Kejadian 21:33

21:33 Abraham ¹  planted a tamarisk tree ²  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ³  the eternal God.

Ayub 36:26

The Work and Wisdom of God

36:26 “Yes, God is great – beyond our knowledge! ⁴ 

The number of his years is unsearchable.

Mazmur 90:2

90:2 Even before the mountains came into existence, ⁵ 

or you brought the world into being, ⁶ 

you were the eternal God. ⁷ 

[21:33]  ¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:33]  ² sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.

[21:33]  ³ tn Heb “he called there in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[36:26]  ⁴ tn The last part has the verbal construction, “and we do not know.” This clause is to be used adverbially: “beyond our understanding.”

[90:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “were born.”

[90:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and you gave birth to the earth and world.” The Polel verbal form in the Hebrew text pictures God giving birth to the world. The LXX and some other ancient textual witnesses assume a polal (passive) verbal form here. In this case the earth becomes the subject of the verb and the verb is understood as third feminine singular rather than second masculine singular.

[90:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and from everlasting to everlasting you [are] God.” Instead of אֵל (’el, “God”) the LXX reads אַל (’al, “not”) and joins the negative particle to the following verse, making the verb תָּשֵׁב (tashev) a jussive. In this case v. 3a reads as a prayer, “do not turn man back to a low place.” However, taking תָּשֵׁב as a jussive is problematic in light of the following following wayyiqtol form וַתֹּאמֶר (vato’mer, “and you said/say”).