Genesis 27:29

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ¹  lord ²  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ³ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

Genesis 42:33

42:33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain ⁴  for your hungry households and go.

Genesis 50:15

50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay ⁵  us in full ⁶  for all the harm ⁷  we did to him?”

[27:29]  ¹ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

[27:29]  ² tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

[27:29]  ³ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[42:33]  ⁴ tn The word “grain” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[50:15]  ⁷ tn The imperfect tense could be a simple future; it could also have a desiderative nuance.

[50:15]  ⁸ tn The infinitive absolute makes the statement emphatic, “repay in full.”

[50:15]  ⁹ tn Or “evil.”