Go now, see if it is well with your brothers, and with the flock: Joseph is told to go and see the shalom of his brothers and the shalom of the animals. Shalom is used in verse 4, where it is translated “peace.” In the context of verse 14, it refers to the safety, security, and welfare of the brothers and the flock. We may translate, for example, “Go there and see if everything is all right,” “Go find out if there is any trouble.”

Bring me word again: that is, “then come back and tell me,” “bring me news,” “come and let me know.”

So he sent him from the valley of Hebron: the valley of Hebron runs northwest to southeast, and the town of Hebron is located in the valley. He sent him from … may have to be restructured in some languages to separate the different actions or movements; for example, “… and he sent him off. Joseph set out from … Hebron and traveled toward Shechem.” Some translations say “At this time Jacob and his clan were in the valley of Hebron, and Joseph set out from there and began walking.” Valley refers to a broad low-lying plain between two mountain ranges. In some languages a valley is called “the low land between the hills.”

And he came to Shechem: note that Good News Translation begins a new paragraph here. Revised Standard Version, which translates the Hebrew connective as and, forms three short sentences: “and he came … and a man found … and the man asked.” It will often be more natural to restructure these along the lines of Good News Translation, or say, for example, “When he reached Shechem, a man found him … and asked him.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .