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 30:27

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ⁵  for I have learned by divination ⁶  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.”

Genesis 39:5

39:5 From the time ⁷  Potiphar ⁸  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ⁹  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ¹⁰  in his house and in his fields. ¹¹ 

[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.”

[30:27]  ⁵ tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:27]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the Lord has blessed me” (cf. NEB). See J. Finkelstein, “An Old Babylonian Herding Contract and Genesis 31:38f.,” JAOS 88 (1968): 34, n. 19.

[39:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and it was from then.”

[39:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:5]  ¹¹ sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).

[39:5]  ¹² tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:5]  ¹³ sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.