3-6 October 2022 draft-bible
7. kept asking. Hebrew šaʾol šaʾal, literally, ‘to ask asked’. The repetition of the verb emphasizes it, indicating that the questioning was in some way intense, or thorough, or repetitive. And so the ASV translates the whole phrase as “asked straitly”, which means that the questioning was in some way intense. The WEB reads “asked directly”, which I must imagine is based on a slight misunderstanding of the English word “straitly” rather than on anything the WEB would have found in the Hebrew.
7. And we told him about the things he asked. Hebrew wanagged-lo ʿal-pi haddᵉbarim haʾelleh, which if translated very literally might read, “and we told to him upon the mouth of these things that were said”.
7. honey. The Hebrew word dᵉbaš can be used for honey derived from bees, but also for date honey – a sweet liquid derived from date fruits.
14. El Shaddai. This term for God is often traditionally rendered “God Almighty” in English, but it is not at all clear that it has that meaning.
14. If I am bereaved. WEB adds “of my children”, though these words do not occur here in the Hebrew.
23. your god, the god of your father. In Hebrew, literally, “your god and the god of your father”. But the singular verb natan, “has given”, makes it clear that only one deity is in mind.
23. I received your money. Literally, “your money came to me”.
29. and did homage. Hebrew wayyištaḥawu. There exists a Kethib / Qere distinction over how the word is spelled (Kethib WYŠTḤW, Qere WYŠTḤWW), but this does not affect the pronunciation of the Hebrew word or its translation.
33. to the Egyptians. The Masoretic text as pointed reads miṣrayim (“Egypt”) rather than miṣrim (“Egyptians”). The Septuagint reads “Egyptians”.
44. became drunk. The verb is šakar, and it is curious how many translation shrink back from a straightforward translation here. For example, the KJVism “were merry” is retained by the ASV, JPS (1917), NAB, ESV, NKJV, and even NRS;V while “drank freely” is found in the NIV, NLT, NASB. However – and I consider this a point in their favor – CSB and NET use the word “drunk”. Where the WEB reads “drank, and they were merry with him”; NHEB has “drank until they all became drunk”. But why have the words “with him” vanished from the NHEB?
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