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.”
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.
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
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
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.
1 tn The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the
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
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.
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).
5 tn Or “as an eternal.”
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.
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.)
8 tn Heb “your descendants.”
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.)
10 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
11 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
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.
13 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
14 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
15 tc Some
16 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “sons.”
18 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”
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.
21 tn Heb “which.”
22 tn Or “eternal covenant.”
23 tn Heb “the
24 tn Heb “he will not turn back from it.”
25 tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows are the
26 tn Heb “the fruit of your body.”
27 tn Or “for.”
28 tn Heb “he desired it for his dwelling place.”
29 tn The words “he said” are added in the translation to clarify that what follows are the
30 tn Heb “for I desired it.”
31 tn Heb “I will greatly bless her provision.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.
32 tn Heb “her poor I will satisfy [with] food.”
33 tn Heb “and her priests I will clothe [with] deliverance.”
34 tn Heb “[with] shouting they will shout.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.
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.
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).
37 tn Grk “his seed,” a figurative extension of the meaning of σπέρμα (sperma) to refer to descendants (L&N 10.29).
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.
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.
40 tn See the note on “descendant” earlier in this verse.
41 tc Most