Genesis 37:26

37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

Genesis 45:15

45:15 He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After this his brothers talked with him.

Genesis 38:8

38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with ¹  your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise ²  up a descendant for your brother.” ³ 

Genesis 42:4

42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, ⁴  for he said, ⁵  “What if some accident ⁶  happens ⁷  to him?”

[38:8]  ¹ tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:8]  ² tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.

[38:8]  ³ sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.

[42:4]  ¹ tn Heb “But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers.” The disjunctive clause highlights the contrast between Benjamin and the other ten.

[42:4]  ² tn The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) could also be translated “thought” (i.e., “he said to himself”) here, giving Jacob’s reasoning rather than spoken words.

[42:4]  ³ tn The Hebrew noun אָסוֹן (’ason) is a rare word meaning “accident, harm.” Apart from its use in these passages it occurs in Exodus 21:22-23 of an accident to a pregnant woman. The term is a rather general one, but Jacob was no doubt thinking of his loss of Joseph.

[42:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “encounters.”