14:23 that I will take nothing56 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I57 who made Abram rich.’
tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “… if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the Lord deal with me] if I take,” meaning, “I will surely not take.” The positive oath would add the negative adverb and be the reverse: “[God will deal with me] if I do not take,” meaning, “I certainly will.”
57
tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.