Galatians 3:9

3:9 So then those who believe ¹  are blessed along with Abraham the believer.

Genesis 15:6

15:6 Abram believed ²  the Lord, and the Lord ³  considered his response of faith ⁴  as proof of genuine loyalty. ⁵ 

Romans 4:3-6

4:3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited ⁶  to him as righteousness.” ⁷  4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. ⁸  4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, ⁹  his faith is credited as righteousness.

4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

Romans 4:9-10

4:9 Is this blessedness ¹⁰  then for ¹¹  the circumcision ¹²  or also for ¹³  the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹⁴  4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised!

Romans 4:21-22

4:21 He was ¹⁵  fully convinced that what God ¹⁶  promised he was also able to do. 4:22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham ¹⁷  as righteousness.

Romans 9:32-33

9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ¹⁸  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ¹⁹  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ²⁰  9:33 just as it is written,

“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble

and a rock that will make them fall, ²¹ 

yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ²² 

James 2:23

2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” ²³  and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ 

[3:9]  ¹ tn Grk “those who are by faith,” with the Greek expression “by faith” (ἐκ πίστεως, ek pistew") the same as the expression in v. 8.

[15:6]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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).

[4:3]  ⁶ tn The term λογίζομαι (logizomai) occurs 11 times in this chapter (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24). In secular usage it could (a) refer to deliberations of some sort, or (b) in commercial dealings (as virtually a technical term) to “reckoning” or “charging up a debt.” See H. W. Heidland, TDNT 4:284, 290-92.

[4:3]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “not according to grace but according to obligation.”

[4:5]  ⁹ tn Or “who justifies the ungodly.”

[4:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “happiness.”

[4:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9]  ¹² sn See the note on “circumcision” in 2:25.

[4:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:21]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and being.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:21]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:22]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:32]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

[9:32]  ¹⁹ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

[9:32]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

[9:33]  ²¹ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

[9:33]  ²² sn A quotation from Isa 28:16; 8:14.

[2:23]  ²³ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[2:23]  ²⁴ sn An allusion to 2 Chr 20:7; Isa 41:8; 51:2; Dan 3:35 (LXX), in which Abraham is called God’s “beloved.”