Deuteronomy 32:9

32:9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people,

Jacob is his special possession. ¹ 

Jeremiah 10:16

10:16 The Lord, who is the inheritance ²  of Jacob’s descendants, ³  is not like them.

He is the one who created everything.

And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. ⁴ 

He is known as the Lord who rules over all.” ⁵ 

Ephesians 1:18

1:18 – since the eyes of your ⁶  heart have been enlightened ⁷  – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, ⁸  what is the wealth of his glorious ⁹  inheritance in the saints,

¹ tc Heb “the portion of his inheritance.” The LXX and Smr add “Israel” and BHS suggests the reconstruction: “The Lord’s allotment is Jacob, the portion of his inheritance is Israel” (cf. NAB). While providing good parallelism, it destroys a fine chiastic structure: “allotment” (a), “his people” (b), “Jacob (b’), and “inheritance” (a’).

² tn The words “The Lord who is” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. For the significance of the words that follow them see the study note that follows.

³ tn Heb “The Portion of Jacob.” “Descendants” is implied, and is supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “And Israel is the tribe of his possession.”

⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.”

⁶ tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially of the Byzantine and Western texttypes, though with a few important Alexandrian witnesses (א A D F G Ψ 0278 Ï latt sy), add ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) after καρδίας (kardias, “heart”), though it is clearly implied in the shorter (Alexandrian) reading (found in Ì⁴⁶ B 6 33 1175 1739 1881 pc). The longer reading thus looks to be a clarifying gloss, as is frequently found in the Byzantine and Western traditions. The translation above also uses “your” because of English requirements, not because of textual basis.

⁷ tn The perfect participle πεφωτισμένους (pefwtismenou") may either be part of the prayer (“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”) or part of the basis of the prayer (“since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened”). Although the participle follows the ἵνα (Jina) of v. 17, it is awkward grammatically in the clause. Further, perfect adverbial participles are usually causal in NT Greek. Finally, the context both here and throughout Ephesians seems to emphasize the motif of light as a property belonging to believers. Thus, it seems that the author is saying, “I know that you are saved, that you have had the blinders of the devil removed; because of this, I can now pray that you will fully understand and see the light of God’s glorious revelation.” Hence, the translation takes the participle to form a part of the basis for the prayer.

⁸ tn Or “the hope to which he has called you.”

⁹ tn Grk “of the glory of his inheritance.” Here “inheritance” is taken as an attributed genitive and the head noun, “glory,” is thus translated as an adjective, “glorious inheritance.”