Genesis 16:6

16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your¹ servant is under your authority,² do to her whatever you think best.”³ Then Sarai treated Hagar⁴ harshly,⁵ so she ran away from Sarai.⁶

Genesis 16:12

16:12 He will be a wild donkey⁷ of a man.

He will be hostile to everyone,⁸

and everyone will be hostile to him.⁹

He will live away from¹⁰ his brothers.”

Genesis 19:16

19:16 When Lot¹¹ hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them.¹² They led them away and placed them¹³ outside the city.

Genesis 21:16

21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot¹⁴ away; for she thought,¹⁵ “I refuse to watch the child die.”¹⁶ So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably.¹⁷

Genesis 26:22

26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac¹⁸ named it¹⁹ Rehoboth,²⁰ saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

Genesis 26:29

26:29 so that²¹ you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed²² you, but have always treated you well²³ before sending you away²⁴ in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”²⁵

Genesis 31:18

31:18 He took²⁶ away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac.²⁷

Genesis 31:27

31:27 Why did you run away secretly²⁸ and deceive me?²⁹ Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps?³⁰

Genesis 47:13

47:13 But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away³¹ because of the famine.

¹tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”

²tn Heb “in your hand.”

³tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

⁴tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”

⁶tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.

⁸tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.

⁹tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”

¹⁰tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).

¹¹tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹²tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

¹³tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

¹⁴sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).

¹⁵tn Heb “said.”

¹⁶tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.

¹⁷tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.

¹⁸tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹tn Heb “and he called its name.”

²⁰sn 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.

²¹tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”

²²tn Heb “touched.”

²³tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”

²⁴tn Heb “and we sent you away.”

²⁵tn 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).

²⁶tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.

²⁷tn Heb “and he led away all his cattle and all his moveable property which he acquired, the cattle he obtained, which he acquired in Paddan Aram to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan.”

²⁸tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”

²⁹tn Heb “and steal me.”

³⁰tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”

³¹tn The verb לַהַה (lahah, = לָאָה, la’ah) means “to faint, to languish”; it figuratively describes the land as wasting away, drooping, being worn out.