Genesis 43:31

43:31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, ¹  “Set out the food.”

Genesis 45:1

The Reconciliation of the Brothers

45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, ²  so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained ³  with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.

Genesis 14:4

14:4 For twelve years ⁴  they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year ⁵  they rebelled. ⁶ 

Genesis 16:9

16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit ⁷  to her authority.

Genesis 27:38

27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” ⁸  Then Esau wept loudly. ⁹ 

Genesis 39:4

39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. ¹⁰  Potiphar appointed Joseph ¹¹  overseer of his household and put him in charge ¹²  of everything he owned.

Genesis 39:22

39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. ¹³ 

Genesis 3:16

3:16 To the woman he said,

“I will greatly increase ¹⁴  your labor pains; ¹⁵ 

with pain you will give birth to children.

You will want to control your husband, ¹⁶ 

but he will dominate ¹⁷  you.”

Genesis 39:6

39:6 So Potiphar ¹⁸  left ¹⁹  everything he had in Joseph’s care; ²⁰  he gave no thought ²¹  to anything except the food he ate. ²² 

Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. ²³ 

Genesis 39:8

39:8 But he refused, saying ²⁴  to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought ²⁵  to his household with me here, ²⁶  and everything that he owns he has put into my care. ²⁷ 

Genesis 41:35

41:35 They should gather all the excess food ²⁸  during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority ²⁹  they should store up grain so the cities will have food, ³⁰  and they should preserve it. ³¹ 

Genesis 39:5

39:5 From the time ³²  Potiphar ³³  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ³⁴  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ³⁵  in his house and in his fields. ³⁶ 

[43:31]  ¹ tn Heb “and he controlled himself and said.”

[45:1]  ² tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”

[45:1]  ³ tn Heb “stood.”

[14:4]  ³ tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.

[14:4]  ⁴ tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.

[14:4]  ⁵ sn The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east – to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats – that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.

[16:9]  ⁴ tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.

[27:38]  ⁵ tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:38]  ⁶ tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”

[39:4]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature.

[39:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “put into his hand.”

[39:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison.

[3:16]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verb form is emphasized and intensified by the infinitive absolute from the same verb.

[3:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “your pain and your conception,” suggesting to some interpreters that having a lot of children was a result of the judgment (probably to make up for the loss through death). But the next clause shows that the pain is associated with conception and childbirth. The two words form a hendiadys (where two words are joined to express one idea, like “good and angry” in English), the second explaining the first. “Conception,” if the correct meaning of the noun, must be figurative here since there is no pain in conception; it is a synecdoche, representing the entire process of childbirth and child rearing from the very start. However, recent etymological research suggests the noun is derived from a root הרר (hrr), not הרה (hrh), and means “trembling, pain” (see D. Tsumura, “A Note on הרוֹן (Gen 3,16),” Bib 75 [1994]: 398-400). In this case “pain and trembling” refers to the physical effects of childbirth. The word עִצְּבוֹן (’itsÿvon, “pain”), an abstract noun related to the verb (עָצַב, ’atsav), includes more than physical pain. It is emotional distress as well as physical pain. The same word is used in v. 17 for the man’s painful toil in the field.

[3:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and toward your husband [will be] your desire.” The nominal sentence does not have a verb; a future verb must be supplied, because the focus of the oracle is on the future struggle. The precise meaning of the noun תְּשׁוּקָה (tÿshuqah, “desire”) is debated. Many interpreters conclude that it refers to sexual desire here, because the subject of the passage is the relationship between a wife and her husband, and because the word is used in a romantic sense in Song 7:11 HT (7:10 ET). However, this interpretation makes little sense in Gen 3:16. First, it does not fit well with the assertion “he will dominate you.” Second, it implies that sexual desire was not part of the original creation, even though the man and the woman were told to multiply. And third, it ignores the usage of the word in Gen 4:7 where it refers to sin’s desire to control and dominate Cain. (Even in Song of Songs it carries the basic idea of “control,” for it describes the young man’s desire to “have his way sexually” with the young woman.) In Gen 3:16 the Lord announces a struggle, a conflict between the man and the woman. She will desire to control him, but he will dominate her instead. This interpretation also fits the tone of the passage, which is a judgment oracle. See further Susan T. Foh, “What is the Woman’s Desire?” WTJ 37 (1975): 376-83.

[3:16]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb מָשַׁל (mashal) means “to rule over,” but in a way that emphasizes powerful control, domination, or mastery. This also is part of the baser human nature. The translation assumes the imperfect verb form has an objective/indicative sense here. Another option is to understand it as having a modal, desiderative nuance, “but he will want to dominate you.” In this case, the Lord simply announces the struggle without indicating who will emerge victorious.

[39:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:6]  ¹⁰ sn The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else.

[39:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:6]  ¹² tn Heb “did not know.”

[39:6]  ¹³ sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.

[39:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.

[39:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he said.”

[39:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “know.”

[39:8]  ¹² tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[41:35]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all the food.”

[41:35]  ¹² tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”

[41:35]  ¹³ tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.

[41:35]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.

[39:5]  ¹² tn Heb “and it was from then.”

[39:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:5]  ¹⁴ sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).

[39:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:5]  ¹⁶ sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.