Discovery BoxGenesis 32:1
Context32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God 1 met him.
Genesis 25:1--26:35
Context25:1 Abraham had taken 2 another 3 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 4 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 5 of Keturah.
25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines 6 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 7
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 8 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 9 He joined his ancestors. 10 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 11 near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. 12 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 13 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 14
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 15 whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: 16 Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes 17 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 18 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 19 25:18 His descendants 20 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 21 to Egypt all the way 22 to Asshur. 23 They settled 24 away from all their relatives. 25
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 26 the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 27 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 28
25:21 Isaac prayed to 29 the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled 30 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 31 So she asked the Lord, 32 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 33 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, 34 there were 35 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 36 all over, 37 like a hairy 38 garment, so they named him Esau. 39 25:26 When his brother came out with 40 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 41 Isaac was sixty years old 42 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 43 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 44 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 45 but Rebekah loved 46 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 47 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 48 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 49 Edom.) 50
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 51 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 52 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 53 So Esau 54 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 55 to Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. 56 So Esau despised his birthright. 57
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 58 in the days of Abraham. 59 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; 60 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 61 26:3 Stay 62 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 63 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 64 and I will fulfill 65 the solemn promise I made 66 to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them 67 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 68 26:5 All this will come to pass 69 because Abraham obeyed me 70 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 71 26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 72 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 73 “The men of this place will kill me to get 74 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 75 had been there a long time, 76 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 77 Isaac caressing 78 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 79 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 80
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 81 One of the men 82 might easily have had sexual relations with 83 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 84 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 85
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 86 because the Lord blessed him. 87 26:13 The man became wealthy. 88 His influence continued to grow 89 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 90 so many sheep 91 and cattle 92 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 93 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 94 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, 95 for you have become much more powerful 96 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 97 26:18 Isaac reopened 98 the wells that had been dug 99 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 100 after Abraham died. Isaac 101 gave these wells 102 the same names his father had given them. 103
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 104 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 105 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 106 named the well 107 Esek 108 because they argued with him about it. 109 26:21 His servants 110 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 111 Sitnah. 112 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 113 named it 114 Rehoboth, 115 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 116 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped 117 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 118
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 119 to him from Gerar along with 120 Ahuzzah his friend 121 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 122 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 123 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 124 a pact between us 125 – between us 126 and you. Allow us to make 127 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 128 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 129 you, but have always treated you well 130 before sending you away 131 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 132
26:30 So Isaac 133 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 134 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 135 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 136
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 137 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 138 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 139 to this day.
26:34 When 140 Esau was forty years old, 141 he married 142 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 143
[32:1] 1 sn The phrase angels of God occurs only here and in Gen 28:12 in the OT. Jacob saw a vision of angels just before he left the promised land. Now he encounters angels as he prepares to return to it. The text does not give the details of the encounter, but Jacob’s response suggests it was amicable. This location was a spot where heaven made contact with earth, and where God made his presence known to the patriarch. See C. Houtman, “Jacob at Mahanaim: Some Remarks on Genesis XXXII 2-3,” VT 28 (1978): 37-44.
[25:1] 3 tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”
[25:3] 3 sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.
[25:6] 5 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
[25:6] 6 tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”
[25:7] 6 tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.
[25:8] 7 tn Heb “old and full.”
[25:8] 8 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
[25:9] 8 sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).
[25:10] 9 tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
[25:11] 10 sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).
[25:11] 11 sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.
[25:12] 11 sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).
[25:13] 12 tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”
[25:16] 13 tn Or “tribal chieftains.”
[25:17] 14 tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”
[25:17] 15 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
[25:18] 15 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:18] 16 tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.
[25:18] 17 tn Heb “as you go.”
[25:18] 18 sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.
[25:18] 20 tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.
[25:19] 16 sn This is the account of Isaac. What follows for several chapters is not the account of Isaac, except briefly, but the account of Jacob and Esau. The next chapters tell what became of Isaac and his family.
[25:20] 17 tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”
[25:20] 18 sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for twenty years, and that Abraham would have lived to see Jacob and Esau begin to grow up. The death of Abraham was recorded in the first part of the chapter as a “tidying up” of one generation before beginning the account of the next.
[25:21] 18 tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the
[25:22] 19 tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.
[25:22] 20 tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.
[25:22] 21 sn Asked the
[25:23] 20 sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.
[25:24] 21 tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”
[25:24] 22 tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.
[25:25] 22 sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.
[25:25] 23 tn Heb “all of him.”
[25:25] 24 sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.
[25:25] 25 tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.
[25:26] 23 tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.
[25:26] 24 tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.
[25:26] 25 tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”
[25:27] 25 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”
[25:28] 25 tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.
[25:28] 26 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.
[25:29] 26 sn Jacob cooked some stew. There are some significant words and wordplays in this story that help clarify the points of the story. The verb “cook” is זִיד (zid), which sounds like the word for “hunter” (צַיִד, tsayid). This is deliberate, for the hunter becomes the hunted in this story. The word זִיד means “to cook, to boil,” but by the sound play with צַיִד it comes to mean “set a trap by cooking.” The usage of the word shows that it can also have the connotation of acting presumptuously (as in boiling over). This too may be a comment on the scene. For further discussion of the rhetorical devices in the Jacob narratives, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
[25:30] 27 tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.
[25:30] 28 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.
[25:30] 29 sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”
[25:32] 29 tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”
[25:33] 30 tn Heb “Swear to me today.”
[25:33] 31 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:33] 32 sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.
[25:34] 31 sn The style here is typical of Hebrew narrative; after the tension is resolved with the dialogue, the working out of it is recorded in a rapid sequence of verbs (“gave”; “ate”; “drank”; “got up”; “went out”). See also Gen 3:1-7 for another example.
[25:34] 32 sn So Esau despised his birthright. This clause, which concludes the episode, is a summary statement which reveals the underlying significance of Esau’s actions. “To despise” means to treat something as worthless or with contempt. Esau’s willingness to sell his birthright was evidence that he considered it to be unimportant.
[26:1] 32 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
[26:1] 33 sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.
[26:2] 33 sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.
[26:2] 34 tn Heb “say to you.”
[26:3] 34 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.
[26:3] 35 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
[26:3] 36 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
[26:3] 37 tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.
[26:3] 38 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
[26:4] 35 tn Heb “your descendants.”
[26:4] 36 tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
[26:5] 36 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[26:5] 37 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
[26:5] 38 sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.
[26:7] 37 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
[26:7] 38 tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.
[26:7] 39 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
[26:8] 38 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:8] 39 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
[26:8] 40 tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.
[26:9] 39 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
[26:9] 40 tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).
[26:10] 40 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[26:10] 42 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
[26:11] 41 tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.
[26:11] 42 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
[26:12] 42 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
[26:12] 43 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
[26:13] 43 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
[26:13] 44 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
[26:14] 44 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[26:14] 45 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
[26:14] 46 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
[26:14] 47 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
[26:15] 45 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
[26:16] 46 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
[26:16] 47 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] 47 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
[26:18] 48 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
[26:18] 49 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
[26:18] 50 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
[26:18] 51 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 52 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 53 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
[26:19] 49 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
[26:20] 50 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
[26:20] 51 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:20] 52 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
[26:20] 53 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] 54 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:21] 51 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 52 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 53 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] 52 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:22] 53 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
[26:22] 54 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.
[26:23] 53 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:25] 54 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
[26:25] 55 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
[26:26] 55 tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”
[26:26] 57 tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
[26:27] 56 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
[26:28] 57 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
[26:28] 58 tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:28] 59 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
[26:28] 60 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
[26:28] 61 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”
[26:29] 58 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
[26:29] 60 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
[26:29] 61 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
[26:29] 62 tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).
[26:30] 59 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:30] 60 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
[26:31] 60 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
[26:31] 61 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
[26:32] 61 tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:33] 62 sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.
[26:33] 63 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.
[26:34] 63 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
[26:34] 64 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
[26:34] 65 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
[26:35] 64 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
