16:3 So after Abram had lived 1 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 2 to her husband to be his wife. 3
“Our sister, may you become the mother 6 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 7 of their enemies.”
1 tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.
2 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
3 sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.
4 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “and said to her.”
6 tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”
sn May you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands. The blessing expresses their prayer that she produce children and start a family line that will greatly increase (cf. Gen 17:16).
7 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.
8 tn This rare verb means “to make a fool of” someone. It involves deceiving someone so that their public reputation suffers (see Exod 8:25).