Discovery BoxGenesis 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? 1 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 2
Genesis 21:14
Context21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 3 some food 4 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 5 and sent her away. So she went wandering 6 aimlessly through the wilderness 7 of Beer Sheba.
Genesis 27:25
Context27:25 Isaac 8 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 9 Then I will bless you.” 10 So Jacob 11 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 12 drank.
Genesis 26:33
Context26:33 So he named it Shibah; 13 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 14 to this day.
Genesis 18:29
Context18:29 Abraham 15 spoke to him again, 16 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
Genesis 18:31
Context18:31 Abraham 17 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
Genesis 24:61
Context24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 18 the man. So Abraham’s servant 19 took Rebekah and left.
1 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.
2 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
3 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
4 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
5 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.”
6 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
7 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.
8 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
10 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
11 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.
14 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.
15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”
19 tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
