Genesis 15:2-5

15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, ¹  what will you give me since ²  I continue to be ³  childless, and my heir ⁴  is ⁵  Eliezer of Damascus?” ⁶  15:3 Abram added, ⁷  “Since ⁸  you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” ⁹ 

15:4 But look, ¹⁰  the word of the Lord came to him: “This man ¹¹  will not be your heir, ¹²  but instead ¹³  a son ¹⁴  who comes from your own body will be ¹⁵  your heir.” ¹⁶  15:5 The Lord ¹⁷  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

Genesis 16:2

16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since ¹⁸  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with ¹⁹  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” ²⁰  Abram did what ²¹  Sarai told him.

Genesis 17:16-19

17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. ²²  Kings of countries ²³  will come from her!”

17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed ²⁴  as he said to himself, ²⁵  “Can ²⁶  a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? ²⁷  Can Sarah ²⁸  bear a child at the age of ninety?” ²⁹  17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that ³⁰  Ishmael might live before you!” ³¹ 

17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. ³²  I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual ³³  covenant for his descendants after him.

¹ tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master, Lord”). Since the tetragrammaton (YHWH) usually is pointed with the vowels for the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “master”) to avoid pronouncing the divine name, that would lead in this place to a repetition of אֲדֹנָי. So the tetragrammaton is here pointed with the vowels for the word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God”) instead. That would produce the reading of the Hebrew as “Master, God” in the Jewish textual tradition. But the presence of “Master” before the holy name is rather compelling evidence that the original would have been “Master, Lord,” which is rendered here “sovereign Lord.”

² tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.

³ tn Heb “I am going.”

⁴ tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”

⁵ tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).

⁶ sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.

⁷ tn Heb “And Abram said.”

⁸ tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).

⁹ tn Heb “is inheriting me.”

¹⁰ tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.

¹¹ tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the Lord does not mention him by name is significant; often in ancient times the use of the name would bring legitimacy to inheritance and adoption cases.

¹² tn Heb “inherit you.”

¹³ tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.

¹⁴ tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “will inherit you.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸ tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.

¹⁹ tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).

²⁰ tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.

²¹ tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”

²² tn Heb “she will become nations.”

²³ tn Heb “peoples.”

²⁴ sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.

²⁵ tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”

²⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.

²⁷ tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”

²⁸ sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).

²⁹ tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”

³⁰ tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”

³¹ tn Or “live with your blessing.”

³² 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).

³³ tn Or “as an eternal.”