Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/422

17. God healed Ab.] The first explicit intimation (see ^{4. 6}) that Abimelech had been smitten with a bodily malady, whose nature is indicated by the last word (Hebrew characters).—18. A superfluous and inadequate explanation of ¹⁷, universally recognised as a gloss; note also (Hebrew characters).—(Hebrew characters)] see on 16².

XXI. 1-21.—Birth of Isaac and Expulsion of Ishmael (J, E, and P).

The birth, circumcision, and naming of Isaac are briefly recorded in a section pieced together from the three sources (^1-7). Then follows a notice of the weaning festival (⁸), to which, by a finely descriptive touch (⁹), is linked the Elohistic version of the origin of the Ishmaelites (^10-21). A comparison with the Yahwistic parallel (ch. 16) will be found below (p. 324).

Analysis.—^2b-5 are from P (who by the way ignores altogether the expulsion of Ishmael [see on 25⁹]): obs. the naming by the father and the exact correspondence with 16¹⁶ in ³, circumcision (⁴), the chronology (⁵); and the words (Hebrew characters), ^{2b. 4}; (Hebrew characters), ²b (cf. 17²¹); (Hebrew characters), ⁵. ^2a is to be assigned to J ((Hebrew characters), v.i.); and also, for the same reason, ⁷. There remain the doublets ^{1a 1b} and ^{6a 6b}. Since the continuity of P is seldom sacrificed, ^1b is usually assigned to that source ((Hebrew characters), a scribal error), leaving ^1a to J ((Hebrew characters), (Hebrew characters)). ^6b goes with ⁷ (therefore J: v.i.); and there remains for E the solitary half-verse ^6a ((Hebrew characters)), which cannot belong to P because of the different etymology implied for (Hebrew characters). So Ho. Gu.; Di. Str. differ only in assigning the whole of ⁶ to E.—The J fragments ^{1a. 2a. 7. 6b} form a completely consecutive account of the birth of Isaac; which, however, is not the sequel to ch. 18 (see on ^6a), and therefore

impossible with the present text; hence Gu.'s emendation (Hebrew characters) (pf. [root] (Hebrew characters) w. acc.: Jb. 3²⁵) is not unattractive.—(Hebrew characters)] Untranslatable. G (Greek characters); V quocunque perrexeris: mementoque te deprehensam; S (Syriac characters) ('about all wherewith thou hast reproached me'); T^O (Hebrew characters). The change to (Hebrew characters) (2 s. pf.) is of no avail, the difficulty being mostly in (Hebrew characters), which cannot be continuation of (Hebrew characters) (Tu. al.), or of (Hebrew characters), but must with MT accents be taken with (Hebrew characters). The rendering 'and before all men thou shalt be righted' (Di. De. Dri.) is the best that can be made of the text. The easiest emendation is that of Gu.: (Hebrew characters) = 'and thou in all this (affair) art justified,' though the sense given to (Hebrew characters) has no clear example in OT. The more drastic remedies of Ba. do not commend themselves.—18. (Hebrew characters)] [E] (Hebrew characters).