Discovery BoxGenesis 21:14
Context21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 1 some food 2 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 3 and sent her away. So she went wandering 4 aimlessly through the wilderness 5 of Beer Sheba.
Genesis 21:31-33
Context21:31 That is why he named that place 6 Beer Sheba, 7 because the two of them swore 8 an oath there.
21:32 So they made a treaty 9 at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned 10 to the land of the Philistines. 11 21:33 Abraham 12 planted a tamarisk tree 13 in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, 14 the eternal God.
[21:14] 1 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
[21:14] 2 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
[21:14] 3 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] 4 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
[21:14] 5 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.
[21:31] 6 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] 7 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] 8 sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.
[21:32] 9 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[21:32] 10 tn Heb “arose and returned.”
[21:32] 11 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] 12 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:33] 13 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] 14 tn Heb “he called there in the name of the
