Kejadian 14:10
Konteks14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 1 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 2 but some survivors 3 fled to the hills. 4
Kejadian 16:1
Konteks16:1 Now Sarai, 5 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 6 but she had an Egyptian servant 7 named Hagar. 8
Kejadian 17:4
Konteks17:4 “As for me, 9 this 10 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations.
[14:10] 1 tn Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.”
[14:10] sn The word for “tar” (or “bitumen”) occurs earlier in the story of the building of the tower in Babylon (see Gen 11:3).
[14:10] 2 tn Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם).
[14:10] 4 sn The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.
[16:1] 5 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
[16:1] 6 sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.
[16:1] 7 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
[16:1] 8 sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)
