Genesis 24:16

24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ¹  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up.

Genesis 24:22

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ²  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ³  and gave them to her. ⁴ 

Genesis 25:8

25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ⁵  He joined his ancestors. ⁶ 

Genesis 34:19

34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ⁷  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ⁸  badly. (Now he was more important ⁹  than anyone in his father’s household.) ¹⁰ 

Genesis 44:15

44:15 Joseph said to them, “What did you think you were doing? ¹¹  Don’t you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?” ¹² 

[24:16]  ¹ tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.

[24:22]  ² sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).

[24:22]  ³ sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).

[24:22]  ⁴ tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[25:8]  ³ tn Heb “old and full.”

[25:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[34:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “doing the thing.”

[34:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:19]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).

[34:19]  ⁷ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).

[44:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “What is this deed you have done?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question. A literal translation seems to contradict the following statement, in which Joseph affirms that he is able to divine such matters. Thus here the emotive force of the question has been reflected in the translation, “What did you think you were doing?”

[44:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “[is] fully able to divine,” meaning that he can find things out by divination. The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis, stressing his ability to do this.