May the mumbling commence!
Just in case you missed it, here it
is again… the Hebrew Name Game! Read
from Peterson’s The Message:
After all this, Abraham got the news: “Your brother Nahor is a father! Milcah has given him children: Uz, his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (he was the father of
Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” (Bethuel was the father of Rebekah.) Milcah gave these eight sons to
Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
His
concubine, Reumah, gave him four
more children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and
Maacah. (Genesis 22:20-24)
Now read the same passage from the
NIV translation:
Some time later Abraham was told, "Milcah
is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: Uz the firstborn, Buz his
brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and
Bethuel." Bethuel became the father of
Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to
Abraham's brother Nahor. His concubine,
whose name was Reumah,
also had sons:
Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah. (Genesis
22:20-24)
Baby announcements are so
exciting! But what a difference between
the NIV and Peterson’s work! It’s
exceptional in the NIV that Milcah is proclaimed as a mother first. Peterson proclaims the fatherhood of Nahor…
while that’s more typical, it’s not consistent with the Hebrew.
The mother is not only named (which
happens few and far between in Hebrew genealogies of the Old Testament) she is
also proclaimed. Nahor, the father,
plays second fiddle. I wonder about the
story behind these baby announcements in this fashion. The rest of the genealogy is typical,
focusing on sons and leaving out daughters that most likely were born, too.
Peterson takes this wonderment out
of the text. I miss it… plain and
simple.
There is one daughter
mentioned. Bethuel is the father of
Rebekah. This statement stands out and
foreshadows the next movement of the narrative.
Rebekah, as we will see, will become the wife of Isaac.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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