10:1 This is the account 4 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 5 were born 6 to them after the flood.
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 11 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 12 in Gerar,
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 13 in the days of Abraham. 14 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
1 tn Heb “for the terror of the
2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “for great plunder was in them.”
4 tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (’elle tolÿdot, here translated as “This is the account”) here covers 10:1–11:9, which contains the so-called Table of Nations and the account of how the nations came to be dispersed.
5 sn Sons were born to them. A vertical genealogy such as this encompasses more than the names of sons. The list includes cities, tribes, and even nations. In a loose way, the names in the list have some derivation or connection to the three ancestors.
6 tn It appears that the Table of Nations is a composite of at least two ancient sources: Some sections begin with the phrase “the sons of” (בְּנֵי, bÿne) while other sections use “begot” (יָלָד, yalad). It may very well be that the “sons of” list was an old, “bare bones” list that was retained in the family records, while the “begot” sections were editorial inserts by the writer of Genesis, reflecting his special interests. See A. P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Structure,” BSac 137 (1980): 340-53; idem, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Content,” BSac 138 (1981): 22-34.
7 tn Heb “were.”
8 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
9 tn Heb “as you go.”
10 tn Heb “as you go.”
11 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
12 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
13 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
14 sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.