Genesis 37:34-36

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 37:34 tn Heb “and put sackcloth on his loins.”
2. Genesis 37:35 tn Heb “arose, stood”; which here suggests that they stood by him in his time of grief.
3. Genesis 37:35 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Indeed I will go down to my son mourning to Sheol.’” Sheol was viewed as the place where departed spirits went after death.
4. Genesis 37:35 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5. Genesis 37:36 tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.
6. Genesis 37:36 tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (m^edanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the letter י (yod) was accidentally omitted in the MT. The LXX, Vulgate, Smr, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”
7. Genesis 37:36 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8. Genesis 37:36 sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner. The noun "guard" derives from a verb meaning to slaughter.