51:2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth. 3
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, 4
but I blessed him 5 and gave him numerous descendants. 6
1:73 the oath 7 that he swore to our ancestor 8 Abraham.
This oath grants 9
8:39 They answered him, 19 “Abraham is our father!” 20 Jesus replied, 21 “If you are 22 Abraham’s children, you would be doing 23 the deeds of Abraham.
4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, 27 has discovered regarding this matter? 28
1 tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “through.”
3 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.
4 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”
5 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.
6 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”
7 tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.
8 tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”
9 tn Again for reasons of English style, the infinitival clause “to grant us” has been translated “This oath grants” and made the beginning of a new sentence in the translation.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.
11 tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”
12 sn The rich man had not helped Lazarus before, when he lay outside his gate (v. 2), but he knew him well enough to know his name. This is why the use of the name Lazarus in the parable is significant. (The rich man’s name, on the other hand, is not mentioned, because it is not significant for the point of the story.)
13 sn The dipping of the tip of his finger in water is evocative of thirst. The thirsty are in need of God’s presence (Ps 42:1-2; Isa 5:13). The imagery suggests the rich man is now separated from the presence of God.
14 tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).
15 sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.
16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
17 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the rich man, v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 sn If someone from the dead goes to them. The irony and joy of the story is that what is denied the rich man’s brothers, a word of warning from beyond the grave, is given to the reader of the Gospel in this exchange.
19 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”
20 tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”
21 tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”
22 tc Although most
23 tc Some important
24 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).
25 tn Grk “said.”
26 tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”
27 tn Or “according to natural descent” (BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4).
28 tn Grk “has found?”
29 tn Grk “the father of circumcision.”
30 tn Grk “the ‘in-uncircumcision faith’ of our father Abraham.”
31 tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”
32 tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”