Genesis 16:6

Hebrew Bible

4 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! I gave my servant into your embrace, but when she realized that she was pregnant, she despised me. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your servant is under your authority, do to her what is right in your eyes22.” Then Sarai treated Hagar harshly, so she ran away from Sarai. 7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring of water in the wilderness—the spring that is along the road to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai.”

1 Samuel 1:23

Hebrew Bible

21 Then the man Elkanah and all his family went up to make the yearly sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up with them, because she had told her husband, “Not until the boy is weaned. Then I will bring him so that he may appear before the Lord. And he will remain there from then on.” 23 Then her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what is right in your eyes55. Stay until you have weaned him. Only may the Lord fulfill his promise.” So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 24 Then she took him up with her as soon as she had weaned him, along with three bulls, an ephah of flour, and a container of wine. She came to the Lord’s house at Shiloh, and the boy was with them. 25 They slaughtered the bull, then brought the boy to Eli.

 Notes and References

"... Various figures of speech confirm the evaluative nature of the term: Something is good (more ingressively yatab) in the judgment (bene “in the eyes”) of those who expect benefit, assistance from it. The subject is usually impersonal, a thing (exceptions: Numbers 36:6; 1 Samuel 29:6, 9, not “dear” but “helpful/salvific like an angel”; Esther 2:4, 9; 8:5; Nehemiah 2:5). The genitive dependent on bene is a person able to assess suitability for a goal and to decide (an action that can be thoroughly indifferent ethically; compare Genesis 19:8; Judges 19:24; 1 Samuel 11:10; Jeremiah 26:14; Malachi 2:17). This person can be a ruler (Genesis 41:37; 45:16; 1 Samuel 14:36, 40; 24:5; 29:6, 9; 2 Samuel 19:19, 28, 38; 2 Kings 10:5; Esther 1:21; 2:4, 9), a patriarch or an individual (Genesis 16:6; 20:15; Leviticus 10:20; Deuteronomy 1:23; Joshua 9:25; 1 Samuel 1:23; 2 Samuel 19:39; 24:22 = 1 Chronicles 21:23; 1 Kings 21:2; Jeremiah 40:4; Esther 3:11), or a people or a group (Genesis 34:18; Numbers 36:6; Joshua 22:30, 33; 1 Samuel 18:5; 2 Samuel 3:19, 36; 18:4; Esther 8:8; Zechariah 11:12). In later texts, 'al can replace bene (Esther 3:9; 5:4, 8; 7:3; 9:13; Nehemiah 2:5, 7; 1 Chronicles 13:2; to be distinguished from this usage are Esther 7:9; 1 Samuel 20:13), as can lephanim (Ecclesiastes 2:26; 7:26; Esther 5:14; Nehemiah 2:5f.). If “God” is dependent upon bene as a genitive, the reference is to that which corresponds to his will (Numbers 24:1; Judges 10:15; 1 Samuel 3:18; 2 Samuel 10:12; compare 1 Chronicles 19:13; 2 Samuel 15:26; 1 Kings 3:10; 2 Kings 20:3 = Isaiah 38:3), to his cultic (Leviticus 10:19; 2 Chronicles 31:20 with lephanim) or ethical (Deuteronomy 6:18; 12:28; 2 Chronicles 14:1) norm. God can gain no assistance from human action (compare Psalm 50:12) ..."

Jenni, Ernst, and Claus Westermann Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (pp. 644-645) Hendrickson Publishers, 1997

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