Genesis 13

Notes

1. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 52

   εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, "into the desert," where the Masoretic version reads "toward the Negev," as at 12:9. At 13:3 the Greek also reads ὅθεν ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, "from where he had come into the desert," where the Masoretic version reads "by his stages from the Negev": the Greek retraces Abram's road back to the point where he had entered the dry country.

2. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 53

   Swete prints τὴν σκηνήν, "the tent," from Alexandrinus: "the place of the altar, where he had made there the tent." Rahlfs and Göttingen read τὴν ἀρχήν, "at the beginning," with the Masoretic version's "that he had made there at the first." The text is printed as Swete has it (137), and the word is marked as a difference of wording: in this text the place of the altar is the place of the tent of 13:3.

3. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 53

   Swete prints κτήνη, "cattle," from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs and Göttingen read σκηναί, "tents," with the Masoretic version. The Greek also has no word for the Masoretic version's "also" (גַּם) at the head of the verse.

4. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 53

   Swete prints "your shepherds … my shepherds" (σοῦ … μοῦ) from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs and the Masoretic version have "my shepherds … your shepherds." Abram names Lot's men first. The Masoretic version's "please" (נָא, "let there please not be") has no Greek word here, and the alignment does not mark it (142a).

5. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 52

   ὡς ὁ παράδεισος τοῦ θεοῦ, "like the paradise of God," where the Masoretic version reads "like the garden of ADONAI": the Greek uses the word of Eden (2:8) and the name of God where the Masoretic version has the Tetragrammaton, both here and in "before God overturned Sodom." καταστρέφω, "overturn," where the Masoretic version reads "ruined," is the Greek's word for the overthrow of the cities (19:25, 29) and for the tables in the temple (Matt 21:12).

6. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 52

   Lot "dwelt in a city of the regions around, and tented in Sodom," where the Masoretic version reads "in the cities of the circle, and moved tent as far as Sodom": the Greek has one city where the Hebrew has several, and Lot's tent pitched in Sodom rather than moved toward it. σκηνόω is the verb of John 1:14, "and the logos became flesh and tented among us."

7. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 52

   λίψ, the southwest wind and the quarter it blows from (Acts 27:12), where the Masoretic version reads "Negevward." The Greek gives the four quarters as north, southwest, east and sea.

8. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 52

   ἄμμος, "sand," twice, where the Masoretic version reads "dust" (עָפָר); the Greek brings the promise into line with the sand of the sea (22:17; 32:12), which Paul and Hebrews quote (Rom 9:27; Heb 11:12). ποιήσω, "I will make," where the Masoretic version reads "I will put," and the Greek has no word for the Masoretic version's "so that."

9. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 54, 141, 143

   καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, "and to your seed into the age," is in Swete's text from Alexandrinus, and Rahlfs reads it too, but the Masoretic version ends the verse "for to you I will give it." The alignment cannot pair the words, since its Greek differs in spelling here, and does not seed them; they are marked as a plus (54, 141). The Greek repeats the promise of 13:15.

10. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Ruling 53

    τὴν δρῦν τὴν Μαμβρήν, "the oak of Mamre," one tree where the Masoretic version reads "the terebinths," plural; and ἣ ἦν, "which was," where it reads "which are." Μαμβρήν is the accusative of Μαμβρή, the name at 14:13, 24.