Discovery BoxGenesis 11:27--25:11
Context11:27 This is the account of Terah.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 11:28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, 1 while his father Terah was still alive. 2 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, 3 and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; 4 she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there. 11:32 The lifetime 5 of Terah was 205 years, and he 6 died in Haran.
12:1 Now the Lord said 7 to Abram, 8
“Go out 9 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 10
12:2 Then I will make you 11 into a great nation, and I will bless you, 12
and I will make your name great, 13
so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 14
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, 15
but the one who treats you lightly 16 I must curse,
and all the families of the earth will bless one another 17 by your name.”
12:4 So Abram left, 18 just as the Lord had told him to do, 19 and Lot went with him. (Now 20 Abram was 75 years old 21 when he departed from Haran.) 12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew 22 Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired 23 in Haran, and they left for 24 the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree 25 of Moreh 26 at Shechem. 27 (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 28 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants 29 I will give this land.” So Abram 30 built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel 31 and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. 32 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages 33 down to the Negev. 34
12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt 35 to stay for a while 36 because the famine was severe. 37 12:11 As he approached 38 Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, 39 I know that you are a beautiful woman. 40 12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 41 12:13 So tell them 42 you are my sister 43 so that it may go well 44 for me because of you and my life will be spared 45 on account of you.”
12:14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 12:15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife 46 was taken 47 into the household of Pharaoh, 48 12:16 and he did treat Abram well 49 on account of her. Abram received 50 sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
12:17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases 51 because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this 52 you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 12:19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her 53 to be my wife? 54 Here is your wife! 55 Take her and go!” 56 12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, 57 and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 58 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 59 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 60 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 61
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 62 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 63 He returned 64 to the place where he had pitched his tent 65 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 66 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 67
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 68 with Abram, also had 69 flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could 70 not support them while they were living side by side. 71 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 72 alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels 73 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 74 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 75
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. 76 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go 77 to the left, then I’ll go to the right, but if you go to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
13:10 Lot looked up and saw 78 the whole region 79 of the Jordan. He noticed 80 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 81 Sodom and Gomorrah) 82 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 83 all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled 84 toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other. 85 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 86 and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now 87 the people 88 of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) 89
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 90 “Look 91 from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. 13:15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants 92 forever. 13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. 93 13:17 Get up and 94 walk throughout 95 the land, 96 for I will give it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 97 by the oaks 98 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
14:1 At that time 99 Amraphel king of Shinar, 100 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 101 14:2 went to war 102 against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 103 14:3 These last five kings 104 joined forces 105 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 106 14:4 For twelve years 107 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 108 they rebelled. 109 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 110 the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. 111 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 112 and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met 113 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 114 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 115 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 116 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 117 but some survivors 118 fled to the hills. 119 14:11 The four victorious kings 120 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 121 Lot and his possessions when 122 they left, for Lot 123 was living in Sodom. 124
14:13 A fugitive 125 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 126 Now Abram was living by the oaks 127 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 128 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 129 with Abram.) 130 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 131 had been taken captive, he mobilized 132 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 133 as far as Dan. 134 14:15 Then, during the night, 135 Abram 136 divided his forces 137 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 138 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 139 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 140 the people.
14:17 After Abram 141 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 142 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 143 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 144 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 145 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 146 the Most High God,
Creator 147 of heaven and earth. 148
14:20 Worthy of praise is 149 the Most High God,
who delivered 150 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 151 a tenth of everything.
14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand 152 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 153 14:23 that I will take nothing 154 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 155 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 156 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 157 As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 158 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 159
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 160 what will you give me since 161 I continue to be 162 childless, and my heir 163 is 164 Eliezer of Damascus?” 165 15:3 Abram added, 166 “Since 167 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 168
15:4 But look, 169 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 170 will not be your heir, 171 but instead 172 a son 173 who comes from your own body will be 174 your heir.” 175 15:5 The Lord 176 took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
15:6 Abram believed 177 the Lord, and the Lord 178 considered his response of faith 179 as proof of genuine loyalty. 180
15:7 The Lord said 181 to him, “I am the Lord 182 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 183 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But 184 Abram 185 said, “O sovereign Lord, 186 by what 187 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 188 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 189 took all these for him and then cut them in two 190 and placed each half opposite the other, 191 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, 192 and great terror overwhelmed him. 193 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 194 that your descendants will be strangers 195 in a foreign country. 196 They will be enslaved and oppressed 197 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 198 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 199 you will go to your ancestors 200 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 201 15:16 In the fourth generation 202 your descendants 203 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 204
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 205 passed between the animal parts. 206 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 207 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 208 this land, from the river of Egypt 209 to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land 210 of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” 211
16:1 Now Sarai, 212 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 213 but she had an Egyptian servant 214 named Hagar. 215 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 216 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 217 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 218 Abram did what 219 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 220 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 221 to her husband to be his wife. 222 16:4 He had sexual relations with 223 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 224 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 225 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 226 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 227 but when she realized 228 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 229 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 230
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 231 servant is under your authority, 232 do to her whatever you think best.” 233 Then Sarai treated Hagar 234 harshly, 235 so she ran away from Sarai. 236
16:7 The Lord’s angel 237 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 238 16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from 239 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 240 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 241 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 242 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 243 pregnant
and are about to give birth 244 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 245
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 246
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 247 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 248
and everyone will be hostile to him. 249
He will live away from 250 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 251 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 252 16:14 That is why the well was called 253 Beer Lahai Roi. 254 (It is located 255 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 256 16:16 (Now 257 Abram was 86 years old 258 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 259
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 260 the Lord appeared to him and said, 261 “I am the sovereign God. 262 Walk 263 before me 264 and be blameless. 265 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 266 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 267
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 268 and God said to him, 269 17:4 “As for me, 270 this 271 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 272 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 273 because I will make you 274 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 275 extremely 276 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 277 17:7 I will confirm 278 my covenant as a perpetual 279 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 280 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 281 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 282 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 283 the covenantal requirement 284 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 285 Every male among you must be circumcised. 286 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 287 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 288 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 289 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 290 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 291 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 292 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 293 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 294
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 295 Sarah 296 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 297 Kings of countries 298 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 299 as he said to himself, 300 “Can 301 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 302 Can Sarah 303 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 304 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 305 Ishmael might live before you!” 306
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 307 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 308 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 309 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 310 He will become the father of twelve princes; 311 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 312
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 313 and circumcised them 314 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 315 when he was circumcised; 316 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 317 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 318 by the oaks 319 of Mamre while 320 he was sitting at the entrance 321 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 322 looked up 323 and saw 324 three men standing across 325 from him. When he saw them 326 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 327 to the ground. 328
18:3 He said, “My lord, 329 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 330 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 331 you may all 332 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 333 a bit of food 334 so that you may refresh yourselves 335 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 336 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 337 three measures 338 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 339 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 340 who quickly prepared it. 341 18:8 Abraham 342 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 343 before them. They ate while 344 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 345 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 346 said, “I will surely return 347 to you when the season comes round again, 348 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 349 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 350 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 351 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 352 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 353 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 354 especially when my husband is old too?” 355
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 356 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 357 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 358 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 359 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 360
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 361 they looked out over 362 Sodom. (Now 363 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 364 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 365 18:18 After all, Abraham 366 will surely become 367 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 368 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 369 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 370 the way of the Lord by doing 371 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 372 to Abraham what he promised 373 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 374 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 375 18:21 that I must go down 376 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 377 If not, 378 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 379 and headed 380 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 381 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 382 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 383 of the whole earth do what is right?” 384
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 385 (although I am but dust and ashes), 386 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 387 the whole city because five are lacking?” 388 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 389 spoke to him again, 390 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 391 said, “May the Lord not be angry 392 so that I may speak! 393 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 394 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 395 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 396 when he had finished speaking 397 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 398
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 399 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 400 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 401 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 402 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 403
19:3 But he urged 404 them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, 405 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 406 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 407 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 408 with them!”
19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 409 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 410 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 411 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 412 of my roof.” 413
19:9 “Out of our way!” 414 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 415 and now he dares to judge us! 416 We’ll do more harm 417 to you than to them!” They kept 418 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 419 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 420 reached out 421 and pulled Lot back into the house 422 as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, 423 with blindness. The men outside 424 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 425 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 426 Do you have 427 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 428 Get them out of this 429 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 430 it. The outcry against this place 431 is so great before the Lord that he 432 has sent us to destroy it.”
19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. 433 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 434 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 435
19:15 At dawn 436 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 437 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 438 19:16 When Lot 439 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 440 They led them away and placed them 441 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 442 said, “Run 443 for your lives! Don’t look 444 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 445 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 446 19:19 Your 447 servant has found favor with you, 448 and you have shown me great 449 kindness 450 by sparing 451 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 452 this disaster will overtake 453 me and I’ll die. 454 19:20 Look, this town 455 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 456 Let me go there. 457 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 458 Then I’ll survive.” 459
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 460 “I will grant this request too 461 and will not overthrow 462 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 463 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 464
19:23 The sun had just risen 465 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 466 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 467 sulfur and fire 468 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 469 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 470 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 471 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 472 wife looked back longingly 473 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 474 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 475 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 476 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 477
19:29 So when God destroyed 478 the cities of the region, 479 God honored 480 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 481 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 482 the cities Lot had lived in.
19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said 483 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 484 to have sexual relations with us, 485 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 486 so we can have sexual relations 487 with him and preserve 488 our family line through our father.” 489
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 490 and the older daughter 491 came and had sexual relations with her father. 492 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 493 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 494 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 495 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 496 19:35 So they made their father drunk 497 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 498 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 499
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 500 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 501 He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. 502 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 503 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 504 in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
20:3 But God appeared 505 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 506 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 507
20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 508 would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 509 20:5 Did Abraham 510 not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 511 ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 512 and with innocent hands!”
20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. 513 That is why I have kept you 514 from sinning against me and why 515 I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed 516 he is a prophet 517 and he will pray for you; thus you will live. 518 But if you don’t give her back, 519 know that you will surely die 520 along with all who belong to you.”
20:8 Early in the morning 521 Abimelech summoned 522 all his servants. When he told them about all these things, 523 they 524 were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 525 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 526 20:10 Then Abimelech asked 527 Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” 528
20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, 529 ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of 530 my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, 531 she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander 532 from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: 533 Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
20:14 So Abimelech gave 534 sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” 535
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 536 to your ‘brother.’ 537 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 538
20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord 539 had caused infertility to strike every woman 540 in the household of Abimelech because he took 541 Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
21:1 The Lord visited 542 Sarah just as he had said he would and did 543 for Sarah what he had promised. 544 21:2 So Sarah became pregnant 545 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. 546 21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, 547 Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. 548 21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) 549
21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. 550 Everyone who hears about this 551 will laugh 552 with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, 553 “Who would 554 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 555 a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 556 21:9 But Sarah noticed 557 the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. 558 21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish 559 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. 560 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset 561 about the boy or your slave wife. Do 562 all that Sarah is telling 563 you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. 564 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 565 some food 566 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 567 and sent her away. So she went wandering 568 aimlessly through the wilderness 569 of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved 570 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 571 away; for she thought, 572 “I refuse to watch the child die.” 573 So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. 574
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. 575 The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, 576 Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard 577 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. 578 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. 579 His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 580
21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you 581 in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name 582 that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. 583 Show me, and the land 584 where you are staying, 585 the same loyalty 586 that I have shown you.” 587
21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” 588 21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint 589 against Abimelech concerning a well 590 that Abimelech’s servants had seized. 591 21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, 592 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. 593 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 594 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 595 that I dug this well.” 596 21:31 That is why he named that place 597 Beer Sheba, 598 because the two of them swore 599 an oath there.
21:32 So they made a treaty 600 at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned 601 to the land of the Philistines. 602 21:33 Abraham 603 planted a tamarisk tree 604 in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, 605 the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. 606
22:1 Some time after these things God tested 607 Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham 608 replied. 22:2 God 609 said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac 610 – and go to the land of Moriah! 611 Offer him up there as a burnt offering 612 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to 613 you.”
22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 614 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 615 for the place God had spoken to him about.
22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of 616 the place in the distance. 22:5 So he 617 said to his servants, “You two stay 618 here with the donkey while 619 the boy and I go up there. We will worship 620 and then return to you.” 621
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, 622 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 623 “My father?” “What is it, 624 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 625 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide 626 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 627 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 628 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 629 his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel 630 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 631 the angel said. 632 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 633 that you fear 634 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
22:13 Abraham looked up 635 and saw 636 behind him 637 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 638 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.” 639 It is said to this day, 640 “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” 641
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,’ 642 decrees the Lord, 643 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, 644 and I will greatly multiply 645 your descendants 646 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 647 of the strongholds 648 of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, 649 all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 650 using the name of your descendants.’”
22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together 651 for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. 652
22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah 653 also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 654 22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now 655 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.
23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 656 23:2 Then she 657 died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 658
23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife 659 and said to the sons of Heth, 660 23:4 “I am a temporary settler 661 among you. Grant 662 me ownership 663 of a burial site among you so that I may 664 bury my dead.” 665
23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 666 23:6 “Listen, sir, 667 you are a mighty prince 668 among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you 669 from burying your dead.”
23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, 670 the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree 671 that I may bury my dead, 672 then hear me out. 673 Ask 674 Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell 675 me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly 676 for the full price, 677 so that I may own it as a burial site.”
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 678 replied to Abraham in the hearing 679 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 680 of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell 681 you both the field and the cave that is in it. 682 In the presence of my people 683 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 684 to you the price 685 of the field. Take it from me so that I may 686 bury my dead there.”
23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 687 400 pieces of silver, 688 but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price 689 and weighed 690 out for him 691 the price 692 that Ephron had quoted 693 in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 694
23:17 So Abraham secured 695 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. 696
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 697 from the sons of Heth.
24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, 698 and the Lord had blessed him 699 in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one 700 in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh 701 24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise 702 by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire 703 a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives 704 to find 705 a wife for my son Isaac.”
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 706 to this land? Must I then 707 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful 708 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 709 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 710 promised me with a solemn oath, 711 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 712 before you so that you may find 713 a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, 714 you will be free 715 from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. 716
24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. 717 He journeyed 718 to the region of Aram Naharaim 719 and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well 720 outside the city. It was evening, 721 the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. 722 Be faithful 723 to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, 724 and the daughters of the people 725 who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ 726 In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” 727
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 728 with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 729 24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. 730 She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant 731 ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering 732 her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, 733 she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied 734 her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine 735 if the Lord had made his journey successful 736 or not.
24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka 737 and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels 738 and gave them to her. 739 24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. 740 “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. 741 24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, 742 “and room for you 743 to spend the night.”
24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love 744 for my master! The Lord has led me 745 to the house 746 of my master’s relatives!” 747
24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about 748 these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) 749 Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring 750 and heard his sister Rebekah say, 751 “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing 752 by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, 753 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! 754 Why are you standing out here when I have prepared 755 the house and a place for the camels?”
24:32 So Abraham’s servant 756 went to the house and unloaded 757 the camels. Straw and feed were given 758 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 759 24:33 When food was served, 760 he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” 761 “Tell us,” Laban said. 762
24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. 763 The Lord 764 has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him 765 when she was old, 766 and my master 767 has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find 768 a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go 769 with me?’ 770 24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, 771 will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath 772 if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, 773 may events unfold as follows: 774 24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. 775 When 776 the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, 777 along came Rebekah 778 with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ 779 I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter 780 of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” 781
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. 782 Our wishes are of no concern. 783 24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become 784 the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” 785
24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he 786 brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. 787
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” 788 24:55 But Rebekah’s 789 brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord 790 has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return 791 to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” 792 24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want 793 to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”
24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: 794
“Our sister, may you become the mother 795 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 796 of their enemies.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 797 the man. So Abraham’s servant 798 took Rebekah and left.
24:62 Now 799 Isaac came from 800 Beer Lahai Roi, 801 for 802 he was living in the Negev. 803 24:63 He 804 went out to relax 805 in the field in the early evening. 806 Then he looked up 807 and saw that 808 there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up 809 and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked 810 Abraham’s servant, 811 “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. 812 So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah 813 into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her 814 as his wife and loved her. 815 So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 816
25:1 Abraham had taken 817 another 818 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 819 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 820 of Keturah.
25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines 821 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 822
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 823 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 824 He joined his ancestors. 825 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 826 near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. 827 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 828 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 829
[11:28] 1 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
[11:28] 2 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
[11:29] 3 sn The name Sarai (a variant spelling of “Sarah”) means “princess” (or “lady”). Sharratu was the name of the wife of the moon god Sin. The original name may reflect the culture out of which the patriarch was called, for the family did worship other gods in Mesopotamia.
[11:29] 4 sn The name Milcah means “Queen.” But more to the point here is the fact that Malkatu was a title for Ishtar, the daughter of the moon god. If the women were named after such titles (and there is no evidence that this was the motivation for naming the girls “Princess” or “Queen”), that would not necessarily imply anything about the faith of the two women themselves.
[11:32] 5 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
[11:32] 6 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:1] 7 sn The
[12:1] 8 tn The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.
[12:1] 9 tn The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”
[12:1] 10 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
[12:2] 11 tn The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative.
[12:2] 12 sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.
[12:2] 13 tn Or “I will make you famous.”
[12:2] 14 tn Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.
[12:3] 15 tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the
[12:3] 16 tn In this part of God’s statement there are two significant changes that often go unnoticed. First, the parallel and contrasting participle מְקַלֶּלְךָ (mÿqallelkha) is now singular and not plural. All the versions and a few Masoretic
[12:3] 17 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings on”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “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.
[12:4] 18 sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).
[12:4] 19 tn Heb “just as the
[12:4] 20 tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + implied “to be” verb) is parenthetical, telling the age of Abram when he left Haran.
[12:4] 21 tn Heb “was the son of five years and seventy year[s].”
[12:5] 22 tn Heb “the son of his brother.”
[12:5] 23 tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.
[12:5] 24 tn Heb “went out to go.”
[12:6] 26 sn The Hebrew word Moreh (מוֹרֶה, moreh) means “teacher.” It may well be that the place of this great oak tree was a Canaanite shrine where instruction took place.
[12:6] 27 tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”
[12:6] 28 tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.
[12:7] 29 tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
[12:7] 30 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:8] 31 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:8] 32 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[12:9] 33 tn The Hebrew verb נָסַע (nasa’) means “to journey”; more specifically it means to pull up the tent and move to another place. The construction here uses the preterite of this verb with its infinitive absolute to stress the activity of traveling. But it also adds the infinitive absolute of הָלַךְ (halakh) to stress that the traveling was continually going on. Thus “Abram journeyed, going and journeying” becomes “Abram continually journeyed by stages.”
[12:9] 34 tn Or “the South [country].”
[12:10] 35 sn Abram went down to Egypt. The Abrahamic narrative foreshadows some of the events in the life of the nation of Israel. This sojourn in Egypt is typological of Israel’s bondage there. In both stories there is a famine that forces the family to Egypt, death is a danger to the males while the females are preserved alive, great plagues bring about their departure, there is a summons to stand before Pharaoh, and there is a return to the land of Canaan with great wealth.
[12:10] 36 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” means “to stay for a while.” The “stranger” (traditionally “sojourner”) is one who is a temporary resident, a visitor, one who is passing through. Abram had no intention of settling down in Egypt or owning property. He was only there to wait out the famine.
[12:10] 37 tn Heb “heavy in the land.” The words “in the land,” which also occur at the beginning of the verse in the Hebrew text, have not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:11] 38 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
[12:11] 39 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
[12:11] 40 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
[12:12] 41 tn The Piel of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) means “to keep alive, to preserve alive,” and in some places “to make alive.” See D. Marcus, “The Verb ‘to Live’ in Ugaritic,” JSS 17 (1972): 76-82.
[12:13] 43 sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.
[12:13] 44 tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.
[12:13] 45 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
[12:15] 46 tn Heb “and the woman.” The word also means “wife”; the Hebrew article can express the possessive pronoun (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §86). Here the proper name (Abram) has been used in the translation instead of a possessive pronoun (“his”) for clarity.
[12:15] 47 tn The Hebrew term וַתֻּקַּח (vattuqqakh, “was taken”) is a rare verbal form, an old Qal passive preterite from the verb “to take.” It is pointed as a Hophal would be by the Masoretes, but does not have a Hophal meaning.
[12:15] 48 tn The Hebrew text simply has “house of Pharaoh.” The word “house” refers to the household in general, more specifically to the royal harem.
[12:16] 49 sn He did treat Abram well. The construction of the parenthetical disjunctive clause, beginning with the conjunction on the prepositional phrase, draws attention to the irony of the story. Abram wanted Sarai to lie “so that it would go well” with him. Though he lost Sarai to Pharaoh, it did go well for him – he received a lavish bride price. See also G. W. Coats, “Despoiling the Egyptians,” VT 18 (1968): 450-57.
[12:16] 50 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[12:17] 51 tn The cognate accusative adds emphasis to the verbal sentence: “he plagued with great plagues,” meaning the
[12:18] 52 tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[12:19] 53 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive here expresses consequence.
[12:19] 54 tn Heb “to me for a wife.”
[12:19] 55 tn Heb “Look, your wife!”
[12:19] 56 tn Heb “take and go.”
[12:20] 57 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:1] 58 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
[13:1] 59 tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”
[13:2] 61 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.
[13:3] 62 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
[13:3] 63 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:3] 64 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:3] 65 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
[13:4] 66 tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).
[13:4] 67 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
[13:5] 69 tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.
[13:6] 70 tn The potential nuance for the perfect tense is necessary here, and supported by the parallel clause that actually uses “to be able.”
[13:6] 71 tn The infinitive construct לָשֶׁבֶת (lashevet, from יָשַׁב, yashav) explains what it was that the land could not support: “the land could not support them to live side by side.” See further J. C. de Moor, “Lexical Remarks Concerning Yahad and Yahdaw,” VT 7 (1957): 350-55.
[13:6] 72 tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.
[13:7] 73 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] 74 sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.
[13:7] 75 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] 76 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.
[13:9] 77 tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.
[13:10] 78 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.
[13:10] 79 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
[13:10] 80 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 81 sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).
[13:10] 82 tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.
[13:10] 83 sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the
[13:11] 84 tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
[13:11] 85 tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”
[13:12] 86 tn Or “the cities of the plain”; Heb “[the cities of] the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[13:13] 87 tn Here is another significant parenthetical clause in the story, signaled by the vav (וו) disjunctive (translated “now”) on the noun at the beginning of the clause.
[13:13] 88 tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.
[13:13] 89 tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the
[13:14] 90 tn Heb “and the
[13:14] 91 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”
[13:15] 92 tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”
[13:16] 93 tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.
[13:17] 94 tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.
[13:17] 95 tn The Hitpael form הִתְהַלֵּךְ (hithallekh) means “to walk about”; it also can carry the ideas of moving about, traversing, going back and forth, or living in an area. It here has the connotation of traversing the land to survey it, to look it over.
[13:17] 96 tn Heb “the land to its length and to its breadth.” This phrase has not been included in the translation because it is somewhat redundant (see the note on the word “throughout” in this verse).
[13:18] 97 tn Heb “he came and lived.”
[13:18] 98 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:1] 99 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”
[14:1] 100 sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
[14:1] 101 tn Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. NEB “Goyim”; NIV, NRSV “Goiim”).
[14:2] 103 sn On the geographical background of vv. 1-2 see J. P. Harland, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 1:41-75; and D. N. Freedman, “The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the Cities of the Plain,” BA 41 (1978): 143-64.
[14:3] 104 tn Heb “all these,” referring only to the last five kings named. The referent has been specified as “these last five kings” in the translation for clarity.
[14:3] 105 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to join together; to unite; to be allied.” It stresses close associations, especially of friendships, marriages, or treaties.
[14:3] 106 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
[14:4] 107 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
[14:4] 108 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.
[14:4] 109 sn The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east – to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats – that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.
[14:5] 110 tn The Hebrew verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to attack, to strike, to smite.” In this context it appears that the strike was successful, and so a translation of “defeated” is preferable.
[14:6] 111 sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.
[14:7] 112 tn Heb “they returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh).” The two verbs together form a verbal hendiadys, the first serving as the adverb: “they returned and came” means “they came again.” Most English translations do not treat this as a hendiadys, but translate “they turned back” or something similar. Since in the context, however, “came again to” does not simply refer to travel but an assault against the place, the present translation expresses this as “attacked…again.”
[14:9] 114 tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.
[14:9] 115 tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:10] 116 tn Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.”
[14:10] 117 tn Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם).
[14:10] 118 tn Heb “the rest.”
[14:10] 119 sn The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.
[14:11] 120 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 121 tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
[14:12] 123 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 124 tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
[14:13] 125 tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
[14:13] 126 sn E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14-16).
[14:13] 127 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:13] 128 tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
[14:13] 129 tn Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.
[14:13] 130 tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.
[14:14] 131 tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).
[14:14] 132 tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.
[14:14] 133 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:14] 134 sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.
[14:15] 135 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
[14:15] 136 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 137 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
[14:15] 138 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
[14:16] 139 tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:16] 140 tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:17] 141 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 142 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 143 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
[14:18] 144 sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the
[14:18] 145 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
[14:19] 146 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
[14:19] 147 tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”
[14:19] 148 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
[14:20] 149 tn Heb “blessed be.” For God to be “blessed” means that is praised. His reputation is enriched in the world as his name is praised.
[14:20] 150 sn Who delivered. The Hebrew verb מִגֵּן (miggen, “delivered”) foreshadows the statement by God to Abram in Gen 15:1, “I am your shield” (מָגֵן, magen). Melchizedek provided a theological interpretation of Abram’s military victory.
[14:20] 151 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:22] 152 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] 153 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:23] 154 tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the
[14:23] 155 tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
[14:24] 156 tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:24] 157 tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
[15:1] 158 sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.
[15:1] 159 tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).
[15:2] 160 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
[15:2] 161 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
[15:2] 162 tn Heb “I am going.”
[15:2] 163 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
[15:2] 164 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
[15:2] 165 sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.
[15:3] 166 tn Heb “And Abram said.”
[15:3] 167 tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).
[15:3] 168 tn Heb “is inheriting me.”
[15:4] 169 tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.
[15:4] 170 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
[15:4] 171 tn Heb “inherit you.”
[15:4] 172 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
[15:4] 173 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:4] 174 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
[15:4] 175 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
[15:5] 176 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 177 tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50-98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.
[15:6] 178 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 179 tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440-41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him – [namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259-89.
[15:6] 180 tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12-13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962).
[15:7] 181 tn Heb “And he said.”
[15:7] 182 sn I am the
[15:7] 183 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
[15:8] 184 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
[15:8] 185 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:8] 186 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
[15:9] 188 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
[15:10] 189 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:10] 190 tn Heb “in the middle.”
[15:10] 191 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
[15:12] 192 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
[15:12] 193 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
[15:13] 194 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
[15:13] 195 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
[15:13] 196 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
[15:13] 197 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
[15:14] 198 tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
[15:15] 199 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
[15:15] 200 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
[15:15] 201 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
[15:16] 202 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
[15:16] 203 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[15:16] 204 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
[15:17] 205 sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).
[15:17] 206 tn Heb “these pieces.”
[15:18] 207 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[15:18] 208 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
[15:18] 209 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
[15:19] 210 tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:21] 211 tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.
[16:1] 212 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
[16:1] 213 sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.
[16:1] 214 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
[16:1] 215 sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)
[16:2] 216 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
[16:2] 217 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
[16:2] 218 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
[16:2] 219 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
[16:3] 220 tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.
[16:3] 221 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
[16:3] 222 sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.
[16:4] 223 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.
[16:4] 224 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)
[16:4] 225 tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.
[16:5] 226 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
[16:5] 227 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
[16:5] 229 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.
[16:5] 230 tn Heb “me and you.”
[16:6] 231 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
[16:6] 232 tn Heb “in your hand.”
[16:6] 233 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
[16:6] 234 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:6] 235 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
[16:6] 236 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:7] 237 tn Heb “the messenger of the
[16:7] 238 tn Heb “And the angel of the
[16:8] 239 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
[16:9] 240 tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.
[16:10] 241 tn Heb “The
[16:10] 242 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
[16:11] 243 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
[16:11] 244 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
[16:11] 245 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”
[16:11] 246 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
[16:12] 247 sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.
[16:12] 248 tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.
[16:12] 249 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
[16:12] 250 tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).
[16:13] 251 tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).
[16:13] 252 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
[16:14] 253 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
[16:14] 254 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.
[16:14] 255 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:15] 256 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
[16:16] 257 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.
[16:16] 258 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”
[16:16] 259 tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.
[17:1] 260 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:1] 261 tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
[17:1] 262 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew
[17:1] 263 tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”
[17:1] 264 tn Or “in my presence.”
[17:1] 265 tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the
[17:2] 266 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
[17:2] 267 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:3] 268 tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.
[17:3] 269 tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:4] 271 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
[17:5] 272 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
[17:5] 273 sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.
[17:5] 274 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
[17:6] 275 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
[17:6] 276 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:6] 277 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
[17:7] 278 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).
[17:7] 279 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:7] 280 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
[17:8] 281 tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.
[17:8] 282 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:9] 283 tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.
[17:9] 284 tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.
[17:10] 285 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
[17:10] 286 sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.
[17:12] 288 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
[17:13] 289 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
[17:13] 290 tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:13] 291 tn Or “an eternal.”
[17:14] 292 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
[17:14] 293 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:14] 294 tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:15] 295 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
[17:15] 296 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
[17:16] 297 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
[17:17] 299 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
[17:17] 300 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
[17:17] 301 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
[17:17] 302 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
[17:17] 303 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
[17:17] 304 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
[17:18] 305 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
[17:18] 306 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
[17:19] 307 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
[17:19] 308 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:20] 309 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
[17:20] 310 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:20] 311 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
[17:22] 312 tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:23] 313 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
[17:23] 314 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
[17:24] 315 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:24] 316 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
[17:25] 317 tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”
[18:1] 318 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:1] 319 tn Or “terebinths.”
[18:1] 320 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
[18:1] 321 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
[18:2] 322 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:2] 323 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
[18:2] 324 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
[18:2] 325 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
[18:2] 326 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:2] 327 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
[18:2] 328 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
[18:3] 329 tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the
[18:3] 330 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
[18:4] 331 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
[18:4] 332 tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.
[18:5] 333 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
[18:5] 334 tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.
[18:5] 335 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
[18:5] 336 tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”
[18:6] 337 tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.
[18:6] 338 sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.
[18:6] 339 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
[18:7] 340 tn Heb “the young man.”
[18:7] 341 tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”
[18:8] 342 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:8] 343 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:8] 344 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
[18:9] 345 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
[18:10] 346 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
[18:10] 347 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
[18:10] 348 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
[18:10] 349 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
[18:10] 350 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
[18:11] 352 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
[18:12] 354 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.
[18:12] 355 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[18:13] 356 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
[18:13] 357 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
[18:14] 358 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
[18:14] 359 sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the
[18:15] 360 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
[18:16] 361 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
[18:16] 362 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
[18:16] 363 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
[18:16] 364 tn The Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to lead out, to send out, to expel”; here it is used in the friendly sense of seeing the visitors on their way.
[18:17] 365 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
[18:18] 366 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”
[18:18] 367 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
[18:18] 368 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings upon”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham 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.
[18:19] 369 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
[18:19] 370 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
[18:19] 371 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
[18:19] 372 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
[18:19] 373 tn Heb “spoke to.”
[18:20] 374 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
[18:21] 376 tn The cohortative indicates the
[18:21] 377 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
[18:21] 378 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
[18:22] 379 tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the
[18:22] 381 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
[18:24] 382 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
[18:25] 384 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
[18:27] 385 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[18:27] 386 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
[18:28] 387 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
[18:28] 388 tn Heb “because of five.”
[18:29] 389 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 390 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
[18:30] 391 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:30] 392 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
[18:30] 393 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
[18:31] 394 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:32] 395 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:33] 396 tn Heb “And the
[18:33] 397 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
[18:33] 398 tn Heb “to his place.”
[19:1] 399 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
[19:1] 400 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
[19:2] 401 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
[19:2] 402 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
[19:2] 403 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
[19:3] 404 tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.
[19:4] 405 tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.
[19:4] 406 tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.
[19:5] 407 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[19:5] 408 tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.
[19:7] 409 tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”
[19:8] 410 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[19:8] 411 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
[19:8] 413 sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.
[19:9] 414 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
[19:9] 415 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
[19:9] 416 tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”
[19:9] 417 tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.
[19:9] 418 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
[19:9] 419 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
[19:10] 420 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[19:10] 421 tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[19:10] 422 tn Heb “to them into the house.”
[19:11] 423 tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”
[19:11] 424 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:12] 425 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[19:12] 426 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
[19:12] 427 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:12] 428 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
[19:12] 429 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
[19:13] 430 tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
[19:13] 431 tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:13] 432 tn Heb “the
[19:14] 433 sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.
[19:14] 434 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
[19:14] 435 tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.
[19:15] 436 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
[19:15] 437 tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.
[19:15] 438 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
[19:16] 439 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:16] 440 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
[19:16] 441 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).
[19:17] 442 tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.
[19:17] 444 tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.
[19:17] 445 tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:18] 446 tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[19:19] 447 tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.
[19:19] 448 tn Heb “in your eyes.”
[19:19] 449 tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
[19:19] 450 sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.
[19:19] 451 tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
[19:19] 453 tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.
[19:19] 454 tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.
[19:20] 455 tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”
[19:20] 456 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
[19:20] 457 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
[19:20] 458 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
[19:20] 459 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
[19:21] 460 tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the
[19:21] 461 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”
[19:21] 462 tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).
[19:22] 463 tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.
[19:22] 464 tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).
[19:23] 465 sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).
[19:23] 466 tn The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.
[19:24] 467 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
[19:24] 468 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
[19:24] 469 tn Heb “from the
[19:25] 470 tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:25] 471 tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”
[19:26] 472 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:26] 473 tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).
[19:27] 474 tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:28] 475 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
[19:28] 476 tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:28] 477 tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”
[19:29] 478 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
[19:29] 479 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:29] 480 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
[19:29] 481 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
[19:29] 482 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
[19:31] 483 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
[19:31] 484 tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.
[19:31] 485 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
[19:32] 486 tn Heb “drink wine.”
[19:32] 487 tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.
[19:32] 488 tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.
[19:32] 489 tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
[19:33] 490 tn Heb “drink wine.”
[19:33] 491 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
[19:33] 492 tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.
[19:33] 493 tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”
[19:34] 494 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
[19:34] 495 tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”
[19:34] 496 tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
[19:35] 497 tn Heb “drink wine.”
[19:35] 498 tn Heb “lied down with him.”
[19:35] 499 tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”
[19:37] 500 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
[19:37] 501 sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.
[19:38] 502 sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.
[20:1] 503 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
[20:1] 504 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
[20:3] 506 tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.
[20:3] 507 tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.
[20:4] 508 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[20:4] 509 tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.
[20:5] 510 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:5] 511 tn Heb “and she, even she.”
[20:5] 512 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
[20:6] 513 tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”
[20:6] 514 tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”
[20:6] 515 tn Heb “therefore.”
[20:7] 516 tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.
[20:7] 517 sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.
[20:7] 518 tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.
[20:7] 519 tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.
[20:7] 520 tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.
[20:8] 521 tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”
[20:8] 522 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”
[20:8] 523 tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”
[20:8] 524 tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[20:9] 525 tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.
[20:9] 526 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
[20:10] 527 tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”
[20:10] 528 tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.
[20:11] 529 tn Heb “Because I said.”
[20:11] 530 tn Heb “over the matter of.”
[20:12] 531 tn Heb “but also.”
[20:13] 532 tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”
[20:13] 533 tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”
[20:14] 534 tn Heb “took and gave.”
[20:15] 535 tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”
[20:16] 536 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] 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 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).
[20:16] 537 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).
[20:16] 538 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).
[20:18] 539 tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”
[20:18] 540 tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[20:18] 541 tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[21:1] 542 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
[21:1] 543 tn Heb “and the
[21:2] 545 tn Or “she conceived.”
[21:3] 546 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] 547 tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.
[21:4] 548 sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the
[21:5] 549 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] 550 tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”
[21:6] 551 tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[21:6] 552 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] 554 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
[21:8] 556 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] 558 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] 559 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] 560 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] 561 tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”
[21:12] 562 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] 563 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.
[21:12] 564 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] 565 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
[21:14] 566 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
[21:14] 567 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] 568 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
[21:14] 569 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] 570 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] 571 sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).
[21:16] 573 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] 574 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] 575 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
[21:17] 576 tn Heb “What to you?”
[21:17] 577 sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.
[21:19] 578 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] 579 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] 580 tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”
[21:22] 581 sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.
[21:23] 582 tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”
[21:23] 583 tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”
[21:23] 584 tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.
[21:23] 585 tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.
[21:23] 587 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] 588 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] 589 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] 590 tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”
[21:25] 591 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.
[21:26] 592 tn Heb “and also.”
[21:27] 593 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[21:29] 594 tn Heb “What are these?”
[21:30] 595 tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”
[21:30] 596 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] 597 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] 598 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] 599 sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.
[21:32] 600 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[21:32] 601 tn Heb “arose and returned.”
[21:32] 602 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] 603 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:33] 604 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] 605 tn Heb “he called there in the name of the
[21:34] 606 tn Heb “many days.”
[22:1] 607 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] 608 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 609 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 610 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] 611 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] 612 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] 613 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
[22:3] 614 tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”
[22:3] 615 tn Heb “he arose and he went.”
[22:4] 616 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”
[22:5] 617 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
[22:5] 618 tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.
[22:5] 619 tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.
[22:5] 620 tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”
[22:5] 621 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] 622 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
[22:7] 623 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[22:7] 624 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
[22:7] 625 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] 626 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
[22:9] 627 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] 628 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] 629 tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”
[22:11] 630 sn Heb “the messenger of the
[22:12] 631 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
[22:12] 632 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] 633 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
[22:12] 634 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
[22:13] 635 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
[22:13] 636 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] 637 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
[22:13] 638 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:14] 639 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] 640 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] 641 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] 642 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
[22:16] 643 tn Heb “the oracle of the
[22:17] 644 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] 645 tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).
[22:17] 646 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] 648 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] 649 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] 650 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] 651 tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”
[22:19] 652 tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.
[22:20] 653 tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.
[22:21] 654 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] 655 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] 656 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] 657 tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.
[23:2] 658 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] 659 tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”
[23:3] 660 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] 661 tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”
[23:4] 662 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] 663 tn Or “possession.”
[23:4] 664 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.
[23:4] 665 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] 666 tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”
[23:6] 667 tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”
[23:6] 668 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] 669 tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:7] 670 tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).
[23:8] 671 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] 672 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] 674 tn Heb “intercede for me with.”
[23:9] 675 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] 676 tn Heb “in your presence.”
[23:10] 678 tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
[23:10] 679 tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
[23:10] 680 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] 681 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] 682 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] 683 tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”
[23:13] 686 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.
[23:15] 687 tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:15] 688 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] 689 tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”
[23:16] 690 tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”
[23:16] 691 tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:16] 693 tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[23:16] 694 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] 695 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] 696 tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:20] 697 tn Heb “possession of a grave.”
[24:1] 699 tn Heb “Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
[24:2] 700 tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).
[24:2] 701 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] 702 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.
[24:3] 703 tn Heb “because you must not take.”
[24:4] 704 tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”
[24:5] 706 tn Heb “to go after me.”
[24:5] 707 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
[24:6] 708 tn Heb “guard yourself.”
[24:6] 709 tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:7] 710 tn Or “the land of my birth.”
[24:7] 711 tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”
[24:7] 712 tn Or “his messenger.”
[24:7] 713 tn Heb “before you and you will take.”
[24:8] 714 tn Heb “ to go after you.”
[24:8] 715 sn You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.
[24:9] 716 tn Heb “and he swore to him concerning this matter.”
[24:10] 717 tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.
[24:10] 718 tn Heb “and he arose and went.”
[24:10] 719 tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[24:11] 720 tn Heb “well of water.”
[24:11] 721 tn Heb “at the time of evening.”
[24:12] 722 tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).
[24:12] 723 tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”
[24:13] 724 tn Heb “the spring of water.”
[24:14] 726 sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.
[24:14] 727 tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”
[24:15] 728 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.
[24:15] 729 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:16] 730 tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.
[24:17] 731 tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:18] 732 tn Heb “and she hurried and lowered.”
[24:19] 733 tn Heb “when she had finished giving him a drink.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:20] 734 tn Heb “and she hurried and emptied.”
[24:21] 736 tn The Hebrew term צָלָה (tsalah), meaning “to make successful” in the Hiphil verbal stem, is a key term in the story (see vv. 40, 42, 56).
[24:22] 737 sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).
[24:22] 738 sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).
[24:22] 739 tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
[24:23] 740 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:24] 741 tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:25] 742 tn Heb “and she said, ‘We have plenty of both straw and feed.’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:25] 743 tn Heb The words “for you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
[24:27] 744 tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”
[24:27] 745 tn Heb “As for me – in the way the
[24:27] 746 tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.
[24:27] 747 tn Heb “brothers.”
[24:28] 748 tn Heb “according to.”
[24:29] 749 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.
[24:30] 750 tn Heb “And it was when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister.” The word order is altered in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[24:30] 751 tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”
[24:30] 752 tn Heb “and look, he was standing.” The disjunctive clause with the participle following the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites the audience to view the scene through Laban’s eyes.
[24:31] 753 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.
[24:31] 754 sn Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the
[24:31] 755 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.
[24:32] 756 tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:32] 757 tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).
[24:32] 758 tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.
[24:32] 759 tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”
[24:33] 760 tn Heb “and food was placed before him.”
[24:33] 761 tn Heb “my words.”
[24:33] 762 tc Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, “and they said.”
[24:35] 763 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.
[24:35] 764 tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the
[24:36] 765 tn Heb “to my master.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:36] 766 tn Heb “after her old age.”
[24:36] 767 tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:38] 768 tn Heb “but to the house of my father you must go and to my family and you must take a wife for my son.”
[24:39] 769 tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.
[24:39] 770 tn Heb “after me.”
[24:40] 771 tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the
[24:41] 772 tn Heb “my oath” (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).
[24:42] 773 tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”
[24:42] 774 tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[24:43] 775 tn Heb “the spring of water.”
[24:43] 776 tn Heb “and it will be.”
[24:45] 777 tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.
[24:45] 778 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.
[24:47] 779 tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:48] 780 tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).
[24:49] 781 tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.
[24:50] 782 tn Heb “From the
[24:50] 783 tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.
[24:51] 784 tn Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[24:51] 785 tn Heb “as the
[24:53] 786 tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:54] 787 tn Heb “And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night.”
[24:54] 788 tn Heb “Send me away to my master.”
[24:55] 789 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:56] 790 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.
[24:56] 791 tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[24:57] 792 tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”
[24:58] 793 tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.
[24:60] 794 tn Heb “and said to her.”
[24:60] 795 tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”
[24:60] 796 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.
[24:61] 797 tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”
[24:61] 798 tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:62] 799 tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.
[24:62] 800 tn Heb “from the way of.”
[24:62] 801 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” See Gen 16:14.
[24:62] 802 tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.
[24:62] 803 tn Or “the South [country].”
[24:63] 804 tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:63] 805 tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).
[24:63] 806 tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”
[24:63] 807 tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.
[24:63] 808 tn Heb “and look.” The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.
[24:64] 809 tn Heb “lifted up her eyes.”
[24:65] 810 tn Heb “and she said to.”
[24:65] 811 tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[24:65] 812 tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:67] 813 tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.
[24:67] 814 tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:67] 815 tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”
[24:67] 816 tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.
[25:1] 818 tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”
[25:3] 819 sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.
[25:6] 821 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
[25:6] 822 tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”
[25:7] 823 tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.
[25:8] 824 tn Heb “old and full.”
[25:8] 825 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
[25:9] 826 sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).
[25:10] 827 tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
[25:11] 828 sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).
[25:11] 829 sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.
