Genesis 37:28

37:28 So when the Midianite ¹  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ²  him ³  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ⁴  then took Joseph to Egypt.

Numbers 6:2

6:2 “Speak to the Israelites, and tell them, ‘When either a man or a woman ⁵  takes a special vow, ⁶  to take a vow ⁷  as a Nazirite, ⁸  to separate ⁹  himself to the Lord,

Psalms 105:17-22

105:17 He sent a man ahead of them ¹⁰  –

Joseph was sold as a servant.

105:18 The shackles hurt his feet; ¹¹ 

his neck was placed in an iron collar, ¹² 

105:19 until the time when his prediction ¹³  came true.

The Lord’s word ¹⁴  proved him right. ¹⁵ 

105:20 The king authorized his release; ¹⁶ 

the ruler of nations set him free.

105:21 He put him in charge of his palace, ¹⁷ 

and made him manager of all his property,

105:22 giving him authority to imprison his officials ¹⁸ 

and to teach his advisers. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 66:5

66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,

you who respect what he has to say! ²⁰ 

Your countrymen, ²¹  who hate you

and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,

say, “May the Lord be glorified,

then we will witness your joy.” ²² 

But they will be put to shame.

Acts 7:9

7:9 The ²³  patriarchs, because they were jealous of Joseph, sold ²⁴  him into Egypt. But ²⁵  God was with him,

[37:28]  ¹ sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.

[37:28]  ² tn Heb “they drew and they lifted up.” The referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity; otherwise the reader might assume the Midianites had pulled Joseph from the cistern (but cf. NAB).

[37:28]  ³ tn Heb “Joseph” (both here and in the following clause); the proper name has been replaced both times by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:2]  ⁵ tn The formula is used here again: “a man or a woman – when he takes.” The vow is open to both men and women.

[6:2]  ⁶ tn The vow is considered special in view of the use of the verb יַפְלִא (yafli’), the Hiphil imperfect of the verb “to be wonderful, extraordinary.”

[6:2]  ⁷ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct followed by the cognate accusative: “to vow a vow.” This intensifies the idea that the vow is being taken carefully.

[6:2]  ⁸ tn The name of the vow is taken from the verb that follows; נָזַר (nazar) means “to consecrate oneself,” and so the Nazirite is a consecrated one. These are folks who would make a decision to take an oath for a time or for a lifetime to be committed to the Lord and show signs of separation from the world. Samuel was to be a Nazirite, as the fragment of the text from Qumran confirms – “he will be a נָזִיר (nazir) forever” (1 Sam 1:22).

[6:2]  ⁹ tn The form of the verb is an Hiphil infinitive construct, forming the wordplay and explanation for the name Nazirite. The Hiphil is here an internal causative, having the meaning of “consecrate oneself” or just “consecrate to the Lord.”

[105:17]  ¹⁰ tn After the reference to the famine in v. 16, v. 17 flashes back to events that preceded the famine (see Gen 37).

[105:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they afflicted his feet with shackles.”

[105:18]  ¹² tn Heb “his neck came [into] iron.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with the suffix could mean simply “he” or “his life.” But the nuance “neck” makes good sense here (note the reference to his “feet” in the preceding line). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 38.

[105:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “word,” probably referring to Joseph’s prediction about the fate of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (see Gen 41:9-14).

[105:19]  ¹⁴ tn This line may refer to Joseph’s prediction of the famine in response to Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph emphasized to Pharaoh that the interpretation of the dream came from God (see Gen 41:16, 25, 28, 32, 39).

[105:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “refined him.”

[105:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[the] king sent and set him free.”

[105:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he made him master of his house.”

[105:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to bind his officials by his will.”

[105:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and his elders he taught wisdom.”

[66:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “who tremble at his word.”

[66:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”

[66:5]  ²² tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.

[7:9]  ²³ tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:9]  ²⁴ tn The meaning “sell” for the middle voice of ἀποδίδωμι (apodidwmi) is given by BDAG 110 s.v. 5.a. See Gen 37:12-36, esp. v. 28.

[7:9]  ²⁵ tn Though the Greek term here is καί (kai), in context this remark is clearly contrastive: Despite the malicious act, God was present and protected Joseph.