(Verse 6) Hear us, O Lord, you are our king from God, bury your dead in our chosen sepulcher. For a king is called a prince in Hebrew, or a leader. For a leader is called not a king, but a duke.
32:16
(Verse 16.) And Abraham heard Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver, which he had spoken of in the hearing of the sons of Heth. In Hebrew, as we have written here, his first name is spelled Ephron and his second name is Ephran. For after he was overcome by the price, in order to sell the burial place for silver, even though Abraham was urging him, the letter vau, which is read as o by them, was removed from his name: and he was called Ephran instead of Ephron, with the Scripture signifying that he was not a man of consummate and perfect virtue who could sell the memories of the dead. Therefore, let it be known that those who sell graves, and are not compelled to accept a price, but extort it even from those unwilling, should have their name changed and their deserved fate be undone, since even the one who unwillingly receives it is secretly condemned.
24:9
(Chapter 24, Verse 9) And the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him concerning this matter. The Hebrews say that he swore at his consecration, that is, at his circumcision. But we say that he swore by the seed of Abraham, that is, by Christ, who was to be born from him, according to the Gospel of Matthew, which says: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1).
24:22
(Verse 22.) And the man took a gold earring, its weight was two drachmas. Bace (), which is written here instead of drachma, is half an ounce. Secel (), which is inaccurately called a shekel in Latin, has a weight of one ounce.
24:43
(Verse 43.) Behold, I stand by the fountain of water, and the daughters of the city will come out to draw water. And there will be a maiden, to whom I will say, 'Give me a little water to drink from your jar,' etc. In Hebrew it is written: Behold, I stand by the fountain of water, and there will be a young girl who will come out to draw water. And I will say to her, 'Give me a little water to drink from your jar,' and so on. For the young girl, which in Greek is called νεανὶς, we also read Alma, which is found in Isaiah as well. For in that place where it is written in our books: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son (Isa. VII, 14), Aquila translated it as: Behold, a young maiden shall conceive, and bear. In Hebrew it is read: Behold, a young woman shall conceive, and bear. It should be noted that the word alma is never used except for a virgin, and it has an etymology, ἀπόκρυφος, which means hidden. For it is written in Job: Where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? And it will be hidden from the eyes of all living (Job 28:21). When we say 'it will be hidden,' in Hebrew it is expressed differently due to the declension of the word, it is said 'Naalma.' To what is this similar? Even though it is declined in the masculine gender, it is written in the books of Kings, spoken by Elisha to Gehazi: 'And the Lord has hidden it from me' (2 Kings 4:27). Therefore, Alma, which means hidden, that is, virgin, seems to me to be of greater praise than a virgin who is guarded with excessive diligence. For a virgin according to the Apostle can be a virgin in body, but not in spirit. However, a hidden virgin has the addition of virginity, so that she is both a virgin and hidden. And she who is hidden, according to the idiom of the Hebrew language, is consequently also a virgin; but she who is a virgin does not immediately follow that she is hidden. This same word is also read in Exodus about Mary, the sister of Moses, as a virgin (Exodus II, 8). Therefore, the Jews show somewhere in the Scriptures where Alma is mentioned, which signifies only a young girl and not a virgin; and we concede to them that what is said among us in Isaiah: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, does not signify a hidden virgin, but rather a young girl already married.
24:59
(Verse 59.) And they sent away their sister Rebecca, and her belongings, and Abraham's servant, and the men who were with him. In Hebrew, it says: And they sent away their sister Rebecca, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. For it was fitting that a virgin setting off for marriage without her parents should be comforted by the consolation of her nurse.
24:62-63
(Verses 62 and 63.) And he himself dwelt in the land of the south: and Isaac went forth to meditate in the field towards evening. The land of the south signifies Gerar, to which he had once been led by his father to be sacrificed. But when it says, And he went forth to meditate in the field, which in Greek is called ἀδολεσχῆσαι, in Hebrew it is read: And Isaac went forth to speak in the field, the evening already declining. That signifies, according to what the Lord alone prayed on the mountain, even Isaac, who in the type of the Lord, as a just man going out of his house, offered spiritual victims to God either at the ninth hour or before sunset.
24:65
(Verse 65.) And he took a theristrum, and covered himself. Theristrum is called a cloak, also a type of Arabian garment, with which the women of that province are veiled.
25:1
(Chapter 25, Verse 1) And Abraham added and took another wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah. And Abraham gave everything that he had to Isaac. But to the sons of the concubines whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he was still alive, to the east, to the land of the east. Cetura is interpreted in the Hebrew language as 'joined' or 'bound'. For this reason, the Hebrews suspect that, with a changed name, she is the same as Hagar, who, after the death of Sara, went from being a concubine to a wife. And it seems that the advanced age of Abraham is now being excused, so that he is not accused of indulging in new marriages after the death of his old wife. Leaving aside what is uncertain, we say this: the sons of Abraham born from Cetura, according to Hebrew historians, occupied Troglodytis and Arabia, which is now called Idumea, up to the borders of the Red Sea. But it is said that one of the descendants of Abraham, who was called Apher, led an army against Libya, and there, after defeating the enemies, settled. And his descendants from the name of their ancestor were called Africa. This fact is testified by Alexander, who is called Polyhistor, and Cleodemus, nicknamed Malchus, who retell the barbarian history in Greek. And as for what he says, 'And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim': they think that Asshurim refers to merchants, Letushim to those who work with copper and iron, and Leummim to chiefs, meaning leaders of many tribes and peoples. Others claim that they are called Asurim, that they are Syrians, and that the regions of India have been occupied by most of the sons of Abraham from Keturah.
25:8
(v. 8) And Abraham died in good old age, an old man and full, and he was gathered to his people. A wrong addition is made by the Septuagint translators, that Abraham died lacking: for it is not fitting for Abraham to fail and diminish. Also, what we have proposed, an old man and full in good old age: in the Greek manuscripts it is written, full of days. While it seems to explain the meaning, because he has passed away full of light and the works of the day: nevertheless, it is more fitting for the spiritual interpretation if it is simply stated as full.
25:13
(Verse 13) And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations. The firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, and Kedar, and the rest, up to the place where it is said: They lived from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go towards Assyria. He fell in the sight of all his brothers. Twelve sons were born to Ishmael, and the firstborn was Nebaioth, from whom the whole region from the Euphrates to the Red Sea is called Nebaioth until this day, which is part of Arabia. For both their families, towns and villages, fortified castles, and three of them, Cedar in the desert, and Duma in another region, and Theman to the south, and Cedema to the east, are celebrated with this name. But what we read in the final section of this chapter, according to the Septuagint, is that he dwelt opposite the face of all his brothers (Gen. XIII, 18): it is more accurate to say what we have put, he died in the presence of all his brothers, that is, he died in the hands of all his children, with his surviving children, and with no one dying before him. But to be called brothers for the sons, Jacob also shows to Laban, saying: What is my sin, because you have persecuted me: and because you have searched all my vessels? What have you found of all the vessels of your house? Let it be placed before my brothers and your brothers: and let them judge between us (Ibid. 35). For we cannot believe, as Scripture recounts, that Jacob, apart from his children, had any brothers with him.
25:21
(Verse 21.) And Rebecca his wife conceived, and the sons within her were moved. Concerning this movement, the Seventy Interpreters rendered it as ἐσκίρτων, which means they were playing or kicking; which Aquila translated as they were breaking in the womb. But Symmachus rendered it as διέπλεον, which means they were carried on the surface like a ship.
25:25
(Verse 25) And the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when Rebekah bare them.