Genesis 16:7

16:7 The Lord’s angel ¹  found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. ² 

Genesis 20:1

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ³  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ⁴  in Gerar,

Genesis 49:22

49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, ⁵ 

a fruitful bough near a spring

whose branches ⁶  climb over the wall.

[16:7]  ¹ tn Heb “the messenger of the Lord.” Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, it is more likely that the angel merely represents the Lord; he can speak for the Lord because he is sent with the Lord’s full authority. In some cases the angel is clearly distinct from the Lord (see Judg 6:11-23). It is not certain if the same angel is always in view. Though the proper name following the noun “angel” makes the construction definite, this may simply indicate that a definite angel sent from the Lord is referred to in any given context. It need not be the same angel on every occasion. Note the analogous expression “the servant of the Lord,” which refers to various individuals in the OT (see BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד).

[16:7]  ² tn Heb “And the angel of the Lord found her near the spring of water in the desert, near the spring on the way to Shur.”

[20:1]  ³ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[49:22]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text appears to mean “[is] a son of fruitfulness.” The second word is an active participle, feminine singular, from the verb פָּרָה (parah, “to be fruitful”). The translation “bough” is employed for בֵּן (ben, elsewhere typically “son”) because Joseph is pictured as a healthy and fruitful vine growing by the wall. But there are difficulties with this interpretation. The word “son” nowhere else refers to a plant and the noun translated “branches” (Heb “daughters”) in the third line is a plural form whereas its verb is singular. In the other oracles of Gen 49 an animal is used for comparison and not a plant, leading some to translate the opening phrase בֵּן פָּרָה (ben parah, “fruitful bough”) as “wild donkey” (JPS, NAB). Various other interpretations involving more radical emendation of the text have also been offered.

[49:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “daughters.”