Genesis 42:31

42:31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies!

Genesis 26:28

26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ¹  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ²  a pact between us ³  – between us ⁴  and you. Allow us to make ⁵  a treaty with you

Genesis 44:20

44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. ⁶  The boy’s ⁷  brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, ⁸  and his father loves him.’

Genesis 44:22

44:22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father ⁹  will die.’ ¹⁰ 

Genesis 44:26

44:26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there. ¹¹  If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, ¹²  for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

[26:28]  ¹ tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ² tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:28]  ³ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ⁴ tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ⁵ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”

[44:20]  ¹ tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.

[44:20]  ² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:20]  ³ tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”

[44:22]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the boy’s father, i.e., Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:22]  ² tn The last two verbs are perfect tenses with vav consecutive. The first is subordinated to the second as a conditional clause.

[44:26]  ¹ tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[44:26]  ² tn Heb “go down.”