Kejadian 20:17-18

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord ¹  had caused infertility to strike every woman ²  in the household of Abimelech because he took ³  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Kejadian 18:23-25

18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare ⁴  the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge ⁵  of the whole earth do what is right?” ⁶ 

Kejadian 19:24

19:24 Then the Lord rained down ⁷  sulfur and fire ⁸  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ⁹ 

Kejadian 19:2

19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night ¹⁰  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ¹¹  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ¹² 

1 Samuel 4:11

4:11 The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were killed.

1 Samuel 4:1

4:1 Samuel revealed the word of the Lord ¹³  to all Israel.

The Ark of the Covenant is Lost to the Philistines

Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. ¹⁴  They camped at Ebenezer, ¹⁵  and the Philistines camped at Aphek.

1 Samuel 21:1

21:1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met ¹⁶  David, and said to him, “Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?”

[20:18]  ¹ tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”

[20:18]  ² tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[20:18]  sn The Lord had closed up every womb. This fact indicates that Sarah was in Abimelech’s household for weeks or months before the dream revelation was given (20:6-7). No one in his household could have children after Sarah arrived on the scene.

[20:18]  ³ tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

[18:25]  ⁵ tn Or “ruler.”

[18:25]  ⁶ sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.

[19:24]  ⁷ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.

[19:24]  ⁸ tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).

[19:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:24]  sn The text explicitly states that the sulfur and fire that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah was sent down from the sky by the Lord. What exactly this was, and how it happened, can only be left to intelligent speculation, but see J. P. Harland, “The Destruction of the Cities of the Plain,” BA 6 (1943): 41-54.

[19:2]  ¹⁰ tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.

[19:2]  ¹¹ tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”

[19:2]  ¹² sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

[4:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the word of Samuel was.” The present translation understands Samuel to be the speaker of the divine word (“Samuel” is a subjective genitive in this case), although the statement could mean that he was the recipient of the divine word (“Samuel” is an objective genitive in this case) who in turn reported it to Israel.

[4:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle.”

[4:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the stone, the help.” The second noun is in apposition to the first one and apparently is the name by which the stone was known. Contrast the expression used in 5:1 and 7:12, where the first word lacks the definite article, unlike 4:1.

[21:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “trembled to meet.”