Genesis 26:28

26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ¹  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ²  a pact between us ³  – between us ⁴  and you. Allow us to make ⁵  a treaty with you

Genesis 42:21

42:21 They said to one other, ⁶  “Surely we’re being punished ⁷  because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was ⁸  when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress ⁹  has come on us!”

[26:28]  ¹ tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ² tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:28]  ³ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ⁴ tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ⁵ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”

[42:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”

[42:21]  ⁷ tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”

[42:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”

[42:21]  ⁹ sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.