Genesis 12:12

12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. ¹ 

Genesis 12:14

12:14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

Genesis 16:1

The Birth of Ishmael

16:1 Now Sarai, ²  Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, ³  but she had an Egyptian servant ⁴  named Hagar. ⁵ 

Genesis 21:9

21:9 But Sarah noticed ⁶  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ⁷ 

Genesis 25:12

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁸  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

Genesis 39:2

39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful ⁹  and lived ¹⁰  in the household of his Egyptian master.

Genesis 45:2

45:2 He wept loudly; ¹¹  the Egyptians heard it and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. ¹² 

[12:12]  ¹ tn The Piel of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) means “to keep alive, to preserve alive,” and in some places “to make alive.” See D. Marcus, “The Verb ‘to Live’ in Ugaritic,” JSS 17 (1972): 76-82.

[16:1]  ² tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.

[16:1]  ³ sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.

[16:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.

[16:1]  ⁵ sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)

[21:9]  ³ tn Heb “saw.”

[21:9]  ⁴ tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.

[25:12]  ⁴ sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).

[39:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).

[39:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he was.”

[45:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he gave his voice in weeping,” meaning that Joseph could not restrain himself and wept out loud.

[45:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the Egyptians heard and the household of Pharaoh heard.” Presumably in the latter case this was by means of a report.