Genesis 49:22

49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, ¹ 

a fruitful bough near a spring

whose branches ²  climb over the wall.

Genesis 2:14

2:14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. ³  The fourth river is the Euphrates.

Genesis 41:26

41:26 The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. ⁴ 

Genesis 15:18

15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ⁵  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ⁶  this land, from the river of Egypt ⁷  to the great river, the Euphrates River –

[49:22]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text appears to mean “[is] a son of fruitfulness.” The second word is an active participle, feminine singular, from the verb פָּרָה (parah, “to be fruitful”). The translation “bough” is employed for בֵּן (ben, elsewhere typically “son”) because Joseph is pictured as a healthy and fruitful vine growing by the wall. But there are difficulties with this interpretation. The word “son” nowhere else refers to a plant and the noun translated “branches” (Heb “daughters”) in the third line is a plural form whereas its verb is singular. In the other oracles of Gen 49 an animal is used for comparison and not a plant, leading some to translate the opening phrase בֵּן פָּרָה (ben parah, “fruitful bough”) as “wild donkey” (JPS, NAB). Various other interpretations involving more radical emendation of the text have also been offered.

[49:22]  ² tn Heb “daughters.”

[2:14]  ³ tn Heb “Asshur” (so NEB, NIV).

[41:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “one dream it is.”

[15:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ⁸ tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).

[15:18]  ⁹ sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.