Genesis 37:29

37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! ¹  He tore his clothes,

Genesis 37:2

37:2 This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, ²  was taking care of ³  the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster ⁴  working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. ⁵  Joseph brought back a bad report about them ⁶  to their father.

Genesis 13:1

Abram’s Solution to the Strife

13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. ⁷  He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. ⁸ 

Job 1:20

1:20 Then Job got up ⁹  and tore his robe. ¹⁰  He shaved his head, ¹¹  and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground. ¹² 

Jeremiah 3:25

3:25 Let us acknowledge ¹³  our shame.

Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. ¹⁴ 

For we have sinned against the Lord our God,

both we and our ancestors.

From earliest times to this very day

we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’

Jeremiah 36:24

36:24 Neither he nor any of his attendants showed any alarm when they heard all that had been read. Nor did they tear their clothes to show any grief or sorrow. ¹⁵ 

Joel 2:13

2:13 Return to the Lord your God,

for he is merciful and compassionate,

slow to anger and boundless in loyal love ¹⁶  – often relenting from calamitous punishment. ¹⁷ 

[37:29]  ¹ tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.

[37:2]  ² tn Heb “a son of seventeen years.” The word “son” is in apposition to the name “Joseph.”

[37:2]  ³ tn Or “tending”; Heb “shepherding” or “feeding.”

[37:2]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “a helper.” The significance of this statement is unclear. It may mean “now the lad was with,” or it may suggest Joseph was like a servant to them.

[37:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he [was] a young man with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father.”

[37:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “their bad report.” The pronoun is an objective genitive, specifying that the bad or damaging report was about the brothers.

[13:1]  ⁷ tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).

[13:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”

[1:20]  ⁹ tn The verb וַיָּקָם (vayyaqom, “and he arose”) indicates the intentionality and the rapidity of the actions to follow. It signals the beginning of his response to the terrible news. Therefore, the sentence could be translated, “Then Job immediately began to tear his robe.”

[1:20]  ¹⁰ sn It was the custom to tear the robe in a time of mourning, to indicate that the heart was torn (Joel 2:13). The “garment, mantel” here is the outer garment frequently worn over the basic tunic. See further D. R. Ap-Thomas, “Notes on Some Terms Relating to Prayer,” VT 6 (1956): 220-24.

[1:20]  ¹¹ sn In mourning one normally put off every adornment that enhanced or embellished the person, including that which nature provided (Jer 7:29; Mic 1:16).

[1:20]  ¹² tn This last verb is the Hishtaphel of the word חָוָה (khavah; BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחָה); it means “to prostrate oneself, to cause oneself to be low to the ground.” In the OT it is frequently translated “to worship” because that is usually why the individual would kneel down and then put his or her forehead to the ground at the knees. But the word essentially means “to bow down to the ground.” Here “worship” (although employed by several English translations, cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV) conveys more than what is taking place – although Job’s response is certainly worshipful. See G. I. Davies, “A Note on the Etymology of histah^awah,” VT 29 (1979): 493-95; and J. A. Emerton, “The Etymology of histah^awah,” OTS (1977): 41-55.

[3:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “Let us lie down in….”

[3:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Let us be covered with disgrace.”

[36:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words were afraid or tore their clothes.” The sentence has been broken up into two shorter sentences to better conform to English style and some of the terms explained (e.g., tore their clothes) for the sake of clarity.

[2:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”

[2:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”