Deuteronomy 4:37

4:37 Moreover, because he loved ¹  your ancestors, he chose their ²  descendants who followed them and personally brought you out of Egypt with his great power

Deuteronomy 7:7-8

The Basis of Israel’s Election

7:7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you – for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. 7:8 Rather it is because of his ³  love ⁴  for you and his faithfulness to the promise ⁵  he solemnly vowed ⁶  to your ancestors ⁷  that the Lord brought you out with great power, ⁸  redeeming ⁹  you from the place of slavery, from the power ¹⁰  of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Numbers 14:8

14:8 If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us – a land that is flowing with milk and honey. ¹¹ 

Romans 9:13-23

9:13 just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” ¹² 

9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! 9:15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹³  9:16 So then, ¹⁴  it does not depend on human desire or exertion, ¹⁵  but on God who shows mercy. 9:17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh: ¹⁶  “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁷  9:18 So then, ¹⁸  God ¹⁹  has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. ²⁰ 

9:19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 9:20 But who indeed are you – a mere human being ²¹  – to talk back to God? ²²  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²³  9:21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay ²⁴  one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? ²⁵  9:22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects ²⁶  of wrath ²⁷  prepared for destruction? ²⁸  9:23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects ²⁹  of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory –

[4:37]  ¹ tn The concept of love here is not primarily that of emotional affection but of commitment or devotion. This verse suggests that God chose Israel to be his special people because he loved the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) and had promised to bless their descendants. See as well Deut 7:7-9.

[4:37]  ² tc The LXX, Smr, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read a third person masculine plural suffix for the MT’s 3rd person masculine singular, “his descendants.” Cf. Deut 10:15. Quite likely the MT should be emended in this instance.

[7:8]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.

[7:8]  ⁴ tn For the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

[7:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).

[7:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “swore on oath.”

[7:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).

[7:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”

[7:8]  ⁹ sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).

[7:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.

[14:8]  ¹¹ tn The subjective genitives “milk and honey” are symbols of the wealth of the land, second only to bread. Milk was a sign of such abundance (Gen 49:12; Isa 7:21,22). Because of the climate the milk would thicken quickly and become curds, eaten with bread or turned into butter. The honey mentioned here is the wild honey (see Deut 32:13; Judg 14:8-9). It signified sweetness, or the finer things of life (Ezek 3:3).

[9:13]  ¹² sn A quotation from Mal 1:2-3.

[9:15]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.

[9:16]  ¹⁴ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[9:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “So then, [it does] not [depend] on the one who desires nor on the one who runs.”

[9:17]  ¹⁶ sn Paul uses a typical rabbinic formula here in which the OT scriptures are figuratively portrayed as speaking to Pharaoh. What he means is that the scripture he cites refers (or can be applied) to Pharaoh.

[9:17]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 9:16.

[9:18]  ¹⁸ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[9:18]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:18]  ²⁰ tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”

[9:20]  ²¹ tn Grk “O man.”

[9:20]  ²² tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”

[9:20]  ²³ sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.

[9:21]  ²⁴ tn Grk “Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump.”

[9:21]  ²⁵ tn Grk “one vessel for honor and another for dishonor.”

[9:22]  ²⁶ tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

[9:22]  ²⁷ tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orghs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.

[9:22]  ²⁸ tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizw) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.

[9:23]  ²⁹ tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.