Genesis 21:25

21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ¹  against Abimelech concerning a well ²  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ³ 

Genesis 20:16

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ⁴  to your ‘brother.’ ⁵  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ⁶ 

Genesis 24:44

24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

Genesis 31:37

31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ⁷  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ⁸  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ⁹ 

Genesis 24:14

24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ ¹⁰  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ¹¹ 

Genesis 31:42

31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ¹²  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ¹³  and he rebuked you last night.”

¹ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to argue; to dispute”; it can focus on the beginning of the dispute (as here), the dispute itself, or the resolution of a dispute (Isa 1:18). Apparently the complaint was lodged before the actual oath was taken.

² tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”

³ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.

⁴ sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).

⁵ sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).

⁶ tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).

⁷ tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”

⁸ tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.

⁹ tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”

¹⁰ sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.

¹¹ tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”

¹³ tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42,53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.

¹⁴ tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”