Gen 20:16, 23:15 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 16. And unto Sarah he said ] But what did he say? Here there is scarcely any agreement among interpreters; the Hebrew is exceedingly obscure, and every interpreter takes it in his own sense. A thousand pieces of silver ] SHEKELS are very probably meant here, and so the Targum understands it. The Septuagint has χιλια διδραχμα, a thousand didrachma, no doubt meaning shekels ; for in , this translation uses διδραχμα for the Hebrew shekel . As shakal signifies literally to weigh , and the shekel was a coin of such a weight, Mr. Ainsworth and others think this to be the origin of our word scale , the instrument to weigh with. The shekel of the sanctuary weighed twenty gerahs, . And according to the Jews, the gerah weighed sixteen grains of barley. R. Maimon observes, that after the captivity the shekel was increased to three hundred and eighty-four grains or barley-corns. On the subject of ancient weights and measures, very little that is satisfactory is known. Behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes ] It -the one thousand shekels , (not he -Abraham,) is to thee for a covering -to procure thee a veil to conceal thy beauty ( unto all that are with thee, and with all other) from all thy own kindred and acquaintance , and from all strangers , that none, seeing thou art another mans wife; may covet thee on account of thy comeliness. Thus she was reproved ] The original is venochachath , but the word is probably the second person preterite, used for the imperative mood, from the root nachach , to make straight, direct, right ; or to speak rightly, correctly ; and may, in connection with the rest of the text, be thus paraphrased: Behold, I have given thy BROTHER (Abraham, gently alluding to the equivocation, ) a thousand shekels of silver; behold , IT is (that is, the silver is, or may be , or let it be ) to thee a covering of the eyes (to procure a veil; see above) with regard to all those who are with thee; and to all (or and in all ) speak thou the truth . Correctly translated by the Septuagint, καιπαντααληθευσον, and in all things speak the truth -not only tell a part of the truth, but tell the whole ; say not merely he is my brother , but say also, he is my husband too . Thus in ALL things speak the truth . I believe the above to be the sense of this difficult passage, and shall not puzzle my readers with criticisms. See Kennicott .

‏ Genesis 20:16

Verse 16. And unto Sarah he said] But what did he say? Here there is scarcely any agreement among interpreters; the Hebrew is exceedingly obscure, and every interpreter takes it in his own sense.

A thousand pieces of silver] SHEKELS are very probably meant here, and so the Targum understands it. The Septuagint has χιλια διδραχμα, a thousand didrachma, no doubt meaning shekels; for in Ge 23:15, 16, this translation uses διδραχμα for the Hebrew shekel. As shakal signifies literally to weigh, and the shekel was a coin of such a weight, Mr. Ainsworth and others think this to be the origin of our word scale, the instrument to weigh with.

The shekel of the sanctuary weighed twenty gerahs, Ex 30:13. And according to the Jews, the gerah weighed sixteen grains of barley. R. Maimon observes, that after the captivity the shekel was increased to three hundred and eighty-four grains or barley-corns. On the subject of ancient weights and measures, very little that is satisfactory is known.

Behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes] It-the one thousand shekels, (not he-Abraham,) is to thee for a covering-to procure thee a veil to conceal thy beauty (unto all that are with thee, and with all other) from all thy own kindred and acquaintance, and from all strangers, that none, seeing thou art another mans wife; may covet thee on account of thy comeliness.

Thus she was reproved] The original is venochachath, but the word is probably the second person preterite, used for the imperative mood, from the root nachach, to make straight, direct, right; or to speak rightly, correctly; and may, in connection with the rest of the text, be thus paraphrased: Behold, I have given thy BROTHER (Abraham, gently alluding to the equivocation, Ge 20:2, 5) a thousand shekels of silver; behold, IT is (that is, the silver is, or may be, or let it be) to thee a covering of the eyes (to procure a veil; see above) with regard to all those who are with thee; and to all (or and in all) speak thou the truth. Correctly translated by the Septuagint, καιπαντααληθευσον, and in all things speak the truth-not only tell a part of the truth, but tell the whole; say not merely he is my brother, but say also, he is my husband too. Thus in ALL things speak the truth. I believe the above to be the sense of this difficult passage, and shall not puzzle my readers with criticisms. See Kennicott.

‏ Genesis 23:15

Verse 15. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver] Though the words is worth are not in the text, yet they are necessarily expressed here to adapt the Hebrew to the idiom of our tongue. A shekel, according to the general opinion, was equal to two shillings and sixpence; but according to Dr. Prideaux, whose estimate I shall follow, three shillings English, four hundred of which are equal to sixty pounds sterling; but it is evident that a certain weight is intended, and not a coin, for in Ge 23:16 it is said, And Abraham weighed vaiyishkol, the silver, and hence it appears that this weight itself passed afterwards as a current coin, for the word is not only used to express a coin or piece of silver, but also to weigh; See Clarke on Ge 20:16.