33:1 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up 3 from here, you and the people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land I promised on oath 4 to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 5
50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you 25 and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give 26 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
1 tn Heb “which I raised my hand to give it.” The relative clause specifies which land is their goal. The bold anthropomorphism mentions part of an oath-taking ceremony to refer to the whole event and reminds the reader that God swore that he would give the land to them. The reference to taking an oath would have made the promise of God sure in the mind of the Israelite.
2 sn Here is the twofold aspect again clearly depicted: God swore the promise to the patriarchs, but he is about to give what he promised to this generation. This generation will know more about him as a result.
3 tn The two imperatives underscore the immediacy of the demand: “go, go up,” meaning “get going up” or “be on your way.”
4 tn Or “the land which I swore.”
5 tn Heb “seed.”
6 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).
7 tn Or “as an eternal.”
8 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
9 tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.
10 tn Or “as an eternal.”
11 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
12 tn Heb “the oracle of the
13 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.
14 tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).
15 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
16 tn Or “inherit.”
17 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).
18 tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.
19 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.)
20 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.
21 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
22 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
23 tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.
24 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
25 tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” i.e., to intervene for blessing or cursing; here Joseph announces that God would come to fulfill the promises by delivering them from Egypt. The statement is emphasized by the use of the infinitive absolute with the verb: “God will surely visit you.”
26 tn The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
27 tn The relative pronoun “which” is joined with the resumptive pronoun “in it” to form a smoother reading “where.”
28 tn The Hebrew text uses the anthropomorphic expression “I raised my hand” in taking an oath.
29 tn Heb “to cause you to dwell; to cause you to settle.”
30 tn The clause is difficult; it means essentially that “they have not made full [their coming] after” the
31 tn The sentence begins with “if they see….” This is the normal way for Hebrew to express a negative oath – “they will by no means see….” The sentence is elliptical; it is saying something like “[May God do so to me] if they see,” meaning they won’t see. Of course here God is taking the oath, which is an anthropomorphic act. He does not need to take an oath, and certainly could not swear by anyone greater, but it communicates to people his resolve.
32 tc The LXX adds “those knowing bad and good.”
33 tn The words “to give” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.