Psalms 106:31

106:31 This brought him a reward,

an eternal gift.

Romans 4:11

4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, so that he would become the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, that they too could have righteousness credited to them.

Romans 4:22

4:22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness.

Romans 4:2

4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God.

Colossians 1:19

1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son 10 

Galatians 3:6

3:6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, 11 


tn Heb “and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to a generation and a generation forever.” The verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to reckon”) is collocated with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) only in Ps 106:31 and Gen 15:6, where God rewards Abram’s faith with a land grant.

tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”

tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.

tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”

tn Grk “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Or “was justified.”

tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).

tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.

tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.

10 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

11 sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.