² tn Heb “his face to the eastern sea.” In this context the eastern sea is probably the Dead Sea.

² sn The eastern sea is a reference to the Dead Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

¹ sn Ancient Near Eastern bricks were 10 to 24 inches long and 6 to 13½ inches wide.

² sn The land of Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

¹⁰ sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.

⁷ sn Loss of a land’s fertility is frequently associated with judgment in the OT and ancient Near Eastern literature.

¹ sn The Shihor River was a river on the border of Egypt, probably the eastern branch of the Nile.

¹ sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.

² sn Syracuse was a city on the eastern coast of the island of Sicily. It was 75 mi (120 km) from Malta.

² tn Grk “he reclined at the table.” The phrase reflects the normal 1st century Near Eastern practice of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.

² sn As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.

⁷ sn Gilead is a mountainous region on the eastern side of the Jordan River in what is today the country of Jordan.

⁵ sn A windstorm is a metaphor for judgment and destruction in the OT (see Isa 29:6; Jer 23:19) and ancient Near Eastern literature.

⁴ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

⁵ tn Heb “we.” In ancient Near Eastern love literature, plural verbs and plural pronouns are often used in reference to singular individuals. See note on Song 2:15.

³ sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.

² sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.

¹ tn Grk “binding up the loins of your mind,” a figure of speech drawn from the Middle Eastern practice of gathering up long robes around the waist to prepare for work or action.

⁸ sn Cenchrea was one of the seaports for the city of Corinth, on the eastern side of the Isthmus of Corinth, on the Aegean Sea. It was 7 mi (11 km) east of Corinth.

¹ tn Grk “reclining at the table.” The phrase reclining at the table reflects the normal practice in 1st century Near Eastern culture of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.