Genesis 13:2

13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy ¹  in livestock, silver, and gold.) ² 

Genesis 14:14

14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew ³  had been taken captive, he mobilized ⁴  his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders ⁵  as far as Dan. ⁶ 

Genesis 24:35

24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. ⁷  The Lord ⁸  has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

[13:2]  ¹ tn Heb “heavy.”

[13:2]  ² tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.

[14:14]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:14]  ⁶ 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.

[24:35]  ⁷ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.

[24:35]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.