¹ tn Heb “And Abram said.”

¹ sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).

¹ tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”

⁴ sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)

³ tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.

¹ tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.

² sn Who delivered. The Hebrew verb מִגֵּן (miggen, “delivered”) foreshadows the statement by God to Abram in Gen 15:1, “I am your shield” (מָגֵן, magen). Melchizedek provided a theological interpretation of Abram’s military victory.

¹ sn Whom Abram named Ishmael. Hagar must have informed Abram of what the angel had told her. See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

⁶ tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.

¹ tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹ tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.

² tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident foreigners without rights of citizenship.

¹ tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).