Genesis 20:6

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ¹  That is why I have kept you ²  from sinning against me and why ³  I did not allow you to touch her.

Genesis 21:26

21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ⁴  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

Genesis 44:16

44:16 Judah replied, “What can we say ⁵  to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? ⁶  God has exposed the sin of your servants! ⁷  We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”

Genesis 46:34

46:34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle ⁸  from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, ⁹  for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting ¹⁰  to the Egyptians.”

Genesis 47:19

47:19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become ¹¹  Pharaoh’s slaves. ¹²  Give us seed that we may live ¹³  and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” ¹⁴ 

Genesis 48:19

48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude ¹⁵  of nations.”

[20:6]  ¹ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

[20:6]  ² tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

[20:6]  ³ tn Heb “therefore.”

[21:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “and also.”

[44:16]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form here indicates the subject’s potential.

[44:16]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.

[46:34]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”

[46:34]  ¹¹ sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.

[46:34]  ¹² tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.

[47:19]  ¹³ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.

[47:19]  ¹⁴ sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.

[47:19]  ¹⁵ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.

[47:19]  ¹⁶ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.

[48:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “fullness.”