Genesis 15:18

15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ¹  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ²  this land, from the river of Egypt ³  to the great river, the Euphrates River –

Genesis 27:45

27:45 Stay there ⁴  until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. ⁵  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ⁶ 

Genesis 34:25

34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword ⁷  and went to the unsuspecting city ⁸  and slaughtered every male.

Genesis 40:13

40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you ⁹  and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before ¹⁰  when you were cupbearer.

Genesis 40:20

40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” ¹¹  the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.

Genesis 48:20

48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you ¹²  will Israel bless, ¹³  saying,

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 50:10

50:10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad ¹⁵  on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow. ¹⁶  There Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father.

[15:18]  ¹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ² tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).

[15:18]  ³ sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.

[27:45]  ⁴ tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:45]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.

[27:45]  ⁶ tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.

[34:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “a man his sword.”

[34:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they came upon the city, [which was] secure.” In this case “secure” means the city was caught unprepared and at peace, not expecting an attack.

[40:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head.” This Hebrew idiom usually refers to restoring dignity, office, or power. It is comparable to the modern saying “someone can hold his head up high.”

[40:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to the former custom.”

[40:20]  ¹³ tn The translation puts the verb in quotation marks because it is used rhetorically here and has a double meaning. With respect to the cup bearer it means “reinstate” (see v. 13), but with respect to the baker it means “decapitate” (see v. 19).

[48:20]  ¹⁶ tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.

[48:20]  ¹⁷ tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”

[48:20]  ¹⁸ sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.

[50:10]  ¹⁹ sn The location of the threshing floor of Atad is not certain. The expression the other side of the Jordan could refer to the eastern or western bank, depending on one’s perspective. However, it is commonly used in the OT for Transjordan. This would suggest that the entourage came up the Jordan Valley and crossed into the land at Jericho, just as the Israelites would in the time of Joshua.

[50:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and they mourned there [with] very great and heavy mourning.” The cognate accusative, as well as the two adjectives and the adverb, emphasize the degree of their sorrow.