Draft Hebrew Bible in English: Notes on Genesis 49
...

20 October 2022 draft-bible

Notes
...

1. in days to come. Hebrew bᵉʾaḥarit hayyamim, a phrase used in prophetic contexts to mean “in future days”. The ASV’s “in the latter days” is unfortunate as that phrase has now, in many contexts, taken on eschatological connotations not necessarily found in the Hebrew phrase itself.

3. rank. KJV, ASV, WEB, NHEB, “dignity”. But I think perhaps this may be a bit archaic; I don't think the idea is that Reuben is especially “dignified” in the current sense of the word, but more simply that he outranks his brothers. I am taking a cue here from Driver, who is in good company, as the NJPS and NRSV also read “rank” here.

4. Boiling over as water. The “as water” part is clear enough, but the Hebrew term translated here as “boiling over” is uncertain. See the DCH entries for PḤZ.

6. men. The Hebrew term is singular, but many commentators have taken this as a reference to their killing of the Shechemites, in which case the Hebrew ʾiš is to be taken in a collective sense, referring to multiple men.

6. cattle. As with “men”, the Hebrew term here is singular.

10. till Shiloh comes. Hebrew ʿad ki yaboʾš__ilo, which has been the subject of an enormous amount of discussion and various proposals, including, until he comes to Shiloh, and until he comes whose it is. See Driver.

10. Shiloh. Here NHEB notes claim that “Shiloh means ‘rest-giver’”. But I am not sure that this is true.

11. and him shall the peoples obey. Literally, “and to him obedience of peoples”.

14. strong donkey. Literally, “donkey of bone”. Translators have chosen a variety of ways to try to express this in English, including "strong-boned" (NJPS, NET), "large-boned" (JPS 1917), and even "rawboned" (NIV). Here I have simply cautiously retained the word "strong" as found in ASV (and WEB).

14. two saddlebags. WEB "the saddlebags"; ASV, "the sheepfolds". The meaning of this Hebrew term, found only here and in Judges 5:16, is unclear (compare BDB, HALOT, and especially DCH for multiple options).

15. He saw a resting place, that it was good. Or, “And he saw that rest was good”. It is not immediately obvious whether the Hebrew term used here means "rest" as an abstract noun, or "resting place" in this context.

19-20. their heel. Asher’s. I translate here on the assumption that the last word of verse 21 should be ʿQBM (“their heel”) and that the first word of verse 20 should be ʾŠR. This is the interpretation found in the Septuagint, Peshitta, and Vulgate (see BHK 1909, which endorses the emendation followed here). The WEB follows the emendation. The ASV, on the other hand, is influenced by the MT text, which appears to have wrongly divided the words so that the M at the end of verse 19 instead begins verse 20.

21. a doe set free. Some have read here, a slender terebinth (see Driver, Skinner for details).

21. who bears beautiful fawns. Some have read here, “which puts forth goodly upper boughs”, or “who yields beautiful words”. See Driver, Skinner for details. And, just as a point of trivia, the most absurd translation of this verse I've seen is in the misnamed “International Standard Version”: “Naphtali is a free running deer who produces eloquent literature.”

22. fruitful vine. Hebrew ben porat, an expression which occurs only in this verse. The ben is relatively clear. It means “son of”, although sometimes “son” has certain metaphorical uses in Hebrew that it does not have in English. The porat, however, is of unclear meaning; see DCH for several options.

22. by. Or “upon” or “above”.

22. branches. Hebrew “daughters”. Some have suggested that in this contexts “daughters” refer to twigs or tendrils or branches (if a ben porat is a plant or some portion of a plant), or else to colts, if a ben porat is a young donkey.

22. march. Hebrew ṣaʿadah, and on the definition of the verb see BDB. Some have questioned whether “march” is the right way to translate this verb: see NIV, CSB, NET “climb”, WEB, ASV, ESV “run”, NASB “hang”. Compounding the oddness of this verse, the Hebrew verb is singular, and therefore does not seem to match the plural “daughters”.

22. over. Or “upon”.

23. bitterly attacked. KJV, ASV “sorely grieved”, WEB “severely grieved”. According to Driver, “Grieved is an archaism”. Driver himself suggests "embittered", "provoked", "harassed", or "dealt bitterly with".

24. by the name. Reading miššem instead of the Masoretic Text’s miššam, “from there”. The CSB also adopts this emendation.

24. the shepherd, the stone of Israel. If “stone”, ʾBN, is emended to ʾ__BYK, “your father”, then one would read “the shepherd of your father Israel” – this emendation is suggest by BHK (1909). If this is the origin of the Masoretic reading, as BHK suggests, then this would explain why the expression “your father” appears in the Septuagint. On the basis of a comparison with the Septuagint, BHK also suggests that the text may have originally read ʿZR YŚRʾL, “the helper of Israel”.

Driver views the task of reconstructing this line as impossible. "This clause, however construed, yields such a strained and halting sense, that it is clear there is some corruption in it.... The thought undoubtedly expressed some thought parallel to clause c." By "clause c" Driver refers to the words here translated as "By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob".

Young’s Literal Translation goes in yet another direction – reading “a son” (as if the Hebrew text read BN) instead of “stone” (ʾBN).

25. by the god. ASV, WEB “Even by the God”. But the Hebrew text contains no word corresponding to the English “even” – this is an archaic use of “even” to introduce an appositive.

25. by Shaddai. The expression here translated as “by Shaddai” is interesting in Hebrew: ʾet shadday. By the emendation of one consonant, Driver says we “must certainly” read “El Shaddai”, a reading which he tells us has the support of the Septuagint, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Peshitta.

25. Shaddai. ASV, WEB “the Almighty”. The meaning of the title “Shaddai” is uncertain.

26. ancient mountains. Following the Septuagint and emending the Masoretic HWRY to HRRY. An attempt to follow the Masoretic Text might result in a reading like that of the ASV, which reads (somewhat improbably) HWRY as “my progenitors”.

26. above the bounty. Adding an ʿL (“above”) in front of TʾWT (“bounty”), as suggested by BHK. Instead of “bounty”, some translations with are attempting to preserve the Masoretic Text here interpret TʾWT as “boundary” or “limit”. But if the term does mean “limit” or “boundary” here, this is the only passage where this is the case.

29. my people. As pointed by the Masoretes, ʿammi. If the Masoretic pointing were to be disregarded, one would be tempted to read ʿammay, “my kinsmen”, following the example set by verse 33.

33. instructing. In verse 29, the WEB updates the ASV’s use of the verb “charge” to “instruct”; but in this verse, WEB retains “charging”.

33. his kinsmen. Hebrew ʿammav, while ASV and WEB read “his people”, as if the Hebrew expression here were ʿammo. Compare verse 29.

Copyright This page is released under the CC0 1.0 license.