Genesis 48:2

48:2 When Jacob was told, ¹  “Your son Joseph has just ²  come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed.

Genesis 48:1

Manasseh and Ephraim

48:1 After these things Joseph was told, ³  “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.

Genesis 1:1

The Creation of the World

1:1 In the beginning ⁴  God ⁵  created ⁶  the heavens and the earth. ⁷ 

[48:2]  ¹ tn Heb “and one told and said.” The verbs have no expressed subject and can be translated with the passive voice.

[48:2]  ² tn Heb “Look, your son Joseph.”

[48:1]  ³ tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes that the form translated “beginning” is in the absolute state rather than the construct (“in the beginning of,” or “when God created”). In other words, the clause in v. 1 is a main clause, v. 2 has three clauses that are descriptive and supply background information, and v. 3 begins the narrative sequence proper. The referent of the word “beginning” has to be defined from the context since there is no beginning or ending with God.

[1:1]  ⁵ sn God. This frequently used Hebrew name for God (אֱלֹהִים,’elohim ) is a plural form. When it refers to the one true God, the singular verb is normally used, as here. The plural form indicates majesty; the name stresses God’s sovereignty and incomparability – he is the “God of gods.”

[1:1]  ⁶ tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (bara’) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15, 65:17).

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Or “the entire universe”; or “the sky and the dry land.” This phrase is often interpreted as a merism, referring to the entire ordered universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The “heavens and the earth” were completed in seven days (see Gen 2:1) and are characterized by fixed laws (see Jer 33:25). “Heavens” refers specifically to the sky, created on the second day (see v. 8), while “earth” refers specifically to the dry land, created on the third day (see v. 10). Both are distinct from the sea/seas (see v. 10 and Exod 20:11).