Genesis 22:16

22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ¹  decrees the Lord, ²  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

Genesis 22:18

22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ³  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁴  using the name of your descendants.’”

Psalms 105:9

105:9 the promise ⁵  he made to Abraham,

the promise he made by oath to Isaac!

Micah 7:20

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ⁶ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ⁷ 

in ancient times. ⁸ 

Hebrews 6:17

6:17 In the same way ⁹  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ¹⁰  and so he intervened with an oath,

¹ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

² tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

³ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

⁴ 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.)

⁵ tn Heb “which.”

⁶ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

⁷ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

⁸ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

⁹ tn Grk “in which.”

¹⁰ tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”