Moreover may be translated by such expressions as “In addition,” “Also.”

Concubine refers to a wife whose status in the family is secondary. She may have been taken as a captive in war or purchased. Wives taken as booty in war were given certain protection from exploitation (see Deut 21.10-17). Hagar served as Abraham’s concubine but was not referred to by that term.

In translation the essential elements of this term are a wife whose status is secondary to the “legal” wife or wives. Many languages have adequate terms for a secondary wife. In some languages she is called “the wife behind,” a “minor wife,” or “the little wife.” In others the expression “second wife” is quite adequate, since it is assumed that the woman who is taken second has a lower status than the first wife. If a descriptive expression is necessary, we may suggest, for example, “the second-class wife,” “the wife with less rights.” If a foreign word is used, it should be qualified by “wife” or “woman.” Since the main interest in this passage is in the names of the twelve sons of Nahor and in the name of Isaac’s future wife Rebekah, it is not of great importance that the woman referred to here is a concubine. So translators are not called upon to go to any great lengths in explaining her status, if a precise term is not available. Some translations have, for example, “Nahor had another wife whose name was Reumah, and she had four sons…”

The names of Nahor’s concubine and her four sons are not known otherwise, with the possible exception of Maacah, which, according to Speiser, is known as the area south of Mount Hermon. See Deut 3.14; Josh 13.11, 13.

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 .