Genesis 11:29

11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, ¹  and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; ²  she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

Genesis 23:11

23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ³  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ⁴  In the presence of my people ⁵  I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”

Genesis 40:5

40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream ⁶  the same night. ⁷  Each man’s dream had its own meaning. ⁸ 

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¹ sn The name Sarai (a variant spelling of “Sarah”) means “princess” (or “lady”). Sharratu was the name of the wife of the moon god Sin. The original name may reflect the culture out of which the patriarch was called, for the family did worship other gods in Mesopotamia.

² sn The name Milcah means “Queen.” But more to the point here is the fact that Malkatu was a title for Ishtar, the daughter of the moon god. If the women were named after such titles (and there is no evidence that this was the motivation for naming the girls “Princess” or “Queen”), that would not necessarily imply anything about the faith of the two women themselves.

³ tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.

⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”

⁶ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

⁷ tn Heb “a man his dream in one night.”

⁸ tn Heb “a man according to the interpretation of his dream.”