Notes on the text of the book of Genesis : with an appendix online

identifies it with a spot one hour to the south of Shochoh ;
near the hill Shekh JMadkur. On the etymology of the name,
of. Lagarde, B.N., p. 54.

2. ^y^^y^ '&'^. Onq. renders N-Jjn ins (cf. Is. 23, 8.
Prov. 31, 24) ^ a merchant^ possibly finding Judah's marriage
with a daughter of Canaan objectionable. Berliner, however,
in his edition has ^^ij^3 "i^S , but mentions the other reading
in his notes, p. 14 of part ii. Cf. Levy, Chald. W. B., ii.
p. 528.

3. ^^^p^l. Sam., Targ. Ps -Jon., Heb. Codd. (Di.) read
(probably correctly) N"ipm, see 29, 34 and vers. 3. 4.

5. rr^ni, see Driver, § 133. LXX has avrn] Se r\v^ i.e. ^^^^1,
this reading gives a suitable sense and is doubtless the correct
form of the text; see Dav., S., § 58 c ; Ges., § 112. 67;
Dr. 1. c. ; and cf. i Sam. 23, 15. 24. 2 Chron. 10, 2 ; see also
Geiger, Urschrifl, p. 462. As the text stands it must be
rendered, * he {Judah) was,' but the perf. with waw is very
harsh, and a reference to Judah is not what we should
expect.



3T2 GENESIS,



l'*T22 = the an^N of Josh. 15, 44. Mic. i, 14; it was also
in the low country (nbzt^) of Judah. Sh,, G., Map iv, places
it a short distance N.E. of Shochoh, giving as its modern
name Ain-el-Kezbeh.

8. â–¡n"''! = to perform the duty of marrying the deceased
brother's widow when he left no son ; see Deut. 25, 5. The
brother-in-law in this case was called DIIJ.

9. nnil?1 ♦ . . nTTl. The perfect with waw conv. in
a frequentative sense, see Driver, §§ 120, 121; Dav., S.,
§ 57; Ges., § 112. 4 d. R.; also Ewald, §§ 342 b, 345 b.
Other examples are Num. 21, 9 , , , trmrt y^'i DN iTm

••m . , . D"'3m; Judg. 6, 3 ni^yi . . . y-r dx .t^; Ex, 33, 9

1"!'' ♦ ♦ , iTni, with a simple impf. following. Other instances
of DN in a temporal sense with the perf. are Is. 4, 4. Amos 7, 2.
Ps. 41, 7; compare Ges., § 164. 2; Dav., S., § 130 b;
Ewald, § 355 b.

n!^1^^ nnU)1 ; a pregnant construction, cf. note on 14, 3 ;
so 19, 27. 42, 28. 43, 33. Vyi must be understood after nntS'").

\D2. Cf. the note on Nb^J, 4, 13.

11. "[''Ht^ n'^^, is ace. of place, see note on 18, i.

12. ^Ti '^"JU 7>^ vi^*^"), lit. ' /le went up about the shearers
of his flock', i.e. to see after them ; cf. the use of 75? in 30, 33

^nV"^. 'His covipanion! LXX and Vulg. read the con-
sonants as ^nyn 'his shepherd;' so Luther.

nnD?2n is probably the Timnah mentioned with Gibeah
in Josh. 15, 57, between Shochoh and Bethshemesh, the
modern Tibneh, Bad., Pal., p. 161 ; and not identical with
the Timnah belonging to the Danites (Josh. 19, 43), on



CHAP. 38, VERS. 8-15. 313

account of rhv ', Di. after Kn. and Del.''' Tuch (cf. Werx's
note however) considers that there was only one Timnah.
The name is found on the inscripdons in the form Tamnaa^
Schrader, C.O.T.^ p. 159. Koh., Pales., ii. 343, mentions
three Timnahs, and considers the one occurring here to be
in the hill country of Judah.

14. ^m:n^^^ nun ncm. a. Judith lo, 3.

DDnl, i.e. the face; cf. Deut. 22, 12. Jon. 3, 6, where the
object of riDD is omitted.

n^li^rinl. 'And veiled herself;' cf. Prov. 7, 10. LXX,
Pesh., Onq. render, ' adorned herself J

'C^^TV nnSDl = ' at the gate of Enaim! D^^^V is the same
as D^'J^ (cf. on 37, 17 n:^m), Josh. 15, 34 (with the article),
and D^^"*?/ in ver. 21a city of Judah, in the Shephelah. Its
position is not known. So most modern commentators.
The Vss. took the w^ord as a nom. appelL, contrary to ver. 21,
excepting the LXX who give Alvav. The Pesh. has l^Jk^a
ll^jio/ * dividing of roads' Onq. ^\TV. nV.:^"]2, lit. ' division of
eyesl i.e. cross-way; cf. Levy, Chald. W.B., ii. pp. 212 d, 304.
Targ. Ps.-Jon. P^|nD?? p^^jr^^'^ pHnN* r\^'\B, i.e. 'the cross-
ways whither every one s eyes look ! ' Vulg. ' iii hivio itineris!
Saad. nio-I^ ' a watch tower! The A. V. has, ' in an open
place', margin, ' The door of eyes;' R.V. 'in the gate of Enaim!

niTi^^ 1^ n^n: \ih >^^rV\ = ' ivUhout lur being given
him to ivife;' circ. cl.

15. r^T\h nnirn^l . Cf. i Sam. i, 13 ^1D^J^^ 'hv nntrn^i ;

Dav., S., § 78. R. 5-

n^DD nnD3 ^D. LXX and Vulg. add nyT' N*h 'and
he did not know her,' to explain '^D ''d ''3, which gives the



314 GENESIS,



reason why Judah did not recognise her, and not why he
took her for a harlot.

17. ^riT^tl^ "Fl? , , , ^'^nn Ot^. The apodosis is suppressed,
cf. on 30, 27.

18. "^Qrin. ' T/ie signet ring' which was worn round
the neck on a chain (pTlD). As these were always worn by
their owners, they would be easily identified again by them ;
cf. Song of Songs 8, 6.

"[I^tDl. 'And thy staff.' HDD was a carved or ornamented
staff, and so different from i^pD, a stick in its natural con-
dition. Among the Babylonians every man carried a stick
with an ornamented top, and wore a signet ring ; see Herod,
i. 195. The Versions render ^Tia differently. LXX have
6pfiL(r^^nn='>^^ [Potlphar) hath brought
unto us a Heb?'ew man;' or impersonally, ''one has brought,'
i.e. ^ there has been brought.' n^V K^"'N, i.e. one whom the
Egyptians would regard with little favour; cf. 43, 32. 46, 34.
On ^liy, cf. on 14, 13; the name has been supposed to be
found in the Egyptian inscriptions, in the form 'apuriu;' see
Ebers, p. 316, but the / for (5 is a difficulty, and this opinion
is now generally given up. It is also doubtful whether the
Chabiri, so often mentioned in the Tel-el-Amarna Letters, are
to be identified with the Hebrews.

^^3, pn^7* Retrogression of the tone, cf. on 4, 17. See
also Ges., § 64. Rem. 2; Stade, § 88. 2 b; so in ver. 17.
\V1 pnv!?, as in Prov. i, 26 = */^ wanton with us,' difi'erent
from ns pn:;, 26, 8. The LXX have efxnaiCfiv; cf. Ewald,
§ 217. f. 2 8.

1211. Potiphar's wife wishes to imply that the other females
of the household had been similarly treated by Joseph.

15. ^7!^^^. Sam. has n^3, but, as Del. points out, she
would then betray herself.

18. fc^"1p^1 . . . •*t2''nnD. So Lev. 16, I ^n?D''1 . . , Dnn-ipa;
Josh. 8, 24 1^a''1 . . . n^^23 ; i Kings 18, 18 ^^m . . . n22^V2;
see Driver, § 118; Ges., § 114. 3. R. i ; Dav., ^S"., § 96. The



CHAP. 39, VERS. 12-21. 319

inf. is continued by waw conv. and the imperf., because a fact
is stated; cf. the note on 18, 25. Render, ' W/ien I lifted
up my voice and cried.'

20. PjDV "'^1^>^. So 42, 30. 33. Pluralis excelleiiiiae,
see Ges., § 124. i c; M.R., § 135. 2; Dav., S.,\ 16 c.

â– ^riDn T^'2. = perhaps ' i/ie house of stirt'oimding' or
'shutting in' i.e. a prison surrounded by a wall, if inD be
related to nno, "i^D ; cf the Syriac ])li,Ls!ei. Ebers, p. 317 f.,
compares the fortress at Memphis called 'White walV (a name
found on many inscriptions), with which he identifies the
nnon n"'n of this chapter, and 40, 3. 5. The LXX have
oxvpio\ia. The name for prise n better known to the Hebrews
was either inn n^a, Ex. 12, 29; Ni?3 n^, Is. 42, 7; or
njDD, Is. 42, 7.

Itl'^^ D1p?2. The sentence commencing with "IK'N is a
genitive after the construct state DIpD; see Ges., § 130. 3;
M. R., § 82 c; Dav., S., § 25 ; so 40, 3 niDX fiDI"" "itrx DipD ;
2 Sam. 15, 21 DK' .T.T nti'N Dipm.

â– ^lIDt"^, Kri ""TP^^, the Ktb. being the part. pass. Qal, the
Kri the adj. of the form qdiil ; cf. Ges, § 84. 8; Barth,
N.B., p. 186.

D"'*1'^D^^. DK^ is omitted after DniDN, as in 35, 13; con-
trast 40, 3, and see Ewald, § 331 c 3 ; cf. ver. 22, where the
ordinary editions have Ktb. nmOwSn, with the Kri DTDt^n,
as here, while Baer and Del. have Dn'^DNH in their text.

21. y^ ^n***!, lit. 'gave his { foseph' s) favour in the eyes of'
i.e. and gave him favour in the eyes of, etc.; cf Ex. 3, 21.
II, 3. 12, 36 (all).

inDn iT'Il "lU,-. In this chapter, which is mainly from J,
Joseph is apparently confined in the royal prison, the governor



320 GENESIS,



of which is not mentioned by name, but is merely described
as inDH n^n ib'. In 40, 2-4 E, the governor of the prison
is Potiphar, and the prison is in his own house, cf. Di. p. 403.
Ebers, however, regards the person mentioned in this verse
as the special governor of the prison for state prisoners.
Potiphar was, as police minister, in control over all the
prisons ; but not an actual prison governor, but cf. Di. 1. c.

22. D^tT'i^ is intentionally indefinite in contrast to riM Nin
rwv at the end of the verse, see Driver, p. 171, and cf. Ges.,
§§ 116. 5. R. 3, 144. 3d; Dav., S., § 108 c.

ntoy n%1. Cf. the note on 4, 17.

23. Render, ' T/iere was no governor of the prison over-
looking (lit. seeing) anything that he did (lit. anythijig in his
hand), in that Fahweh was with him, and that wJiich he was
doing Yahweh made to prosper^.

40.

I. Ib^irjn . . .'TT'l. So 14, I. 2 ib'y.»."'DU \Ti; Ex.
12, 41^^ ix^*'' nin DVn OVyi \n"'l; where instead of the perfect
in the second half of the clause, the imperfect with waiv
conversive might stand, and most frequently does stand ; see
Driver, § 78 ; Dav., .S*., § 51. R. i; Ges., § iii. 2.

nCb^m XT^'^iri "jS?2 np\l>n = '//^f cupbearer afzd halier
of the liing of Egypt' Notice the difference in the idiom in
English and Hebrew. English says, ' the cupbearer and baker
of the Jiing;' Hebrew, ' the cupbearer of the tditg and the balcer,'
or more commonly with the third pers. suffix, 'his bather/
cf. 41, 8, and see Ewald, § 339 b; M. R., § 75. 2. Rem. a;
Ges., § 128. I ; Dav., S., § 27 b. The nas has been discovered
on the Egyptian inscriptions, but not the npK^D ; see Ebers,
p. 321.



i



CHAP. 39, VER. 22 CHAP. 40, VER. 6. 32I

2. 'l^D'^nD with firm qame9, as in D^Zlj though the
more usual form with simple shewa under the D is also
found. The form with qame9 is explained by Stade, § 209,
either from a by-form qattil, i.e. for D^^D, and as ") cannot
be doubled, D^")D, so nnn • or through the influence of the
counter-tone on the first syllable; for this he compares
n'V'b^ for n'p'bf, from ^'bf. Cf. also ^>*n? and 'Tl^,
Ges. in the T/ies. s.v., and Barth, N.B., p. 197.

3. 'm^^^ Dlp^. Cf. the note on 39, 20.

4. ir^\Lm D^'O'' rrV^, lit. 'a?id they were days' etc.,
i.e. some time; cf. 4, 3 CD'' y\>'0=^^ after some time;' so we
find D''D'' used indefinitely in i Sam. 29, 3. Dan. 8, 27.
Neh. I, 4. Cf. Dav., S., § 11. R. i ; Ges., § 139. 4; contrast
27, 44. 29, 20.

5. iD^n pinD2 t2J*'i^. 'Each according to the inter-
pretatioii of his dream^ i.e. each one dreamt a dream that had
its special reference to himself, and its own interpretation.

nn!^r:i ^rh •^tr.s no^ni npujon. cf. the note

on 29, 9. This construction is closer to the English idiom
than the one noticed in ver. i, and must be used if the two
words that should be in the construct state are to stand
together ; the construction '"^ '^P^ nSN") njp^p hardly occurs
(two construct states and one genitive), so we must, if we
wish to keep HDN and T\\>W together, use b ^'^Vi, or i?, as
in 7, 1 1 ; otherwise the alternative construction followed in
ver. I must be adopted.

6. D"^DVt = '^^ sad countenajice^ 'cast down;^ so Dan.
I, 10; cf. D^Dyn D^:)2 in Prov. 25, 23. Symm. has aKuOpoiTTol
here. On the importance attached to dreams among the
Egyptians, see Ebers, p. 321.

Y



322



GENESIS,



7. n^V^ d!3"'DD rilt:^. Cf. Neh. 2, 2 D^yi T^a ynro =

' Z£;/|y dos^ ihou look so troubled?'

8. "^^^^ "j'^t^ ^ilD"l = ' a;/^ //^67'