Genesis 17:15

17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; ¹  Sarah ²  will be her name.

Genesis 19:20

19:20 Look, this town ³  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ⁴  Let me go there. ⁵  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ⁶  Then I’ll survive.” ⁷ 

Genesis 19:22

19:22 Run there quickly, ⁸  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ⁹ 

Genesis 49:31

49:31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah.

[17:15]  ¹ tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”

[17:15]  ² sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.

[19:20]  ³ tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”

[19:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”

[19:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.

[19:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “Is it not little?”

[19:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

[19:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.

[19:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).