(v.i.).—2. The bareness of the narration is remarkable, and
was felt by the Greek translators to be wanting in lucidity
(v.i.).—Abimelech, king of Gĕrār] (
Hebrew characters) = 'Milk is [my]
father,' is a genuine Canaanite name, compounded with the
name of the god Milk (see Baeth. Beitr. 37 ff.). It occurs
as the name of the governor of Tyre (Abi-milki) in the TA
Tablets (149-156). There is no trace here of the anachronism
which makes him a Philistine prince (ch. 26); Gerar
is an independent Canaanite kingdom.—took Sarah] sc. as
wife; the same ellipsis as 1914.
3-7. Abimelech's dream.—This mode of revelation is peculiar to E (2112. 14 221ff. 2812 3111. 24 375 462, Nu. 126 229. 20), and probably indicates a more spiritual idea of God than the theophanies of J. It must be remembered, however, that according to primitive ideas the 'coming' of God (so 3124, Nu. 2220) would be as real an event in a dream as in waking experience.—4a. had not drawn near her] Not an explana-*
al.). This suits 261 (according to which it was in Philistine territory),
1019 and 2 Ch. 1413; but hardly 2617ff., and it is certainly inconsistent
with the notice (Hebrew characters). There happens to be a Wādī Ǧerūr, c.
13 miles SW of Ḳadesh, which exactly agrees with this description;
and so Trumbull (Kad.-Bar. 62 f., 255) and others have decided that this
must be the biblical Gerar, while others think there may have been two
places of the name (Che. EB, ii. 1705 f.). The question really turns on
2617. 21f.: so far as the present reference is concerned, we have seen that
the argument rests on a misconception; and it is not even necessary to
assume (with KS.) that 1a is a redactional clause, or (with Ho. Gu.) that
part of E's narrative has been suppressed between 1a and 1b. It is true
that (Hebrew characters) has no antecedent in E, and it is, of course, conceivable that it
was written by RE to connect the following with a previous section of
E (Gu.), or by RJE to mark the transition from Hebron (181) to the
Negeb. A redactor, however, would not have been likely to insert the
notice 'between Ḳadesh and Shur' unless he had meant it as a definition
of the site of Gerar.—2. (Hebrew characters)] = 'said regarding' is rare: 2 Ki. 1932,
Jer. 2218 2719; cf. (Hebrew characters), v.13, Ju. 954, Ps. 33 7110.—After Athnach, G inserts
(Greek characters)
(from 267b).
3. (Hebrew characters)] [E] (Hebrew characters): cf. 2111, Ex. 188, Nu. 121 1324 (E), Gn. 2125 2632 (J),
Jos. 146 (R), Ju. 67.—(Hebrew characters)] a married woman, Dt. 2222.—4. To (Hebrew characters) in
the indefinite sense of 'people' (Leute) we may compare Ps. 431, Dn.
1123; but the sense is doubtful, and the idea may be that the whole
nation is involved in the punishment of the king (Str.). Eerdmans
(Komp. der Genesis, 41) offers the incredible suggestion that (Hebrew characters) here has
