¹ tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

² tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

³ tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).

⁴ tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”

⁵ sn This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for the well he dug. It would be useless to make a treaty to live in this territory if he had no rights to the water. Abraham consented to the treaty, but added his rider to it.

⁶ sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.

⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “and she hurried and lowered.”

⁹ tn Heb “From the Lord the matter has gone out.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.

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

¹² 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.

¹³ tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”

¹⁴ tn Heb “peace.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁶ tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

¹⁷ tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸ tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”

¹⁹ tn The imperative in this sentence has more of the nuance of a request than a command.

²⁰ tn Heb “not within me.”

²¹ tn Heb “God will answer.”

²² tn The expression שְׁלוֹם פַּרְעֹה (shÿlom par’oh) is here rendered “the welfare of Pharaoh” because the dream will be about life in his land. Some interpret it to mean an answer of “peace” – one that will calm his heart, or give him the answer that he desires (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT).

²³ tn Heb “and they bowed low and they bowed down.” The use of synonyms here emphasizes the brothers’ humility.

²⁴ tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.

²⁵ tn Heb “we find favor in the eyes of my lord.” Some interpret this as a request, “may we find favor in the eyes of my lord.”

²⁶ sn Slaves. See the note on this word in v. 21.