Genesis 19:31

19:31 Later the older daughter said ¹  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ²  to have sexual relations with us, ³  according to the way of all the world.

Genesis 26:10

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ⁴  One of the men ⁵  might easily have had sexual relations with ⁶  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”

Genesis 37:8

37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” ⁷  They hated him even more ⁸  because of his dream and because of what he said. ⁹ 

[19:31]  ¹ tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

[19:31]  ² tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.

[19:31]  ³ tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[26:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[26:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “people.”

[26:10]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”

[37:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “Ruling, will you rule over us, or reigning, will you reign over us?” The statement has a poetic style, with the two questions being in synonymous parallelism. Both verbs in this statement are preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Joseph’s brothers said, “You don’t really think you will rule over us, do you? You don’t really think you will have dominion over us, do you?”

[37:8]  ⁸ tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.

[37:8]  ⁹ sn The response of Joseph’s brothers is understandable, given what has already been going on in the family. But here there is a hint of uneasiness – they hated him because of his dream and because of his words. The dream bothered them, as well as his telling them. And their words in the rhetorical question are ironic, for this is exactly what would happen. The dream was God’s way of revealing it.