Genesis 26:15-22

26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up ¹  all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.

26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, ²  for you have become much more powerful ³  than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ⁴  26:18 Isaac reopened ⁵  the wells that had been dug ⁶  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁷  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁸  gave these wells ⁹  the same names his father had given them. ¹⁰ 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ¹¹  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ¹²  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ¹³  named the well ¹⁴  Esek ¹⁵  because they argued with him about it. ¹⁶  26:21 His servants ¹⁷  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ¹⁸  Sitnah. ¹⁹  26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ²⁰  named it ²¹  Rehoboth, ²²  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

Genesis 29:8

29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water ²³  the sheep.”

Exodus 2:15-17

2:15 When Pharaoh heard ²⁴  about this event, ²⁵  he sought to kill Moses. So Moses fled ²⁶  from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, ²⁷  and he settled ²⁸  by a certain well. ²⁹ 

2:16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and began to draw ³⁰  water ³¹  and fill ³²  the troughs in order to water their father’s flock. 2:17 When some ³³  shepherds came and drove them away, ³⁴  Moses came up and defended them ³⁵  and then watered their flock.

Jude 1:15

1:15 to execute judgment on ³⁶  all, and to convict every person ³⁷  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ³⁸  that they have committed, ³⁹  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ⁴⁰ 

Proverbs 17:10

17:10 A rebuke makes a greater impression on ⁴¹  a discerning person

than a hundred blows on a fool. ⁴² 

Proverbs 25:9

25:9 When you argue a case ⁴³  with your neighbor,

do not reveal the secret of another person, ⁴⁴ 

Proverbs 27:5

27:5 Better is open ⁴⁵  rebuke

than hidden ⁴⁶  love.

Matthew 18:15

Restoring Christian Relationships

18:15 “If ⁴⁷  your brother ⁴⁸  sins, ⁴⁹  go and show him his fault ⁵⁰  when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother.

[26:15]  ¹ tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”

[26:16]  ² tn Heb “Go away from us.”

[26:16]  ³ sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).

[26:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”

[26:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[26:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[26:20]  ¹² tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ¹⁵ sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”

[26:20]  ¹⁶ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ¹⁹ sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.

[26:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he called its name.”

[26:22]  ²² sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.

[29:8]  ²³ tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.

[2:15]  ²⁴ tn The form with the vav consecutive is here subordinated to the main idea that Pharaoh sought to punish Moses.

[2:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb הַדָּבָר (haddavar, “the word [thing, matter, incident]”) functions here like a pronoun to refer in brief to what Moses had done.

[2:15]  ²⁶ tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite shows result – as a result of Pharaoh’s search for him, he fled.

[2:15]  ²⁷ sn The location of Midyan or Midian is uncertain, but it had to have been beyond the Egyptian borders on the east, either in the Sinai or beyond in the Arabah (south of the Dead Sea) or even on the east side of the Gulf of Aqaba. The Midianites seem to have traveled extensively in the desert regions. R. A. Cole (Exodus [TOTC], 60) reasons that since they later were enemies of Israel, it is unlikely that these traditions would have been made up about Israel’s great lawgiver; further, he explains that “Ishmaelite” and “Kenite” might have been clan names within the region of Midian. But see, from a different point of view, G. W. Coats, “Moses and Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10.

[2:15]  ²⁸ tn The verb reads “and he sat” or “and he lived.” To translate it “he sat by a well” would seem anticlimactic and unconnected. It probably has the same sense as in the last clause, namely, that he lived in Midian, and he lived near a well, which detail prepares for what follows.

[2:15]  ²⁹ tn The word has the definite article, “the well.” Gesenius lists this use of the article as that which denotes a thing that is yet unknown to the reader but present in the mind under the circumstances (GKC 407-8 §126.q-r). Where there was a well, people would settle, and as R. A. Cole says it, for people who settled there it was “the well” (Exodus [TOTC], 60).

[2:16]  ³⁰ tn The preterites describing their actions must be taken in an ingressive sense, since they did not actually complete the job. Shepherds drove them away, and Moses watered the flocks.

[2:16]  ³¹ tn The object “water” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[2:16]  ³² tn This also has the ingressive sense, “began to fill,” but for stylistic reasons is translated simply “fill” here.

[2:17]  ³³ tn The definite article here is the generic use; it simply refers to a group of shepherds.

[2:17]  ³⁴ tn The actions of the shepherds are subordinated to the main statement about what Moses did.

[2:17]  ³⁵ sn The verb used here is וַיּוֹשִׁעָן (vayyoshi’an, “and he saved them”). The word means that he came to their rescue and delivered them. By the choice of words the narrator is portraying Moses as the deliverer – he is just not yet ready to deliver Israel from its oppressors.

[1:15]  ³⁶ tn Grk “against” (κατά [kata] + genitive). English usage is satisfied with “on” at this point, but the parallel is lost in the translation to some degree, for the end of v. 15 says that this judgment is meted out on these sinners because they spoke against him (κατά + genitive).

[1:15]  ³⁷ tn Or “soul.”

[1:15]  ³⁸ tn Grk “of all their works of ungodliness.” The adverb “thoroughly” is part of the following verb “have committed.” See note on verb “committed” later in this verse.

[1:15]  ³⁹ tn The verb in Greek does not simply mean “have committed,” but “have committed in an ungodly way.” The verb ἀσεβέω (asebew) is cognate to the noun ἀσέβεια (asebeia, “ungodliness”). There is no easy way to express this in English, since English does not have a single word that means the same thing. Nevertheless, the tenor of v. 15 is plainly seen, regardless of the translation.

[1:15]  ⁴⁰ sn An apparent quotation from 1 En. 1:9. There is some doubt as to whether Jude is actually quoting from the text of 1 Enoch; the text here in Jude differs in some respects from the extant text of this pseudepigraphic book. It is sometimes suggested that Jude may instead have been quoting from oral tradition which had roots older than the written text.

[17:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “goes in deeper” (cf. NASB, NRSV). The verb נָחֵת (nakhet) “to go down; to descend” with the preposition בְּ (bet) means “to descend into; to make an impression on” someone.

[17:10]  ⁴² tn The form is the Hiphil infinitive of נָכָה (nakhah) with the comparative מִן, min. The word “fool” then would be an objective genitive – more than blows to/on a fool.

[25:9]  ⁴³ tn The verse begins with the direct object רִיבְךָ (ribkha, “your case”) followed by the imperative from the same root, רִיב (riv, “argue”). It is paralleled by the negated Piel jussive. The construction of the clauses indicates that the first colon is foundational to the second: “Argue…but do not reveal,” or better, “When you argue…do not reveal.”

[25:9]  ⁴⁴ sn The concern is that in arguing with one person a secret about another might be divulged, perhaps deliberately in an attempt to clear oneself. The point then is about damaging a friendship by involving the friend without necessity or warrant in someone else’s quarrel.

[27:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “revealed” or “uncovered” (Pual participle from גָּלָה, galah). This would specify the reproof or rebuke as direct, honest, and frank, whether it was coming from a friend or an enemy.

[27:5]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “hidden” (a Pual participle from סָתַר, satar) refers to a love that is carefully concealed; this is contrasted with the open rebuke in the first line. What is described, then, is someone too timid, too afraid, or not trusting enough to admit that reproof is a genuine part of love (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 610). It is a love that is not expressed in proper concern for the one loved. See also, e.g., 28:23 and 29:3.

[18:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. All the “if” clauses in this paragraph are third class conditions in Greek.

[18:15]  ⁴⁸ tn The Greek term “brother” can mean “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a) whether male or female. It can also refer to siblings, though here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God. Therefore, because of the familial connotations, “brother” has been retained in the translation here in preference to the more generic “fellow believer” (“fellow Christian” would be anachronistic in this context).

[18:15]  ⁴⁹ tc ‡ The earliest and best witnesses lack “against you” after “if your brother sins.” It is quite possible that the shorter reading in these witnesses (א B, as well as 0281 ˹ 579 pc sa) occurred when scribes either intentionally changed the text (to make it more universal in application) or unintentionally changed the text (owing to the similar sound of the end of the verb ἁμαρτήσῃ [Jamarthsh] and the prepositional phrase εἰς σέ [eis se]). However, if the mss were normally copied by sight rather than by sound, especially in the early centuries of Christianity, such an unintentional change is not as likely for these mss. And since scribes normally added material rather than deleted it for intentional changes, on balance, the shorter reading appears to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[18:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “go reprove him.”