orchard’s fruit trees, thorns and thistles will grow. Man will have to work the soil so that it will produce the grain to make bread. This will continue until he returns to the soil from which he was taken (recalling the creation in 2:7 with the wordplay on Adam and ground). In spite of the dreams of immortality and divinity, man is but dust (2:7), and will return to dust. So much for his pride.
[3:19] 65 sn In general, the themes of the curse oracles are important in the NT teaching that Jesus became the cursed one hanging on the tree. In his suffering and death, all the motifs are drawn together: the tree, the sweat, the thorns, and the dust of death (see Ps 22:15). Jesus experienced it all, to have victory over it through the resurrection.
[3:20] 66 tn Or “Adam”; however, the Hebrew term has the definite article here.
[3:20] 67 sn The name Eve means “Living one” or “Life-giver” in Hebrew.
[3:20] 68 tn The explanatory clause gives the reason for the name. Where the one doing the naming gives the explanation, the text normally uses “saying”; where the narrator explains it, the explanatory clause is typically used.
[3:20] 69 tn The explanation of the name forms a sound play (paronomasia) with the name. “Eve” is חַוָּה (khavvah) and “living” is חַי (khay). The name preserves the archaic form of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) with the middle vav (ו) instead of yod (י). The form חַי (khay) is derived from the normal form חַיָּה (khayyah). Compare the name Yahweh (יְהוָה) explained from הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) rather than from הַוָה (havah). The biblical account stands in contrast to the pagan material that presents a serpent goddess hawwat who is the mother of life. See J. Heller, “Der Name Eva,” ArOr 26 (1958): 636-56; and A. F. Key, “The Giving of Proper Names in the OT,” JBL 83 (1964): 55-59.
[3:21] 70 sn The
[12:1] 71 sn The
[12:1] 72 tn The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.
[12:1] 73 tn The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”
[12:1] 74 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
[49:7] 75 tn Heb “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
[49:7] 76 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[49:7] 77 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “to [one who] despises life.” It is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa לבזוי, which should be vocalized as a passive participle, לִבְזוּי (livzuy, “to the one despised with respect to life” [נֶפֶשׁ is a genitive of specification]). The consonantal sequence וי was probably misread as ה in the MT tradition. The contextual argument favors the 1QIsaa reading. As J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:294) points out, the three terse phrases “convey a picture of lowliness, worthlessness, and helplessness.”
[49:7] 78 tn MT’s Piel participle (“to the one who rejects”) does not fit contextually. The form should be revocalized as a Pual, “to the one rejected.”
[49:7] 79 tn Parallelism (see “rulers,” “kings,” “princes”) suggests that the singular גּוֹי (goy) be emended to a plural or understood in a collective sense (see 55:5).
[49:7] 80 tn For this sense of קוּם (qum), see Gen 19:1; 23:7; 33:10; Lev 19:32; 1 Sam 20:41; 25:41; 1 Kgs 2:19; Job 29:8.
[53:1] 81 tn The perfect has a hypothetical force in this rhetorical question. For another example, see Gen 21:7.
[53:1] 82 sn The speaker shifts here from God to an unidentified group (note the first person plural pronouns throughout vv. 1-6). The content of the speech suggests that the prophet speaks here as representative of the sinful nation Israel. The group acknowledges its sin and recognizes that the servant suffered on their behalf.
[53:1] 83 tn The first half of v. 1 is traditionally translated, “Who has believed our report?” or “Who has believed our message?” as if the group speaking is lamenting that no one will believe what they have to say. But that doesn’t seem to be the point in this context. Here the group speaking does not cast itself in the role of a preacher or evangelist. No, they are repentant sinners, who finally see the light. The phrase “our report” can mean (1) the report which we deliver, or (2) the report which was delivered to us. The latter fits better here, where the report is most naturally taken as the announcement that has just been made in 52:13-15.
[53:1] 84 tn Heb “to whom” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[53:1] 85 tn Heb “the arm of the Lord.” The “arm of the Lord” is a metaphor of military power; it pictures the Lord as a warrior who bares his arm, takes up his weapon, and crushes his enemies (cf. 51:9-10; 63:5-6). But Israel had not seen the Lord’s military power at work in the servant.
[53:2] 86 tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.
[53:2] 87 sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.
[53:2] 88 tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.
[53:2] 89 tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.
[53:3] 90 tn Heb “lacking of men.” If the genitive is taken as specifying (“lacking with respect to men”), then the idea is that he lacked company because he was rejected by people. Another option is to take the genitive as indicating genus or larger class (i.e., “one lacking among men”). In this case one could translate, “he was a transient” (cf. the use of חָדֵל [khadel] in Ps 39:5 HT [39:4 ET]).
[53:3] 91 tn Heb “like a hiding of the face from him,” i.e., “like one before whom the face is hidden” (see BDB 712 s.v. מַסְתֵּר).
[53:3] 92 sn The servant is likened to a seriously ill person who is shunned by others because of his horrible disease.
