Genesis 43:1-34

The Second Journey to Egypt

43:1 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 19:14

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ⁵⁹  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ⁶⁰  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ⁶¹ 

Genesis 19:32

19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ⁶²  so we can have sexual relations ⁶³  with him and preserve ⁶⁴  our family line through our father.” ⁶⁵ 

Genesis 20:11

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ⁶⁶  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ⁶⁷  my wife.’

Genesis 22:12

22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ⁶⁸  the angel said. ⁶⁹  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ⁷⁰  that you fear ⁷¹  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

Genesis 39:9

39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do ⁷²  such a great evil and sin against God?”

Genesis 42:18

42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say ⁷³  and you will live, ⁷⁴  for I fear God. ⁷⁵ 

Exodus 20:20

20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, ⁷⁶  that the fear of him ⁷⁷  may be before you so that you do not ⁷⁸  sin.”

Deuteronomy 25:18

25:18 how they met you along the way and cut off all your stragglers in the rear of the march when you were exhausted and tired; they were unafraid of God. ⁷⁹ 

Deuteronomy 25:1

25:1 If controversy arises between people, ⁸⁰  they should go to court for judgment. When the judges ⁸¹  hear the case, they shall exonerate ⁸²  the innocent but condemn ⁸³  the guilty.

Deuteronomy 12:24

12:24 You must not eat it! You must pour it out on the ground like water.

Deuteronomy 12:2

12:2 You must by all means destroy ⁸⁴  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ⁸⁵ 

Deuteronomy 19:7

19:7 Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

Nehemiah 5:9

5:9 Then I ⁸⁶  said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! ⁸⁷  Should you not conduct yourselves ⁸⁸  in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies?

Nehemiah 5:15

5:15 But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to ⁸⁹  forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God.

Psalms 19:9

19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right ⁹⁰ 

and endure forever. ⁹¹ 

The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy

and absolutely just. ⁹² 

Proverbs 1:7

Introduction to the Theme of the Book

1:7 Fearing the Lord ⁹³  is the beginning ⁹⁴  of moral knowledge, ⁹⁵ 

but ⁹⁶  fools ⁹⁷  despise ⁹⁸  wisdom and instruction. ⁹⁹ 

Jeremiah 22:16

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ¹⁰⁰ 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ¹⁰¹ 

Malachi 3:5

3:5 “I ¹⁰²  will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, ¹⁰³  and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, ¹⁰⁴  who refuse to help ¹⁰⁵  the immigrant ¹⁰⁶  and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Luke 12:5

12:5 But I will warn ¹⁰⁷  you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, ¹⁰⁸  has authority to throw you ¹⁰⁹  into hell. ¹¹⁰  Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Acts 9:31

9:31 Then ¹¹¹  the church throughout Judea, Galilee, ¹¹²  and Samaria experienced ¹¹³  peace and thus was strengthened. ¹¹⁴  Living ¹¹⁵  in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church ¹¹⁶  increased in numbers.

Acts 10:2

10:2 He ¹¹⁷  was a devout, God-fearing man, ¹¹⁸  as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people ¹¹⁹  and prayed to God regularly.

Acts 10:35

10:35 but in every nation ¹²⁰  the person who fears him ¹²¹  and does what is right ¹²²  is welcomed before him.

Romans 3:18

3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” ¹²³ 

Romans 11:20

11:20 Granted! ¹²⁴  They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear!

[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.”

[43:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the man.”

[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.

[19:14]  ⁵⁹ sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

[19:14]  ⁶⁰ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

[19:32]  ⁶² tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:32]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.

[19:32]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

[19:32]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[20:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “Because I said.”

[20:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[22:12]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

[22:12]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:12]  ⁷⁰ sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

[22:12]  ⁷¹ sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.

[39:9]  ⁷² tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

[42:18]  ⁷³ tn Heb “Do this.”

[42:18]  ⁷⁴ tn After the preceding imperative, the imperative with vav (ו) can, as here, indicate logical sequence.

[42:18]  ⁷⁵ sn For I fear God. Joseph brings God into the picture to awaken his brothers’ consciences. The godly person cares about the welfare of people, whether they live or die. So he will send grain back, but keep one of them in Egypt. This action contrasts with their crime of selling their brother into slavery.

[20:20]  ⁷⁶ tn נַסּוֹת (nassot) is the Piel infinitive construct; it forms the purpose of God’s coming with all the accompanying phenomena. The verb can mean “to try, test, prove.” The sense of “prove” fits this context best because the terrifying phenomena were intended to put the fear of God in their hearts so that they would obey. In other words, God was inspiring them to obey, not simply testing to see if they would.

[20:20]  ⁷⁷ tn The suffix on the noun is an objective genitive, referring to the fear that the people would have of God (GKC 439 §135.m).

[20:20]  ⁷⁸ tn The negative form לְבִלְתִּי (lÿvilti) is used here with the imperfect tense (see for other examples GKC 483 §152.x). This gives the imperfect the nuance of a final imperfect: that you might not sin. Others: to keep you from sin.

[25:18]  ⁷⁹ sn See Exod 17:8-16.

[25:1]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “men.”

[25:1]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the judges) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:1]  ⁸² tn Heb “declare to be just”; KJV, NASB “justify the righteous”; NAB, NIV “acquitting the innocent.”

[25:1]  ⁸³ tn Heb “declare to be evil”; NIV “condemning the guilty (+ party NAB).”

[12:2]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”

[12:2]  ⁸⁵ sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

[5:9]  ⁸⁶ tc The translation reads with the Qere and the ancient versions וָאוֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the MT Kethib, וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).

[5:9]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “not good.” The statement “The thing…is not good” is an example of tapeinosis, a figurative expression which emphasizes the intended point (“The thing…is wrong!”) by negating its opposite.

[5:9]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “[should you not] walk.”

[5:15]  ⁸⁹ tc The Hebrew term אַחַר (’akhar) is difficult here. It normally means “after,” but that makes no sense here. Some scholars emend it to אַחַד (’akhad) and supply the word “day,” which yields the sense “daily.” Cf. TEV “40 silver coins a day for food and wine.”

[19:9]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord is clean.” The phrase “fear of the Lord” probably refers here to the law, which teaches one how to demonstrate proper reverence for the Lord. See Ps 111:10 for another possible use of the phrase in this sense.

[19:9]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”

[19:9]  ⁹² sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.

[1:7]  ⁹³ tn Heb “fear of the Lord.” The expression יְהוָה יִרְאַת (yir’at yÿhvah, “fear of Yahweh”) is a genitive-construct in which יְהוָה (“the Lord”) functions as an objective genitive: He is the object of fear. The term יָרַא (yara’) is the common word for fear in the OT and has a basic three-fold range of meanings: (1) “dread; terror” (Deut 1:29; Jonah 1:10), (2) “to stand in awe” (1 Kgs 3:28), (3) “to revere; to respect” (Lev 19:3). With the Lord as the object, it captures the polar opposites of shrinking back in fear and drawing close in awe and adoration. Both categories of meaning appear in Exod 20:20 (where the Lord descended upon Sinai amidst geophysical convulsions); Moses encouraged the Israelites to not be afraid of God arbitrarily striking them dead for no reason (“Do not fear!”) but informed the people that the Lord revealed himself in such a terrifying manner to scare them from sinning (“God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him in you so that you do not sin”). The fear of the Lord is expressed in reverential submission to his will – the characteristic of true worship. The fear of the Lord is the foundation for wisdom (9:10) and the discipline leading to wisdom (15:33). It is expressed in hatred of evil (8:13) and avoidance of sin (16:6), and so results in prolonged life (10:27; 19:23).

[1:7]  ⁹⁴ tn The noun רֵאשִׁית (re’shit) has a two-fold range of meaning (BDB 912 s.v.): (1) “beginning” = first step in a course of action (e.g., Ps 111:10; Prov 17:14; Mic 1:13) or (2) “chief thing” as the principal aspect of something (e.g., Prov 4:7). So fearing the Lord is either (1) the first step in acquiring moral knowledge or (2) the most important aspect of moral knowledge. The first option is preferred because 1:2-6 focuses on the acquisition of wisdom.

[1:7]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “knowledge.” The noun דָּעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) refers to experiential knowledge, not just cognitive knowledge, including the intellectual assimilation and practical application (BDB 394 s.v.). It is used in parallelism to מוּסָר (musar, “instruction, discipline”) and חָכְמָה (khokhmah, “wisdom, moral skill”).

[1:7]  ⁹⁶ tn The conjunction “but” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the antithetical parallelism. It is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:7]  ⁹⁷ tn The term אֱוִיל (’evil, “fool”) refers to a person characterized by moral folly (BDB 17 s.v.). Fools lack understanding (10:21), do not store up knowledge (10:14), fail to attain wisdom (24:7), and refuse correction (15:5; 27:22). They are arrogant (26:5), talk loosely (14:3) and are contentious (20:3). They might have mental intelligence but they are morally foolish. In sum, they are stubborn and “thick-brained” (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 6).

[1:7]  ⁹⁸ tn The verb of בָּזָה (bazah, “despise”) means to treat things of value with contempt, as if they were worthless (BDB 102 s.v.). The classic example is Esau who despised his birthright and sold it for lentil stew (Gen 25:34). The perfect tense of this verb may be classified as characteristic perfect (what they have done and currently do) or gnomic perfect (what they always do in past, present and future). The latter is preferred; this describes a trait of fools, and elsewhere the book says that fools do not change.

[1:7]  ⁹⁹ sn Hebrew word order is emphatic here. Normal word order is: verb + subject + direct object. Here it is: direct object + subject + verb (“wisdom and instruction fools despise”).

[22:16]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

[22:16]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

[3:5]  ¹⁰² tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the Lord) indicates that the Lord himself now speaks (see also v. 1). The prophet speaks in vv. 2-4 (see also 2:17).

[3:5]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”

[3:5]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”

[3:5]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “those who turn aside.”

[3:5]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”

[12:5]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Grk “will show,” but in this reflective context such a demonstration is a warning or exhortation.

[12:5]  ¹⁰⁸ sn The actual performer of the killing is not here specified. It could be understood to be God (so NASB, NRSV) but it could simply emphasize that, after a killing has taken place, it is God who casts the person into hell.

[12:5]  ¹⁰⁹ tn The direct object (“you”) is understood.

[12:5]  ¹¹⁰ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).

[9:31]  ¹¹¹ tn Or “Therefore.” This verse is another summary text in Acts (cf. 2:41-47; 4:32-37; 5:12-16; 6:7).

[9:31]  ¹¹² tn Grk “and Galilee,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[9:31]  ¹¹³ tn Grk “had.”

[9:31]  ¹¹⁴ tn Or “Built up.” The participle οἰκοδομουμένη (oikodomoumenh) has been translated as a participle of result related to εἶχεν (eicen). It could also be understood as adverbial to ἐπληθύνετο (eplhquneto): “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace. Strengthened and living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” Although some scholars do not regard the participle of result as a legitimate category, it is actually fairly common (see ExSyn 637-39).

[9:31]  ¹¹⁵ tn Grk “And living.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[9:31]  ¹¹⁶ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the church) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:2]  ¹¹⁷ tn In the Greek text this represents a continuation of the previous sentence. Because of the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[10:2]  ¹¹⁸ sn The description of Cornelius as a devout, God-fearing man probably means that he belonged to the category called “God-fearers,” Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 43-44, and Sir 11:17; 27:11; 39:27.

[10:2]  ¹¹⁹ tn Or “gave many gifts to the poor.” This was known as “giving alms,” or acts of mercy (Sir 7:10; BDAG 315-16 s.v. ἐλεημοσύνη).

[10:35]  ¹²⁰ sn See Luke 24:47.

[10:35]  ¹²¹ tn Or “shows reverence for him.”

[10:35]  ¹²² tn Grk “works righteousness”; the translation “does what is right” for this phrase in this verse is given by L&N 25.85.

[3:18]  ¹²³ sn A quotation from Ps 36:1.

[11:20]  ¹²⁴ tn Grk “well!”, an adverb used to affirm a statement. It means “very well,” “you are correct.”