Genesis 26

Genesis 26 read aloud, in a fresh direct translation from the Hebrew — plain modern English, nothing added. Translator's notes: • Genesis 26:8 — מְצַחֵק (metzachek): chose "caressing". Alternatives: "playing with", "fondling", "laughing with". Why: the same root that meant "playing" for Ishmael in Genesis 21:9 here, with "with his wife", plainly names intimate play, which is how Abimelech knows she is not a sister. • Genesis 26:12 — מֵאָה שְׁעָרִים (meah shearim): chose "a hundred measures". Alternatives: "a hundredfold", "a hundred times what was sown". Why: shearim means measures or estimates; whether the harvest was exactly a hundredfold is left open by the word. • Genesis 26:26 — אֲחֻזַּת מֵרֵעֵהוּ (Achuzzat mere'ehu): chose "Ahuzzath his adviser". Alternatives: "the company of his friends". Why: the words can be read as a personal name (Ahuzzath) followed by his role, or as a group of companions; the name reading is followed here.