1 tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”
4 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
5 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
6 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
7 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
8 tn Grk “He did not give him an inheritance in it.” This could be understood to mean that God did not give something else to Abraham as an inheritance while he was living there. The point of the text is that God did not give any of the land to him as an inheritance, and the translation makes this clear.
9 tn Grk “a step of a foot” (cf. Deut 2:5).
10 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 sn An allusion to Gen 12:7; 13:15; 15:2, 18; 17:8; 24:7; 48:4. On the theological importance of the promise and to his descendants after him, see Rom 4 and Gal 3.
12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.