Discovery BoxGenesis 26:24 
Context26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
Genesis 17:23
Context17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 1 and circumcised them 2 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do.
Genesis 18:2
Context18:2 Abraham 3 looked up 4 and saw 5 three men standing across 6 from him. When he saw them 7 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 8 to the ground. 9
Genesis 18:8
Context18:8 Abraham 10 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 11 before them. They ate while 12 he was standing near them under a tree.
Genesis 18:30-32
Context18:30 Then Abraham 13 said, “May the Lord not be angry 14 so that I may speak! 15 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 16 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.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 17 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.”
Genesis 19:29
Context19:29 So when God destroyed 18 the cities of the region, 19 God honored 20 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 21 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 22 the cities Lot had lived in.
Genesis 20:5
Context20:5 Did Abraham 23 not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 24 ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 25 and with innocent hands!”
Genesis 21:7
Context21:7 She went on to say, 26 “Who would 27 have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
Genesis 21:10
Context21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish 28 that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
Genesis 21:12
Context21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset 29 about the boy or your slave wife. Do 30 all that Sarah is telling 31 you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. 32
Genesis 22:6-7
Context22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 33 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 34 “My father?” “What is it, 35 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 36 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Genesis 22:9
Context22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 37 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 38 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.
Genesis 22:13
Context22:13 Abraham looked up 39 and saw 40 behind him 41 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 42 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Genesis 23:10
Context23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 43 replied to Abraham in the hearing 44 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 45 of his city –
Genesis 23:16-17
Context23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price 46 and weighed 47 out for him 48 the price 49 that Ephron had quoted 50 in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 51
23:17 So Abraham secured 52 Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border,
Genesis 24:15
Context24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 53 with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 54
Genesis 24:27
Context24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love 55 for my master! The Lord has led me 56 to the house 57 of my master’s relatives!” 58
Genesis 24:32
Context24:32 So Abraham’s servant 59 went to the house and unloaded 60 the camels. Straw and feed were given 61 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 62
Genesis 24:42
Context24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, 63 may events unfold as follows: 64
Genesis 24:48
Context24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter 65 of my master’s brother for his son.
Genesis 24:65
Context24:65 and asked 66 Abraham’s servant, 67 “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. 68 So she took her veil and covered herself.
Genesis 26:1
Context26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 69 in the days of Abraham. 70 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
Genesis 26:3
Context26:3 Stay 71 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 72 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 73 and I will fulfill 74 the solemn promise I made 75 to your father Abraham.
Genesis 28:13
Context28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. 76 I will give you and your descendants the ground 77 you are lying on.
Genesis 31:53
Context31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, 78 the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. 79
Genesis 32:9
Context32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 80 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said 81 to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 82
Genesis 48:15-16
Context48:15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked –
the God who has been my shepherd 83
all my life long to this day,
48:16 the Angel 84 who has protected me 85
from all harm –
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them, 86
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
Genesis 50:13
Context50:13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.
Genesis 50:24
Context50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you 87 and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give 88 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
1 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
2 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
5 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.
6 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
7 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
8 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).
9 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
12 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
15 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
19 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
20 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
sn God showed Abraham special consideration because of the covenantal relationship he had established with the patriarch. Yet the reader knows that God delivered the “righteous” (Lot’s designation in 2 Pet 2:7) before destroying their world – which is what he will do again at the end of the age.
21 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
22 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
23 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn Heb “and she, even she.”
25 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
26 tn Heb “said.”
27 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
28 tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.
29 tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”
30 tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.
31 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.
32 tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.
33 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
34 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
35 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
36 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
37 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
38 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
39 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
40 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
41 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
42 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
43 tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
44 tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
45 sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.
46 tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”
47 tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”
48 tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
49 tn Heb “silver.”
50 tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
51 tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.
52 tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
53 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.
54 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
55 tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”
56 tn Heb “As for me – in the way the
57 tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.
58 tn Heb “brothers.”
59 tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
60 tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).
61 tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.
62 tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”
63 tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”
64 tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
65 tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).
66 tn Heb “and she said to.”
67 tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
68 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.
69 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
70 sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.
71 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.
72 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
sn I will be with you and I will bless you. The promise of divine presence is a promise to intervene to protect and to bless.
73 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
sn To you and to your descendants. The Abrahamic blessing will pass to Isaac. Everything included in that blessing will now belong to the son, and in turn will be passed on to his sons. But there is a contingency involved: If they are to enjoy the full blessings, they will have to obey the word of the
74 tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.
75 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
sn The solemn promise I made. See Gen 15:18-20; 22:16-18.
76 tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.
77 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.
78 tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.
79 tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.
80 tn Heb “said.”
81 tn Heb “the one who said.”
82 tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.
83 tn Heb “shepherded me.” The verb has been translated as an English noun for stylistic reasons.
84 sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.
85 tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).
86 tn Or “be recalled through them.”
87 tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” i.e., to intervene for blessing or cursing; here Joseph announces that God would come to fulfill the promises by delivering them from Egypt. The statement is emphasized by the use of the infinitive absolute with the verb: “God will surely visit you.”
88 tn The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
