24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 1 to this land? Must I then 2 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 5 and brought them to his mother. She 6 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 7 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 8
18:32 Finally Abraham 16 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
1 tn Heb “to go after me.”
2 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
3 tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.
4 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
5 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
11 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
12 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
13 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
14 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
15 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Heb “and she, even she.”
19 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
20 tn Heb “and she said to.”
21 tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.