Discovery BoxActs 7:32
Context7:32 ‘I am the God of your forefathers, 1 the God of Abraham, Isaac, 2 and Jacob.’ 3 Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look more closely. 4
Acts 7:35
Context7:35 This same 5 Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ 6 God sent as both ruler and deliverer 7 through the hand of the angel 8 who appeared to him in the bush.
Genesis 16:7-13
Context16:7 The Lord’s angel 9 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 10 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 11 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 12 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 13 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 14 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 15 pregnant
and are about to give birth 16 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 17
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 18
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 19 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 20
and everyone will be hostile to him. 21
He will live away from 22 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 23 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 24
Genesis 22:15-18
Context22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ 25 decrees the Lord, 26 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, 27 and I will greatly multiply 28 your descendants 29 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 30 of the strongholds 31 of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, 32 all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 33 using the name of your descendants.’”
Genesis 32:24-30
Context32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man 34 wrestled 35 with him until daybreak. 36 32:25 When the man 37 saw that he could not defeat Jacob, 38 he struck 39 the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
32:26 Then the man 40 said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” 41 “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, 42 “unless you bless me.” 43 32:27 The man asked him, 44 “What is your name?” 45 He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, 46 “but Israel, 47 because you have fought 48 with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 49 “Why 50 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 51 Then he blessed 52 Jacob 53 there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 54 explaining, 55 “Certainly 56 I have seen God face to face 57 and have survived.” 58
Genesis 48:15-16
Context48:15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked –
the God who has been my shepherd 59
all my life long to this day,
48:16 the Angel 60 who has protected me 61
from all harm –
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them, 62
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
Exodus 3:2
Context3:2 The angel of the Lord 63 appeared 64 to him in 65 a flame of fire from within a bush. 66 He looked 67 – and 68 the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! 69
Exodus 3:6
Context3:6 He added, “I am the God of your father, 70 the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look 71 at God.
Isaiah 63:9
Context63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 72
The messenger sent from his very presence 73 delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected 74 them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 75
Hosea 12:3-5
Context12:3 In the womb he attacked his brother;
in his manly vigor he struggled 76 with God.
12:4 He struggled 77 with an angel and prevailed;
he wept and begged for his favor.
and there he spoke with him! 80
12:5 As for the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is the name by which he is remembered! 81
Malachi 3:1
Context3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, 82 who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord 83 you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger 84 of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.
[7:32] 1 tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”
[7:32] 2 tn Grk “and Isaac,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
[7:32] 3 sn A quotation from Exod 3:6. The phrase suggests the God of promise, the God of the nation.
[7:32] 4 tn Or “to investigate,” “to contemplate” (BDAG 522 s.v. κατανοέω 2).
[7:35] 5 sn This same. The reference to “this one” occurs five times in this speech. It is the way the other speeches in Acts refer to Jesus (e.g., Acts 2:23).
[7:35] 6 sn A quotation from Exod 2:14 (see Acts 7:27). God saw Moses very differently than the people of the nation did. The reference to a ruler and a judge suggests that Stephen set up a comparison between Moses and Jesus, but he never finished his speech to make the point. The reader of Acts, however, knowing the other sermons in the book, recognizes that the rejection of Jesus is the counterpoint.
[7:35] 7 tn Or “liberator.” The meaning “liberator” for λυτρωτήν (lutrwthn) is given in L&N 37.129: “a person who liberates or releases others.”
[7:35] 8 tn Or simply “through the angel.” Here the “hand” could be understood as a figure for the person or the power of the angel himself. The remark about the angel appearing fits the first century Jewish view that God appears to no one (John 1:14-18; Gal 3:19; Deut 33:2 LXX).
[16:7] 9 tn Heb “the messenger of the
[16:7] 10 tn Heb “And the angel of the
[16:8] 11 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
[16:9] 12 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] 13 tn Heb “The
[16:10] 14 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
[16:11] 15 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
[16:11] 16 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
[16:11] 17 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] 18 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
[16:12] 19 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] 20 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] 21 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
[16:12] 22 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] 23 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] 24 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
[22:16] 25 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
[22:16] 26 tn Heb “the oracle of the
[22:17] 27 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] 28 tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).
[22:17] 29 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] 31 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] 32 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] 33 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.)
[32:24] 34 sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.
[32:24] 35 sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayye’aveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, ya’aqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.
[32:24] 36 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
[32:25] 37 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:25] 38 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:25] 39 tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob – it would be comparable to a devastating blow.
[32:26] 40 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:26] 41 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
[32:26] 42 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:26] 43 sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.
[32:27] 44 tn Heb “and he said to him.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:27] 45 sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the
[32:28] 46 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:28] 47 sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the
[32:28] 48 sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el ), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).
[32:29] 49 sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33,” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.
[32:29] 50 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
[32:29] 51 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:29] 52 tn The verb here means that the
[32:29] 53 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:30] 54 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.
[32:30] 55 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:30] 57 sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
[32:30] 58 tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”
[48:15] 59 tn Heb “shepherded me.” The verb has been translated as an English noun for stylistic reasons.
[48:16] 60 sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.
[48:16] 61 tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).
[48:16] 62 tn Or “be recalled through them.”
[3:2] 63 sn The designation “the angel of the
[3:2] 64 tn The verb וַיֵּרָא (vayyera’) is the Niphal preterite of the verb “to see.” For similar examples of רָאָה (ra’ah) in Niphal where the subject “appears,” that is, allows himself to be seen, or presents himself, see Gen 12:7; 35:9; 46:29; Exod 6:3; and 23:17. B. Jacob notes that God appears in this way only to individuals and never to masses of people; it is his glory that appears to the masses (Exodus, 49).
[3:2] 65 tn Gesenius rightly classifies this as a bet (ב) essentiae (GKC 379 §119.i); it would then indicate that Yahweh appeared to Moses “as a flame.”
[3:2] 66 sn Fire frequently accompanies the revelation of Yahweh in Exodus as he delivers Israel, guides her, and purifies her. The description here is unique, calling attention to the manifestation as a flame of fire from within the bush. Philo was the first to interpret the bush as Israel, suffering under the persecution of Egypt but never consumed. The Bible leaves the interpretation open. However, in this revelation the fire is coming from within the bush, not from outside, and it represents the
[3:2] 68 tn The text again uses the deictic particle with vav, וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh), traditionally rendered “and behold.” The particle goes with the intense gaze, the outstretched arm, the raised eyebrow – excitement and intense interest: “look, over there.” It draws the reader into the immediate experience of the subject.
[3:2] 69 tn The construction uses the suffixed negative אֵינֶנּוּ (’enennu) to convey the subject of the passive verb: “It was not” consumed. This was the amazing thing, for nothing would burn faster in the desert than a thornbush on fire.
[3:6] 70 sn This self-revelation by Yahweh prepares for the revelation of the holy name. While no verb is used here, the pronoun and the predicate nominative are a construction used throughout scripture to convey the “I
[3:6] 71 tn The clause uses the Hiphil infinitive construct with a preposition after the perfect tense: יָרֵא מֵהַבִּיט (yare’ mehabbit, “he was afraid from gazing”) meaning “he was afraid to gaze.” The preposition min (מִן) is used before infinitives after verbs like the one to complete the verb (see BDB 583 s.v. 7b).
[63:9] 72 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
[63:9] 73 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”
[63:9] 74 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
[63:9] 75 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
[12:3] 76 tn The verb שָׂרָה (sarah) means “to strive, contend” (HALOT 1354 s.v. שׂרה) or “persevere, persist” (BDB 975 s.v. שָׂרָה; see Gen 32:29). Almost all English versions render the verb here in terms of the former: NAB, NASB “contended”; NRSV “strove”; TEV, CEV “fought against.”
[12:4] 77 tc The MT vocalizes the consonantal text וָיָּשַׂר (vayyasar, vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular from שׂוּר, sur, “to see”); however, parallelism with שָׂרַה (sarah, “he contended”) in 12:3 suggested that it be vocalized as ויּשׂר (vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular from שׂרה [“to strive, contend”]). The latter is followed by almost all English versions here.
[12:4] 78 tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:4] 79 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:4] 80 tc The Leningrad Codex and the Allepo Codex both read 1st person common plural עִמָּנוּ (’immanu, “with us”). The LXX and Peshitta both reflect an alternate Hebrew Vorlage of 3rd person masculine singular עִמוֹ (’imo, “with him”). The BHS editors suggest emending the MT in favor of the Greek and Syriac. The internal evidence of 12:4-5 favors the 3rd person masculine singular reading. It is likely that the 1st person common plural ־נוּ reading on עִמָּנוּ arose due to a misunderstanding of the 3rd person masculine singular ־נוּ suffix on יִמְצָאֶנּוּ (yimtsa’ennu, “he found him”; Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) which was probably misunderstood as the 1st person common plural suffix: “he found us.” Several English versions follow the LXX and Syriac: “there he spoke with him” (RSV, NAB, NEB, NIV, NJPS, TEV). Others follow the MT: “there he spoke with us” (KJV, NASB, CEV). The Hebrew University Old Testament Project, which tends to preserve the MT whenever possible, adopts the MT reading but gives it only a “C” rating. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:262-63.
[12:5] 81 tn Heb “[is] his memorial name” (so ASV); TEV “the name by which he is to be worshipped.”
[3:1] 82 tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).
[3:1] 83 tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered
[3:1] 84 sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.
