Genesis 37:8

37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” ¹  They hated him even more ²  because of his dream and because of what he said. ³ 

Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 Then some people ⁴  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ⁵  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ⁶  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ⁷  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

Acts 7:54

Stephen is Killed

7:54 When they heard these things, they became furious ⁸  and ground their teeth ⁹  at him.

[37:8]  ¹ 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]  ² tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.

[37:8]  ³ 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.

[18:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.

[18:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.

[18:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”

[18:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.

[7:54]  ⁸ tn This verb, which also occurs in Acts 5:33, means “cut to the quick” or “deeply infuriated” (BDAG 235 s.v. διαπρίω).

[7:54]  ⁹ tn Or “they gnashed their teeth.” This idiom is a picture of violent rage (BDAG 184 s.v. βρύχω). See also Ps 35:16.