Genesis 49:14-15

49:14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey

lying down between two saddlebags.

49:15 When he sees ¹  a good resting place,

and the pleasant land,

he will bend his shoulder to the burden

and become a slave laborer. ² 

Proverbs 17:1

17:1 Better is a dry crust of bread ³  where there is quietness ⁴ 

than a house full of feasting with strife. ⁵ 

Ecclesiastes 4:6

4:6 Better is one handful with some rest

than two hands full of toil ⁶  and chasing the wind.

Ephesians 4:28

4:28 The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need.

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ⁷  urge you to live ⁸  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ⁹ 

Ephesians 4:11

4:11 It was he ¹⁰  who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹¹ 

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ¹²  urge you to live ¹³  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ¹⁴ 

Ephesians 2:2

2:2 in which ¹⁵  you formerly lived ¹⁶  according to this world’s present path, ¹⁷  according to the ruler of the kingdom ¹⁸  of the air, the ruler of ¹⁹  the spirit ²⁰  that is now energizing ²¹  the sons of disobedience, ²² 

[49:15]  ¹ tn The verb forms in this verse (“sees,” “will bend,” and “[will] become”) are preterite; they is used in a rhetorical manner, describing the future as if it had already transpired.

[49:15]  ² sn The oracle shows that the tribe of Issachar will be willing to trade liberty for the material things of life. Issachar would work (become a slave laborer) for the Canaanites, a reversal of the oracle on Canaan. See C. M. Carmichael, “Some Sayings in Genesis 49,” JBL 88 (1969): 435-44; and S. Gevirtz, “The Issachar Oracle in the Testament of Jacob,” ErIsr 12 (1975): 104-12.

[17:1]  ³ tn The phrase “a dry piece of bread” is like bread without butter, a morsel of bread not dipped in vinegar mix (e.g., Ruth 2:14). It represents here a simple, humble meal.

[17:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and quietness in it”; the construction functions as a circumstantial clause: “in which there is quietness” or “with quietness.”

[17:1]  ⁵ tn The house is described as being full of “sacrifices of strife” (זִבְחֵי־רִיב, zivkhi-riv). The use of “sacrifices” suggests a connection with the temple (as in 7:14) in which the people may have made their sacrifices and had a large amount meat left over. It is also possible that the reference is simply to a sumptuous meal (Deut 12:15; Isa 34:6; Ezek 39:17). It would be rare for Israelites to eat meat apart from festivals, however. In the construction the genitive could be classified as a genitive of effect, the feast in general “bringing about strife,” or it could simply be an attributive genitive, “a feast characterized by strife.” Abundance often brings deterioration of moral and ethical standards as well as an increase in envy and strife.

[4:6]  ⁶ sn Qoheleth lists three approaches to labor: (1) the competitive workaholic in 4:4, (2) the impoverished sluggard in 4:5, and (3) the contented laborer in 4:6. The balanced approach rebukes the two extremes.

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ⁹ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[4:11]  ¹⁰ tn The emphasis on Christ is continued through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos), and is rendered in English as “it was he” as this seems to lay emphasis on the “he.”

[4:11]  ¹¹ sn Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that all pastors are teachers and that all teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it is recognized that both nouns (i.e., pastors and teachers) are governed by one article in Greek. But because the nouns are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. See ExSyn 284.

[4:1]  ¹² tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ¹⁴ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[2:2]  ¹⁵ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ²⁰ sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ²² sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.