Genesis 21:1--23:20

The Birth of Isaac

21:1 The Lord visited ¹  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ²  for Sarah what he had promised. ³  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ⁴  and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. ⁵  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ⁶  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ⁷  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ⁸ 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ⁹  Everyone who hears about this ¹⁰  will laugh ¹¹  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ¹²  “Who would ¹³  have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”

21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared ¹⁴  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ¹⁵  21:9 But Sarah noticed ¹⁶  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ¹⁷  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ¹⁸  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. ¹⁹  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ²⁰  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ²¹  all that Sarah is telling ²²  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ²³  21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”

21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took ²⁴  some food ²⁵  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ²⁶  and sent her away. So she went wandering ²⁷  aimlessly through the wilderness ²⁸  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ²⁹  the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot ³⁰  away; for she thought, ³¹  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ³²  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ³³ 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ³⁴  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ³⁵  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ³⁶  the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. ³⁷  She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.

21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. ³⁸  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ³⁹ 

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ⁴⁰  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ⁴¹  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ⁴²  Show me, and the land ⁴³  where you are staying, ⁴⁴  the same loyalty ⁴⁵  that I have shown you.” ⁴⁶ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ⁴⁷  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ⁴⁸  against Abimelech concerning a well ⁴⁹  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ⁵⁰  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ⁵¹  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. ⁵²  21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these ⁵³  seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof ⁵⁴  that I dug this well.” ⁵⁵  21:31 That is why he named that place ⁵⁶  Beer Sheba, ⁵⁷  because the two of them swore ⁵⁸  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ⁵⁹  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ⁶⁰  to the land of the Philistines. ⁶¹  21:33 Abraham ⁶²  planted a tamarisk tree ⁶³  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ⁶⁴  the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. ⁶⁵ 

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ⁶⁶  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ⁶⁷  replied. 22:2 God ⁶⁸  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ⁶⁹  – and go to the land of Moriah! ⁷⁰  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ⁷¹  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ⁷²  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ⁷³  He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out ⁷⁴  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ⁷⁵  the place in the distance. 22:5 So he ⁷⁶  said to his servants, “You two stay ⁷⁷  here with the donkey while ⁷⁸  the boy and I go up there. We will worship ⁷⁹  and then return to you.” ⁸⁰ 

22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, ⁸¹  and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, ⁸²  “My father?” “What is it, ⁸³  my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, ⁸⁴  “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide ⁸⁵  for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ⁸⁶  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ⁸⁷  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter ⁸⁸  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ⁸⁹  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ⁹⁰  the angel said. ⁹¹  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ⁹²  that you fear ⁹³  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ⁹⁴  and saw ⁹⁵  behind him ⁹⁶  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ⁹⁷  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ⁹⁸  It is said to this day, ⁹⁹  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ¹⁰⁰ 

22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ¹⁰¹  decrees the Lord, ¹⁰²  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ¹⁰³  and I will greatly multiply ¹⁰⁴  your descendants ¹⁰⁵  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ¹⁰⁶  of the strongholds ¹⁰⁷  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ¹⁰⁸  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁰⁹  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ¹¹⁰  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ¹¹¹ 

22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah ¹¹²  also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ¹¹³  22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now ¹¹⁴  Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ¹¹⁵  23:2 Then she ¹¹⁶  died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ¹¹⁷ 

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ¹¹⁸  and said to the sons of Heth, ¹¹⁹  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ¹²⁰  among you. Grant ¹²¹  me ownership ¹²²  of a burial site among you so that I may ¹²³  bury my dead.” ¹²⁴ 

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ¹²⁵  23:6 “Listen, sir, ¹²⁶  you are a mighty prince ¹²⁷  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ¹²⁸  from burying your dead.”

23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, ¹²⁹  the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ¹³⁰  that I may bury my dead, ¹³¹  then hear me out. ¹³²  Ask ¹³³  Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell ¹³⁴  me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly ¹³⁵  for the full price, ¹³⁶  so that I may own it as a burial site.”

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ¹³⁷  replied to Abraham in the hearing ¹³⁸  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ¹³⁹  of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ¹⁴⁰  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ¹⁴¹  In the presence of my people ¹⁴²  I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”

23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay ¹⁴³  to you the price ¹⁴⁴  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ¹⁴⁵  bury my dead there.”

23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ¹⁴⁶  400 pieces of silver, ¹⁴⁷  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ¹⁴⁸  and weighed ¹⁴⁹  out for him ¹⁵⁰  the price ¹⁵¹  that Ephron had quoted ¹⁵²  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ¹⁵³ 

23:17 So Abraham secured ¹⁵⁴  Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. ¹⁵⁵ 

23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site ¹⁵⁶  from the sons of Heth.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12

29:11 O Lord, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign ¹⁵⁷  over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler ¹⁵⁸  of all. 29:12 You are the source of wealth and honor; ¹⁵⁹  you rule over all. You possess strength and might to magnify and give strength to all. ¹⁶⁰ 

Job 12:13

12:13 “With God ¹⁶¹  are wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his. ¹⁶² 

Job 12:16-22

12:16 With him are strength and prudence; ¹⁶³ 

both the one who goes astray ¹⁶⁴ 

and the one who misleads are his.

12:17 He ¹⁶⁵  leads ¹⁶⁶  counselors away stripped ¹⁶⁷ 

and makes judges ¹⁶⁸  into fools. ¹⁶⁹ 

12:18 He loosens ¹⁷⁰  the bonds ¹⁷¹  of kings

and binds a loincloth ¹⁷²  around their waist.

12:19 He leads priests away stripped ¹⁷³ 

and overthrows ¹⁷⁴  the potentates. ¹⁷⁵ 

12:20 He deprives the trusted advisers ¹⁷⁶  of speech ¹⁷⁷ 

and takes away the discernment ¹⁷⁸  of elders.

12:21 He pours contempt on noblemen

and disarms ¹⁷⁹  the powerful. ¹⁸⁰ 

12:22 He reveals the deep things of darkness,

and brings deep shadows ¹⁸¹  into the light.

Psalms 62:11

62:11 God has declared one principle;

two principles I have heard: ¹⁸² 

God is strong, ¹⁸³ 

Psalms 147:5

147:5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power; ¹⁸⁴ 

there is no limit to his wisdom. ¹⁸⁵ 

Proverbs 8:14

8:14 Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me; ¹⁸⁶ 

I possess understanding and might.

Jeremiah 32:19

32:19 You plan great things and you do mighty deeds. ¹⁸⁷  You see everything people do. ¹⁸⁸  You reward each of them for the way they live and for the things they do. ¹⁸⁹ 

Matthew 6:13

6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, ¹⁹⁰  but deliver us from the evil one. ¹⁹¹ 

Jude 1:24

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, ¹⁹²  and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, ¹⁹³  without blemish ¹⁹⁴  before his glorious presence, ¹⁹⁵ 

Revelation 5:12

5:12 all of whom ¹⁹⁶  were singing ¹⁹⁷  in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the lamb who was killed ¹⁹⁸ 

to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and praise!”

[21:1]  ¹ 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).

[21:1]  ² tn Heb “and the Lord did.” The divine name has not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:1]  ³ tn Heb “spoken.”

[21:2]  ⁴ tn Or “she conceived.”

[21:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.

[21:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.

[21:4]  ⁷ sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the Lord by both naming (Gen 17:19) and circumcising Isaac (17:12).

[21:5]  ⁸ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).

[21:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”

[21:6]  ¹⁰ tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:6]  ¹¹ sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).

[21:7]  ¹² tn Heb “said.”

[21:7]  ¹³ tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.

[21:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “made.”

[21:8]  ¹⁵ sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.

[21:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “saw.”

[21:9]  ¹⁷ tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.

[21:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.

[21:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and the word was very wrong in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.” The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) often refers to what is morally or ethically “evil.” It usage here suggests that Abraham thought Sarah’s demand was ethically (and perhaps legally) wrong.

[21:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

[21:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.

[21:12]  ²² tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ²³ tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.

[21:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”

[21:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[21:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”

[21:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “she went and wandered.”

[21:14]  ²⁸ tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.

[21:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “threw,” but the child, who was now thirteen years old, would not have been carried, let alone thrown under a bush. The exaggerated language suggests Ishmael is limp from dehydration and is being abandoned to die. See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 2:85.

[21:16]  ³⁰ sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).

[21:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “said.”

[21:16]  ³² tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.

[21:16]  ³³ tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.

[21:17]  ³⁴ sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the Lord are focused on the child’s imminent death.

[21:17]  ³⁵ tn Heb “What to you?”

[21:17]  ³⁶ sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.

[21:19]  ³⁷ tn Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:21]  ³⁸ sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.

[21:21]  ³⁹ tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”

[21:22]  ⁴⁰ sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.

[21:23]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”

[21:23]  ⁴² tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”

[21:23]  ⁴³ tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.

[21:23]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.

[21:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “kindness.”

[21:23]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”

[21:24]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “I swear.” No object is specified in the Hebrew text, but the content of the oath requested by Abimelech is the implied object.

[21:25]  ⁴⁸ 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.

[21:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”

[21:25]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.

[21:26]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and also.”

[21:27]  ⁵² tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:29]  ⁵³ tn Heb “What are these?”

[21:30]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”

[21:30]  ⁵⁵ sn This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for the well he dug. It would be useless to make a treaty to live in this territory if he had no rights to the water. Abraham consented to the treaty, but added his rider to it.

[21:31]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”

[21:31]  ⁵⁷ 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.

[21:31]  ⁵⁸ sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.

[21:32]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ⁶¹ sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.

[21:33]  ⁶² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:33]  ⁶³ sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.

[21:33]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “he called there in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[21:34]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “many days.”

[22:1]  ⁶⁶ sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.

[22:1]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ⁶⁹ sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.

[22:2]  ⁷⁰ sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.

[22:2]  ⁷¹ sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.

[22:2]  ⁷² tn Heb “which I will say to.”

[22:3]  ⁷³ tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”

[22:3]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “he arose and he went.”

[22:4]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”

[22:5]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[22:5]  ⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.

[22:5]  ⁷⁸ tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.

[22:5]  ⁷⁹ tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”

[22:5]  ⁸⁰ sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.

[22:6]  ⁸¹ sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.

[22:7]  ⁸² tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[22:7]  ⁸³ tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).

[22:7]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:8]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”

[22:9]  ⁸⁶ sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?

[22:9]  ⁸⁷ sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.

[22:10]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”

[22:11]  ⁸⁹ sn Heb “the messenger of the Lord” (also in v. 15). Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, see the note on the phrase “the Lord’s angel” in Gen 16:7.

[22:12]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

[22:12]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:12]  ⁹² sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

[22:12]  ⁹³ sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.

[22:13]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”

[22:13]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.

[22:13]  ⁹⁶ tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Samaritan Pentateuch read “one” (אֶחָד, ’ekhad) instead of “behind him” (אַחַר, ’akhar).

[22:13]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:14]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.

[22:14]  ⁹⁹ sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[22:14]  ¹⁰⁰ sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.

[22:16]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

[22:16]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

[22:17]  ¹⁰³ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ¹⁰⁵ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[22:18]  ¹⁰⁸ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[22:19]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”

[22:19]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.

[22:20]  ¹¹² tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.

[22:21]  ¹¹³ sn This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.

[22:23]  ¹¹⁴ tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).

[23:1]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

[23:2]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.

[23:2]  ¹¹⁷ sn Mourn…weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah’s tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (v. 3).

[23:3]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”

[23:3]  ¹¹⁹ tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

[23:4]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”

[23:4]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “give,” which is used here as an idiom for “sell” (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.

[23:4]  ¹²² tn Or “possession.”

[23:4]  ¹²³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.

[23:4]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:5]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”

[23:6]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”

[23:6]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.

[23:6]  ¹²⁸ tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:7]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).

[23:8]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).

[23:8]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:8]  ¹³² tn Or “hear me.”

[23:8]  ¹³³ tn Heb “intercede for me with.”

[23:9]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.

[23:9]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “in your presence.”

[23:9]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:10]  ¹³⁷ tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.

[23:10]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.

[23:10]  ¹³⁹ 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.

[23:11]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.

[23:11]  ¹⁴¹ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[23:11]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”

[23:13]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “give.”

[23:13]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:13]  ¹⁴⁵ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.

[23:15]  ¹⁴⁶ tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:15]  ¹⁴⁷ sn Four hundred pieces 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 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).

[23:16]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”

[23:16]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”

[23:16]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:16]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.

[23:17]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:18]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:20]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “possession of a grave.”

[29:11]  ¹⁵⁷ tn The words “and sovereign” are added in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[29:11]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “head.”

[29:12]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “wealth and honor [are] from before you.”

[29:12]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Heb “and in your hand [is] strength and might and in your hand to magnify and to give strength to all.”

[12:13]  ¹⁶¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:13]  ¹⁶² sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 91) says, “These attributes of God’s [sic] confound and bring to nought everything bearing the same name among men.”

[12:16]  ¹⁶³ tn The word תּוּשִׁיָּה (tushiyyah) is here rendered “prudence.” Some object that God’s power is intended here, and so a word for power and not wisdom should be included. But v. 13 mentioned wisdom. The point is that it is God’s efficient wisdom that leads to success. One could interpret this as a metonymy of cause, the intended meaning being victory or success.

[12:16]  ¹⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses a wordplay here: שֹׁגֵג (shogeg) is “the one going astray,” i.e., the one who is unable to guard and guide his life. The second word is מַשְׁגֶּה (mashgeh), from a different but historically related root שָׁגָה (shagah), which here in the Hiphil means “the one who misleads, causes to go astray.” These two words are designed to include everybody – all are under the wisdom of God.

[12:17]  ¹⁶⁵ tn The personal pronoun normally present as the subject of the participle is frequently omitted (see GKC 381 §119.s).

[12:17]  ¹⁶⁶ tn GKC 361-62 §116.x notes that almost as a rule a participle beginning a sentence is continued with a finite verb with or without a ו (vav). Here the participle (“leads”) is followed by an imperfect (“makes fools”) after a ו (vav).

[12:17]  ¹⁶⁷ tn The word שׁוֹלָל (sholal), from the root שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder; to strip”), is an adjective expressing the state (and is in the singular, as if to say, “in the state of one naked” [GKC 375 §118.o]). The word is found in military contexts (see Mic 1:8). It refers to the carrying away of people in nakedness and shame by enemies who plunder (see also Isa 8:1-4). They will go away as slaves and captives, deprived of their outer garments. Some (cf. NAB) suggest “barefoot,” based on the LXX of Mic 1:8; but the meaning of that is uncertain. G. R. Driver wanted to derive the word from an Arabic root “to be mad; to be giddy,” forming a better parallel.

[12:17]  ¹⁶⁸ sn The judges, like the counselors, are nobles in the cities. God may reverse their lot, either by captivity or by shame, and they cannot resist his power.

[12:17]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Some translate this “makes mad” as in Isa 44:25, but this gives the wrong connotation today; more likely God shows them to be fools.

[12:18]  ¹⁷⁰ tn The verb may be classified as a gnomic perfect, or possibly a potential perfect – “he can loosen.” The Piel means “to untie; to unbind” (Job 30:11; 38:31; 39:5).

[12:18]  ¹⁷¹ tc There is a potential textual difficulty here. The MT has מוּסַר (musar, “discipline”), which might have replaced מוֹסֵר (moser, “bond, chain”) from אָסַר (’asar, “to bind”). Or מוּסַר might be an unusual form of אָסַר (an option noted in HALOT 557 s.v. *מוֹסֵר). The line is saying that if the kings are bound, God can set them free, and in the second half, if they are free, he can bind them. Others take the view that this word “bond” refers to the power kings have over others, meaning that God can reduce kings to slavery.

[12:18]  ¹⁷² tn Some commentators want to change אֵזוֹר (’ezor, “girdle”) to אֵסוּר (’esur, “bond”) because binding the loins with a girdle was an expression for strength. But H. H. Rowley notes that binding the king’s loins this way would mean so that he would do servitude, menial tasks. Such a reference would certainly indicate troubled times.

[12:19]  ¹⁷³ tn Except for “priests,” the phraseology is identical to v. 17a.

[12:19]  ¹⁷⁴ tn The verb has to be defined by its context: it can mean “falsify” (Exod 23:8), “make tortuous” (Prov 19:3), or “plunge” into misfortune (Prov 21:12). God overthrows those who seem to be solid.

[12:19]  ¹⁷⁵ tn The original meaning of אֵיתָן (’eytan) is “perpetual.” It is usually an epithet for a torrent that is always flowing. It carries the connotations of permanence and stability; here applied to people in society, it refers to one whose power and influence does not change. These are the pillars of society.

[12:20]  ¹⁷⁶ tn The Hebrew נֶאֱמָנִים (ne’emanim) is the Niphal participle; it is often translated “the faithful” in the Bible. The Rabbis rather fancifully took the word from נְאֻם (nÿ’um, “oracle, utterance”) and so rendered it “those who are eloquent, fluent in words.” But that would make this the only place in the Bible where this form came from that root or any other root besides אָמַן (’aman, “confirm, support”). But to say that God takes away the speech of the truthful or the faithful would be very difficult. It has to refer to reliable men, because it is parallel to the elders or old men. The NIV has “trusted advisers,” which fits well with kings and judges and priests.

[12:20]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “he removes the lip of the trusted ones.”

[12:20]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “taste,” meaning “opinion” or “decision.”

[12:21]  ¹⁷⁹ tn The expression in Hebrew uses מְזִיחַ (mÿziakh, “belt”) and the Piel verb רִפָּה (rippah, “to loosen”) so that “to loosen the belt of the mighty” would indicate “to disarm/incapacitate the mighty.” Others have opted to change the text: P. Joüon emends to read “forehead” – “he humbles the brow of the mighty.”

[12:21]  ¹⁸⁰ tn The word אָפַק (’afaq, “to be strong”) is well-attested, and the form אָפִיק (’afiq) is a normal adjective formation. So a translation like “mighty” (KJV, NIV) or “powerful” is acceptable, and further emendations are unnecessary.

[12:22]  ¹⁸¹ tn The Hebrew word is traditionally rendered “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV); see comments at Job 3:3.

[62:11]  ¹⁸² tn Heb “one God spoke, two which I heard.” This is a numerical saying utilizing the “x” followed by “x + 1” pattern to facilitate poetic parallelism. (See W. M. W. Roth, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament [VTSup], 55-56.) As is typical in such sayings, a list corresponding to the second number (in this case “two”) follows. Another option is to translate, “God has spoken once, twice [he has spoken] that which I have heard.” The terms אַחַת (’akhat, “one; once”) and שְׁתַּיִם (shÿtayim, “two; twice”) are also juxtaposed in 2 Kgs 6:10 (where they refer to an action that was done more than “once or twice”) and in Job 33:14 (where they refer to God speaking “one way” and then in “another manner”).

[62:11]  ¹⁸³ tn Heb “that strength [belongs] to God.”

[147:5]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “and great of strength.”

[147:5]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “to his wisdom there is no counting.”

[8:14]  ¹⁸⁶ tc In the second half of v. 14 instead of אֲנִי (’ani) the editors propose reading simply לִי (li) as the renderings in the LXX, Latin, and Syriac suggest. Then, in place of the לִי that comes in the same colon, read וְלִי (vÿli). While the MT is a difficult reading, it can be translated as it is. It would be difficult to know exactly what the ancient versions were reading, because their translations could have been derived from either text. They represent an effort to smooth out the text.

[32:19]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “[you are] great in counsel and mighty in deed.”

[32:19]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “your eyes are open to the ways of the sons of men.”

[32:19]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “giving to each according to his way [= behavior/conduct] and according to the fruit of his deeds.”

[6:13]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Or “into a time of testing.”

[6:13]  ¹⁹¹ tc Most mss (L W Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 Ï sy sa Didache) read (though some with slight variation) ὅτι σοῦ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν (“for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen”) here. The reading without this sentence, though, is attested by generally better witnesses (א B D Z 0170 ˹ pc lat mae Or). The phrase was probably composed for the liturgy of the early church and most likely was based on 1 Chr 29:11-13; a scribe probably added the phrase at this point in the text for use in public scripture reading (see TCGNT 13-14). Both external and internal evidence argue for the shorter reading.

[1:24]  ¹⁹² tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “free from falling” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ¹⁹³ tn Grk “with rejoicing.” The prepositional clause is placed after “his glorious presence” in Greek, but most likely goes with “cause you to stand.”

[1:24]  ¹⁹⁴ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”

[5:12]  ¹⁹⁶ tn The words “all of whom” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate the resumption of the phrase “the voice of many angels” at the beginning of the verse.

[5:12]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:12]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”