Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/338



dealing with the life of Abraham. That is wholly improbable. It is likely enough that a heading has been somewhere omitted (so We. Bu. Ho. al.); but the truth is that from this point onwards no consistent principle can be discovered in the use of the formula. The hypothesis that an originally independent book of Tôledôth has been broken up and dislocated by the redaction, is as plausible a solution as any that can be thought of. See, further, on 25$19$.

27. On the name Abram, see on 17$5$; on Nāḥôr, v.$22$ above.—Haran begat Loṭ] A statement to the same effect must have been found in J (see 12$4a$). Haran has no significance in the tradition except as expressing the relationship of Lôṭ above and Lot below], Milkah, and Yiṣkah within the Hebraic group.

That is formed from  (v.i.) by a softening of the initial guttural (We. Pr.$6$ 313) is an improbable conjecture (see Bu. 443$2$). The name occurs elsewhere only in (Nu. 32$36$: cf., Jos. 13$27$) in the tribe of Gad: this has suggested the view that was the name of a deity worshipped among the peoples represented by Lot (Mez: cf. Wi. AOF, ii. 499).—The name  is also etymologically obscure (? Ar. lāṭ = 'cleave to'). A connexion with the Ḥorite clan in Gn. 36$20. 22. 29$ is probable.

28. The premature death of Haran (which became the nucleus of some fantastic Jewish legends) took place in the land of his nativity; i.e., according to the present text, Ur of the Chaldees, where his grave was shown down to the time of Josephus (Ant. i. 151; Eus. OS], 285, 50 ff.).

(v.$31$ 15$7$, Neh. 9$7$: G ) is now almost universally identified with the ancient S Babylonian city of Uru, whose remains have been discovered in the mounds of 'el-Muḳayyar, on the right bank of the Euphrates, about 25 miles SE from Erech and 125 from Babylon (see Hilp. EBL, 172 ff.). The evidence for this view is

28. ] is coram (G ), rather than ante (V: so Tu.), or 'in the lifetime of' (S ; cf. Nu. 3$4$: see BDB and G-B. s.v. .—] so 24$7$ (J), 31$13$ (E); cf. Jer. 22$10$ 46$16$, Ezk. 23$15$, Ru. 2$11$. A commoner phrase in Pent. is, 12$1$ 24$4$ 31$3$ 32$10$, Nu 10$30$ (all J). From the way in which the two expressions alternate, it is probable that they are equivalent; and since alone certainly means 'kindred' (43$7$ [J], cf. Est. 2$10. 20$ 8$6$), it is better to render 'land of one's parentage' than 'land in which one was born' [S here and 12$1$] (cf. Bu. 419$2$). P has the word, but only in the sense of 'progeny' (48$6$, Lv. 18$9$ [H]).