Genesis 21:2

21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ¹  and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him.

Genesis 21:7

21:7 She went on to say, ²  “Who would ³  have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”

Genesis 37:3

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons ⁴  because he was a son born to him late in life, ⁵  and he made a special ⁶  tunic for him.

Genesis 44:20

44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. ⁷  The boy’s ⁸  brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, ⁹  and his father loves him.’

[21:2]  ¹ tn Or “she conceived.”

[21:7]  ² tn Heb “said.”

[21:7]  ³ tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.

[37:3]  ³ tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.

[37:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”

[37:3]  ⁵ tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.

[44:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.

[44:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”