Genesis 49:21

49:21 Naphtali is a free running doe, ¹ 

he speaks delightful words. ² 

Genesis 12:13

12:13 So tell them ³  you are my sister ⁴  so that it may go well ⁵  for me because of you and my life will be spared ⁶  on account of you.”

Genesis 20:13

20:13 When God made me wander ⁷  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ⁸  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

[49:21]  ¹ tn Heb “a doe set free.”

[49:21]  ² tn Heb “the one who gives words of beauty.” The deer imagery probably does not continue into this line; Naphtali is the likely antecedent of the substantival participle, which is masculine, not feminine, in form. If the animal imagery is retained from the preceding line, the image of a talking deer is preposterous. For this reason some read the second line “the one who bears beautiful fawns,” interpreting אִמְרֵי (’imre) as a reference to young animals, not words (see HALOT 67 s.v. *אִמֵּר).

[12:13]  ³ tn Heb “say.”

[12:13]  ⁴ sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.

[12:13]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.

[12:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and my life will live.”

[20:13]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”

[20:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”