Genesis 25:22

25:22 But the children struggled ¹  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ²  So she asked the Lord, ³ 

Genesis 44:15

44:15 Joseph said to them, “What did you think you were doing? ⁴  Don’t you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?” ⁵ 

[25:22]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.

[25:22]  ² tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.

[25:22]  ³ sn Asked the Lord. In other passages (e.g., 1 Sam 9:9) this expression refers to inquiring of a prophet, but no details are provided here.

[44:15]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.