Genesis 17:2

17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ¹  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ² 

Genesis 9:13

9:13 I will place ³  my rainbow ⁴  in the clouds, and it will become ⁵  a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 17:11

17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder ⁶  of the covenant between me and you.

Genesis 31:44

31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ⁷  you and I, and it will be ⁸  proof that we have made peace.” ⁹ 

Genesis 31:49

31:49 It was also called Mizpah ¹⁰  because he said, “May the Lord watch ¹¹  between us ¹²  when we are out of sight of one another. ¹³ 

Genesis 31:51

31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

² tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

³ tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. NIV, NRSV) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. NEB).

⁴ sn The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:473, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:196.

⁵ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.

⁵ tn Or “sign.”

⁷ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

⁸ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”

⁹ tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”

⁹ tn Heb “and Mizpah.”

¹⁰ sn The name Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, mitspah), which means “watchpost,” sounds like the verb translated “may he watch” (יִצֶף, yitsef). Neither Laban nor Jacob felt safe with each other, and so they agreed to go their separate ways, trusting the Lord to keep watch at the border. Jacob did not need this treaty, but Laban, perhaps because he had lost his household gods, felt he did.

¹¹ tn Heb “between me and you.”

¹² tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between men and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.