Genesis 17:12

17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old ¹  must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants.

Genesis 41:55

41:55 When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, ²  “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

Genesis 42:34

42:34 But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know ³  that you are honest men and not spies. ⁴  Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’” ⁵ 

Genesis 43:7

43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us ⁶  thoroughly ⁷  about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ ⁸  So we answered him in this way. ⁹  How could we possibly know ¹⁰  that he would say, ¹¹  ‘Bring your brother down’?”

[17:12]  ¹ tn Heb “the son of eight days.”

[41:55]  ² tn Heb “to all Egypt.” The name of the country is used by metonymy for the inhabitants.

[42:34]  ³ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav indicates purpose/result.

[42:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “that you are not spies, that you are honest men.”

[42:34]  ⁵ sn Joseph’s brothers soften the news considerably, making it sound like Simeon was a guest of Joseph (Leave one of your brothers with me) instead of being bound in prison. They do not mention the threat of death and do not at this time speak of the money in the one sack.

[43:7]  ⁴ tn The word “us” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[43:7]  ⁵ tn The infinitive absolute with the perfect verbal form emphasizes that Joseph questioned them thoroughly.

[43:7]  ⁶ sn The report given here concerning Joseph’s interrogation does not exactly match the previous account where they supplied the information to clear themselves (see 42:13). This section may reflect how they remembered the impact of his interrogation, whether he asked the specific questions or not. That may be twisting the truth to protect themselves, not wanting to admit that they volunteered the information. (They admitted as much in 42:31, but now they seem to be qualifying that comment.) On the other hand, when speaking to Joseph later (see 44:19), Judah claims that Joseph asked for the information about their family, making it possible that 42:13 leaves out some of the details of their first encounter.

[43:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “and we told to him according to these words.”

[43:7]  ⁸ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the imperfect verbal form, which here is a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of a past time).

[43:7]  ⁹ tn Once again the imperfect verbal form is used as a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of past time).