Joshua 24:16

24:16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can¹ worship² other gods!

Genesis 44:7

44:7 They answered him, “Why does my lord say such things?³ Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!⁴

Genesis 44:17

44:17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of⁵ you may go back⁶ to your father in peace.”

Genesis 44:1

The Final Test

44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.

Genesis 12:1

The Obedience of Abram

12:1 Now the Lord said⁷ to Abram,⁸

“Go out⁹ from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household

to the land that I will show you.¹⁰

Genesis 12:1

The Obedience of Abram

12:1 Now the Lord said¹¹ to Abram,¹²

“Go out¹³ from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household

to the land that I will show you.¹⁴

Genesis 21:3

21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac.¹⁵

Romans 3:6

3:6 Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world?

Romans 6:2

6:2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Romans 9:14

9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!

¹tn Heb “to.”

²tn Or “can serve.”

³tn Heb “Why does my lord speak according to these words?”

⁴tn Heb “according to this thing.”

⁵tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

⁶tn Heb “up” (reflecting directions from their point of view – “up” to Canaan; “down” to Egypt).

⁷sn The Lord called Abram while he was in Ur (see Gen 15:7; Acts 7:2); but the sequence here makes it look like it was after the family left to migrate to Canaan (11:31-32). Genesis records the call of Abram at this place in the narrative because it is the formal beginning of the account of Abram. The record of Terah was brought to its end before this beginning.

⁸tn The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.

⁹tn The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”

¹⁰sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the Lord. The command is to leave. The Lord’s word is very specific about what Abram is to leave (the three prepositional phrases narrow to his father’s household), but is not specific at all about where he is to go. God required faith, a point that Heb 11:8 notes.

¹¹sn The Lord called Abram while he was in Ur (see Gen 15:7; Acts 7:2); but the sequence here makes it look like it was after the family left to migrate to Canaan (11:31-32). Genesis records the call of Abram at this place in the narrative because it is the formal beginning of the account of Abram. The record of Terah was brought to its end before this beginning.

¹²tn The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.

¹³tn The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”

¹⁴sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the Lord. The command is to leave. The Lord’s word is very specific about what Abram is to leave (the three prepositional phrases narrow to his father’s household), but is not specific at all about where he is to go. God required faith, a point that Heb 11:8 notes.

¹⁵tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.