Genesis 24:41

24:41 You will be free from your oath ¹  if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’

Genesis 35:16

35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, ²  Rachel went into labor ³  – and her labor was hard.

Genesis 44:10

44:10 He replied, “You have suggested your own punishment! ⁴  The one who has it will become my slave, ⁵  but the rest of ⁶  you will go free.” ⁷ 

Genesis 44:30

44:30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us – his very life is bound up in his son’s life. ⁸ 

[24:41]  ¹ tn Heb “my oath” (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).

[35:16]  ² tn Heb “and there was still a stretch of the land to go to Ephrath.”

[35:16]  ³ tn Normally the verb would be translated “she gave birth,” but because that obviously had not happened yet, it is better to translate the verb as ingressive, “began to give birth” (cf. NIV) or “went into labor.”

[44:10]  ³ tn Heb “Also now, according to your words, so it is.” As the next statement indicates, this does mean that he will do exactly as they say. He does agree with them the culprit should be punished, but not as harshly as they suggest. Furthermore, the innocent parties will not be punished.

[44:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “The one with whom it is found will become my slave.”

[44:10]  ⁵ tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[44:10]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew word נָקִי (naqi) means “acquitted,” that is, free of guilt and the responsibility for it.

[44:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “his life is bound up in his life.”