13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 1 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 2 He returned 3 to the place where he had pitched his tent 4 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai.
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 12 three measures 13 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 14
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 24 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 25
31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. 28
1 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
2 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
3 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
7 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
8 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
9 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
10 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
11 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
9 tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.
10 sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.
11 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
14 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
15 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
16 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
17 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
17 tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
19 tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”
20 tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.
21 tn Heb “knowing.”
22 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”
25 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
26 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
29 tn Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.
33 tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”
34 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.
35 tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
37 tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.
38 tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).