Discovery BoxGenesis 14:1--18:33
Context14:1 At that time 1 Amraphel king of Shinar, 2 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 3 14:2 went to war 4 against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 5 14:3 These last five kings 6 joined forces 7 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 8 14:4 For twelve years 9 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 10 they rebelled. 11 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 12 the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. 13 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 14 and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met 15 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 16 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 17 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 18 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 19 but some survivors 20 fled to the hills. 21 14:11 The four victorious kings 22 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 23 Lot and his possessions when 24 they left, for Lot 25 was living in Sodom. 26
14:13 A fugitive 27 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 28 Now Abram was living by the oaks 29 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 30 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 31 with Abram.) 32 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 33 had been taken captive, he mobilized 34 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 35 as far as Dan. 36 14:15 Then, during the night, 37 Abram 38 divided his forces 39 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 40 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 41 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 42 the people.
14:17 After Abram 43 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 44 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 45 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 46 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 47 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 48 the Most High God,
Creator 49 of heaven and earth. 50
14:20 Worthy of praise is 51 the Most High God,
who delivered 52 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 53 a tenth of everything.
14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand 54 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 55 14:23 that I will take nothing 56 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 57 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 58 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 59 As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 60 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 61
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 62 what will you give me since 63 I continue to be 64 childless, and my heir 65 is 66 Eliezer of Damascus?” 67 15:3 Abram added, 68 “Since 69 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 70
15:4 But look, 71 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 72 will not be your heir, 73 but instead 74 a son 75 who comes from your own body will be 76 your heir.” 77 15:5 The Lord 78 took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
15:6 Abram believed 79 the Lord, and the Lord 80 considered his response of faith 81 as proof of genuine loyalty. 82
15:7 The Lord said 83 to him, “I am the Lord 84 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 85 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But 86 Abram 87 said, “O sovereign Lord, 88 by what 89 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 90 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 91 took all these for him and then cut them in two 92 and placed each half opposite the other, 93 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, 94 and great terror overwhelmed him. 95 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 96 that your descendants will be strangers 97 in a foreign country. 98 They will be enslaved and oppressed 99 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 100 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 101 you will go to your ancestors 102 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 103 15:16 In the fourth generation 104 your descendants 105 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 106
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 107 passed between the animal parts. 108 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 109 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 110 this land, from the river of Egypt 111 to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land 112 of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” 113
16:1 Now Sarai, 114 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 115 but she had an Egyptian servant 116 named Hagar. 117 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 118 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 119 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 120 Abram did what 121 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 122 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 123 to her husband to be his wife. 124 16:4 He had sexual relations with 125 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 126 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 127 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 128 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 129 but when she realized 130 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 131 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 132
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 133 servant is under your authority, 134 do to her whatever you think best.” 135 Then Sarai treated Hagar 136 harshly, 137 so she ran away from Sarai. 138
16:7 The Lord’s angel 139 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 140 16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from 141 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 142 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 143 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 144 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 145 pregnant
and are about to give birth 146 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 147
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 148
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 149 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 150
and everyone will be hostile to him. 151
He will live away from 152 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 153 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 154 16:14 That is why the well was called 155 Beer Lahai Roi. 156 (It is located 157 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 158 16:16 (Now 159 Abram was 86 years old 160 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 161
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 162 the Lord appeared to him and said, 163 “I am the sovereign God. 164 Walk 165 before me 166 and be blameless. 167 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 168 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 169
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 170 and God said to him, 171 17:4 “As for me, 172 this 173 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 174 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 175 because I will make you 176 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 177 extremely 178 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 179 17:7 I will confirm 180 my covenant as a perpetual 181 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 182 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 183 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 184 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 185 the covenantal requirement 186 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 187 Every male among you must be circumcised. 188 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 189 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 190 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 191 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 192 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 193 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 194 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 195 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 196
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 197 Sarah 198 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 199 Kings of countries 200 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 201 as he said to himself, 202 “Can 203 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 204 Can Sarah 205 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 206 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 207 Ishmael might live before you!” 208
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 209 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 210 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 211 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 212 He will become the father of twelve princes; 213 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 214
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 215 and circumcised them 216 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 217 when he was circumcised; 218 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 219 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 220 by the oaks 221 of Mamre while 222 he was sitting at the entrance 223 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 224 looked up 225 and saw 226 three men standing across 227 from him. When he saw them 228 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 229 to the ground. 230
18:3 He said, “My lord, 231 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 232 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 233 you may all 234 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 235 a bit of food 236 so that you may refresh yourselves 237 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 238 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 239 three measures 240 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 241 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 242 who quickly prepared it. 243 18:8 Abraham 244 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 245 before them. They ate while 246 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 247 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 248 said, “I will surely return 249 to you when the season comes round again, 250 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 251 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 252 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 253 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 254 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 255 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 256 especially when my husband is old too?” 257
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 258 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 259 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 260 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 261 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 262
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 263 they looked out over 264 Sodom. (Now 265 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 266 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 267 18:18 After all, Abraham 268 will surely become 269 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 270 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 271 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 272 the way of the Lord by doing 273 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 274 to Abraham what he promised 275 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 276 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 277 18:21 that I must go down 278 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 279 If not, 280 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 281 and headed 282 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 283 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 284 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 285 of the whole earth do what is right?” 286
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 287 (although I am but dust and ashes), 288 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 289 the whole city because five are lacking?” 290 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 291 spoke to him again, 292 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 293 said, “May the Lord not be angry 294 so that I may speak! 295 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 296 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 297 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 298 when he had finished speaking 299 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 300
Genesis 21:1--22:24
Context21:1 The Lord visited 301 Sarah just as he had said he would and did 302 for Sarah what he had promised. 303 21:2 So Sarah became pregnant 304 and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. 305 21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, 306 Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. 307 21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) 308
21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. 309 Everyone who hears about this 310 will laugh 311 with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, 312 “Who would 313 have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared 314 a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 315 21:9 But Sarah noticed 316 the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. 317 21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish 318 that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. 319 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset 320 about the boy or your slave wife. Do 321 all that Sarah is telling 322 you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. 323 21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”
21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 324 some food 325 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 326 and sent her away. So she went wandering 327 aimlessly through the wilderness 328 of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved 329 the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot 330 away; for she thought, 331 “I refuse to watch the child die.” 332 So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. 333
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. 334 The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, 335 Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard 336 the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. 337 She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.
21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. 338 His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 339
21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you 340 in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name 341 that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. 342 Show me, and the land 343 where you are staying, 344 the same loyalty 345 that I have shown you.” 346
21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” 347 21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint 348 against Abimelech concerning a well 349 that Abimelech’s servants had seized. 350 21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, 351 you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”
21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. 352 21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these 353 seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof 354 that I dug this well.” 355 21:31 That is why he named that place 356 Beer Sheba, 357 because the two of them swore 358 an oath there.
21:32 So they made a treaty 359 at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned 360 to the land of the Philistines. 361 21:33 Abraham 362 planted a tamarisk tree 363 in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, 364 the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. 365
22:1 Some time after these things God tested 366 Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham 367 replied. 22:2 God 368 said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac 369 – and go to the land of Moriah! 370 Offer him up there as a burnt offering 371 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to 372 you.”
22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 373 He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out 374 for the place God had spoken to him about.
22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of 375 the place in the distance. 22:5 So he 376 said to his servants, “You two stay 377 here with the donkey while 378 the boy and I go up there. We will worship 379 and then return to you.” 380
22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 381 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 382 “My father?” “What is it, 383 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 384 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide 385 for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 386 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 387 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter 388 his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel 389 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 390 the angel said. 391 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 392 that you fear 393 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
22:13 Abraham looked up 394 and saw 395 behind him 396 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 397 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” 398 It is said to this day, 399 “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” 400
22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ 401 decrees the Lord, 402 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, 403 and I will greatly multiply 404 your descendants 405 so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession 406 of the strongholds 407 of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, 408 all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 409 using the name of your descendants.’”
22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together 410 for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. 411
22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah 412 also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 413 22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now 414 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Genesis 44:8
Context44:8 Look, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?
Genesis 46:9
Context46:9 The sons of Reuben:
Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
Deuteronomy 4:35
Context4:35 You have been taught that the Lord alone is God – there is no other besides him.
Deuteronomy 4:39
Context4:39 Today realize and carefully consider that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below – there is no other!
Deuteronomy 32:39
Context32:39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, 415
“and there is no other god besides me.
I kill and give life,
I smash and I heal,
and none can resist 416 my power.
Deuteronomy 32:1
Context32:1 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Deuteronomy 8:1
Context8:1 You must keep carefully all these commandments 417 I am giving 418 you today so that you may live, increase in number, 419 and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. 420
Joel 2:27
Context2:27 You will be convinced that I am in the midst of Israel.
I am the Lord your God; there is no other.
My people will never again be put to shame.
John 1:1
Context1:1 In the beginning 421 was the Word, and the Word was with God, 422 and the Word was fully God. 423
Hebrews 1:8-9
Context1:8 but of 424 the Son he says, 425
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, 426
and a righteous scepter 427 is the scepter of your kingdom.
1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.
So God, your God, has anointed you over your companions 428 with the oil of rejoicing.” 429
[14:1] 1 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”
[14:1] 2 sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
[14:1] 3 tn Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. NEB “Goyim”; NIV, NRSV “Goiim”).
[14:2] 5 sn On the geographical background of vv. 1-2 see J. P. Harland, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 1:41-75; and D. N. Freedman, “The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the Cities of the Plain,” BA 41 (1978): 143-64.
[14:3] 7 tn Heb “all these,” referring only to the last five kings named. The referent has been specified as “these last five kings” in the translation for clarity.
[14:3] 8 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to join together; to unite; to be allied.” It stresses close associations, especially of friendships, marriages, or treaties.
[14:3] 9 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
[14:4] 10 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
[14:4] 11 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.
[14:4] 12 sn The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east – to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats – that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.
[14:5] 13 tn The Hebrew verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to attack, to strike, to smite.” In this context it appears that the strike was successful, and so a translation of “defeated” is preferable.
[14:6] 16 sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.
[14:7] 19 tn Heb “they returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh).” The two verbs together form a verbal hendiadys, the first serving as the adverb: “they returned and came” means “they came again.” Most English translations do not treat this as a hendiadys, but translate “they turned back” or something similar. Since in the context, however, “came again to” does not simply refer to travel but an assault against the place, the present translation expresses this as “attacked…again.”
[14:9] 25 tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.
[14:9] 26 tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:10] 28 tn Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.”
[14:10] 29 tn Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם).
[14:10] 31 sn The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.
[14:11] 31 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 34 tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
[14:12] 36 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:12] 37 tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
[14:13] 37 tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
[14:13] 38 sn E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14-16).
[14:13] 39 tn Or “terebinths.”
[14:13] 40 tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
[14:13] 41 tn Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.
[14:13] 42 tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.
[14:14] 40 tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).
[14:14] 41 tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.
[14:14] 42 tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:14] 43 sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.
[14:15] 43 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
[14:15] 44 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 45 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
[14:15] 46 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
[14:16] 46 tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:16] 47 tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:17] 49 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 50 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 51 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
[14:18] 52 sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the
[14:18] 53 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
[14:19] 55 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
[14:19] 56 tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”
[14:19] 57 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
[14:20] 58 tn Heb “blessed be.” For God to be “blessed” means that is praised. His reputation is enriched in the world as his name is praised.
[14:20] 59 sn Who delivered. The Hebrew verb מִגֵּן (miggen, “delivered”) foreshadows the statement by God to Abram in Gen 15:1, “I am your shield” (מָגֵן, magen). Melchizedek provided a theological interpretation of Abram’s military victory.
[14:20] 60 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:22] 61 tn Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”
[14:22] 62 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:23] 64 tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the
[14:23] 65 tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
[14:24] 67 tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:24] 68 tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
[15:1] 70 sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.
[15:1] 71 tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).
[15:2] 73 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
[15:2] 74 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
[15:2] 75 tn Heb “I am going.”
[15:2] 76 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
[15:2] 77 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
[15:2] 78 sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.
[15:3] 76 tn Heb “And Abram said.”
[15:3] 77 tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).
[15:3] 78 tn Heb “is inheriting me.”
[15:4] 79 tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.
[15:4] 80 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
[15:4] 81 tn Heb “inherit you.”
[15:4] 82 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
[15:4] 83 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:4] 84 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
[15:4] 85 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
[15:5] 82 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 85 tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50-98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.
[15:6] 86 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[15:6] 87 tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440-41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him – [namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259-89.
[15:6] 88 tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12-13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962).
[15:7] 88 tn Heb “And he said.”
[15:7] 89 sn I am the
[15:7] 90 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
[15:8] 91 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
[15:8] 92 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:8] 93 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
[15:9] 94 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
[15:10] 97 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:10] 98 tn Heb “in the middle.”
[15:10] 99 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
[15:12] 100 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
[15:12] 101 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
[15:13] 103 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
[15:13] 104 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
[15:13] 105 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
[15:13] 106 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
[15:14] 106 tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
[15:15] 109 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
[15:15] 110 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
[15:15] 111 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
[15:16] 112 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
[15:16] 113 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[15:16] 114 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
[15:17] 115 sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).
[15:17] 116 tn Heb “these pieces.”
[15:18] 118 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[15:18] 119 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
[15:18] 120 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
[15:19] 121 tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:21] 124 tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.
[16:1] 127 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
[16:1] 128 sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.
[16:1] 129 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
[16:1] 130 sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)
[16:2] 130 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
[16:2] 131 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
[16:2] 132 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
[16:2] 133 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
[16:3] 133 tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.
[16:3] 134 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
[16:3] 135 sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.
[16:4] 136 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.
[16:4] 137 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)
[16:4] 138 tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.
[16:5] 139 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
[16:5] 140 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
[16:5] 142 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.
[16:5] 143 tn Heb “me and you.”
[16:6] 142 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
[16:6] 143 tn Heb “in your hand.”
[16:6] 144 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
[16:6] 145 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:6] 146 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
[16:6] 147 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:7] 145 tn Heb “the messenger of the
[16:7] 146 tn Heb “And the angel of the
[16:8] 148 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
[16:9] 151 tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.
[16:10] 154 tn Heb “The
[16:10] 155 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
[16:11] 157 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
[16:11] 158 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
[16:11] 159 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”
[16:11] 160 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
[16:12] 160 sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.
[16:12] 161 tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.
[16:12] 162 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
[16:12] 163 tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).
[16:13] 163 tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).
[16:13] 164 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
[16:14] 166 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
[16:14] 167 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.
[16:14] 168 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:15] 169 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
[16:16] 172 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.
[16:16] 173 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”
[16:16] 174 tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.
[17:1] 175 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:1] 176 tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
[17:1] 177 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew
[17:1] 178 tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”
[17:1] 179 tn Or “in my presence.”
[17:1] 180 tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the
[17:2] 178 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
[17:2] 179 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:3] 181 tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.
[17:3] 182 tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:4] 185 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
[17:5] 187 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
[17:5] 188 sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.
[17:5] 189 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
[17:6] 190 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
[17:6] 191 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:6] 192 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
[17:7] 193 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).
[17:7] 194 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:7] 195 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
[17:8] 196 tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.
[17:8] 197 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:9] 199 tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.
[17:9] 200 tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.
[17:10] 202 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
[17:10] 203 sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.
[17:12] 208 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
[17:13] 211 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
[17:13] 212 tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:13] 213 tn Or “an eternal.”
[17:14] 214 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
[17:14] 215 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:14] 216 tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:15] 217 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
[17:15] 218 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
[17:16] 220 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
[17:17] 223 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
[17:17] 224 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
[17:17] 225 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
[17:17] 226 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
[17:17] 227 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
[17:17] 228 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
[17:18] 226 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
[17:18] 227 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
[17:19] 229 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
[17:19] 230 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:20] 232 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
[17:20] 233 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:20] 234 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
[17:22] 235 tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:23] 238 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
[17:23] 239 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
[17:24] 241 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:24] 242 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
[17:25] 244 tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”
[18:1] 247 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:1] 248 tn Or “terebinths.”
[18:1] 249 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
[18:1] 250 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
[18:2] 250 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:2] 251 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
[18:2] 252 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
[18:2] 253 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
[18:2] 254 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:2] 255 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
[18:2] 256 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
[18:3] 253 tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the
[18:3] 254 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
[18:4] 256 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
[18:4] 257 tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.
[18:5] 259 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
[18:5] 260 tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.
[18:5] 261 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
[18:5] 262 tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”
[18:6] 262 tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.
[18:6] 263 sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.
[18:6] 264 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
[18:7] 265 tn Heb “the young man.”
[18:7] 266 tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”
[18:8] 268 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:8] 269 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:8] 270 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
[18:9] 271 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
[18:10] 274 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
[18:10] 275 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
[18:10] 276 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
[18:10] 277 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
[18:10] 278 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
[18:11] 278 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
[18:12] 281 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.
[18:12] 282 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[18:13] 283 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
[18:13] 284 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
[18:14] 286 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
[18:14] 287 sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the
[18:15] 289 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
[18:16] 292 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
[18:16] 293 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
[18:16] 294 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
[18:16] 295 tn The Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to lead out, to send out, to expel”; here it is used in the friendly sense of seeing the visitors on their way.
[18:17] 295 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
[18:18] 298 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”
[18:18] 299 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
[18:18] 300 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings upon”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham 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.
[18:19] 301 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
[18:19] 302 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
[18:19] 303 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
[18:19] 304 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
[18:19] 305 tn Heb “spoke to.”
[18:20] 304 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
[18:21] 307 tn The cohortative indicates the
[18:21] 308 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
[18:21] 309 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
[18:22] 310 tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the
[18:22] 312 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
[18:24] 313 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
[18:25] 317 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
[18:27] 319 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[18:27] 320 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
[18:28] 322 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
[18:28] 323 tn Heb “because of five.”
[18:29] 325 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 326 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
[18:30] 328 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:30] 329 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
[18:30] 330 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
[18:31] 331 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:32] 334 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:33] 337 tn Heb “And the
[18:33] 338 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
[18:33] 339 tn Heb “to his place.”
[21:1] 340 sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the
[21:1] 341 tn Heb “and the
[21:2] 343 tn Or “she conceived.”
[21:3] 346 tn 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.
[21:4] 349 tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.
[21:4] 350 sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the
[21:5] 352 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).
[21:6] 355 tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”
[21:6] 356 tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[21:6] 357 sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).
[21:7] 359 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
[21:8] 362 sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.
[21:9] 365 tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.
[21:10] 367 tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.
[21:11] 370 tn Heb “and the word was very wrong in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.” The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) often refers to what is morally or ethically “evil.” It usage here suggests that Abraham thought Sarah’s demand was ethically (and perhaps legally) wrong.
[21:12] 373 tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”
[21:12] 374 tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.
[21:12] 375 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.
[21:12] 376 tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.
[21:14] 376 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
[21:14] 377 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
[21:14] 378 tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”
[21:14] 379 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
[21:14] 380 tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.
[21:15] 379 tn Heb “threw,” but the child, who was now thirteen years old, would not have been carried, let alone thrown under a bush. The exaggerated language suggests Ishmael is limp from dehydration and is being abandoned to die. See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 2:85.
[21:16] 382 sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).
[21:16] 384 tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.
[21:16] 385 tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.
[21:17] 385 sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the
[21:17] 386 tn Heb “What to you?”
[21:17] 387 sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.
[21:19] 388 tn Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:21] 391 sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.
[21:21] 392 tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”
[21:22] 394 sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.
[21:23] 397 tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”
[21:23] 398 tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”
[21:23] 399 tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.
[21:23] 400 tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.
[21:23] 402 tn Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”
[21:24] 400 tn Heb “I swear.” No object is specified in the Hebrew text, but the content of the oath requested by Abimelech is the implied object.
[21:25] 403 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to argue; to dispute”; it can focus on the beginning of the dispute (as here), the dispute itself, or the resolution of a dispute (Isa 1:18). Apparently the complaint was lodged before the actual oath was taken.
[21:25] 404 tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”
[21:25] 405 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.
[21:26] 406 tn Heb “and also.”
[21:27] 409 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[21:29] 412 tn Heb “What are these?”
[21:30] 415 tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”
[21:30] 416 sn This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for the well he dug. It would be useless to make a treaty to live in this territory if he had no rights to the water. Abraham consented to the treaty, but added his rider to it.
[21:31] 418 tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”
[21:31] 419 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.” Both the verb “to swear” and the number “seven” have been used throughout the account. Now they are drawn in as part of the explanation of the significance of the name.
[21:31] 420 sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.
[21:32] 421 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[21:32] 422 tn Heb “arose and returned.”
[21:32] 423 sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.
[21:33] 424 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:33] 425 sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.
[21:33] 426 tn Heb “he called there in the name of the
[21:34] 427 tn Heb “many days.”
[22:1] 430 sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.
[22:1] 431 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 433 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:2] 434 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
[22:2] 435 sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
[22:2] 436 sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.
[22:2] 437 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
[22:3] 436 tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”
[22:3] 437 tn Heb “he arose and he went.”
[22:4] 439 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”
[22:5] 442 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
[22:5] 443 tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.
[22:5] 444 tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.
[22:5] 445 tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”
[22:5] 446 sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.
[22:6] 445 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
[22:7] 448 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[22:7] 449 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
[22:7] 450 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:8] 451 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
[22:9] 454 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
[22:9] 455 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
[22:10] 457 tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”
[22:11] 460 sn Heb “the messenger of the
[22:12] 463 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
[22:12] 464 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:12] 465 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
[22:12] 466 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
[22:13] 466 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
[22:13] 467 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
[22:13] 468 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
[22:13] 469 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:14] 469 tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.
[22:14] 470 sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
[22:14] 471 sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.
[22:16] 472 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
[22:16] 473 tn Heb “the oracle of the
[22:17] 475 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.
[22:17] 476 tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).
[22:17] 477 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
[22:17] 479 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).
[22:18] 478 tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.
[22:18] 479 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.)
[22:19] 481 tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”
[22:19] 482 tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.
[22:20] 484 tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.
[22:21] 487 sn This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.
[22:23] 490 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).
[32:39] 493 tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the
[32:39] 494 tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).
[8:1] 496 tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).
[8:1] 497 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).
[8:1] 498 tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”
[8:1] 499 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).
[1:1] 499 sn In the beginning. The search for the basic “stuff” out of which things are made was the earliest one in Greek philosophy. It was attended by the related question of “What is the process by which the secondary things came out of the primary one (or ones)?,” or in Aristotelian terminology, “What is the ‘beginning’ (same Greek word as beginning, John 1:1) and what is the origin of the things that are made?” In the New Testament the word usually has a temporal sense, but even BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 3 lists a major category of meaning as “the first cause.” For John, the words “In the beginning” are most likely a conscious allusion to the opening words of Genesis – “In the beginning.” Other concepts which occur prominently in Gen 1 are also found in John’s prologue: “life” (1:4) “light” (1:4) and “darkness” (1:5). Gen 1 describes the first (physical) creation; John 1 describes the new (spiritual) creation. But this is not to play off a false dichotomy between “physical” and “spiritual”; the first creation was both physical and spiritual. The new creation is really a re-creation, of the spiritual (first) but also the physical. (In spite of the common understanding of John’s “spiritual” emphasis, the “physical” re-creation should not be overlooked; this occurs in John 2 with the changing of water into wine, in John 11 with the resurrection of Lazarus, and the emphasis of John 20-21 on the aftermath of Jesus’ own resurrection.)
[1:1] 500 tn The preposition πρός (pros) implies not just proximity, but intimate personal relationship. M. Dods stated, “Πρός …means more than μετά or παρά, and is regularly employed in expressing the presence of one person with another” (“The Gospel of St. John,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, 1:684). See also Mark 6:3, Matt 13:56, Mark 9:19, Gal 1:18, 2 John 12.
[1:1] 501 tn Or “and what God was the Word was.” Colwell’s Rule is often invoked to support the translation of θεός (qeos) as definite (“God”) rather than indefinite (“a god”) here. However, Colwell’s Rule merely permits, but does not demand, that a predicate nominative ahead of an equative verb be translated as definite rather than indefinite. Furthermore, Colwell’s Rule did not deal with a third possibility, that the anarthrous predicate noun may have more of a qualitative nuance when placed ahead of the verb. A definite meaning for the term is reflected in the traditional rendering “the word was God.” From a technical standpoint, though, it is preferable to see a qualitative aspect to anarthrous θεός in John 1:1c (ExSyn 266-69). Translations like the NEB, REB, and Moffatt are helpful in capturing the sense in John 1:1c, that the Word was fully deity in essence (just as much God as God the Father). However, in contemporary English “the Word was divine” (Moffatt) does not quite catch the meaning since “divine” as a descriptive term is not used in contemporary English exclusively of God. The translation “what God was the Word was” is perhaps the most nuanced rendering, conveying that everything God was in essence, the Word was too. This points to unity of essence between the Father and the Son without equating the persons. However, in surveying a number of native speakers of English, some of whom had formal theological training and some of whom did not, the editors concluded that the fine distinctions indicated by “what God was the Word was” would not be understood by many contemporary readers. Thus the translation “the Word was fully God” was chosen because it is more likely to convey the meaning to the average English reader that the Logos (which “became flesh and took up residence among us” in John 1:14 and is thereafter identified in the Fourth Gospel as Jesus) is one in essence with God the Father. The previous phrase, “the Word was with God,” shows that the Logos is distinct in person from God the Father.
[1:8] 503 tn The verb “he says” (λέγει, legei) is implied from the λέγει of v. 7.
[1:8] 504 tn Or possibly, “Your throne is God forever and ever.” This translation is quite doubtful, however, since (1) in the context the Son is being contrasted to the angels and is presented as far better than they. The imagery of God being the Son’s throne would seem to be of God being his authority. If so, in what sense could this not be said of the angels? In what sense is the Son thus contrasted with the angels? (2) The μέν…δέ (men…de) construction that connects v. 7 with v. 8 clearly lays out this contrast: “On the one hand, he says of the angels…on the other hand, he says of the Son.” Thus, although it is grammatically possible that θεός (qeos) in v. 8 should be taken as a predicate nominative, the context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against it. Hebrews 1:8 is thus a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ.
[1:8] 505 tn Grk “the righteous scepter,” but used generically.
[1:9] 505 sn God…has anointed you over your companions. God’s anointing gives the son a superior position and authority over his fellows.
