Genesis 11:3

11:3 Then they said to one another, ¹  “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” ²  (They had brick instead of stone and tar ³  instead of mortar.) ⁴ 

Genesis 42:25

42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill ⁵  their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out. ⁶ 

Genesis 45:21

45:21 So the sons of Israel did as he said. ⁷  Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, ⁸  and he gave them provisions for the journey.

Genesis 48:10

48:10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing ⁹  because of his age; he was not able to see well. So Joseph ¹⁰  brought his sons ¹¹  near to him, and his father ¹²  kissed them and embraced them.

[11:3]  ¹ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”

[11:3]  ² tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbbÿnah lÿvenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisrÿfah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).

[11:3]  ³ tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[11:3]  ⁴ tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.

[42:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they filled.” The clause appears to be elliptical; one expects “Joseph gave orders to fill…and they filled.” See GKC 386 §120.f.

[42:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he did for them so.” Joseph would appear to be the subject of the singular verb. If the text is retained, the statement seems to be a summary of the preceding, more detailed statement. However, some read the verb as plural, “and they did for them so.” In this case the statement indicates that Joseph’s subordinates carried out his orders. Another alternative is to read the singular verb as passive (with unspecified subject), “and this was done for them so” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[45:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel did so.”

[45:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “according to the mouth of Pharaoh.”

[48:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “heavy.”

[48:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.