19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 1 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 2 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 3 replied to Abraham in the hearing 4 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 5 of his city –
“Our sister, may you become the mother 7 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 8 of their enemies.”
1 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
2 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
4 tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
5 sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.
5 tn Heb “and said to her.”
6 tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”
7 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.