s' Cp 3419

t' 358

J

m'

JE

m/

E P

'send me

"Hinder me not, seeing Yahweh hath "prospered my way; away that I may go to my master. 57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and "inquire at her mouth. 58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. 59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her "nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah, and u' Cp Num 1086 said unto her, Our sister, be thou [the mother] of "thousands of ten thousands, and let thy seed "possess the gate of those which "hate them. 61 And Rebekah 'arose, and her damsels, and they "rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant "took Rebekah, and went his way. 62 NAnd Isaac came "from the way of "'Beer-lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the land of the South. 63 And Isaac went out to "meditate in the field at the eventide: and he "lifted up his eyes, and "saw, and, behold, there were camels coming. 64 And Rebekah "'lifted

2217

20' 1614 2′ 201

N

up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she "lighted off the camel.
65 And she said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the
field to meet us? And the servant said, It is my master: and she took
her "veil, and ""covered herself. GG And the servant told Isaac all the
things that he had done. 67 And Isaac brought her into his mother
Sarah's "tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he
loved her and Isaac was "comforted after his mother's death. [→→261]
251 And Abraham "took another wife, "and her name was Keturah.
2 And she
bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
And Jokshan bogat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan woro Asshurim,
and Lotushim, and Loummim. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and
Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

N

5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.-11b And Isaac dwelt
by Beer-lahai-roi. "But unto the sons of the "concubines, which Abraham
had, Abraham gave 'gifts; and he sent them away from Isaac his son, "while
he yet lived, feastward, "unto the "east country.

e 188

g 51

93 75

5

1237

7 And these are the "days of the years of Abraham's life 'which he lived, an
'hundred threescore and fifteen years. 8 And Abraham "gave up the ghost,
and died in a good old age, an old man, and 'full [of years]; and was
"gathered to his people. And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in
the "cave of 'Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite,
which is 'before Mamre; 10 the field which Abraham "purchased of the
children of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it
came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son.
12 AND 'THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS of "Ishmael, Abraham's | 1 77a

2462 This rather implies that Isaac has already found an independent settlement cp 255, presumably in consequence of Abraham's death. J's account of that event has been eliminated by R to make way for P's statement 258...; Wellhausen and others suggest that it may originally have preceded this passage,

62b M has, through the wilderness.-Ball proposes, 'Now Isaac had come from Beer-sheba [i e after the death of Abraham] to Beer-lahai-roi,' cp 2219 25111.

67 This verse seems to have received several editorial touches. reads And Isaac brought her into the tent,' so that the words his mother Sarah' are grammatically out of place; they are therefore regarded as a gloss. Of the same origin, probably, are the concluding words, inserted perhaps after 24 had been attached to 23. Wellhausen and others, however, suggest that the word 'mother' has been substituted for 'father.' The word 'death' does not appear in §, but may be reasonably supplied from 2511.

251 After the stress previously laid on Abraham's old age, and the possible references to his death in 24, this passage seems out of place. The difficulty of determining its source and chronological location is increased by the fact that it contains elements already embodied in J; eg in 1026-28 Sheba is the son of Joktan who is descended through Eber from Arpachshad, whereas in 3 Sheba is the son of Jokshan who

i

64

k 33

is born of Keturah. Partly on this ground, partly because of the mention of Midian cp 3728 36, Dillmann ascribes the Keturahtable to E, and places it before the birth of Isaac. There are not, however, any decisive phraseological affinities with F while the few indications of style which can be gathered, poin rather to J. The section is here regarded, therefore, as o secondary origin in relation to the main J, though also distinc from Js in 102b... Bacon attaches it to 2224, before 241.

5 This verse seems to be the basis of the statement in 2430h (though Kuenen regards it as founded by R on that passage) Different suggestions have been made concerning its original position, Bacon and Holzinger proposing to place it after 241 Battersby after 249.

11b This allusion to Isaac's residence at Beer-lahai-roi canno belong to P 7-11a, which does not refer to the story of 161⁄44. I seems to have been placed there by R as an appropriate item of Isaac's biography. But as it is implied in 2462, it probably belongs like 5 to an earlier portion of the story which has beer eliminated in the process of compilation.

Ga The provision made for Isaac seems to have suggested the additional arrangements of to R. Only one concubine has been mentioned before 2224; the generalizing plural (doe it include Hagar?) implies another hand.

6b The last clause may be an editorial gloss on 'eastward.' 12 T now. as in 19.

P

son, whom "Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:
13 and these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according
to their "generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; and Kedar, and m 76b
Adbeel, and Mibsam, 14 and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa;
16 Hadad,
and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah : 16 these are the sons of Ishmael,
and these are their names, by their villages, and by their 'encampments;
17 And these are the "years n 131
"twelve "princes "according to their 'nations.

of the life of Ishmael, an 'hundred and thirty and seven years: and he "gave
up the ghost and 'died; and was "gathered unto his people.

18 "And they dwelt from "Havilah unto "Shur that is before Egypt, 'as
thou goest toward Assyria: "he "abode "in the "presence of all his brethren.

o 18

P 5

19 AND 'THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS of Isaac, Abraham's son : Abraham 'begat Isaac: 20 and Isaac was forty years 'old when he took a 30 Rebekah, the daughter of "Bethuel the "Syrian of 'Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the "Syrian, to be his wife.

:

N

[2633] 21 And Isaac 'intreated Yahweh "for his wife, because she was
'barren and Yahweh was 'intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife
"conceived. 22 And the children "struggled together within her; and
she said, If it be so, "wherefore do I live? And she went to "inquire of
Yahweh. 23 And Yahweh said unto her,

Two nations are in thy womb,

And two "peoples shall be separated even from thy bowels:

And the one people shall be stronger than the other people ;
And the elder shall serve the 'younger.

24 And when her days to be "delivered were "fulfilled, behold, there
were "twins in her womb. 25 And the first came forth "red,

25b Nall over like an hairy "garment; and they called his name Esau.
26 And after that came forth his "brother, and his hand "had hold on
Esau's "heel; and his name was called "Jacob...

r 119a

m' 34.2 Kings 438-40 Hag 2121

27 "And the 'boys 'grew and Esau was a cunning 'hunter, a man of
the field; and Jacob was a "plain man, dwelling in "tents.

28 Now Isaac 'loved Esau, because he did eat of his 'venison: and Rebekah
loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob sod "'pottage: and Esau came in from the field, and he

25188 Cp 1614b. The verse is full of difficulties, for the geographical data do not seem reconcilable, the disturbing words being 'as thou goest toward Asshur.' A comparison with Sam 157 led Hupfeld to propose 'as thou goest to Shur'; the subject being then identified with the Ishmaelites. But it is possible that the verse is really continuous with 6, and in that case the clause may have arisen from accidental repetition of the syllable Shur. For another view of a land of Ashur between Egypt and Palestine cp Hommel, Ancient Hebr Trad 240. The change of person in the concluding member probably marks the hand of the editor who applied the preceding words to Ishmael, and added a reminiscence from 1612. 18b M Or, settled, fell.

20 M Aramean.-285 cp 3120,

18c M Or, over against.

21 The account of Isaac's marriage in P 19. was no doubt followed immediately by the mention of the birth of his sons. In the process of compilation R has set this aside in favour of two stories from JE, one relating the birth of the twins, the other the transfer of the birthright from Esau to Jacob. At the end of the first he incorporates P's statement of Isaac's age on the occasion. But the narrative is placed too soon when compared with 26, for it is plain from 267. that Rebekah was hot then the mother of adult twins. The combined incidents 21-34 ought therefore to follow 2633.

22 M Or, wherefore am I thus.-Cp 89b. 25a M Or, ruddy.-Cp 1 Sam 1612 1742.

23b Doubtless E had his account of the birth of the pair of brothers, as well as J. If so, it is possible that some traces of it may be preserved in these verses. According to J 25 the firstborn came forth admoni, which seems to point to the name Edom, on which a further play is found in 30, presumably from a different source. The second description of him, containing an allusion to the name Esau, may then be plausibly assigned to the other document, viz E. This reappears in 27 which in its abundance of epithets may again present a combined text, 'a man of the field' and 'dwelling in tents' forming a separate contrast perhaps drawn from J, both narratives (as 27 will show) being familiar with Esau's aptitude for the chase.

26 M That is, One that takes by the heel or supplants.

27 The opening of this verse points to E, cp 218, but the remainder in which Esau and Jacob are both described by a pair of epithets, is probably composite. As J lays stress on hunting and venison (see analysis of 27) the phrase 'cunning hunter' may come from that source and belong to the introduction of 28; while the reference to Jacob's tent life may belong to E, as J conceives the family as living together in a house 2715 cp 3317.

27b M Or, quiet, or, harmless, H perfect.

29 The decision concerning the documentary origin of this passage depends on the analysis of 27, and particularly on 2736. See 271N ad fin.

Gen 259

ISAAC

1

J

E

JE

J E P

was "'faint: 30 and Esau said to Jacob, "Feed me, "I pray thee, with
"that same "red [pottage]; for I am "faint: "therefore was his name
called "Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me "this day thy 'birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and "what profit
shall the birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me "this
day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of "'lentils; and he did "eat
and drink, and 'rose up, and went his way: so Esau "despised his
birthright.

67

261 [2407] And there was a "famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto "Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 2 And Yahweh 'appeared unto him, and said, 'Go not down into Egypt; "dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will 'bless thee;

3

4

"for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will "give all these lands", and I will
'establish the oath which I 'sware unto Abraham thy father; and
I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy
seed all these lands; and 'in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
dbe blessed; 5 mbecause that Abraham "obeyed my voice, and kept my
charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my "laws.

6 "And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 7 and the "men of the place asked him of
his wife; and he said, 'She is my sister: for he feared to say, My wife;
lest, [said he], the men of the place 'should kill me for Rebekah:
because she was fair to look upon. 8 "And it came to pass, when he had
been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines 'looked
out at a 'window, and "saw, and, behold, Isaac was "sporting with
Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of
a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And
Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
10 And
Abimelech said, "What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the
people might "lightly have 'lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have
"brought guiltiness upon us. 11 And Abimelech "charged all the
people, saying, He that "toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be
12 And Isaac "sowed in that land, and found in the
put to death".
same year an "hundred fold: and Yahweh "blessed him.
13 And the
man waxed great, and grew 'more and more until he "became very
great: 14 and he had "possessions of 'flocks, and "possessions of herds,
and a great household: and the Philistines "envied him.

N

d'

15 Now all the "wells which his father's servants had digged in the days
of Abraham his father, the Philistines had "stopped them, and filled them
with earth.

16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much
*mightier than we. 17 And Isaac departed thence, and "encamped in
the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

2530 M the red pottage, this red pottage. 30b M That is, Red.

31 33 M Or, first of all. 261 The famine just mentioned gives occasion to Isaac's sojourn in Gerar, to which is attached the incident of Rebekah parallel to that of Sarah in 1210... The editor, therefore, refers to the previous event in the days of Abraham. Hence ib presupposes the narrative in 1210..; but as there is no allusion to Abraham's visit to Gerar in 20, it apparently marks a stage in the growth of J prior to its union with E. On the original place of the following narrative cp 2521N

2 The injunction to dwell in a land to be indicated hereafter can hardly proceed from the writer who reports Yahweh's injunction to Abraham to 'sojourn in this land' 3. 1-6 may contain touches of E, possibly 2b and are from that source.

3 One of the later hortatory amplifications, showing the approximation of these additions to the literary manner of D. For all these lands'* cp 1 Chron 132 2 Chron 1123, but and

Jubilees read all this land.' In 5b it is possible that the hand of Rd may have been at work.

4 M Or, bless themselves.—§ 2218.

6 On this narrative compared with 121. and 201·· see Introd XI 68 i 108 and XII 58 i 117.

14 cattle, cp 18. For the peculiar use of the text cp 4717. 15 18 In these two verses the compiler prepares for a second story concerning the origin of the well of Beer-sheba. In 2125.. it has already been named in Abraham's day: Isaac, therefore. can only rename it if it has in the meantime fallen into disuse. This is ascribed to interference by the Philistines, which is. generalized so as to include 'all the wells.' (Were there other well-stories in E to which R thus makes reference?) The statement in 18 that Isaac' called their names after the namest by which his father had called them,' seems inconsistent with the subsequent narrative, in which he names the wells from the incidents of his own struggles.

2619 M

18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged
in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped
them after the death of Abraham and he called their names after the
names by which his father had called them.

19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well
of "springing water. 20 And the herdmen of Gerar "strove with Isaac's
herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the
well "Esek; because they "'contended with him. 21 And they digged
another well, and they "strove for that also: and he called the name
of it "Sitnah. 22 And he "removed from thence, and digged another
well; and for that they "strove not: and he called the name of it
"Rehoboth; and he said, For now Yahweh hath "made room for us,
and we shall be "fruitful in the land. 23 And he went up from thence
to Beer-sheba. 24 And Yahweh 'appeared unto him the same night,
and said, I am the 'God of Abraham thy father: "fear not, for I am
with thee, and will "bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant
Abraham's "sake. 25 And he builded an altar there, and "called upon
the name of Yahweh, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's
servants 'digged a well. 26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar,
and Ahuzzath his friend, and "Phicol the captain of his host.
27 And
Isaac said unto them, "Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate
me, and have sent me away from you? 28 And they said, We saw
plainly that Yahweh was with thee: and we said, Let there now be
"oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make
a covenant with thee; 29 that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not
*touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and
have sent thee away in "peace: thou art now the 'blessed of Yahweh.
50 And he made them a feast, and they did 'eat and drink.
31 And
they "rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and
Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in "peace. 32 And it
came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him
'concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We
have found water. 33 And he called it "Shibah: "wherefore the name
of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day. [→2521]

an

34 And when Esau was forty years old he took to wife Judith the x 119 daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and 'Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35 and they were "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Ка

271 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were "dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his 'elder son,

living.

21 M That is, Enmity. 33 M See 2131.

20 M That is, Contention.

22 M That is, Broad places, or, Roqm. 35 M bitterness of spirit.-Cp 288. 271 The narrative of the blessing of Isaac is admitted on all hands to be composite, but its constituents have been blended with such skill as practically to defy analysis. In 1891, Bacon (Hebraica, January, 1891) in America, and Kautzsch and Socin in Germany, published independent attempts at resolution. Ball and Holzinger have since followed. But the difficulties aro such that even after their labours any scheme of distribution Inust still be tentative, for the opening of the chapter, in particular, shows that (on any theory) the sources have been nuch curtailed in the process of union. The presence of duplicate accounts may, however, be detected with sufficient clearness. A comparison of 23 and 25 indicates that two stories a're intertwined. The blessing which is given in 23 so he blessed him,' has yet to be bestowed in 23 that my soul may bless thee.' I'm 23 the blessing follows on the identification of Jacob with sau by the hairiness of his hands: in 27 it depends on the snell attached to the garments which Jacob is wearing. These divergences belong to different versions of the samo main incident, and provido a basis for further partition, If the assages which describo tho disguise of the hands be grouped

ср

a

together, 21-23 will be naturally preceded by 9-14 and 16. of which 18 seems the natural sequel. These verses supply a characteristic phrase, savoury meat such as he loveth' 9 14 47b; the address 'my father' with its reply 'here am I' in 18 finds a counterpart in the similar address my son' in lb, the parallels in 2217 suggesting their connexion with E. The following contrasts in substance and language are then obtained:

15 27 goodly raiment || skins 16 derived from 9, smooth 16 cp 11, hairy 11 23 cp 2525b

27 smell feel 21. derived from 12 (the only parallels being in passages assigned on other grounds to E).

25 venison 3 6 7 19 31 33 || savoury meat 4 7b 9 14 17 31.

25

my soul may bless thee 1931 || I (he) may bless thee 7b 10. 4 before I die before my death 710 (note the different words for 'before' and their corresponding occurrences elsewhere).

J E

JE

J E P
16 and said unto him, "My son: and he said unto him, 'Here am I...
2 And he said, "Behold now, "I am old, I know not the day of death.
my

3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy
bow, and go out to the field, and take me "venison; ..

and make me 'savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me,
that I may eat; .

...

4b that my soul may bless thee "before I die.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son.

5b And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
• And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy
father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7 Bring me venison,

...

7b and make me savoury meat, that. I may eat, and bless thee
"before Yahweh 'before my death'. 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my
voice "according to that which I command thee. 9 Go now to the
flock, and fetch me from thence two good 'kids of the goats; and
I will make them 'savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
10 and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, "so that he may
bless thee 'before his death. 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother,
Behold, Esau my brother is a "hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
12 My father 'peradventure will "feel me, and I shall seem to him as
a "deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son :
only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14 And he went, and
fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made
'savoury meat, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took the "goodly 'raiment of Esau her 'elder son, which
were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her 'younger son. . . .
16 And she put the skins of the 'kids of the goats upon his hands, and
upon the smooth of his neck: 17 and she gave the savoury meat
and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son
Jacob. 18 And he came unto his father, and said, "My father and he
said, "Here am I"; .
Who art thou, my son?
19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am
Esau "thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise,
I pray thee, sit and eat of my "venison, "that thy soul may bless me.
20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so
"quickly, my son? And he said, Because Yahweh thy God "sent me
"good speed.

18

...

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may "feel
thee, my son, "whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
22 And
Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he "felt him, and said, The
voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he
'discerned him not, because his hands were "hairy, as his brother Esau's
hands so he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's "venison,

composite. The different divine names in 27 28 are not in themselves necessary proofs of derivation from contrasted sources cp 926.. But they tend in that direction when the contents of the blessing are examined. In 29 the second couplet of the verse so suddenly contracts the scope of power as to produce an anti-climax. After the homage of nations 29a the submission of kindred is but a small gift. Further, the subsequent reference to the blessing in 37 only recognizes the items of 28 and 29b; and on these, also, is framed the prophecy in 39–40. It would seem, then, that 27-29 may be divided into (1) 27 29 29c and (2) 28 29b; (1) is then Yahwist and (2) Elohist. But (2) carries with it 37-40 and the preceding 36. This is supported by the fact that the play on the name Jacob in 36 is entirely different from that of 2526, ascribed on independent grounds to J; and it also secures high probability for the attribution of 2529-34 to E, as 2736 plainly refers to that story. Both J and E may have

contained it, but it is more natural to locate both the story and the allusion in the same document.

7b The words 'before Yahweh' involve a serious difficulty in the ascription to E. They may have been introduced accidentally from J through the similarity of the word 'before (my death)' contrasted with 'before' in 4b. Other unexpectedl occurrences of Yahweh, due to various causes, have been noted in 171 211b 2211.

8 The phrase 'obey my voice' is followed in 13 43 by the actual order, without hortatory expansion. The words 'accor‹iing to that which I command thee' do not seem to cohere quit e naturally with the preceding. Outside of Deut, where the expression is very common, they occur only in Ex 3411 op Nu, n 3225. Have they also crept into the text from J in the process of compilation?

12 M Or, mocker.-Cp 2 Chron 361 f.