Genesis 15:18

15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ¹  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ²  this land, from the river of Egypt ³  to the great river, the Euphrates River –

Genesis 21:22-32

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ⁴  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ⁵  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ⁶  Show me, and the land ⁷  where you are staying, ⁸  the same loyalty ⁹  that I have shown you.” ¹⁰ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ¹¹  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ¹²  against Abimelech concerning a well ¹³  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ¹⁴  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ¹⁵  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. ¹⁶  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 ¹⁷  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 ¹⁸  that I dug this well.” ¹⁹  21:31 That is why he named that place ²⁰  Beer Sheba, ²¹  because the two of them swore ²²  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ²³  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ²⁴  to the land of the Philistines. ²⁵ 

Genesis 26:28-31

26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ²⁶  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ²⁷  a pact between us ²⁸  – between us ²⁹  and you. Allow us to make ³⁰  a treaty with you 26:29 so that ³¹  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ³²  you, but have always treated you well ³³  before sending you away ³⁴  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ³⁵ 

26:30 So Isaac ³⁶  held a feast for them and they celebrated. ³⁷  26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. ³⁸  Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. ³⁹ 

Genesis 26:1

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁴⁰  in the days of Abraham. ⁴¹  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

Genesis 20:14-17

20:14 So Abimelech gave ⁴²  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.” ⁴³ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ⁴⁴  to your ‘brother.’ ⁴⁵  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ⁴⁶ 

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.

[15:18]  ¹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ² 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]  ³ sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.

[21:22]  ⁴ sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.

[21:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”

[21:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”

[21:23]  ⁷ tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.

[21:23]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.

[21:23]  ⁹ tn Or “kindness.”

[21:23]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”

[21:25]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.

[21:26]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and also.”

[21:27]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:29]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “What are these?”

[21:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”

[21:30]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.

[21:32]  ²³ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ²⁴ tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ²⁵ 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.

[26:28]  ²⁶ tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ²⁷ tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:28]  ²⁸ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ²⁹ tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ³⁰ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”

[26:29]  ³¹ tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”

[26:29]  ³² tn Heb “touched.”

[26:29]  ³³ tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”

[26:29]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and we sent you away.”

[26:29]  ³⁵ tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).

[26:30]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:30]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”

[26:31]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”

[26:31]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”

[26:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ⁴¹ sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

[20:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “took and gave.”

[20:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”

[20:16]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ 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).