Genesis 40:15

40:15 for I really was kidnapped ¹  from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”

Genesis 40:1

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer ²  to the king of Egypt and the royal baker ³  offended ⁴  their master, the king of Egypt.

Genesis 24:9-11

24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. ⁵ 

24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. ⁶  He journeyed ⁷  to the region of Aram Naharaim ⁸  and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ⁹  outside the city. It was evening, ¹⁰  the time when the women would go out to draw water.

Genesis 26:18

26:18 Isaac reopened ¹¹  the wells that had been dug ¹²  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ¹³  after Abraham died. Isaac ¹⁴  gave these wells ¹⁵  the same names his father had given them. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 7:1-4

Psalm 7 ¹⁷ 

A musical composition ¹⁸  by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning ¹⁹  a Benjaminite named Cush. ²⁰ 

7:1 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. ²¹ 

Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!

7:2 Otherwise they will rip ²²  me ²³  to shreds like a lion;

they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. ²⁴ 

7:3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say, ²⁵ 

or am guilty of unjust actions, ²⁶ 

7:4 or have wronged my ally, ²⁷ 

or helped his lawless enemy, ²⁸ 

Acts 25:8-11

25:8 Paul said in his defense, ²⁹  “I have committed no offense ³⁰  against the Jewish law ³¹  or against the temple or against Caesar.” ³²  25:9 But Festus, ³³  wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried ³⁴  before me there on these charges?” ³⁵  25:10 Paul replied, ³⁶  “I am standing before Caesar’s ³⁷  judgment seat, ³⁸  where I should be tried. ³⁹  I have done nothing wrong ⁴⁰  to the Jews, as you also know very well. ⁴¹  25:11 If then I am in the wrong ⁴²  and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, ⁴³  but if not one of their charges against me is true, ⁴⁴  no one can hand me over to them. ⁴⁵  I appeal to Caesar!” ⁴⁶ 

[40:15]  ¹ tn The verb גָּנַב (ganav) means “to steal,” but in the Piel/Pual stem “to steal away.” The idea of “kidnap” would be closer to the sense, meaning he was stolen and carried off. The preceding infinitive absolute underscores the point Joseph is making.

[40:1]  ² sn The Hebrew term cupbearer corresponds to the Egyptian wb’, an official (frequently a foreigner) who often became a confidant of the king and wielded political power (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 248). Nehemiah held this post in Persia.

[40:1]  ³ sn The baker may be the Egyptian retehti, the head of the bakers, who had privileges in the royal court.

[40:1]  ⁴ sn The Hebrew verb translated offended here is the same one translated “sin” in 39:9. Perhaps there is an intended contrast between these officials, who deserve to be imprisoned, and Joseph, who refused to sin against God, but was thrown into prison in spite of his innocence.

[24:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he swore to him concerning this matter.”

[24:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.

[24:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[24:10]  ⁸ tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “well of water.”

[24:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “at the time of evening.”

[26:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ¹² tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[7:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 7. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from his enemies. He protests his innocence and declares his confidence in God’s justice.

[7:1]  ¹⁸ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שִׁגָּיוֹן (shiggayon; translated here “musical composition”) is uncertain. Some derive the noun from the verbal root שָׁגָה (shagah, “swerve, reel”) and understand it as referring to a “wild, passionate song, with rapid changes of rhythm” (see BDB 993 s.v. שִׁגָּיוֹן). But this proposal is purely speculative. The only other appearance of the noun is in Hab 3:1, where it occurs in the plural.

[7:1]  ¹⁹ tn Or “on account of.”

[7:1]  ²⁰ sn Apparently this individual named Cush was one of David’s enemies.

[7:1]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

[7:2]  ²² tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew text, even though “all who chase me” in v. 1 refers to a whole group of enemies. The singular is also used in vv. 4-5, but the psalmist returns to the plural in v. 6. The singular is probably collective, emphasizing the united front that the psalmist’s enemies present. This same alternation between a collective singular and a plural referring to enemies appears in Pss 9:3, 6; 13:4; 31:4, 8; 41:6, 10-11; 42:9-10; 55:3; 64:1-2; 74:3-4; 89:22-23; 106:10-11; 143:3, 6, 9.

[7:2]  ²³ tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

[7:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “tearing and there is no one rescuing.” The verbal form translated “tearing” is a singular active participle.

[7:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “if I have done this.”

[7:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “if there is injustice in my hands.” The “hands” figuratively suggest deeds or actions.

[7:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “if I have repaid the one at peace with me evil.” The form שׁוֹלְמִי (sholÿmi, “the one at peace with me”) probably refers to a close friend or ally, i.e., one with whom the psalmist has made a formal agreement. See BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלוֹם 4.a.

[7:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “or rescued my enemy in vain.” The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive (the verb form is pseudo-cohortative; see IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3) carries on the hypothetical nuance of the perfect in the preceding line. Some regard the statement as a parenthetical assertion that the psalmist is kind to his enemies. Others define חָלַץ (khalats) as “despoil” (cf. NASB, NRSV “plundered”; NIV “robbed”), an otherwise unattested nuance for this verb. Still others emend the verb to לָחַץ (lakhats, “oppress”). Most construe the adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “emptily, vainly”) with “my enemy,” i.e., the one who is my enemy in vain.” The present translation (1) assumes an emendation of צוֹרְרִי (tsorÿriy, “my enemy”) to צוֹרְרוֹ (tsorÿro, “his [i.e., the psalmist’s ally’s] enemy”) following J. Tigay, “Psalm 7:5 and Ancient Near Eastern Treaties,” JBL 89 (1970): 178-86, (2) understands the final mem (ם) on רֵיקָם as enclitic, and (3) takes רִיק (riq) as an adjective modifying “his enemy.” (For other examples of a suffixed noun followed by an attributive adjective without the article, see Pss 18:17 (“my strong enemy”), 99:3 (“your great and awesome name”) and 143:10 (“your good spirit”). The adjective רִיק occurs with the sense “lawless” in Judg 9:4; 11:3; 2 Chr 13:7. In this case the psalmist affirms that he has not wronged his ally, nor has he given aid to his ally’s enemies. Ancient Near Eastern treaties typically included such clauses, with one or both parties agreeing not to lend aid to the treaty partner’s enemies.

[25:8]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Paul saying in his defense”; the participle ἀπολογουμένου (apologoumenou) could be taken temporally (“when Paul said…”), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle was translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here in the translation. BDAG 116-17 s.v. ἀπολογέομαι has “W. ὅτι foll. τοῦ Παύλου ἀπολογουμένου, ὅτι when Paul said in his defense (direct quot. foll.) Ac 25:8.”

[25:8]  ³⁰ tn Grk “I have sinned…in nothing.”

[25:8]  ³¹ tn Grk “against the law of the Jews.” Here τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[25:8]  ³² tn Or “against the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:9]  ³³ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:9]  ³⁴ tn Or “stand trial.”

[25:9]  ³⁵ tn Grk “concerning these things.”

[25:10]  ³⁶ tn Grk “said.”

[25:10]  ³⁷ tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:10]  ³⁸ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here. Here of course Paul’s reference to “Caesar’s judgment seat” is a form of metonymy; since Festus is Caesar’s representative, Festus’ judgment seat represents Caesar’s own.

[25:10]  ³⁹ tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.

[25:10]  ⁴⁰ sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.

[25:10]  ⁴¹ tn BDAG 506 s.v. καλῶς 7 states, “comp. κάλλιον (for the superl., as Galen, Protr. 8 p. 24, 19J.=p. 10, 31 Kaibel; s. B-D-F §244, 2) ὡς καί σὺ κ. ἐπιγινώσκεις as also you know very well Ac 25:10.”

[25:11]  ⁴² tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”

[25:11]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 764 s.v. παραιτέομαι 2.b.β, “οὐ παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν I am not trying to escape death Ac 25:11 (cp. Jos., Vi. 141).” To avoid redundancy in the translation, the English gerund “dying” is used to translate the Greek infinitive ἀποθανεῖν (apoqanein).

[25:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “but if there is nothing to their charges against me.” Both “if” clauses in this verse are first class conditions. Paul stated the options without prejudice, assuming in turn the reality of each for the sake of the argument.

[25:11]  ⁴⁵ sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.

[25:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).