Genesis 15:16

15:16 In the fourth generation ¹  your descendants ²  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ³ 

Genesis 44:16

44:16 Judah replied, “What can we say ⁴  to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? ⁵  God has exposed the sin of your servants! ⁶  We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”

[15:16]  ¹ sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.

[15:16]  ² tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[15:16]  ³ tn Heb “is not yet complete.”

[44:16]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form here indicates the subject’s potential.

[44:16]  ⁵ tn The Hitpael form of the verb צָדֵק (tsadeq) here means “to prove ourselves just, to declare ourselves righteous, to prove our innocence.”

[44:16]  ⁶ sn God has exposed the sin of your servants. The first three questions are rhetorical; Judah is stating that there is nothing they can say to clear themselves. He therefore must conclude that they have been found guilty.