Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/353

 Abram] i.e. provided him with an escort ( as 18$16$ 31$27$). The thought of ignominious expulsion is far from the writer's mind; the purpose of the escort is to see that no further injury is done to the patriarch or his wife (IEz.), bringing fresh judgements on the realm.—'''XIII. 1.''' The narrative closes with the return of Abram to his home in the Negeb (cf. 12$9$).

Source of 12$10-20$.—It has already been pointed out (p. 242 f.) that, though the section breaks the connexion of the main narrative, it is Yahwistic in style; and the question of its origin relates only to its place within the general cycle of Yahwistic tradition. Three views are possible: that it is (1) a secondary expansion of J by a later hand (We.); (2) a misplaced chapter of J's main narrative belonging properly to a subsequent stage of the history; or (3) an excerpt from a separate Yahwistic collection (Gu. [J$b$]). To (1) and (2) there are distinct objections: (a) the style and moral tone of the narrative, which are those of racy popular legend, and produce the impression of great antiquity; (b) the absence from the character of Abram of those ideal features which are prominent in the main narrative, and which later ages tended to exaggerate (e.g. ch. 14); especially (c) the fact that the home of Abram is not at Hebron but in the Negeb. Gu.'s theory, which is not open to these objections, seems, therefore, to mark an advance in the analysis of J.

2-18. Separation of Abram and Lot.—2, 5, 7. The great wealth of the two patriarchs leads to bickering among their retainers. The situation reflects the relations of tribes rather than of private families, quarrels about pastures and watering-places being a common feature of nomadic life and a frequent cause of separation: cf. 21$25$ 26$20ff.$.—2. Silver and gold] 24$35$ 20$16$ 23$16$.—5. Lot's substance, on the other hand, is purely nomadic: flocks, herds, and tents. The last word appears to have the sense of 'people,' 'families'; cf. Ar. 'ahl, Sab. [Sabæan: **] (Müller, ZDMG, xxxvii. 341; Homm. SA Chrest. 121).—3, 4. A redactional addition (p. 243), bringing the narrative back to Bethel, the traditional scene of the separation.—6. P's account of the parting: cf. 36$7$. It has often been noticed that he makes no mention of a quarrel; just as J says nothing of the straitness of the land (v.i.)—*

3. ] simply 'by stages'; not by the same stages by which he had come (GV Ra.): cf. Ex. 17$1$ 40$36. 38$ etc.—5. (G-K. §§ 93 r, 23 h)] G$A$, prob. Gr. corruption of (so many MSS).—6. ] [E] —better. Cf. 36$7$ (P).—6b is by some (KS. Ho.) assigned to J,