Genesis 30:33

30:33 My integrity will testify for me ¹  later on. ²  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ³  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ⁴ 

Genesis 31:42

31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ⁵  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ⁶  and he rebuked you last night.”

Genesis 37:10

37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? ⁷  Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” ⁸ 

Genesis 46:34

46:34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle ⁹  from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, ¹⁰  for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting ¹¹  to the Egyptians.”

[30:33]  ¹ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ² tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ³ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”

[31:42]  ⁵ tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42,53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.

[31:42]  ⁶ tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”

[37:10]  ⁹ sn The question What is this dream that you had? expresses Jacob’s dismay at what he perceives to be Joseph’s audacity.

[37:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Coming, will we come, I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground?” The verb “come” is preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Jacob said, “You don’t really think we will come…to bow down…do you?”

[46:34]  ¹³ tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”

[46:34]  ¹⁴ sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.

[46:34]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.