from thence This passage is evidently derived from some distinct source. As it ignores the previous section dealing with Lot, and the last reference to Abraham is in Genesis 18:33, when he is at Mamre, the precise meaning of "from thence" must remain obscure.

the South See note on Genesis 12:9.

between Kadesh and Shur For these places, see Genesis 14:7; Genesis 16:7.

he sojourned in Gerar This causes a difficulty. Gerar is the court of the king Abimelech. In Genesis 26:1, Abimelech is king of the Philistines. Gerar has, therefore, been identified with a spot a few miles south of Gaza (Umm Gerar). This, however, is hardly a place of sojourn "between Kadesh and Shur." Either, therefore, there is a lacuna between the two clauses of this verse, representing a journey from the Negeb into the Philistine region; or Gerar maybe a place S.W. of Kadesh (Wady Gerur), whose king happened to have the same name as the Philistine king of Gerar in chap. 26. Of these alternatives the former is the more probable.

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