Genesis 35:8

35:8 (Deborah, ¹  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ²  Oak of Weeping.) ³ 

Genesis 35:2

35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ⁴  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ⁵ 

Genesis 21:12-14

21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ⁶  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ⁷  all that Sarah is telling ⁸  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ⁹  21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”

21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took ¹⁰  some food ¹¹  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ¹²  and sent her away. So she went wandering ¹³  aimlessly through the wilderness ¹⁴  of Beer Sheba.

¹ sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.

² tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

³ tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.

⁴ tn Heb “which are in your midst.”

⁵ sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.

⁶ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

⁷ tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.

⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

⁹ tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”

¹¹ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

¹² tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”

¹³ tn Heb “she went and wandered.”

¹⁴ tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.