Then Isaac brought her into the tent: to this statement in the Hebrew text are added the words “Sarah his mother.” See Revised Standard Version footnote. Revised Standard Version and others assume “Sarah his mother” is misplaced and may have originally belonged at the end of the verse. Good News Translation and others retain “Sarah his mother” and relate these words to tent as “the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project takes the same position as Good News Translation and gives the Hebrew text an {A} rating. That Sarah would have had a special tent of her own is suggested by the case of Leah and Rachel in 31.33.

In some cultures there is a strong taboo against living in a dwelling in which a person has recently died, particularly if that person was a close relative. That may be a serious problem for translation of this passage; however, since there is some doubt about the text here, it may be best for translators who face the problem to follow Revised Standard Version and some other versions, and say just “the tent” or “his tent.” One translation, for example, says simply “After that Isaac brought Rebekah to his tent, and they-two were married….”

And took Rebekah, and she became his wife: took Rebekah means he married her. The form of the Hebrew statement is a repetition of the same information but using different words, and in many languages it is sufficient to say “Isaac married Rebekah” or “Isaac made Rebekah his wife.”

And he loved her may be interpreted as a separate statement, but more likely it functions as the reason for his being comforted after his mother’s death. We may translate, for example, “Isaac loved Rebekah, and so he was comforted after his mother’s death” or “Because Isaac loved Rebekah he was consoled for the death of his mother.” In languages in which the passive cannot be used, we may say “Isaac loved … and so the death of his mother pained him less.”

Comforted after his mother’s death may be difficult to translate literally, because it describes a change in feelings from being sad to being happy again. An example of a translation that expresses all the elements more fully is “Before, when his mother died, Isaac felt sad all the time. But now he had a good feeling again.”

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 .