translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: GEN

label: NET study note

text: Put your hand under my thigh . The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.


text: You will be free . If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.


text: I will also give your camels water . It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.


text: A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).


text: A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).


text: Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the Lord . Already the author is laying the foundation for subsequent events in the narrative, where Laban’s greed becomes his dominant characteristic.


text: The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi ( בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי , bÿ ’ er lakhay ro ’ i ) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” See Gen 16:14 .