Exodus 32:13

32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants ¹  like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about ²  I will give to your descendants, ³  and they will inherit it forever.’”

Genesis 22:16-18

22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ⁴  decrees the Lord, ⁵  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ⁶  and I will greatly multiply ⁷  your descendants ⁸  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 ⁹  of the strongholds ¹⁰  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ¹¹  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹²  using the name of your descendants.’”

Genesis 26:3

26:3 Stay ¹³  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ¹⁴  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ¹⁵  and I will fulfill ¹⁶  the solemn promise I made ¹⁷  to your father Abraham.

Genesis 28:13-15

28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. ¹⁸  I will give you and your descendants the ground ¹⁹  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ²⁰  and you will spread out ²¹  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²²  using your name and that of your descendants. ²³  28:15 I am with you! ²⁴  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

[32:13]  ¹ tn Heb “your seed.”

[32:13]  ² tn “about” has been supplied.

[32:13]  ³ tn Heb “seed.”

[22:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

[22:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

[22:17]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.)

[26:3]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.

[26:3]  ¹⁴ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  ¹⁵ 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.

[26:3]  ¹⁶ tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.

[26:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[28:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.

[28:13]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.

[28:14]  ²⁰ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ²¹ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ²² tn Theoretically the Niphal stem 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 Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other 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/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 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ²³ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[28:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).