And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him: that is, the king ordered or commanded his men. Men is very general and in this context it most likely refers to military men, or as Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says, “Pharaoh ordered a detachment of soldiers….” Bible en français courant has “Pharaoh gave his servants orders,” and Moffatt “Pharaoh gave him an escort.”

They set him on the way: Abram is sent back in the direction he had come, toward the Negeb desert, as 13.1 shows. Revised Standard Version says set him, but the meaning of the Hebrew verb is “sent.” The purpose of the escort was to make certain that he left Egypt. In this context many languages will naturally use a term like “expelled” or “threw them out.” This is actually the meaning that is understood from the colloquial expression in English “sent him on his way” (New International Version, Revised English Bible, Speiser).

With his wife and all that he had: all that he had refers to his people and the livestock mentioned in verse 16. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “… to bring Abram with his wife and all his possessions across the border,” which is a good model to follow.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .