Vincent Melli

The Holy Bible · Genesis

Genesis 45 — Hebrew and Greek compared

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Same 9   Similar 10   Different 6   Divergent 1   Disparate 2

Disparate in this chapter: 45:19, 45:22

Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.

Revealing Providence

45:1  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:1 Now Joseph could no longer restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me!” So no one remained with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

Greek · Saints priority

45:1 Joseph could no longer bear the presence of all those standing by him. He said, “Send everyone away from me!” No one else remained with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.

The Greek construction stresses the attendants’ presence; Hebrew explicitly describes Joseph’s self-restraint [G45].

45:2  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:2 He wept aloud. The Egyptians heard it, and Pharaoh’s household heard it.

Greek · Saints priority

45:2 He wept aloud. All the Egyptians heard it, and the sound reached Pharaoh’s household.

Greek adds all and describes the sound reaching the household [G45].

45:3  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were utterly troubled in his presence.

Greek · Saints priority

45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” His brothers could not answer him, for they were troubled.

Rahlfs–Hanhart has the short identification here; the fuller identification belongs to verse 4. The brothers’ inability to answer and distress correspond. [G45] Saints reception: Acts 7:9–13 retells Joseph’s sale, God’s presence with him, his authority in Egypt, and recognition on the brothers’ second visit. This is a narrative retelling. [S45]

45:4  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” So they came near. And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me.” They came near. He said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.”

Rahlfs–Hanhart includes the invitation and approach as well as the identification and sale clause. The earlier draft’s omission is corrected. [G45]

45:5  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:5 “Do not grieve or be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:5 “Do not grieve or let it seem hard to you that you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you for life.”

Both interpret the outcome through God’s purpose; neither erases the brothers’ stated act of selling him [G45].

45:6  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:6 “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years remaining in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:6 “This is the second year of famine in the land, and five years remain in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.”

Two years/second year describes the elapsed famine [G45].

45:7  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:7 “God sent me ahead of you to preserve a remnant for you on earth and to keep you alive through a great deliverance.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:7 “God sent me ahead of you to leave a remnant of you on earth and to nourish a great remnant of you.”

Keep alive through deliverance/nourish a remnant differs in the final clause. Later remnant theology belongs in reception notes [G45].

45:8  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:8 “So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:8 “So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me like a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

Greek explicitly marks the father comparison with like; the position of authority is metaphorical in both columns. [G45]

Graceful Mercy

45:9  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:9 “Hurry therefore, and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all the land of Egypt; come down to me, and do not delay.’”

Greek · Saints priority

45:9 “Hurry therefore, and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all the land of Egypt; come down to me, and do not delay.’”

The corresponding meaning and content agree.

45:10  Divergent

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:10 “You will live in the land of Goshen and be near me, you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything you have.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:10 “And you shall dwell in the land of Gesem of Arabia, and you shall be near me—you, and your sons, and your grandsons, your sheep, your oxen, and all that you have.”

Greek specifies Gesem of Arabia; this ancient regional designation is not mapped directly onto modern national borders [G45].

45:11  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:11 “I will provide for you there, for five years of famine remain, so you, your household, and all you have will not be impoverished.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:11 “I will nourish you there, for five years of famine remain, so you, your sons, and all your possessions will not be wiped out.”

Household/sons and impoverished/wiped out differ in scope and severity [G45].

45:12  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:12 “Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my own mouth speaking to you.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:12 “Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my own mouth speaking to you.”

The corresponding meaning and content agree.

45:13  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:13 “Report therefore to my father all my glory in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and make haste and bring my father down here.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:13 “Report therefore to my father all my glory in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and make haste and bring my father down here.”

The corresponding meaning and content agree.

Reconciling Provision

45:14  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:14 Then he fell upon the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

Greek · Saints priority

45:14 He fell upon the neck of Benjamin his brother and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

Rahlfs–Hanhart explicitly says that Joseph wept; the two brothers’ reciprocal weeping agrees with Hebrew. [G45]

45:15  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them; and after that his brothers spoke with him.

Greek · Saints priority

45:15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them; and after that his brothers spoke with him.

The corresponding meaning and content agree.

45:16  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:16 The report reached Pharaoh’s house: “Joseph’s brothers have come.” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased.

Greek · Saints priority

45:16 The report spread through Pharaoh’s house: “Joseph’s brothers have come.” Pharaoh and his attendants rejoiced.

Pleased/rejoiced and servants/attendants correspond in the reception [G45].

45:17  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: load your animals and return to Canaan.’”

Greek · Saints priority

45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: load your transport and depart for Canaan.’”

The Greek transport term is broader; V1’s traveling carriages is not required. The wagons are explicitly given in verse 19 [G45].

45:18  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:18 “‘Take your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the good things of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’”

Greek · Saints priority

45:18 “‘Take your father and your possessions and come to me. I will give you some of all Egypt’s good things, and you will eat the marrow of the land.’”

Households/possessions differs; fat/marrow is abundance imagery [G45].

45:19  Disparate

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:19 “You are commanded to do this: ‘Take wagons from Egypt for your little ones and your wives, bring your father, and come.’”

Greek · Saints priority

45:19 “Give this command, that they take wagons from Egypt: ‘Take them for your children and wives, bring your father, and come.’”

Hebrew addresses Joseph as commanded; Greek tells him to issue the command. The English marks the change of addressee [G45]. The command assigns a different role to Joseph.

45:20  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:20 “‘Do not be concerned about your belongings, for all Egypt’s good things will be yours.’”

Greek · Saints priority

45:20 “‘Do not be concerned about your belongings, for all Egypt’s good things will be yours.’”

The corresponding meaning and content agree.

45:21  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:21 And the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the word of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey.

Greek · Saints priority

45:21 And the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the word of Pharaoh the king, and he gave them provisions for the journey.

Greek adds the king title [G45].

45:22  Disparate

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:22 He gave each of them changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing.

Greek · Saints priority

45:22 He gave them all two robes each, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of gold and five changes of robes.

Silver/gold differs for Benjamin’s payment. Greek also explicitly gives the other brothers two robes each [G45].

45:23  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:23 He sent his father these things: ten male donkeys loaded with Egypt’s good things and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provisions for his father’s journey.

Greek · Saints priority

45:23 He sent his father the same, along with ten donkeys loaded with some of all Egypt’s good things and ten female mules loaded with bread for his father’s journey.

Female donkeys/mules and the cargo details differ [G45].

45:24  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:24 He sent his brothers away, and as they departed he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the journey.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “Do not become angry on the way.”

Greek says do not become angry; the Hebrew agitation term is rendered in its interpersonal context [G45].

45:25  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan to their father Jacob.

Greek · Saints priority

45:25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan to their father Jacob.

The corresponding meaning and content agree.

45:26  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he rules all Egypt!” His heart grew numb, for he did not believe them.

Greek · Saints priority

45:26 They told him, “Your son Joseph is alive, and he rules all Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

Greek names Jacob and your son; the emotional idioms are smoothed without V1’s literal intellect standing outside itself [G45].

45:27  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:27 They told him everything Joseph had said to them. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.

Greek · Saints priority

45:27 They told him everything Joseph had said to them. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father was rekindled.

Revived/rekindled preserves the imagery; V1’s added living flame is removed [G45].

45:28  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

45:28 Israel said, “Enough! Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Greek · Saints priority

45:28 And Israel said, “It is a great thing to me if my son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.”

Hebrew’s enough and Greek’s great thing to me differ; the Greek conditional expression is retained [G45].

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Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.

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