From there Abraham journeyed: From there is the literal Hebrew wording, but it fails to say where there is. We could take it to mean “from Lot’s cave” at the end of chapter 19; however, there is no evidence in the text that Abraham was at that cave. Some interpreters assume that there refers to Hebron (13.18), or more likely to Mamre (18.1), which is the last place where Abraham is located before this episode; and so Good News Translation has “Abraham moved from Mamre….” Bible en français courant avoids there and says “Abraham departed for the Negeb.”
In translation it is often necessary from the point of view of the organization of the discourse to make the time in relation to what went before clear at the outset of the story. Therefore it is often necessary to say, for example, “After some time,” “Later,” “Again, it happened like this.”
Journeyed translates the verb rendered “migrated” in 11.2 (see 11.2; 12.9, for discussion) and refers to the moving of Abraham’s camp and animals as his herdsmen search for pastures and water.
Toward … Negeb: the Hebrew permits the Revised Standard Version rendering toward but does not actually state that Abraham went into the Negeb desert. For additional comments see 12.9. Hebrew negeb can mean “south” as well as referring to the region of that name in the south of Canaan. Good News Translation translates “the southern part of Canaan,” which gives as accurate a description in this context as does territory of the Negeb.
Dwelt between Kadesh and Shur: dwelt refers to pitching camp, setting up camp for a short or long stay. Kadesh is mentioned in 14.7, where it identifies the location of “Enmishpat.” Kadesh is located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Beersheba in the area of the Negeb desert. Shur is mentioned in 16.7 as the place where the angel of the LORD met Hagar, and refers to a desert region in the Sinai Peninsula east of the present Suez Canal. The area between Kadesh and Shur is in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea and west of the Negeb desert. See a biblical atlas.
For a story opening, translators may find the following a helpful model: “After some time had passed, Abraham took his people and animals and moved southward, where they pitched camp between the place called Kadesh and the desert called Shur.”
And he sojourned in Gerar: sojourned translates a verb meaning to live as a foreigner or alien among people one is not related to. For further discussion and references see 12.10.
The exact location of the town of Gerar is uncertain, and there are some problems in trying to relate it to Kadesh and Shur. According to von Rad, “Gerar lay near Gaza,” which places it some distance to the north of Kadesh and Shur. Scholars have questioned the division between verses 1 and 2, which appears rather abrupt as it stands. Speiser concludes that and he sojourned in Gerar should be understood as a time clause related to verse 2 as the main clause, and so translates “While he was sojourning in Gerar, Abraham said of Sarah his wife….” Many translations follow this way of understanding the text; for example, “For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there…” (New International Version). Good News Translation provides a transition as introduction: “Later, while he was living in Gerar….” Something of this kind is recommended to translators, as it enables the thread of discourse to move more naturally from the opening description of the migration to the introductory statement by Abraham (“she is my sister”), upon which all the events in the story turn.
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 .