Genesis 20:7

20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹  he is a prophet ²  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ³  But if you don’t give her back, ⁴  know that you will surely die ⁵  along with all who belong to you.”

Genesis 42:33

42:33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain ⁶  for your hungry households and go.

Genesis 43:7

43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us ⁷  thoroughly ⁸  about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ ⁹  So we answered him in this way. ¹⁰  How could we possibly know ¹¹  that he would say, ¹²  ‘Bring your brother down’?”

Genesis 44:17

44:17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of ¹³  you may go back ¹⁴  to your father in peace.”

Genesis 44:26

44:26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there. ¹⁵  If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, ¹⁶  for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

[20:7]  ¹ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ² sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ³ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ⁵ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[42:33]  ⁶ tn The word “grain” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[43:7]  ¹¹ tn The word “us” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[43:7]  ¹² tn The infinitive absolute with the perfect verbal form emphasizes that Joseph questioned them thoroughly.

[43:7]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and we told to him according to these words.”

[43:7]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Once again the imperfect verbal form is used as a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of past time).

[44:17]  ¹⁶ tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[44:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “up” (reflecting directions from their point of view – “up” to Canaan; “down” to Egypt).

[44:26]  ²¹ tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[44:26]  ²² tn Heb “go down.”