Discovery BoxGenesis 41:1
Context41:1 At the end of two full years 1 Pharaoh had a dream. 2 As he was standing by the Nile,
Genesis 22:1-24
Context22:1 Some time after these things God tested 3 Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham 4 replied. 22:2 God 5 said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac 6 – and go to the land of Moriah! 7 Offer him up there as a burnt offering 8 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to 9 you.”
22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 10 He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out 11 for the place God had spoken to him about.
22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of 12 the place in the distance. 22:5 So he 13 said to his servants, “You two stay 14 here with the donkey while 15 the boy and I go up there. We will worship 16 and then return to you.” 17
22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 18 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 19 “My father?” “What is it, 20 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 21 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide 22 for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 23 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 24 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter 25 his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel 26 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 27 the angel said. 28 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 29 that you fear 30 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
22:13 Abraham looked up 31 and saw 32 behind him 33 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 34 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” 35 It is said to this day, 36 “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” 37
22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ 38 decrees the Lord, 39 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, 40 and I will greatly multiply 41 your descendants 42 so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession 43 of the strongholds 44 of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, 45 all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 46 using the name of your descendants.’”
22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together 47 for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. 48
22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah 49 also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 50 22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now 51 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Genesis 26:1-35
Context26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 52 in the days of Abraham. 53 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; 54 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 55 26:3 Stay 56 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 57 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 58 and I will fulfill 59 the solemn promise I made 60 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 61 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 62 26:5 All this will come to pass 63 because Abraham obeyed me 64 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 65 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.” 66 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 67 “The men of this place will kill me to get 68 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 69 had been there a long time, 70 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 71 Isaac caressing 72 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 73 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 74
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 75 One of the men 76 might easily have had sexual relations with 77 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 78 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 79
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 80 because the Lord blessed him. 81 26:13 The man became wealthy. 82 His influence continued to grow 83 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 84 so many sheep 85 and cattle 86 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 87 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 88 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, 89 for you have become much more powerful 90 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 91 26:18 Isaac reopened 92 the wells that had been dug 93 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 94 after Abraham died. Isaac 95 gave these wells 96 the same names his father had given them. 97
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 98 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 99 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 100 named the well 101 Esek 102 because they argued with him about it. 103 26:21 His servants 104 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 105 Sitnah. 106 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 107 named it 108 Rehoboth, 109 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 110 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 111 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 112
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 113 to him from Gerar along with 114 Ahuzzah his friend 115 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 116 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 117 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 118 a pact between us 119 – between us 120 and you. Allow us to make 121 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 122 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 123 you, but have always treated you well 124 before sending you away 125 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 126
26:30 So Isaac 127 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 128 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 129 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 130
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 131 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 132 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 133 to this day.
26:34 When 134 Esau was forty years old, 135 he married 136 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. 137
[41:1] 1 tn Heb “two years, days.”
[41:1] 2 tn Heb “was dreaming.”
[22:1] 3 sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.
[22:1] 4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 6 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
[22:2] 7 sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
[22:2] 8 sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.
[22:2] 9 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
[22:3] 7 tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”
[22:3] 8 tn Heb “he arose and he went.”
[22:4] 9 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”
[22:5] 11 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
[22:5] 12 tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.
[22:5] 13 tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.
[22:5] 14 tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”
[22:5] 15 sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.
[22:6] 13 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
[22:7] 15 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[22:7] 16 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
[22:7] 17 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:8] 17 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
[22:9] 19 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
[22:9] 20 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
[22:10] 21 tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”
[22:11] 23 sn Heb “the messenger of the
[22:12] 25 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
[22:12] 26 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:12] 27 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
[22:12] 28 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
[22:13] 27 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
[22:13] 28 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
[22:13] 29 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
[22:13] 30 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:14] 29 tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.
[22:14] 30 sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
[22:14] 31 sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.
[22:16] 31 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
[22:16] 32 tn Heb “the oracle of the
[22:17] 33 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.
[22:17] 34 tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).
[22:17] 35 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.
[22:17] 37 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).
[22:18] 35 tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.
[22:18] 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 26:4). 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.)
[22:19] 37 tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”
[22:19] 38 tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.
[22:20] 39 tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.
[22:21] 41 sn This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.
[22:23] 43 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).
[26:1] 45 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
[26:1] 46 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] 47 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] 48 tn Heb “say to you.”
[26:3] 49 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] 50 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
[26:3] 51 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] 52 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] 53 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
[26:4] 51 tn Heb “your descendants.”
[26:4] 52 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] 53 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[26:5] 54 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
[26:5] 55 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] 55 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
[26:7] 56 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] 57 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
[26:8] 57 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:8] 58 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
[26:8] 59 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] 59 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
[26:9] 60 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] 61 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] 63 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] 63 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] 64 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
[26:12] 65 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
[26:12] 66 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
[26:13] 67 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
[26:13] 68 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
[26:14] 69 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[26:14] 70 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
[26:14] 71 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
[26:14] 72 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
[26:15] 71 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
[26:16] 73 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
[26:16] 74 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] 75 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
[26:18] 77 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
[26:18] 78 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
[26:18] 79 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
[26:18] 80 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 81 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 82 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
[26:19] 79 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
[26:20] 81 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
[26:20] 82 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:20] 83 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
[26:20] 84 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] 85 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:21] 83 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 84 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 85 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] 85 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:22] 86 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
[26:22] 87 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] 87 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:25] 89 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
[26:25] 90 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
[26:26] 91 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] 93 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] 93 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
[26:28] 95 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
[26:28] 96 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] 97 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
[26:28] 98 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
[26:28] 99 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] 97 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
[26:29] 99 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
[26:29] 100 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
[26:29] 101 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] 99 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:30] 100 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
[26:31] 101 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
[26:31] 102 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
[26:32] 103 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] 105 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] 106 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] 107 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
[26:34] 108 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
[26:34] 109 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
[26:35] 109 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
