1tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express Joseph’s instructions.

2tn Heb “and he did according to the word of Joseph which he spoke.”

3tn Heb “the morning was light.”

4tn Heb “and the men were sent off, they and their donkeys.” This clause, like the preceding one, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.

5tn Heb “they left the city, they were not far,” meaning “they had not gone very far.”

6tn Heb “and Joseph said.” This clause, like the first one in the verse, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.

7tn Heb “arise, chase after the men.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

8tn After the imperative this perfect verbal form with vav consecutive has the same nuance of instruction. In the translation it is subordinated to the verbal form that follows (also a perfect with vav consecutive): “and overtake them and say,” becomes “when you overtake them, say.”

9tn Heb “Is this not what my master drinks from.” The word “cup” is not in the Hebrew text, but is obviously the referent of “this,” and so has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

10tn Heb “and he, divining, divines with it.” The infinitive absolute is emphatic, stressing the importance of the cup to Joseph.

11tn Heb “you have caused to be evil what you have done.”

12tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

13tn Heb “Why does my lord speak according to these words?”

14tn Heb “according to this thing.”

15tn Heb “The one with whom it is found from your servants.” Here “your servants” (a deferential way of referring to the brothers themselves) has been translated by the pronoun “us” to avoid confusion with Joseph’s servants.

16tn Heb “Also now, according to your words, so it is.” As the next statement indicates, this does mean that he will do exactly as they say. He does agree with them the culprit should be punished, but not as harshly as they suggest. Furthermore, the innocent parties will not be punished.

17tn Heb “The one with whom it is found will become my slave.”

18tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

19tn The Hebrew word נָקִי (naqi) means “acquitted,” that is, free of guilt and the responsibility for it.

sn The rest of you will be free. Joseph’s purpose was to single out Benjamin to see if the brothers would abandon him as they had abandoned Joseph. He wanted to see if they had changed.

20tn Heb “and they hurried and they lowered.” Their speed in doing this shows their presumption of innocence.

21tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

22sn Judah and his brothers. The narrative is already beginning to bring Judah to the forefront.

23tn The disjunctive clause here provides supplemental information.

24tn Heb “What is this deed you have done?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question. A literal translation seems to contradict the following statement, in which Joseph affirms that he is able to divine such matters. Thus here the emotive force of the question has been reflected in the translation, “What did you think you were doing?”

25tn Heb “[is] fully able to divine,” meaning that he can find things out by divination. The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis, stressing his ability to do this.

26tn The imperfect verbal form here indicates the subject’s potential.

27tn The Hitpael form of the verb צָדֵק (tsadeq) here means “to prove ourselves just, to declare ourselves righteous, to prove our innocence.”

28sn God has exposed the sin of your servants. The first three questions are rhetorical; Judah is stating that there is nothing they can say to clear themselves. He therefore must conclude that they have been found guilty.

29tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

30tn Heb “up” (reflecting directions from their point of view – “up” to Canaan; “down” to Egypt).

31tn Heb “Please my lord, let your servant speak a word into the ears of my lord.”

32tn Heb “and let not your anger burn against your servant.”

33sn You are just like Pharaoh. Judah’s speech begins with the fear and trembling of one who stands condemned. Joseph has as much power as Pharaoh, either to condemn or to pardon. Judah will make his appeal, wording his speech in such a way as to appeal to Joseph’s compassion for the father, whom he mentions no less than fourteen times in the speech.

34tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.

35tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

36tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”

37tn The cohortative after the imperative indicates purpose here.

38tn Heb “that I may set my eyes upon him.”

39tn Heb “he”; the referent (the boy’s father, i.e., Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

40tn The last two verbs are perfect tenses with vav consecutive. The first is subordinated to the second as a conditional clause.

41tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

42tn Heb “go down.”

43tn Heb “that two sons my wife bore to me.”

44tn Heb “went forth from me.”

45tn The construction uses a perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive to introduce the conditional clause and then another perfect verbal form with a vav consecutive to complete the sentence: “if you take…then you will bring down.”

46sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble. See Gen 42:38.

47tn Heb “evil/calamity.” The term is different than the one used in the otherwise identical statement recorded in v. 31 (see also 42:38).

48tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.

49tn Heb “his life is bound up in his life.”

50tn Heb “when he sees that there is no boy.”

51tn Or “for.”

52tn The Hebrew text has “lest I see,” which expresses a negative purpose – “I cannot go up lest I see.”

53tn Heb “the calamity which would find my father.”