Genesis 8:4

8:4 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat. ¹ 

Genesis 8:14

8:14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth ²  was dry.

Genesis 26:33

26:33 So he named it Shibah; ³  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ⁴  to this day.

Genesis 31:40

31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat ⁵  during the day and by piercing cold ⁶  at night, and I went without sleep. ⁷ 

[8:4]  ¹ tn Heb “on the mountains of Ararat.” Obviously a boat (even one as large as the ark) cannot rest on multiple mountains. Perhaps (1) the preposition should be translated “among,” or (2) the plural “mountains” should be understood in the sense of “mountain range” (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 53). A more probable option (3) is that the plural indicates an indefinite singular, translated “one of the mountains” (see GKC 400 §124.o).

[8:14]  ² tn In v. 13 the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, ha’adamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, ha’arets) is dry.

[26:33]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[31:40]  ⁴ tn Or “by drought.”

[31:40]  ⁵ tn Heb “frost, ice,” though when contrasted with the חֹרֶב (khorev, “drought, parching heat”) of the day, “piercing cold” is more appropriate as a contrast.

[31:40]  ⁶ tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”