Kejadian 23:10

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ¹  replied to Abraham in the hearing ²  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ³  of his city –

Kejadian 25:18

25:18 His descendants ⁴  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ⁵  to Egypt all the way ⁶  to Asshur. ⁷  They settled ⁸  away from all their relatives. ⁹ 

[23:10]  ¹ tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.

[23:10]  ² tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.

[23:10]  ³ sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.

[25:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ⁷ sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.