J E

JE

JE P

the "captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is 'with thee
in all that thou doest: 23 now therefore swear unto me 'here by God
that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with "my "'son, nor with my
son's son"': but according to the "kindness that I have done unto thee,
thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast "sojourned.
24 And Abraham said, I will swear.

V 171

w 57b

25 And Abraham "reproved Abimelech 'because of the well of water,
which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing: neither
didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it but to-day.
Abraham "took 'sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and
they two "made a covenant.

26 And

X II

27 And

y 138

z 33

a' 181

b' 125

28 And Abraham "set seven ewe lambs of the flock "by themselves. 29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast "set "by themselves? 30 And he said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

31 Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they
'sware both of them. 32 So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba :
and Abimelech "rose up, and Phicol the "captain of his host, and they
returned into the "land of the Philistines.

33 And Abraham] "planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and "called
there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.

N

34 And Abraham "sojourned in the "land of the Philistines "many
days.

221 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did "prove
Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham; and he said, "Here am I.
2 LAnd he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest,
[even] Isaac, and get thee into the land of "Moriah; and offer him
there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will
tell thee of. 3 And Abraham rose early in the morning, and
"saddled his ass, and took two of his 'young men with him, and
Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt offering,
and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

relates to a dispute about a well 25... Both these have their
parallel in J's history of Isaac 2620... The sequel of the first
appears (according to the view here taken, but there is much
critical divergence) in 31, where the name Beer-sheba is inter-
preted as the well of swearing,' in allusion to the oath
demanded by Abimelech 23. But this name contained another
allusion, viz to a well, and this has apparently led to the
amalgamation of the oath-story with an account of a covenant
about a well 25.., derived from the cycle of well-stories which
were no doubt of great importance in the patriarchal traditions.
The name might also, however, be interpreted well of seven.'
This has probably caused the insertion of fresh material in
28-30. The statement in 28 that Abraham set the seven ewe
lambs of the flock by themselves' (Dillm) seems to imply some
previous mention of their selection, and suggests that they are
drawn from an independent story about the well of seven'*.
This source would most naturally be J. Still, both J and E
frequently employ the number seven; 29 30 show phraseological
affinity with E; and it is possible that the abruptness of 28
may be due to simple abbreviation. The repetition of the
phrase and they made a covenant' 27 32 points to the amal-
gamation of two narratives with the same close, one of which
was fixed by the well-incident at Beer-sheba. The oath 22-24
would most naturally be located in the land where Abraham
had sojourned 23 cp 34; but its union with the well-story gave
it another geographical base, and it was then necessary for
Abimelech and Phicol to return to their own land 32.
In 33
the absence of a subject implies discontinuity, and the verse is

the obvious sequel of J's story.

c' 15b

d' 128

15a

a 95

b 104

c 162 d 10

e 200

f 235

8 128

2123 M Or, my offspring, nor with my posterity. 29 The suffix here a differs from that in 28; analogous forms are found in 316 4121 4236, all in E.

34 This verse seems incongruous with 32, which implies that Abraham was not then in the land of the Philistines. It may have been the original sequel of 24., on the hypothesis that E's Beer-sheba story has lost its opening describing Abraham's removal from Gerar cp 2617..; or it may be due to Ro, who adds it as the close of 33. In either case its position here is due to R.

221 The narrative of the intended sacrifice of Isaac 1-13 is distinguished (save for the harmonizer's touch in 11) by the use of the divine name Elohim. But it shows no point of contact in phrase or thought with P, who never depicts God as 'trying or 'proving' the patriarchs or their descendants, or recognizes any acts of cultus before the Levitical institutions (cp Introd XIII 2y i 124).

were

2 Moriah is only named elsewhere in 2 Chron 31: the designation 'land of Moriah,' as if it were well known and Moriah 'one of the mountains' in it, is consequently rendered doubtful. The name is probably due to the redactor who saw in it a reference to the proverbial utterance of 14; but its meaning was by no means clear; renders the lofty land,' Sam the land of vision,' while preserves a reading which Dillmann and Ball think may possibly be original, 'the land of the Amorite' cp JE96.

* Otherwise it must be assumed that seven was the regular number, already recognized in Abraham's act 27.

J E

JE

J E P
On the third day Abraham "lifted up his eyes, and saw the place
'afar off. 5 And Abraham said unto his 'young men, Abide
ye
"here with the ass, and I and the 'lad will go 'yonder; and we will
worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood
of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took
in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them
together. And Isaac 'spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My
father and he said, "Here am I, my son.
:
And he said, Behold,
the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, God will "provide himself the lamb for
a burnt offering, my son : so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and
Abraham built the altar there, and "laid the wood in order, and
'bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10 And Abraham 'stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to
'slay his son. 11 And the "angel of "Yahweh called unto him out
of heaven, and said, 'Abraham, Abraham": and he said, "Here am I.
12 And he said, 'Lay not thine hand upon the 'lad, neither do thou
any thing unto him: for now I know that thou "fearest God, seeing
thou hast not 'withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.
13 And
Abraham "lifted up his eyes, and looked, and "behold, behind [him
a ram caught in the 'thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and
took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead
of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place "Yahweh-jireh: as it
is "said to this day, In the mount of Yahweh "it shall be provided.

N

15 And the angel of Yahweh called unto Abraham a second time
"out of heaven, and said, 16 "By myself have I 'sworn, "saith Yahweh,
because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine
bonly son: 17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will
multiply thy seed as the 'stars of the heaven, and as the 'sand which is
upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 and in thy seed shall all the "nations of the earth be blessed;
a'because thou hast obeyed my voice.

19 So Abraham returned unto his 'young men, and they "rose up and
went together to "Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was 'told Abraham, saying,
Behold, "Milcah, d'she also hath borne children unto thy brother Nahor;
21 Uz his firstborn, and Buz "his brother, and Kemuel the father of
Aram; 22 and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
23 And Bethuel 'begat "Rebekah: these eight did Milcah bear to Nahor,
Abraham's brother. 24 And his "concubine, "whose name was Reumah,
"she also bare Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maacah.

N

a 93

b 188

231 And the "life of Sarah was an "hundred and seven and twenty years: these were the years" of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died in "Kiriath-arbac 3

228 M see for himself.

11 The angel in the original story was no doubt the angel of Elohim 2117; the name has been editorially changed to Yahweh in preparation for the important insertion 15-18.

13 M Or, according to many ancient authorities, behold a (one) ram caught.

14 An editorial insertion, but whether by R or Rie cannot be determined. In the original story the names may have been formed with El. 14b M That is, Yahweh will see, or, provide.

14c M Or, he shall be seen. 15 An addition to E by a later hand familiar with the phraseology of J as the margins show. The solemn oath of Yahweh by himself' 16 is mentioned only once elsewhere, in a passage of similar expansion Ex 3213; note the phrase so common in prophecy 'oracle of Yahweh' 16, Am 211 Hos 215 Is 124 al.

18a Ct 123 and cp 1818.
18b M Or, bless themselves.

20 This clause is here treated as an editorial connexion, though the frequent recurrence of the phrase 'after these things' makes it possible that it was a continuation of E's history, into which the genealogy and it was told Abraham' has been unexpectedly inserted. This appears to be most properly assigned to J as the necessary preparation for the story of 24. Both form and contents show that it cannot belong to P: and there seems no ground either of phraseology or of matter for ascribing it (with Wellh) to E. The slight marginal parallels confirm the attribution to J.

231 By the purchase of the cave of Machpelah, Abraham, according to P, secures a permanent possession in the land of Canaan. Contrast the account of Jacob's purchase of land near Shechem 3318-20.

6

4

64

185

g 10 i 144 j 127

1 22

21

("the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for d
Sarah, and to weep for her. 3 And Abraham rose up from "before his dead,
and 'spake unto the "children of Heth, 'saying, "I am a stranger and
a 'sojourner with you: give me a 'possession of a "buryingplace with you,
that I may bury my dead out of my sight. 5 And the children of Heth
answered Abraham, saying unto him, Hear us, my lord: thou art "a mighty
*prince 'among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us k 131
shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
7 And Abraham rose up, and bowed himself to the 'people of the land", even
to the children of Heth. 8 And he 'communed with them, 'saying, If it
be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and
intreat for me to "Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave
of "Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for the full m 5
price let him give it to me in the 'midst of you for a 'possession of a "burying-
place. 10 Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the children of Heth:
and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children
of Heth, "even of all" that went in at the gate of his city", saying, 11 Nay, n
my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give
it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy
dead. 12 And Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land.
13 And he 'spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land,
'saying, But if thou wilt, I pray thee, hear me: I will give the price of the
field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. 14 And Ephron
answered Abraham, saying unto him, 15 My lord, hearken unto me: a piece
of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that betwixt me and
thee? bury therefore thy dead. 16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron;:
and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the
audience of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, 'current
money with the merchant. 17 So the field of Ephron, which was in
"Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was
therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in 'all the border
thereof round about', were "made sure 18 unto Abraham for a possession 36
in the presence of the children of Heth, "before all that went in at the
gate of his city. 19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in
the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (the same is Hebron), in the
dland of Canaan. 20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, "were
made sure unto Abraham for a 'possession of a "buryingplace by the children.
of Heth.

N

241 And Abraham was "old, and well stricken in age": and Yahweh had 'blessed Abraham in all things. 2 And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that 'ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: 3 Land I will make thee swear by Yahweh, the "God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the "daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: 4 but thou shalt go unto my "country, and to my "kindred, and take a wife for my son "Isaac. 5 And the servant said unto him, "Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, 'Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. 7 Yahweh, the God of heaven, that took me from my 'father's house, and from the land of my

6

232 The identification of Kiriath-Arba and of Mamre 19 with Hebron may be editorial,

6 MS a prince of God.

241 The account of the journey of Abraham's servant has been attached by the compiler to the account of the death and burial of Sarah, but its original place in the group of J narratives cannot be determined with certainty. It would

P 35

a 120

b 82

C 26

d 60

e 64

f 153

seem that 255 must originally have stood somewhere before 246b. Some writers have supposed that the oath exacted from the servant really marks Abraham's deathbed, but that in the process of compilation J's reference to Abraham's decease was set aside for the more detailed notice of P 257... In this way Isaac has become the 'master' 65.

4 H for Isaac, probably an explanatory gloss, cp 3 and 222.

J

JE

E P

j 127

* 4518 20 23

1 Deut 234 ct P6
m cp 2743 2810
n Ht

0 292 Ex 215

p

19 &c Deut

2911 Josh 921 23.27*

927201

r 15-18 &c H*

8 44 et 2125 H

t 1833

u 24 47 2223

Josh 45

"nativity, and that spake unto me, and that "sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his "angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence. 8 And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only thou shalt not bring my son thither again. 9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning this matter. 10 And the servant took ten "camels, of the camels of his master, and departed; "having all goodly things of his master's in his hand: and he 'arose, and went to "Mesopo tamia, unto the "city of Nahor. 11 And he "made the camels to kneel down without the city by the 'well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, O Yahweh, the "God of my master Abraham, 'send me, I pray thee, good speed? this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I stand by the 'fountain of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: 14 and let it come to pass, that the "damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy 'pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will "give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast 'shewed kindness unto my master. 15 And it came to pass 'before he had 'done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to "Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her 45 2114 Ex 1234 pitcher upon her shoulder. 16 And the damsel was very 'fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the 'fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the w Cp Job 3924+ servant 'ran to meet her, and said, "Give me to drink, I pray thee, a 'little water of thy pitcher. 18 And she said, Drink, my lord and she 'hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 19 And when she had 'done giving him drink, she said, I will "draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. 20 And she 'hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the "trough, and 'ran again unto the well to "draw, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man "looked stedfastly on her; "holding his peace, to know whether Yahweh had made his journey "prosperous or not. 22 And it came to pass, as the camels had 'done drinking, that the man took a golden "ring of "half a shekel 'weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; and said, 23 Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. 'Is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? 24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of "Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. 25 She said moreover unto him, We have "both "straw and 'provender enough, and room to lodge in. 26 And the man 'bowed his head, and worshipped Yahweh. 27 And he said, 'Blessed be Yahweh, the "God of my master Abraham, who hath not forsaken his 48 Ex 1321 cp 'mercy and his truth toward my master: as for me, Yahweh hath "led me in the way to the house of my master's brethren. . . . 28 And the damsel 'ran, and told her mother's house "according to these words. 29 And Rebekah had a brother, "and his name was Laban: "and Laban 'ran out unto the man, unto the 'fountain. 30 And it came to pass, when he saw the "ring, and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood

2 Ct Lev 2018.

H* Y3038+

2345 Ex 1414 ct Num 305 &c*

a' 354 Ex 322.

b' 4321 Josh 721

32 Ex 57...*

17

e'=whose 161b f' Habroad 1917 ep 1 and 31

b'.

29 Some dislocation of clauses seems to have taken place here; 2b should probably follow 30a; Laban does not seek the visitor till he has heard Rebekah's news and seen the gifts. The obviously homogeneous character of the rest of the narrative renders Knobel's suggestion of a combination of two sources here unnecessary (Dillmann).

g' Ct Ex 289 11 36*

'184

j Cp 71 4815

714

by the camels at the 'fountain. 31 And he said, Come in, thou 'blessed of Yahweh; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. 32 And the man came into the house, and he "ungirded the camels; and he gave "straw and provender for the camels, and water to "wash his feet and the men's feet that were with him. 33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. 34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant. 35 And Yahweh hath "blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him i' Cp 53 1216 132 d'flocks and herds, and "silver and gold, and menservants and "maidservants, and camels and asses. 36 And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was "old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. 37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: 38 but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son. 39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. 40 And he said unto me, Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: 41 then shalt thou be clear from my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give her not to thee, thou shalt be clear from my oath. 42 And I came this day unto the fountain, and said, O Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now thou 'do "prosper my way which I 43 go: behold, I stand by KCp Ex 28 Is the fountain of water; and let it come to pass, that the "maiden which cometh forth to draw, to whom I shall say, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; 44 and she shall say to me, "Both drink thou, and I will "also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom Yahweh hath appointed for my master's son. 45 And before I had done speaking in mine "heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the fountain, and drew and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. 46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. 47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands. 48 And I bowed my head, and worshipped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, which 'Cp Josh 212 . had led me in the "right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. 49 And now if ye will "deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me and if not, tell me; that I may "turn to the "right hand, or to the left. 50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from Yahweh: we cannot speak unto thee "bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is "before thee, "take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife as Yahweh hath spoken. 52 'And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he 'bowed himself down to the earth unto Yahweh. 53 And the servant brought forth jewels of "silver, and jewels of "gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. 54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, "'Send me away unto my master. 55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. 56 And he said unto them,

m' Ex 212 n' 139

139

1219

2′ 124

Ezek 18 2 Chron 213 3223+

2441 In this verse there seems a certain incompleteness: Kautzsch and Socin (followed by Bacon) suggest that 41a contained a reference to the search for a bride for Isaac: it is

N

E P

33

f' 63

8 45

h' 129

i' 57a

j' 165

k' 124

l' 149b

m 205