Genesis 12:3

12:3 I will bless those who bless you, ¹ 

but the one who treats you lightly ²  I must curse,

and all the families of the earth will bless one another ³  by your name.”

Genesis 17:19

17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. ⁴  I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual ⁵  covenant for his descendants after him.

Genesis 22:18

22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ⁶  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁷  using the name of your descendants.’”

Genesis 26:4

26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ⁸  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁹ 

Genesis 28:14

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ¹⁰  and you will spread out ¹¹  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹²  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹³ 

Psalms 105:6-10

105:6 O children ¹⁴  of Abraham, ¹⁵  God’s ¹⁶  servant,

you descendants ¹⁷  of Jacob, God’s ¹⁸  chosen ones!

105:7 He is the Lord our God;

he carries out judgment throughout the earth. ¹⁹ 

105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,

the promise he made ²⁰  to a thousand generations –

105:9 the promise ²¹  he made to Abraham,

the promise he made by oath to Isaac!

105:10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,

to Israel as a lasting promise, ²² 

Psalms 132:11-17

132:11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David; ²³ 

he will not go back on his word. ²⁴ 

He said, ²⁵  “I will place one of your descendants ²⁶  on your throne.

132:12 If your sons keep my covenant

and the rules I teach them,

their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”

132:13 Certainly ²⁷  the Lord has chosen Zion;

he decided to make it his home. ²⁸ 

132:14 He said, ²⁹  “This will be my resting place forever;

I will live here, for I have chosen it. ³⁰ 

132:15 I will abundantly supply what she needs; ³¹ 

I will give her poor all the food they need. ³² 

132:16 I will protect her priests, ³³ 

and her godly people will shout exuberantly. ³⁴ 

132:17 There I will make David strong; ³⁵ 

I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. ³⁶ 

Romans 11:28-29

11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

Galatians 3:16-17

3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. ³⁷  Scripture ³⁸  does not say, “and to the descendants,” ³⁹  referring to many, but “and to your descendant,” ⁴⁰  referring to one, who is Christ. 3:17 What I am saying is this: The law that came four hundred thirty years later does not cancel a covenant previously ratified by God, ⁴¹  so as to invalidate the promise.

[12:3]  ¹ tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the Lord binds himself to Abram by covenant, those who enrich Abram in any way share in the blessings.

[12:3]  ² tn In this part of God’s statement there are two significant changes that often go unnoticed. First, the parallel and contrasting participle מְקַלֶּלְךָ (mÿqallelkha) is now singular and not plural. All the versions and a few Masoretic mss read the plural. But if it had been plural, there would be no reason to change it to the singular and alter the parallelism. On the other hand, if it was indeed singular, it is easy to see why the versions would change it to match the first participle. The MT preserves the original reading: “the one who treats you lightly.” The point would be a contrast with the lavish way that God desires to bless many. The second change is in the vocabulary. The English usually says, “I will curse those who curse you.” But there are two different words for curse here. The first is קָלַל (qalal), which means “to be light” in the Qal, and in the Piel “to treat lightly, to treat with contempt, to curse.” The second verb is אָרַר (’arar), which means “to banish, to remove from the blessing.” The point is simple: Whoever treats Abram and the covenant with contempt as worthless God will banish from the blessing. It is important also to note that the verb is not a cohortative, but a simple imperfect. Since God is binding himself to Abram, this would then be an obligatory imperfect: “but the one who treats you with contempt I must curse.”

[12:3]  ³ tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings on”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[17:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).

[17:19]  ⁵ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[22:18]  ⁶ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  ⁷ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[26:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ⁹ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[28:14]  ¹⁰ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ¹¹ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ¹² tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[105:6]  ¹⁴ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[105:6]  ¹⁵ tc Some mss have “Israel,” which appears in the parallel version of this psalm in 1 Chr 16:13.

[105:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[105:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “sons.”

[105:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[105:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”

[105:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.

[105:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “which.”

[105:10]  ²² tn Or “eternal covenant.”

[132:11]  ²³ tn Heb “the Lord swore an oath to David [in] truth.”

[132:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he will not turn back from it.”

[132:11]  ²⁵ tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the fruit of your body.”

[132:13]  ²⁷ tn Or “for.”

[132:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he desired it for his dwelling place.”

[132:14]  ²⁹ tn The words “he said” are added in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for I desired it.”

[132:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “I will greatly bless her provision.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.

[132:15]  ³² tn Heb “her poor I will satisfy [with] food.”

[132:16]  ³³ tn Heb “and her priests I will clothe [with] deliverance.”

[132:16]  ³⁴ tn Heb “[with] shouting they will shout.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.

[132:17]  ³⁵ tn Heb “there I will cause a horn to sprout for David.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Pss 18:2; 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that used its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36.

[132:17]  ³⁶ tn Heb “I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.” Here the “lamp” is a metaphor for the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kgs 11:36).

[3:16]  ³⁷ tn Grk “his seed,” a figurative extension of the meaning of σπέρμα (sperma) to refer to descendants (L&N 10.29).

[3:16]  ³⁸ tn Grk “It”; the referent (the scripture) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The understood subject of the verb λέγει (legei) could also be “He” (referring to God) as the one who spoke the promise to Abraham.

[3:16]  ³⁹ tn Grk “to seeds.” See the note on “descendant” earlier in this verse. Here the term is plural; the use of the singular in the OT text cited later in this verse is crucial to Paul’s argument.

[3:16]  ⁴⁰ tn See the note on “descendant” earlier in this verse.

[3:17]  ⁴¹ tc Most mss (D F G I 0176 0278 Ï it sy) read “ratified by God in Christ” whereas the omission of “in Christ” is the reading in Ì⁴⁶ א A B C P Ψ 6 33 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 pc co. The shorter reading is strongly supported by the ms evidence, and it is probable that a copyist inserted the words as an interpretive gloss. However, this form of the “in Christ” expression is somewhat atypical in the corpus Paulinum (εἰς Χριστόν [ei" Criston] rather than ἐν Χριστῷ [en Cristw]), a fact which tempers one’s certainty about the shorter reading. Nevertheless, the expression is used more in Galatians than in any other of Paul’s letters (Gal 2:16; 3:24, 27), and may have been suggested by such texts to early copyists.