Genesis 48:17

48:17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him. ¹  So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

Genesis 47:31

47:31 Jacob ²  said, “Swear to me that you will do so.” ³  So Joseph ⁴  gave him his word. ⁵  Then Israel bowed down ⁶  at the head of his bed. ⁷ 

Genesis 40:20

40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” ⁸  the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.

Genesis 48:14

48:14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger. ⁹  Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

Genesis 3:15

3:15 And I will put hostility ¹⁰  between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring; ¹¹ 

her offspring will attack ¹²  your head,

and ¹³  you ¹⁴  will attack her offspring’s heel.” ¹⁵ 

[48:17]  ¹ tn Heb “it was bad in his eyes.”

[47:31]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ³ tn Heb “swear on oath to me.” The words “that you will do so” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “swore on oath to him.”

[47:31]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew verb normally means “bow down,” especially in worship or prayer. Here it might simply mean “bend low,” perhaps from weakness or approaching death. The narrative is ambiguous at this point and remains open to all these interpretations.

[47:31]  ⁷ tc The MT reads מִטָּה (mittah, “bed, couch”). The LXX reads the word as מַטֶּה (matteh, “staff, rod”) and interprets this to mean that Jacob bowed down in worship while leaning on the top of his staff. The LXX reading was used in turn by the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 11:21).

[40:20]  ³ tn The translation puts the verb in quotation marks because it is used rhetorically here and has a double meaning. With respect to the cup bearer it means “reinstate” (see v. 13), but with respect to the baker it means “decapitate” (see v. 19).

[48:14]  ⁴ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-concessive here.

[3:15]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew word translated “hostility” is derived from the root אֵיב (’ev, “to be hostile, to be an adversary [or enemy]”). The curse announces that there will be continuing hostility between the serpent and the woman. The serpent will now live in a “battle zone,” as it were.

[3:15]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew word translated “offspring” is a collective singular. The text anticipates the ongoing struggle between human beings (the woman’s offspring) and deadly poisonous snakes (the serpent’s offspring). An ancient Jewish interpretation of the passage states: “He made the serpent, cause of the deceit, press the earth with belly and flank, having bitterly driven him out. He aroused a dire enmity between them. The one guards his head to save it, the other his heel, for death is at hand in the proximity of men and malignant poisonous snakes.” See Sib. Or. 1:59-64. For a similar interpretation see Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.50-51).

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “he will attack [or “bruise”] you [on] the head.” The singular pronoun and verb agree grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “head” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A crushing blow to the head would be potentially fatal.

[3:15]  ⁸ tn Or “but you will…”; or “as they attack your head, you will attack their heel.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is understood as contrastive. Both clauses place the subject before the verb, a construction that is sometimes used to indicate synchronic action (see Judg 15:14).

[3:15]  ⁹ sn You will attack her offspring’s heel. Though the conflict will actually involve the serpent’s offspring (snakes) and the woman’s offspring (human beings), v. 15b for rhetorical effect depicts the conflict as being between the serpent and the woman’s offspring, as if the serpent will outlive the woman. The statement is personalized for the sake of the addressee (the serpent) and reflects the ancient Semitic concept of corporate solidarity, which emphasizes the close relationship between a progenitor and his offspring. Note Gen 28:14, where the Lord says to Jacob, “Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you [second masculine singular] will spread out in all directions.” Jacob will “spread out” in all directions through his offspring, but the text states the matter as if this will happen to him personally.

[3:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you will attack him [on] the heel.” The verb (translated “attack”) is repeated here, a fact that is obscured by some translations (e.g., NIV “crush…strike”). The singular pronoun agrees grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “heel” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A bite on the heel from a poisonous serpent is potentially fatal.