Genesis 11:29

11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, ¹  and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; ²  she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

Genesis 11:31

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.

Genesis 12:5

12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew ³  Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired ⁴  in Haran, and they left for ⁵  the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.

Genesis 16:3

16:3 So after Abram had lived ⁶  in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, ⁷  to her husband to be his wife. ⁸ 

Genesis 16:5

16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! ⁹  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, ¹⁰  but when she realized ¹¹  that she was pregnant, she despised me. ¹²  May the Lord judge between you and me!” ¹³ 

Genesis 47:6

47:6 The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men ¹⁴  among them, put them in charge ¹⁵  of my livestock.”

[11:29]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[12:5]  ³ tn Heb “the son of his brother.”

[12:5]  ⁴ tn For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.

[12:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “went out to go.”

[16:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”

[16:3]  ⁷ 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.

[16:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”

[16:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”

[16:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “saw.”

[16:5]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “me and you.”

[47:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “men of skill.”

[47:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “make them rulers.”