Genesis 45:9-13

45:9 Now go up to my father quickly ¹  and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay! 45:10 You will live ²  in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me – you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything you have. 45:11 I will provide you with food ³  there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor – you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’ 45:12 You and my brother Benjamin can certainly see with your own eyes that I really am the one who speaks to you. ⁴  45:13 So tell ⁵  my father about all my honor in Egypt and about everything you have seen. But bring my father down here quickly!” ⁶ 

Genesis 45:1

The Reconciliation of the Brothers

45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, ⁷  so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained ⁸  with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.

Genesis 2:8

2:8 The Lord God planted an orchard ⁹  in the east, ¹⁰  in Eden; ¹¹  and there he placed the man he had formed. ¹² 

Esther 4:14

4:14 “Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew ¹³  who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear ¹⁴  from another source, ¹⁵  while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be ¹⁶  that you have achieved royal status ¹⁷  for such a time as this!”

Esther 10:3

10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking ¹⁸  Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. ¹⁹  He worked enthusiastically ²⁰  for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of ²¹  all his descendants. ²² 

Job 36:7

36:7 He does not take his eyes ²³  off the righteous;

but with kings on the throne

he seats the righteous ²⁴  and exalts them forever. ²⁵ 

Luke 22:29-30

22:29 Thus ²⁶  I grant ²⁷  to you a kingdom, ²⁸  just as my Father granted to me, 22:30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit ²⁹  on thrones judging ³⁰  the twelve tribes of Israel.

Revelation 3:21

3:21 I will grant the one ³¹  who conquers ³²  permission ³³  to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered ³⁴  and sat down with my Father on his throne.

[45:9]  ¹ tn Heb “hurry and go up.”

[45:10]  ² tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive here expresses instruction.

[45:11]  ³ tn The verb כּוּל (kul) in the Pilpel stem means “to nourish, to support, to sustain.” As in 1 Kgs 20:27, it here means “to supply with food.”

[45:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “And, look, your eyes see and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that my mouth is the one speaking to you.”

[45:13]  ⁵ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive here expresses instruction.

[45:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and hurry and bring down my father to here.”

[45:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”

[45:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “stood.”

[2:8]  ⁹ tn Traditionally “garden,” but the subsequent description of this “garden” makes it clear that it is an orchard of fruit trees.

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the east” or “off east.”

[2:8]  ¹¹ sn The name Eden (עֵדֶן, ’eden) means “pleasure” in Hebrew.

[2:8]  ¹² tn The perfect verbal form here requires the past perfect translation since it describes an event that preceded the event described in the main clause.

[4:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “from all the Jews”; KJV “more than all the Jews”; NIV “you alone of all the Jews.”

[4:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “stand”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT “arise.”

[4:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “place” (so KJV, NIV, NLT); NRSV “from another quarter.” This is probably an oblique reference to help coming from God. D. J. A. Clines disagrees; in his view a contrast between deliverance by Esther and deliverance by God is inappropriate (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther [NCBC], 302). But Clines’ suggestion that perhaps the reference is to deliverance by Jewish officials or by armed Jewish revolt is less attractive than seeing this veiled reference as part of the literary strategy of the book, which deliberately keeps God’s providential dealings entirely in the background.

[4:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “And who knows whether” (so NASB). The question is one of hope, but free of presumption. Cf. Jonah 3:9.

[4:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “have come to the kingdom”; NRSV “to royal dignity”; NIV “to royal position”; NLT “have been elevated to the palace.”

[10:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”

[10:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”

[10:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”

[10:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”

[10:3]  ²² sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).

[36:7]  ²³ tc Many commentators accept the change of “his eyes” to “his right” (reading דִּינוֹ [dino] for עֵינָיו [’enayv]). There is no compelling reason for the change; it makes the line commonplace.

[36:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the righteous) has been repeated from the first part of the verse for clarity.

[36:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he seats them forever and exalts them.” The last verb can be understood as expressing a logical consequence of the preceding action (cf. GKC 328 §111.l = “he seats them forever so that he exalts them”). Or the two verbs can be taken as an adverbial hendiadys whereby the first modifies the second adverbially: “he exalts them by seating them forever” or “when he seats them forever” (cf. GKC 326 §111.d). Some interpret this verse to say that God seats kings on the throne, making a change in subject in the middle of the verse. But it makes better sense to see the righteous as the subject matter throughout – they are not only protected, but are exalted.

[22:29]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “thus” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ perseverance with Jesus.

[22:29]  ²⁷ sn With the statement “I grant to you a kingdom” Jesus gave the disciples authority over the kingdom, as God had given him such authority. The present tense looks at authority given presently, though the major manifestation of its presence is yet to come as the next verse shows.

[22:29]  ²⁸ tn Or “I give you the right to rule” (cf. CEV). For this translation of διατίθεμαι βασιλείαν (diatiqemai basileian) see L&N 37.105.

[22:30]  ²⁹ tn This verb is future indicative, and thus not subordinate to “grant” (διατίθεμαι, diatiqemai) as part of the result clause beginning with ἵνα ἔσθητε ({ina esqhte) at the beginning of v. 30. It is better understood as a predictive future.

[22:30]  ³⁰ sn The statement you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel looks at the future authority the Twelve will have when Jesus returns. They will share in Israel’s judgment.

[3:21]  ³¹ tn Grk “The one who conquers, to him I will grant.”

[3:21]  ³² tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

[3:21]  ³³ tn Grk “I will give [grant] to him.”

[3:21]  ³⁴ tn Or “have been victorious”; traditionally, “have overcome.”