Discovery BoxGenesis 17:17 
Context17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 1 as he said to himself, 2 “Can 3 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 4 Can Sarah 5 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 6
Genesis 18:19
Context18:19 I have chosen him 7 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 8 the way of the Lord by doing 9 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 10 to Abraham what he promised 11 him.”
Genesis 20:9
Context20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 12 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 13
Genesis 21:14
Context21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 14 some food 15 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 16 and sent her away. So she went wandering 17 aimlessly through the wilderness 18 of Beer Sheba.
Genesis 22:3
Context22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 19 He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out 20 for the place God had spoken to him about.
Genesis 31:42
Context31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears 21 – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, 22 and he rebuked you last night.”
1 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
2 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
3 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
4 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
5 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
6 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
7 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
8 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
9 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
10 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
11 tn Heb “spoke to.”
12 tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.
13 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
14 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
15 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
16 tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”
17 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
18 tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.
19 tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”
20 tn Heb “he arose and he went.”
21 tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42,53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.
22 tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”
