Genesis 14:22

14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand ¹  to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow ² 

Genesis 21:23

21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ³  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ⁴  Show me, and the land ⁵  where you are staying, ⁶  the same loyalty ⁷  that I have shown you.” ⁸ 

Genesis 21:31-32

21:31 That is why he named that place ⁹  Beer Sheba, ¹⁰  because the two of them swore ¹¹  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ¹²  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ¹³  to the land of the Philistines. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 25:33

25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ¹⁵  So Esau ¹⁶  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ¹⁷  to Jacob.

Genesis 31:44

31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ¹⁸  you and I, and it will be ¹⁹  proof that we have made peace.” ²⁰ 

Genesis 31:1

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ²¹  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ²²  at our father’s expense!” ²³ 

Genesis 14:24

14:24 I will take nothing ²⁴  except compensation for what the young men have eaten. ²⁵  As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”

Genesis 20:3

20:3 But God appeared ²⁶  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ²⁷  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ²⁸ 

Genesis 20:16-17

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ²⁹  to your ‘brother.’ ³⁰  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ³¹ 

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.

Genesis 30:15

30:15 But Leah replied, ³²  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ³³  Rachel said, “he may sleep ³⁴  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

Hebrews 6:16

6:16 For people ³⁵  swear by something greater than themselves, ³⁶  and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. ³⁷ 

[14:22]  ¹ 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]  ² tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:23]  ³ tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”

[21:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”

[21:23]  ⁵ tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.

[21:23]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.

[21:23]  ⁷ tn Or “kindness.”

[21:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”

[21:31]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.

[21:32]  ¹² tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ¹³ tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ¹⁴ 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.

[25:33]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Swear to me today.”

[25:33]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:33]  ¹⁷ sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.

[31:44]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[31:44]  ¹⁹ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”

[31:44]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”

[31:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ²² sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ²³ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[14:24]  ²⁴ tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[14:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”

[20:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “came.”

[20:3]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.

[20:16]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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).

[30:15]  ³² tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:15]  ³³ tn Heb “therefore.”

[30:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.

[6:16]  ³⁵ tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”

[6:16]  ³⁶ tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.

[6:16]  ³⁷ tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”