Genesis 37:5-10

37:5 Joseph ¹  had a dream, ²  and when he told his brothers about it, ³  they hated him even more. ⁴  37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁵  37:7 There we were, ⁶  binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down ⁷  to it!” 37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” ⁸  They hated him even more ⁹  because of his dream and because of what he said. ¹⁰ 

37:9 Then he had another dream, ¹¹  and told it to his brothers. “Look,” ¹²  he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? ¹³  Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” ¹⁴ 

Jude 1:13-15

1:13 wild sea waves, ¹⁵  spewing out the foam of ¹⁶  their shame; ¹⁷  wayward stars ¹⁸  for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness ¹⁹  have been reserved.

1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, ²⁰  even prophesied of them, ²¹  saying, “Look! The Lord is coming ²²  with thousands and thousands ²³  of his holy ones, 1:15 to execute judgment on ²⁴  all, and to convict every person ²⁵  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ²⁶  that they have committed, ²⁷  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ²⁸ 

Daniel 2:31

2:31 “You, O king, were watching as a great statue – one ²⁹  of impressive size and extraordinary brightness – was standing before you. Its appearance caused alarm.

Daniel 4:8

4:8 Later Daniel entered (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, ³⁰  and in whom there is a spirit of the holy gods). I recounted the dream for him as well,

Daniel 4:10-18

4:10 Here are the visions of my mind ³¹  while I was on my bed.

While I was watching,

there was a tree in the middle of the land. ³² 

It was enormously tall. ³³ 

4:11 The tree grew large and strong.

Its top reached far into the sky;

it could be seen ³⁴  from the borders of all the land. ³⁵ 

4:12 Its foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful;

on it there was food enough for all.

Under it the wild animals ³⁶  used to seek shade,

and in its branches the birds of the sky used to nest.

All creatures ³⁷  used to feed themselves from it.

4:13 While I was watching in my mind’s visions ³⁸  on my bed,

a holy sentinel ³⁹  came down from heaven.

4:14 He called out loudly ⁴⁰  as follows: ⁴¹ 

‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches!

Strip off its foliage

and scatter its fruit!

Let the animals flee from under it

and the birds from its branches!

4:15 But leave its taproot ⁴²  in the ground,

with a band of iron and bronze around it ⁴³ 

surrounded by the grass of the field.

Let it become damp with the dew of the sky,

and let it live with ⁴⁴  the animals in the grass of the land.

4:16 Let his mind ⁴⁵  be altered from that of a human being,

and let an animal’s mind be given to him,

and let seven periods of time ⁴⁶  go by for ⁴⁷  him.

4:17 This announcement is by the decree of the sentinels;

this decision is by the pronouncement of the holy ones,

so that ⁴⁸  those who are alive may understand

that the Most High has authority over human kingdoms, ⁴⁹ 

and he bestows them on whomever he wishes.

He establishes over them even the lowliest of human beings.’

4:18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its ⁵⁰  interpretation, for none of the wise men in ⁵¹  my kingdom are able to make known to me the interpretation. But you can do so, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

[37:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:5]  ² tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[37:5]  ³ sn Some interpreters see Joseph as gloating over his brothers, but the text simply says he told his brothers about it (i.e., the dream). The text gives no warrant for interpreting his manner as arrogant or condescending. It seems normal that he would share a dream with the family.

[37:5]  ⁴ tn The construction uses a hendiadys, “they added to hate,” meaning they hated him even more.

[37:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “hear this dream which I dreamed.”

[37:7]  ⁶ tn All three clauses in this dream report begin with וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), which lends vividness to the report. This is represented in the translation by the expression “there we were.”

[37:7]  ⁷ tn The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.

[37:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “Ruling, will you rule over us, or reigning, will you reign over us?” The statement has a poetic style, with the two questions being in synonymous parallelism. Both verbs in this statement are preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Joseph’s brothers said, “You don’t really think you will rule over us, do you? You don’t really think you will have dominion over us, do you?”

[37:8]  ⁹ tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.

[37:8]  ¹⁰ sn The response of Joseph’s brothers is understandable, given what has already been going on in the family. But here there is a hint of uneasiness – they hated him because of his dream and because of his words. The dream bothered them, as well as his telling them. And their words in the rhetorical question are ironic, for this is exactly what would happen. The dream was God’s way of revealing it.

[37:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”

[37:9]  ¹² tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.

[37:10]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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?”

[1:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “wild waves of the sea.”

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “foaming, causing to foam.” The verb form is intensive and causative. BDAG 360 s.v. ἐπαφρίζω suggests the meaning “to cause to splash up like froth, cause to foam,” or, in this context, “waves casting up their own shameless deeds like (dirty) foam.”

[1:13]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “shames, shameful things.” It is uncertain whether shameful deeds or shameful words are in view. Either way, the picture has taken a decided turn: Though waterless clouds and fruitless trees may promise good things, but deliver nothing, wild sea-waves are portents of filth spewed forth from the belly of the sea.

[1:13]  ¹⁸ sn The imagery of a star seems to fit the nautical theme that Jude is developing. Stars were of course the guides to sailors at night, just as teachers are responsible to lead the flock through a benighted world. But false teachers, as wayward stars, are not fixed and hence offer unreliable, even disastrous guidance. They are thus both the dangerous reefs on which the ships could be destroyed and the false guides, leading them into these rocks. There is a special irony that these lights will be snuffed out, reserved for the darkest depths of eternal darkness.

[1:13]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness for eternity.” See note on the word “utter” in v. 6.

[1:14]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the seventh from Adam.”

[1:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “against them.” The dative τούτοις (toutois) is a dativus incommodi (dative of disadvantage).

[1:14]  ²² tn Grk “has come,” a proleptic aorist.

[1:14]  ²³ tn Grk “ten thousands.” The word μυριάς (muria"), from which the English myriad is derived, means “ten thousand.” In the plural it means “ten thousands.” This would mean, minimally, 20,000 (a multiple of ten thousand). At the same time, the term was often used in apocalyptic literature to represent simply a rather large number, without any attempt to be specific.

[1:15]  ²⁴ tn Grk “against” (κατά [kata] + genitive). English usage is satisfied with “on” at this point, but the parallel is lost in the translation to some degree, for the end of v. 15 says that this judgment is meted out on these sinners because they spoke against him (κατά + genitive).

[1:15]  ²⁵ tn Or “soul.”

[1:15]  ²⁶ tn Grk “of all their works of ungodliness.” The adverb “thoroughly” is part of the following verb “have committed.” See note on verb “committed” later in this verse.

[1:15]  ²⁷ tn The verb in Greek does not simply mean “have committed,” but “have committed in an ungodly way.” The verb ἀσεβέω (asebew) is cognate to the noun ἀσέβεια (asebeia, “ungodliness”). There is no easy way to express this in English, since English does not have a single word that means the same thing. Nevertheless, the tenor of v. 15 is plainly seen, regardless of the translation.

[1:15]  ²⁸ sn An apparent quotation from 1 En. 1:9. There is some doubt as to whether Jude is actually quoting from the text of 1 Enoch; the text here in Jude differs in some respects from the extant text of this pseudepigraphic book. It is sometimes suggested that Jude may instead have been quoting from oral tradition which had roots older than the written text.

[2:31]  ²⁹ tn Aram “an image.”

[4:8]  ³⁰ sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.

[4:10]  ³¹ tc The LXX lacks the first two words (Aram “the visions of my head”) of the Aramaic text.

[4:10]  ³² tn Instead of “in the middle of the land,” some English versions render this phrase “a tree at the center of the earth” (NRSV); NAB, CEV “of the world”; NLT “in the middle of the earth.” The Hebrew phrase can have either meaning.

[4:10]  ³³ tn Aram “its height was great.”

[4:11]  ³⁴ tn Aram “its sight.” So also v. 17.

[4:11]  ³⁵ tn Or “to the end of all the earth” (so KJV, ASV); NCV, CEV “from anywhere on earth.”

[4:12]  ³⁶ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

[4:12]  ³⁷ tn Aram “all flesh.”

[4:13]  ³⁸ tn Aram “the visions of my head.”

[4:13]  ³⁹ tn Aram “a watcher and a holy one.” The expression is a hendiadys; so also in v. 23. This “watcher” is apparently an angel. The Greek OT (LXX) in fact has ἄγγελος (angelo", “angel”) here. Theodotion simply transliterates the Aramaic word (’ir). The term is sometimes rendered “sentinel” (NAB) or “messenger” (NIV, NLT).

[4:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Aram “in strength.”

[4:14]  ⁴¹ tn Aram “and thus he was saying.”

[4:15]  ⁴² tn Aram “the stock of its root.” So also v. 23. The implication here is that although the tree is chopped down, it is not killed. Its life-giving root is spared. The application to Nebuchadnezzar is obvious.

[4:15]  ⁴³ sn The function of the band of iron and bronze is not entirely clear, but it may have had to do with preventing the splitting or further deterioration of the portion of the tree that was left after being chopped down. By application it would then refer to the preservation of Nebuchadnezzar’s life during the time of his insanity.

[4:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Aram “its lot be.”

[4:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Aram “its heart.” The metaphor of the tree begins to fade here and the reality behind the symbol (the king) begins to emerge.

[4:16]  ⁴⁶ sn The seven periods of time probably refer to seven years.

[4:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Aram “over” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).

[4:17]  ⁴⁸ tc The present translation follows an underlying reading of עַל־דִּבְרַת (’al-divrat, “so that”) rather than MT עַד־דִּבְרַת (’ad-divrat, “until”).

[4:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Aram “the kingdom of man”; NASB “the realm of mankind”; NCV “every kingdom on earth.”

[4:18]  ⁵⁰ tc The present translation reads פִּשְׁרֵהּ (pishreh, “its interpretation”) with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS; the Kethib is פִּשְׁרָא (pishra’, “the interpretation”); so also v. 16.

[4:18]  ⁵¹ tn Aram “of.”