Genesis 12:13

12:13 So tell them ¹  you are my sister ²  so that it may go well ³  for me because of you and my life will be spared ⁴  on account of you.”

Genesis 16:3

16:3 So after Abram had lived ⁵  in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, ⁶  to her husband to be his wife. ⁷ 

Genesis 25:26

25:26 When his brother came out with ⁸  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ⁹  Isaac was sixty years old ¹⁰  when they were born.

Genesis 27:4

27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ¹¹  I will eat it so that I may bless you ¹²  before I die.”

Genesis 27:22

27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.”

Genesis 30:8

30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ¹³  So she named him Naphtali. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 34:23

34:23 If we do so, ¹⁵  won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

Genesis 39:4

39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. ¹⁶  Potiphar appointed Joseph ¹⁷  overseer of his household and put him in charge ¹⁸  of everything he owned.

Genesis 46:1

The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt

46:1 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. ¹⁹  When he came to Beer Sheba ²⁰  he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

[12:13]  ¹ tn Heb “say.”

[12:13]  ² sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.

[12:13]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.

[12:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and my life will live.”

[16:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.

[16:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”

[16:3]  ⁷ sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.

[25:26]  ⁹ tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.

[25:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[27:4]  ¹³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.

[30:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.

[30:8]  ¹⁸ sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”

[34:23]  ²¹ tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[39:4]  ²⁵ sn The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature.

[39:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “put into his hand.”

[46:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”

[46:1]  ³⁰ sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.