23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 1 replied to Abraham in the hearing 2 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 3 of his city –
28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. 7 As he blessed him, 8 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 9
44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.
1 tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
2 tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
3 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.
4 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
6 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
7 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
8 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
9 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”