1 Samuel 11:5

11:5 Now Saul was walking behind the ¹  oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked, “What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?” So they told him about ²  the men of Jabesh.

Genesis 13:7-8

13:7 So there were quarrels ³  between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. ⁴  (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) ⁵ 

13:8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. ⁶ 

Genesis 26:20

26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ⁷  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ⁸  named the well ⁹  Esek ¹⁰  because they argued with him about it. ¹¹ 

Genesis 26:1

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ¹²  in the days of Abraham. ¹³  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

Genesis 27:29

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ¹⁴  lord ¹⁵  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ¹⁶ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

Genesis 27:2

27:2 Isaac ¹⁷  said, “Since ¹⁸  I am so old, I could die at any time. ¹⁹ 

Genesis 26:10

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ²⁰  One of the men ²¹  might easily have had sexual relations with ²²  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”

[11:5]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, “his oxen.” On this use of the definite article see Joüon 2:506-7 §137.f.

[11:5]  ² tn Heb “the matters of.”

[13:7]  ³ tn The Hebrew term רִיב (riv) means “strife, conflict, quarreling.” In later texts it has the meaning of “legal controversy, dispute.” See B. Gemser, “The rîb – or Controversy – Pattern in Hebrew Mentality,” Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East [VTSup], 120-37.

[13:7]  ⁴ sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.

[13:7]  ⁵ tn This parenthetical clause, introduced with the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), again provides critical information. It tells in part why the land cannot sustain these two bedouins, and it also hints of the danger of weakening the family by inner strife.

[13:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “men, brothers [are] we.” Here “brothers” describes the closeness of the relationship, but could be misunderstood if taken literally, since Abram was Lot’s uncle.

[26:20]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ¹⁰ sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”

[26:20]  ¹¹ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:1]  ¹² tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ¹³ sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

[27:29]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

[27:29]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

[27:29]  ¹⁶ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ¹⁸ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[26:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[26:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “people.”

[26:10]  ²² tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”