Genesis 25:33

25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ¹  So Esau ²  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ³  to Jacob.

Genesis 31:15

31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ⁴  the money paid for us! ⁵ 

Genesis 37:36

37:36 Now ⁶  in Egypt the Midianites ⁷  sold Joseph ⁸  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ⁹ 

[25:33]  ¹ tn Heb “Swear to me today.”

[25:33]  ² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:33]  ³ sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.

[31:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.

[31:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “our money.” The word “money” is used figuratively here; it means the price paid for Leah and Rachel. A literal translation (“our money”) makes it sound as if Laban wasted money that belonged to Rachel and Leah, rather than the money paid for them.

[37:36]  ⁷ tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.

[37:36]  ⁸ tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (mÿdanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the MT is corrupt at this point, with the letter yod (י) being accidentally omitted. The LXX, Vulgate, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”

[37:36]  ⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:36]  ¹⁰ sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner.