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 40:14

40:14 But remember me ⁵  when it goes well for you, and show ⁶  me kindness. ⁷  Make mention ⁸  of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, ⁹ 

[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.”

[40:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “but you have remembered me with you.” The perfect verbal form may be used rhetorically here to emphasize Joseph’s desire to be remembered. He speaks of the action as already being accomplished in order to make it clear that he expects it to be done. The form can be translated as volitional, expressing a plea or a request.

[40:14]  ⁶ tn This perfect verbal form with the prefixed conjunction (and the two that immediately follow) carry the same force as the preceding perfect.

[40:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “deal with me [in] kindness.”

[40:14]  ⁸ tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) in the Hiphil stem means “to cause to remember, to make mention, to boast.” The implication is that Joseph would be pleased for them to tell his story and give him the credit due him so that Pharaoh would release him. Since Pharaoh had never met Joseph, the simple translation of “cause him to remember me” would mean little.

[40:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “house.” The word “prison” has been substituted in the translation for clarity.