Genesis 13:3

13:3 And he journeyed from place to place ¹  from the Negev as far as Bethel. ²  He returned ³  to the place where he had pitched his tent ⁴  at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai.

Genesis 18:2

18:2 Abraham ⁵  looked up ⁶  and saw ⁷  three men standing across ⁸  from him. When he saw them ⁹  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ¹⁰  to the ground. ¹¹ 

Genesis 18:6

18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take ¹²  three measures ¹³  of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” ¹⁴ 

Genesis 18:10

18:10 One of them ¹⁵  said, “I will surely return ¹⁶  to you when the season comes round again, ¹⁷  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ¹⁸  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ¹⁹ 

Genesis 24:67

24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ²⁰  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ²¹  as his wife and loved her. ²²  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ²³ 

Genesis 25:27

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ²⁴  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ²⁵ 

Genesis 26:25

26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ²⁶  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ²⁷ 

Genesis 31:25

31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. ²⁸ 

Genesis 31:34

31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ²⁹  and sat on them.) ³⁰  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ³¹ 

Genesis 33:19

33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it ³²  from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. ³³ 

[13:3]  ¹ tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.

[13:3]  ² map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[13:3]  ³ tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “where his tent had been.”

[18:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

[18:6]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.

[18:10]  ¹³ 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 Lord (cf. RSV, NIV) based on vv. 1, 13, but the Hebrew text merely has “he said” at this point, referring to one of the three visitors. Aside from the introductory statement in v. 1, the incident is narrated from Abraham’s point of view, and the suspense is built up for the reader as Abraham’s elaborate banquet preparations in the preceding verses suggest he suspects these are important guests. But not until the promise of a son later in this verse does it become clear who is speaking. In v. 13 the Hebrew text explicitly mentions the Lord.

[18:10]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ¹⁷ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[24:67]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.

[24:67]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”

[24:67]  ²⁰ tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.

[25:27]  ²¹ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ²² tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”

[26:25]  ²⁵ tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.

[26:25]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

[31:25]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.

[31:34]  ³³ tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”

[31:34]  ³⁴ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.

[31:34]  ³⁵ tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[33:19]  ³⁷ tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.

[33:19]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).