Genesis 14:22

14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand ¹  to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow ² 

Genesis 24:2-3

24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ³  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ⁴  24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ⁵  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ⁶  a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living.

Genesis 31:50

31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize ⁷  that God is witness to your actions.” ⁸ 

Genesis 31:1

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ⁹  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ¹⁰  at our father’s expense!” ¹¹ 

Genesis 20:1

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ¹²  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ¹³  in Gerar,

[14:22]  ¹ tn Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”

[14:22]  ² tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[24:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).

[24:2]  ⁴ sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.

[24:3]  ⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.

[24:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “because you must not take.”

[31:50]  ⁷ tn Heb “see.”

[31:50]  ⁸ tn Heb “between me and you.”

[31:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ¹⁰ sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[20:1]  ¹² tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”