Genesis 14

Notes

1. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 18, 52

   ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ, "in the kingdom," where the Masoretic version reads "in the days" (בִּימֵי). The Greek names are printed in their familiar English forms, the Greek forms in the names table below (18). Θαλγά (14:1) and Θαλγάλ (14:9), "Tidal," have no lemma id in the packet and are left untagged.

2. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 18, 52, 53, 145

   The king of Admah is Σενναάρ, the spelling of the land of Shinar (14:1, 9), where the Masoretic version reads "Shinab": a copyist's confusion of the same name, which keeps the familiar form "Shinab," unmarked, with the Greek in the names table (145f). Bela is Βάλακ, "Balak," the name of the king of Moab in Num 22–24 and Rev 2:14, where the Masoretic version reads "the king of Bela" (בֶּלַע) at 14:2 and 14:8, and Rahlfs reads Βαλα. Swete prints Βάλακ in both places from Alexandrinus. Under ruling 18 a Greek name that is a different name is printed as it sounds, so "Balak" stands, marked (145f); the Greek spellings of the other kings (Βάλλα for Bera, Βαρσά for Birsha, Συμόβορ for Shemeber) are spellings of the same names and are printed in the familiar forms.

3. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 52

   ἐπὶ τὴν φάραγγα τὴν ἁλυκήν, "at the ravine, the briny one," where the Masoretic version reads "at the valley of Siddim"; at 14:8 and 14:10 the Greek has "the valley, the briny one" for the same name. The Greek does not transliterate שִׂדִּים but describes the place, joining it to the next clause: "this is the sea of the salts," where the Masoretic version reads "the Salt Sea." The plural ἁλῶν is printed as "salts."

4. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 18, 52, 53

   καὶ ἔθνη ἰσχυρὰ ἅμα αὐτοῖς, "and strong nations together with them," where the Masoretic version reads "and the Zuzim in Hām": the Greek reads זוּזִים as a word for strength (עִזּוּז, "might"; compare עַז "strong") and בְּהָם as "with them" (בָּהֶם). The giants, γίγαντας, are the Greek's word for the Rephaim (as for the Nephilim at 6:4); at 15:20 the Greek transliterates. Swete prints Σομαίους from Alexandrinus where Rahlfs reads Ὁμμαίους, the Emim of the Masoretic version; the Σ is the end of the article before it written twice, and the familiar name is printed. The form has no lemma id in the packet. "Shaveh the city" stands for the Masoretic version's "Shaveh-kiriathaim," the Greek translating the second word (קִרְיָתַיִם, "two cities"). The Greek also has the article τούς before "in Ashteroth" and before "in Shaveh," marked as pluses ("who were").

5. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 52

   ἕως τῆς τερεμίνθου τῆς Φαράν, "as far as the terebinth of Paran," where the Masoretic version reads "as far as El-paran": the Greek reads אֵיל as אֵלָה, "terebinth," the tree. "The mountains of Seir," plural, where the Masoretic version reads "their mountain Seir." Σηείρ has no lemma id in the packet and is left untagged.

6. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 18, 52

   ἐπὶ τὴν πηγὴν τῆς κρίσεως, "to the spring of judgment," where the Masoretic version reads the name, "En-mishpat"; the Greek translates it (עֵין "spring," מִשְׁפָּט "judgment"). πάντας τοὺς ἄρχοντας Ἀμαλήκ, "all the rulers of Amalek," where the Masoretic version reads "all the field of the Amalekite": the Greek reads שְׂדֵה "field" as שָׂרֵי "rulers." Ἁσασάν in "Hazazon Tamar" has no lemma id in the packet and is left untagged; Θαμάρ is the name of Tamar (38:6; Matt 1:3).

7. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 52, 53

   The Greek has φρέατα ἀσφάλτου, "wells of asphalt," once, where the Masoretic version doubles the word ("wells, wells of bitumen"); the alignment does not seed a minus, and none is marked (142a). It also names the king of Gomorrah, marked as a plus, where the Masoretic version reads "the king of Sodom and Gomorrah." εἰς τὴν ὀρινήν, "to the mountain country," where the Masoretic version reads "to the mountain": Swete's spelling of ὀρεινή (ὀρεινός).

8. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 52

   τὴν ἵππον, "the horse," the feminine collective for cavalry, where the Masoretic version reads "the gains" (רְכוּשׁ): the Greek reads the consonants as רֶכֶשׁ, "steeds" (1 Kgs 5:8; Mic 1:13). The same reading stands at 14:16 and 14:21, so that in the Greek the war is fought for horses. At 14:11 Swete prints ἔλαβεν, "he took," singular, from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs and the Masoretic version have the plural; the verb at the end of the verse is plural in both.

9. Decision↩ Back to the text

   Expected: "Abram the Hebrew" (KJV, RSV), "Abram the émigré" (NETS)

   Rulings 1, 52

   Ἀβρὰμ τῷ περάτῃ, where the Masoretic version reads "Abram the Hebrew" (הָעִבְרִי). περάτης is one who crosses over (περάω, "cross"; πέραν, "beyond"), and the Greek reads עִבְרִי from its root, עָבַר "pass over," or from עֵבֶר "beyond": not the name of a people but a description of Abram, the one who crossed the river. Aquila keeps the sense (περαΐτης). The rabbis knew both readings: "all the world was on one side (עֵבֶר) and he on the other" (Genesis Rabbah 42:8). The gloss "migrant" is the Greek word's plain English sense; "Hebrew" is the expected rendering and is kept for Ἑβραῖος wherever the Greek has it (Gen 39:14; 2 Cor 11:22; Phil 3:5).

10. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Rulings 52, 54, 143

    ἠρίθμησεν τοὺς ἰδίους οἰκογενεῖς αὐτοῦ, "he numbered his own household-born," where the Masoretic version reads "he emptied out his trained ones, the born ones of his house": the Greek reads וַיָּרֶק "emptied out" as וַיִּפְקֹד or a verb of counting, and has one word, "household-born," for the Masoretic version's two: "his trained ones" has no Greek word and is marked as a minus. The number keeps the Greek order: "three hundred ten and eight" (91). At 14:15 Χωβάλ, "Hobah," has no lemma id in the packet and is left untagged.

11. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Rulings 53, 54, 141, 143

    Swete prints καὶ πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ, "and all his belongings," from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs and the Masoretic version have no "all" ("and his gains"); the alignment cannot pair the word and does not seed it, and it is marked as a plus. The Greek has no word for either of the Masoretic version's "also" (וְגַם) in this verse.

12. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Rulings 4, 46, 52

    Μελχισέδεκ βασιλεὺς Σαλήμ … ἦν δὲ ἱερεὺς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου, "now he was priest of God the Most High," where the Masoretic version reads "priest to El Elyon." Hebrews reads this Greek closely and in order (Heb 7:1–10): it quotes "king of Salem, priest of God the Most High," "who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him" (14:17, 19), and "to whom Abraham divided a tithe from all" (14:20), and builds its argument on the names (Melchizedek "king of justice," Salem "king of peace") and on what the chapter does not say: no father, no mother, no genealogy (Heb 7:2–3). The Greek has the plural ἄρτους, "loaves," where the Masoretic version reads "bread." Bread and wine were read as a figure of the Eucharist from Cyprian on (Epistle 63.4); the rabbis made Melchizedek Shem, the son of Noah (b. Nedarim 32b; Genesis Rabbah 43:6), and Philo the Logos as priest (Allegorical Interpretation 3.79–82). The Greek title ὕψιστος, "Most High," is the title of Luke 1:32, 35, 76 and Acts 16:17.

13. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Rulings 52, 54

    ὃς ἔκτισεν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, "who created the sky and the land," where the Masoretic version reads "acquirer of skies and land" (קֹנֵה, the verb of 4:1, "I have acquired a man"). The Greek reads קָנָה in its sense "make, form" (as Prov 8:22 LXX ἔκτισεν), and puts it in a relative clause. At 14:22 the Greek has no word for the Masoretic version's ADONAI before "El Elyon," marked as a minus: Abram swears by the same God that Melchizedek has named, and by no other name.

14. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Ruling 52

    Δός μοι τοὺς ἄνδρας, "give me the men," where the Masoretic version reads "give me the soul" (הַנֶּפֶשׁ, the people of the household, as at 12:5). The Greek gives the king of Sodom his fighting men back and leaves Abram the horse.

15. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Rulings 21, 52

    The oath keeps its literal "if" (21), and in the Greek it is followed by ἵνα μὴ εἴπῃς, "so that you may not say," where the Masoretic version reads "and you shall not say": the Greek makes the king's boast the thing the oath prevents. The Greek has no second "if" (וְאִם) before "I will take"; the "that" before the quoted words (ὅτι) is a plus.

16. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Rulings 52, 53, 54, 143

    πλὴν ὧν ἔφαγον οἱ νεανίσκοι, "except what the young men have eaten," where the Masoretic version reads "Apart from me! Solely what the lads have eaten": the Greek has no word for "Apart from me!" (בִּלְעָדַי), which is marked as a minus, and πλήν, "except," stands for רַק, "solely." The names keep the Greek order, Eshcol, Aner, Mamre, against the Masoretic version's Aner, Eshcol and Mamre.