12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree 4 of Moreh 5 at Shechem. 6 (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7
1 sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.
2 tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.
3 tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.
4 tn Or “terebinth.”
5 sn The Hebrew word Moreh (מוֹרֶה, moreh) means “teacher.” It may well be that the place of this great oak tree was a Canaanite shrine where instruction took place.
6 tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”
7 tn The disjunctive clause gives important information parenthetical in nature – the promised land was occupied by Canaanites.