Joshua 15:28

15:28 Hazar Shual, Beer Sheba, Biziothiah,

Genesis 21:31

21:31 That is why he named that place ¹  Beer Sheba, ²  because the two of them swore ³  an oath there.

Genesis 21:1

The Birth of Isaac

21:1 The Lord visited ⁴  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ⁵  for Sarah what he had promised. ⁶ 

Genesis 4:1

The Story of Cain and Abel

4:1 Now ⁷  the man had marital relations with ⁸  his wife Eve, and she became pregnant ⁹  and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created ¹⁰  a man just as the Lord did!” ¹¹ 

¹ tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”

² sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.” Both the verb “to swear” and the number “seven” have been used throughout the account. Now they are drawn in as part of the explanation of the significance of the name.

³ sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.

⁴ sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the Lord “visits.” For a more detailed study of the term, see G. André, Determining the Destiny (ConBOT).

⁵ tn Heb “and the Lord did.” The divine name has not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “spoken.”

⁷ tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.

⁸ tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

⁹ tn Or “she conceived.”

¹⁰ tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.

¹¹ tn Heb “with the Lord.” The particle אֶת־ (’et) is not the accusative/object sign, but the preposition “with” as the ancient versions attest. Some take the preposition in the sense of “with the help of” (see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV), while others prefer “along with” in the sense of “like, equally with, in common with” (see Lev 26:39; Isa 45:9; Jer 23:28). Either works well in this context; the latter is reflected in the present translation. Some understand אֶת־ as the accusative/object sign and translate, “I have acquired a man – the Lord.” They suggest that the woman thought (mistakenly) that she had given birth to the incarnate Lord, the Messiah who would bruise the Serpent’s head. This fanciful suggestion is based on a questionable allegorical interpretation of Gen 3:15 (see the note there on the word “heel”).