Genesis 12:6

12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree ¹  of Moreh ²  at Shechem. ³  (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) ⁴ 

Genesis 35:8

35:8 (Deborah, ⁵  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ⁶  Oak of Weeping.) ⁷ 

¹ tn Or “terebinth.”

² sn The Hebrew word Moreh (מוֹרֶה, moreh) means “teacher.” It may well be that the place of this great oak tree was a Canaanite shrine where instruction took place.

³ tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”

⁴ tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

⁷ 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.