Genesis 41:16

41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power, ¹  but God will speak concerning ²  the welfare of Pharaoh.” ³ 

Psalms 139:6

139:6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;

it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. ⁴ 

Daniel 2:30

2:30 As for me, this mystery was revealed to me not because I possess more wisdom ⁵  than any other living person, but so that the king may understand ⁶  the interpretation and comprehend the thoughts of your mind. ⁷ 

Daniel 2:1

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

2:1 In the second year of his ⁸  reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. ⁹  His mind ¹⁰  was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. ¹¹ 

Colossians 2:12-15

2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ¹²  faith in the power ¹³  of God who raised him from the dead. 2:13 And even though you were dead in your ¹⁴  transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless ¹⁵  made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. 2:14 He has destroyed ¹⁶  what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness ¹⁷  expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 2:15 Disarming ¹⁸  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ¹⁹ 

[41:16]  ¹ tn Heb “not within me.”

[41:16]  ² tn Heb “God will answer.”

[41:16]  ³ tn The expression שְׁלוֹם פַּרְעֹה (shÿlom par’oh) is here rendered “the welfare of Pharaoh” because the dream will be about life in his land. Some interpret it to mean an answer of “peace” – one that will calm his heart, or give him the answer that he desires (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[139:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “too amazing [is this] knowledge for me, it is elevated, I cannot attain to it.”

[2:30]  ⁵ tn Aram “not for any wisdom which is in me more than [in] any living man.”

[2:30]  ⁶ tn Aram “they might cause the king to know.” The impersonal plural is used here to refer to the role of God’s spirit in revealing the dream and its interpretation to the king. As J. A. Montgomery says, “it appropriately here veils the mysterious agency” (Daniel [ICC], 164-65).

[2:30]  ⁷ tn Aram “heart.”

[2:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “Nebuchadnezzar’s.” The possessive pronoun is substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “dreamed dreams.” The plural is used here and in v. 2, but the singular in v. 3. The plural “dreams” has been variously explained. Some interpreters take the plural as denoting an indefinite singular (so GKC 400 §124.o). But it may be that it is describing a stream of related dreams, or a dream state. In the latter case, one might translate: “Nebuchadnezzar was in a trance.” See further, J. A. Montgomery, Daniel (ICC), 142.

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his sleep left (?) him.” The use of the verb הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) here is unusual. The context suggests a meaning such as “to be finished” or “gone.” Cf. Dan 8:27. Some scholars emend the verb to read נָדְדָה (nadÿdah, “fled”); cf. Dan 6:19. See further, DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3; HALOT 244 s.v. היה nif; BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2.

[2:12]  ¹² tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ¹³ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

[2:13]  ¹⁴ tn The article τοῖς (tois) with παραπτώμασιν (paraptwmasin) is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:13]  ¹⁵ tn The word “nevertheless,” though not in the Greek text, was supplied in the translation to bring out the force of the concessive participle ὄντας (ontas).

[2:14]  ¹⁶ tn The participle ἐξαλείψας (exaleiyas) is a temporal adverbial participle of contemporaneous time related to the previous verb συνεζωοποίησεν (sunezwopoihsen), but has been translated as a finite verb because of the complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences. For the meaning “destroy” see BDAG 344-45 s.v. ἐξαλείφω 2.

[2:14]  ¹⁷ tn On the translation of χειρόγραφον (ceirografon), see BDAG 1083 s.v. which refers to it as “a certificate of indebtedness.”

[2:15]  ¹⁸ tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

[2:15]  ¹⁹ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).