Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/418

 (v.i.).—2. The bareness of the narration is remarkable, and was felt by the Greek translators to be wanting in lucidity (v.i.).—Abimelech, king of Gĕrār] = 'Milk is [my] father,' is a genuine Canaanite name, compounded with the name of the god Milk (see Baeth. Beitr. 37 ff.). It occurs as the name of the governor of Tyre (Abi-milki) in the TA Tablets (149-156). There is no trace here of the anachronism which makes him a Philistine prince (ch. 26); Gerar is an independent Canaanite kingdom.—took Sarah] sc. as wife; the same ellipsis as 19$14$.

3-7. Abimelech's dream.—This mode of revelation is peculiar to E (21$12. 14$ 22$1ff.$ 28$12$ 31$11. 24$ 37$5$ 46$2$, Nu. 12$6$ 22$9. 20$), and probably indicates a more spiritual idea of God than the theophanies of J. It must be remembered, however, that according to primitive ideas the 'coming' of God (so 31$24$, Nu. 22$20$) would be as real an event in a dream as in waking experience.—4a. had not drawn near her] Not an explana-*

al.). This suits 26$1$ (according to which it was in Philistine territory), 10$19$ and 2 Ch. 14$13$; but hardly 26$17ff.$, and it is certainly inconsistent with the notice . There happens to be a Wādī Ǧerūr, c. 13 miles SW of Ḳadesh, which exactly agrees with this description; and so Trumbull (Kad.-Bar. 62 f., 255) and others have decided that this must be the biblical Gerar, while others think there may have been two places of the name (Che. EB, ii. 1705 f.). The question really turns on 26$17. 21f.$: so far as the present reference is concerned, we have seen that the argument rests on a misconception; and it is not even necessary to assume (with KS.) that $1a$ is a redactional clause, or (with Ho. Gu.) that part of E's narrative has been suppressed between $1a$ and $1b$. It is true that has no antecedent in E, and it is, of course, conceivable that it was written by R$E$ to connect the following with a previous section of E (Gu.), or by R$JE$ to mark the transition from Hebron (18$1$) to the Negeb. A redactor, however, would not have been likely to insert the notice 'between Ḳadesh and Shur' unless he had meant it as a definition of the site of Gerar.—2. ] = 'said regarding' is rare: 2 Ki. 19$32$, Jer. 22$18$ 27$19$; cf., v.$13$, Ju. 9$54$, Ps. 3$3$ 71$10$.—After Athnach, G inserts

(from 26$7b$).

3. ] [E] : cf. 21$11$, Ex. 18$8$, Nu. 12$1$ 13$24$ (E), Gn. 21$25$ 26$32$ (J), Jos. 14$6$ (R), Ju. 6$7$.—] a married woman, Dt. 22$22$.—4. To in the indefinite sense of 'people' (Leute) we may compare Ps. 43$1$, Dn. 11$23$; but the sense is doubtful, and the idea may be that the whole nation is involved in the punishment of the king (Str.). Eerdmans (Komp. der Genesis, 41) offers the incredible suggestion that here has