Genesis 28:19

28:19 He called that place Bethel, ¹  although the former name of the town was Luz.

Genesis 32:20

32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ²  Jacob thought, ³  “I will first appease him ⁴  by sending a gift ahead of me. ⁵  After that I will meet him. ⁶  Perhaps he will accept me.” ⁷ 

Exodus 17:15

17:15 Moses built an altar, and he called it “The Lord is my Banner,” ⁸ 

Exodus 17:1

Water at Massa and Meribah

17:1 ⁹ The whole community ¹⁰  of the Israelites traveled on their journey ¹¹  from the Desert of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim. ¹²  Now ¹³  there was no water for the people to drink. ¹⁴ 

Exodus 7:12

7:12 Each man ¹⁵  threw down his staff, and the staffs became snakes. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

Isaiah 62:4

62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”

and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”

Indeed, ¹⁶  you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” ¹⁷ 

and your land “Married.” ¹⁸ 

For the Lord will take delight in you,

and your land will be married to him. ¹⁹ 

Acts 1:19

1:19 This ²⁰  became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language ²¹  they called that field ²²  Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”)

[28:19]  ¹ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[32:20]  ² tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ³ tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[17:15]  ⁸ sn Heb “Yahweh-nissi” (so NAB), which means “Yahweh is my banner.” Note that when Israel murmured and failed God, the name commemorated the incident or the outcome of their failure. When they were blessed with success, the naming praised God. Here the holding up of the staff of God was preserved in the name for the altar – God gave them the victory.

[17:1]  ⁹ sn This is the famous story telling how the people rebelled against Yahweh when they thirsted, saying that Moses had brought them out into the wilderness to kill them by thirst, and how Moses with the staff brought water from the rock. As a result of this the name was called Massa and Meribah because of the testing and the striving. It was a challenge to Moses’ leadership as well as a test of Yahweh’s presence. The narrative in its present form serves an important point in the argument of the book. The story turns on the gracious provision of God who can give his people water when there is none available. The narrative is structured to show how the people strove. Thus, the story intertwines God’s free flowing grace with the sad memory of Israel’s sins. The passage can be divided into three parts: the situation and the complaint (1-3), the cry and the miracle (4-6), and the commemoration by naming (7).

[17:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[17:1]  ¹¹ tn The text says that they journeyed “according to their journeyings.” Since the verb form (and therefore the derived noun) essentially means to pull up the tent pegs and move along, this verse would be saying that they traveled by stages, or, from place to place.

[17:1]  ¹² sn The location is a bit of a problem. Exod 19:1-2 suggests that it is near Sinai, whereas it is normally located near Kadesh in the north. Without any details provided, M. Noth concludes that two versions came together (Exodus [OTL], 138). S. R. Driver says that the writer wrote not knowing that they were 24 miles apart (Exodus, 157). Critics have long been bothered by this passage because of the two names given at the same place. If two sources had been brought together, it is not possible now to identify them. But Noth insisted that if there were two names there were two different locations. The names Massah and Meribah occur alone in Scripture (Deut 9:22, and Num 20:1 for examples), but together in Ps 95 and in Deut 33:8. But none of these passages is a clarification of the difficulty. Most critics would argue that Massah was a secondary element that was introduced into this account, because Exod 17 focuses on Meribah. From that starting point they can diverge greatly on the interpretation, usually having something to do with a water test. But although Num 20 is parallel in several ways, there are major differences: 1) it takes place 40 years later than this, 2) the name Kadesh is joined to the name Meribah there, and 3) Moses is punished there. One must conclude that if an event could occur twice in similar ways (complaint about water would be a good candidate for such), then there is no reason a similar name could not be given.

[17:1]  ¹³ tn The disjunctive vav introduces a parenthetical clause that is essential for this passage – there was no water.

[17:1]  ¹⁴ tn Here the construction uses a genitive after the infinitive construct for the subject: “there was no water for the drinking of the people” (GKC 353-54 §115.c).

[7:12]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is plural, but the subject is singular, “a man – his staff.” This noun can be given a distributive sense: “each man threw down his staff.”

[62:4]  ¹⁶ tn Or “for”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “but.”

[62:4]  ¹⁷ tn Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (kheftsi-vah), traditionally transliterated “Hephzibah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ¹⁸ tn Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (bÿ’ulah), traditionally transliterated “Beulah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ¹⁹ tn That is, the land will be restored to the Lord’s favor and once again enjoy his blessing and protection. To indicate the land’s relationship to the Lord, the words “to him” have been supplied at the end of the clause.

[1:19]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And this.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:19]  ²¹ sn Their own language refers to Aramaic, the primary language spoken in Palestine in Jesus’ day.

[1:19]  ²² tn Grk “that field was called.” The passive voice has been converted to active in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.