Discovery BoxGenesis 19:1
Context19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 1 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 2 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
Genesis 21:1-34
Context21:1 The Lord visited 3 Sarah just as he had said he would and did 4 for Sarah what he had promised. 5 21:2 So Sarah became pregnant 6 and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. 7 21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, 8 Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. 9 21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) 10
21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. 11 Everyone who hears about this 12 will laugh 13 with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, 14 “Who would 15 have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared 16 a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 17 21:9 But Sarah noticed 18 the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. 19 21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish 20 that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. 21 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset 22 about the boy or your slave wife. Do 23 all that Sarah is telling 24 you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. 25 21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”
21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 26 some food 27 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 28 and sent her away. So she went wandering 29 aimlessly through the wilderness 30 of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved 31 the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot 32 away; for she thought, 33 “I refuse to watch the child die.” 34 So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. 35
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. 36 The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, 37 Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard 38 the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. 39 She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.
21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. 40 His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 41
21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you 42 in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name 43 that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. 44 Show me, and the land 45 where you are staying, 46 the same loyalty 47 that I have shown you.” 48
21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” 49 21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint 50 against Abimelech concerning a well 51 that Abimelech’s servants had seized. 52 21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, 53 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. 54 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 55 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 56 that I dug this well.” 57 21:31 That is why he named that place 58 Beer Sheba, 59 because the two of them swore 60 an oath there.
21:32 So they made a treaty 61 at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned 62 to the land of the Philistines. 63 21:33 Abraham 64 planted a tamarisk tree 65 in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, 66 the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. 67
Genesis 23:1-20
Context23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 68 23:2 Then she 69 died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 70
23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife 71 and said to the sons of Heth, 72 23:4 “I am a temporary settler 73 among you. Grant 74 me ownership 75 of a burial site among you so that I may 76 bury my dead.” 77
23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 78 23:6 “Listen, sir, 79 you are a mighty prince 80 among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you 81 from burying your dead.”
23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, 82 the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree 83 that I may bury my dead, 84 then hear me out. 85 Ask 86 Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell 87 me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly 88 for the full price, 89 so that I may own it as a burial site.”
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 90 replied to Abraham in the hearing 91 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 92 of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell 93 you both the field and the cave that is in it. 94 In the presence of my people 95 I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”
23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay 96 to you the price 97 of the field. Take it from me so that I may 98 bury my dead there.”
23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 99 400 pieces of silver, 100 but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price 101 and weighed 102 out for him 103 the price 104 that Ephron had quoted 105 in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 106
23:17 So Abraham secured 107 Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. 108
23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site 109 from the sons of Heth.
[19:1] 1 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
[19:1] 2 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
[21:1] 3 sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the
[21:1] 4 tn Heb “and the
[21:2] 5 tn Or “she conceived.”
[21:3] 7 tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.
[21:4] 9 tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.
[21:4] 10 sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the
[21:5] 11 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).
[21:6] 13 tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”
[21:6] 14 tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[21:6] 15 sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).
[21:7] 16 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
[21:8] 18 sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.
[21:9] 20 tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.
[21:10] 21 tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.
[21:11] 23 tn Heb “and the word was very wrong in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.” The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) often refers to what is morally or ethically “evil.” It usage here suggests that Abraham thought Sarah’s demand was ethically (and perhaps legally) wrong.
[21:12] 25 tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”
[21:12] 26 tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.
[21:12] 27 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.
[21:12] 28 tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.
[21:14] 27 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
[21:14] 28 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
[21:14] 29 tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”
[21:14] 30 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
[21:14] 31 tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.
[21:15] 29 tn Heb “threw,” but the child, who was now thirteen years old, would not have been carried, let alone thrown under a bush. The exaggerated language suggests Ishmael is limp from dehydration and is being abandoned to die. See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 2:85.
[21:16] 31 sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).
[21:16] 33 tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.
[21:16] 34 tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.
[21:17] 33 sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the
[21:17] 34 tn Heb “What to you?”
[21:17] 35 sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.
[21:19] 35 tn Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:21] 37 sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.
[21:21] 38 tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”
[21:22] 39 sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.
[21:23] 41 tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”
[21:23] 42 tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”
[21:23] 43 tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.
[21:23] 44 tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.
[21:23] 46 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] 43 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] 45 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] 46 tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”
[21:25] 47 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.
[21:27] 49 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[21:29] 51 tn Heb “What are these?”
[21:30] 53 tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”
[21:30] 54 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] 55 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] 56 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] 57 sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.
[21:32] 57 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[21:32] 58 tn Heb “arose and returned.”
[21:32] 59 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.
[21:33] 59 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:33] 60 sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.
[21:33] 61 tn Heb “he called there in the name of the
[21:34] 61 tn Heb “many days.”
[23:1] 63 tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”
[23:2] 65 tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.
[23:2] 66 sn Mourn…weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD3 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah’s tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (v. 3).
[23:3] 67 tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”
[23:3] 68 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
[23:4] 69 tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”
[23:4] 70 tn Heb “give,” which is used here as an idiom for “sell” (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.
[23:4] 72 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.
[23:4] 73 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:5] 71 tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”
[23:6] 73 tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”
[23:6] 74 tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.
[23:6] 75 tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:7] 75 tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).
[23:8] 77 tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).
[23:8] 78 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:8] 80 tn Heb “intercede for me with.”
[23:9] 79 tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.
[23:9] 80 tn Heb “in your presence.”
[23:10] 81 tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
[23:10] 82 tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
[23:10] 83 sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.
[23:11] 83 tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.
[23:11] 84 tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[23:11] 85 tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”
[23:13] 87 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.
[23:15] 87 tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:15] 88 sn Four hundred pieces 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 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).
[23:16] 89 tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”
[23:16] 90 tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”
[23:16] 91 tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:16] 93 tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[23:16] 94 tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.
[23:17] 91 tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[23:18] 93 tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
