Genesis 41:43-45

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 41:43 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2. Genesis 41:43 tn Heb “and he caused him to ride in the second chariot which was his.”
3. Genesis 41:43 tn The verb form appears to be a causative imperative from a verbal root meaning “to kneel.” It is a homonym of the word “bless” (identical in root letters but not related etymologically).
4. Genesis 41:44 tn Heb “apart from you.”
5. Genesis 41:44 tn Heb “no man,” but here “man” is generic, referring to people in general.
6. Genesis 41:44 tn The idiom “lift up hand or foot” means “take any action” here.
7. Genesis 41:45 sn The meaning of Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah, is uncertain. Many recent commentators have followed the proposal of G. Steindorff that it means “the god has said, ‘he will live’” (“Der Name Josephs Saphenat-Pa‘neach,” ZÄS 31 [1889]: 41-42); others have suggested “the god speaks and lives” (see BDB 861 s.v. צָפְנָת פַּעְנֵחַ); “the man he knows” (J. Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, 145); or “Joseph [who is called] ʾIp-ʿankh” (K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 1262).
8. Genesis 41:45 sn The name Asenath may mean “she belongs to the goddess Neit” (see HALOT 74 s.v. אָֽסְנַת). A novel was written at the beginning of the first century entitled Joseph and Asenath, which included a legendary account of the conversion of Asenath to Joseph’s faith in Yahweh. However, all that can be determined from this chapter is that their children received Hebrew names. See also V. Aptowitzer, “Asenath, the Wife of Joseph—a Haggadic Literary-Historical Study,” HUCA 1 (1924): 239-306.
9. Genesis 41:45 sn On (also in v. 50) is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
10. Genesis 41:45 tn Heb “and he passed through.”