Genesis 15:2-3

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 

Genesis 21:10

21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ¹⁰  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

Genesis 21:12

21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ¹¹  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ¹²  all that Sarah is telling ¹³  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 25:21

25:21 Isaac prayed to ¹⁵  the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ¹⁶ 

Luke 1:7

1:7 But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren, ¹⁷  and they were both very old. ¹⁸ 

Luke 1:36

1:36 “And look, ¹⁹  your relative ²⁰  Elizabeth has also become pregnant with ²¹  a son in her old age – although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! ²² 

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 Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.

¹¹ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

¹² tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.

¹³ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

¹⁴ tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.

¹⁵ tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the Lord to remove the plagues. The cognate word in Arabic means “to slaughter for sacrifice,” and the word is used in Zeph 3:10 to describe worshipers who bring offerings. Perhaps some ritual accompanied Isaac’s prayer here.

¹⁶ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

¹⁷ sn Elizabeth was barren. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth are regarded by Luke as righteous in the sight of God, following all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly (v. 6). With this language, reminiscent of various passages in the OT, Luke is probably drawing implicit comparisons to the age and barrenness of such famous OT personalities as Abraham and Sarah (see, e.g., Gen 18:9-15), the mother of Samson (Judg 13:2-5), and Hannah, the mother of Samuel (1 Sam 1:1-20). And, as it was in the case of these OT saints, so it is with Elizabeth: After much anguish and seeking the Lord, she too is going to have a son in her barrenness. In that day it was a great reproach to be childless, for children were a sign of God’s blessing (cf. Gen 1:28; Lev 20:20-21; Pss 127 and 128; Jer 22:30). As the dawn of salvation draws near, however, God will change this elderly couple’s grief into great joy and grant them the one desire time had rendered impossible.

¹⁸ tn Grk “were both advanced in days” (an idiom for old age).

¹⁹ tn Grk “behold.”

²⁰ tn Some translations render the word συγγενίς (sungeni") as “cousin” (so Phillips) but the term is not necessarily this specific.

²¹ tn Or “has conceived.”

²² tn Grk “and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.” Yet another note on Elizabeth’s loss of reproach also becomes a sign of the truth of the angel’s declaration.