Genesis 49:5-7

49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers,

weapons of violence are their knives! ¹ 

49:6 O my soul, do not come into their council,

do not be united to their assembly, my heart, ² 

for in their anger they have killed men,

and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen.

49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,

and their fury, for it was cruel.

I will divide them in Jacob,

and scatter them in Israel! ³ 

Joshua 7:25

7:25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster ⁴  on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.) ⁵ 

Joshua 7:1

Achan Sins and is Punished

7:1 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. ⁶  Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, ⁷  son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. ⁸  The Lord was furious with the Israelites. ⁹ 

Joshua 18:18

18:18 It crossed to the slope in front of the Arabah to the north and descended into the Arabah.

Joshua 18:1

The Tribes Meet at Shiloh

18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. ¹⁰  Though they had subdued the land, ¹¹ 

Joshua 2:7

2:7 Meanwhile ¹²  the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River ¹³  near the fords. ¹⁴  The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 11:17

11:17 A kind person ¹⁶  benefits ¹⁷  himself, ¹⁸ 

but a cruel person brings himself trouble. ¹⁹ 

Proverbs 11:29

11:29 The one who troubles ²⁰  his family ²¹  will inherit nothing, ²² 

and the fool ²³  will be a servant to the wise person. ²⁴ 

Proverbs 15:27

15:27 The one who is greedy for gain ²⁵  troubles ²⁶  his household, ²⁷ 

but whoever hates bribes ²⁸  will live.

[49:5]  ¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מְכֵרָה (mÿkherah) is uncertain. It has been rendered (1) “habitations”; (2) “merchandise”; (3) “counsels”; (4) “swords”; (5) “wedding feasts.” If it is from the verb כָּרַת (karat) and formed after noun patterns for instruments and tools (maqtil, miqtil form), then it would refer to “knives.” Since the verb is used in Exod 4:25 for circumcision, the idea would be “their circumcision knives,” an allusion to the events of Gen 34 (see M. J. Dahood, “‘MKRTYHM’ in Genesis 49,5,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 54-56). Another explanation also connects the word to the events of Gen 34 as a reference to the intended “wedding feast” for Dinah which could take place only after the men of Shechem were circumcised (see D. W. Young, “A Ghost Word in the Testament of Jacob (Gen 49:5)?” JBL 100 [1981]: 335-422).

[49:6]  ² tn The Hebrew text reads “my glory,” but it is preferable to repoint the form and read “my liver.” The liver was sometimes viewed as the seat of the emotions and will (see HALOT 456 s.v. II כָּבֵד) for which the heart is the modern equivalent.

[49:7]  ³ sn Divide…scatter. What is predicted here is a division of their tribes. Most commentators see here an anticipation of Levi being in every area but not their own. That may be part of it, but not entirely what the curse intended. These tribes for their ruthless cruelty would be eliminated from the power and prestige of leadership.

[7:25]  ⁴ tn Or “trouble.” The word is “achor” in Hebrew (also in the following clause).

[7:25]  ⁵ tc Heb “and they burned them with fire and they stoned them with stones.” These words are somewhat parenthetical in nature and are omitted in the LXX; they may represent a later scribal addition.

[7:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ⁷ tn 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also 1 Chr 7:17, 18).

[7:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “took from what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.”

[18:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”

[18:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”

[2:7]  ¹² tn Another way to translate vv. 6-7 would be, “While she took them up to the roof and hid them…, the king’s men tried to find them….” Both of the main clauses have the subject prior to the predicate, perhaps indicating simultaneous action. (On the grammatical point, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 42, §235.) In this case Rahab moves the Israelite spies from the hiding place referred to in v. 4 to a safer and less accessible hiding place.

[2:7]  ¹³ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

[2:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “And the men chased after them [on] the road [leading to] the Jordan to the fords.” The text is written from the perspective of the king’s men. As far as they were concerned, they were chasing the spies.

[2:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “And they shut the gate after – as soon as the ones chasing after them went out.” The expressions “after” and “as soon as” may represent a conflation of alternate readings.

[11:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “man of kindness.”

[11:17]  ¹⁷ tn The term גֹּמֶל (gomel) means “to deal fully [or “adequately”] with” someone or something. The kind person will benefit himself.

[11:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “his own soul.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person): “himself” (BDB 660 s.v. 4).

[11:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “brings trouble to his flesh.”

[11:29]  ²⁰ tn The verb עָכַר (’akhar, “to trouble”) refers to actions which make life difficult for one’s family (BDB 747 s.v.). He will be cut out of the family inheritance.

[11:29]  ²¹ tn Heb “his house.” The term בֵּית (bet, “house”) is a synecdoche of container (= house) for its contents (= family, household).

[11:29]  ²² tn Heb “the wind” (so KJV, NCV, NLT); NAB “empty air.” The word “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) refers to what cannot be grasped (Prov 27:16; Eccl 1:14, 17). The figure is a hypocatastasis, comparing wind to what he inherits – nothing he can put his hands on. Cf. CEV “won’t inherit a thing.”

[11:29]  ²³ sn The “fool” here is the “troubler” of the first half. One who mismanages his affairs so badly so that there is nothing for the family may have to sell himself into slavery to the wise. The ideas of the two halves of the verse are complementary.

[11:29]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to the wise of heart.” The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) is an attributed genitive: “wise heart.” The term לֵב (“heart”) also functions as a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole (= person); see BDB 525 s.v. 7.

[15:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the one who gains.” The phrase בּוֹצֵעַ בָּצַע (botseakh batsa’) is a participle followed by its cognate accusative. This refers to a person who is always making the big deal, getting the larger cut, or in a hurry to get rich. The verb, though, makes it clear that the gaining of a profit is by violence and usually unjust, since the root has the idea of “cut off; break off; gain by violence.” The line is contrasted with hating bribes, and so the gain in this line may be through bribery.

[15:27]  ²⁶ sn The participle “troubles” (עֹכֵר, ’okher) can have the connotation of making things difficult for the family, or completely ruining the family (cf. NAB). In Josh 7:1 Achan took some of the “banned things” and was put to death: Because he “troubled Israel,” the Lord would “trouble” him (take his life, Josh 7:25).

[15:27]  ²⁷ tn Heb “his house.”

[15:27]  ²⁸ tn Heb “gifts” (so KJV). Gifts can be harmless enough, but in a setting like this the idea is that the “gift” is in exchange for some “profit [or, gain].” Therefore they are bribes (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), and to be hated or rejected. Abram, for example, would not take anything that the king of Sodom had to offer, “lest [he] say, “I have made Abram rich” (Gen 14:22-24).