21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you 1 in all that you do.
39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. 5 An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, 6 purchased him from 7 the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 17 what will you give me since 18 I continue to be 19 childless, and my heir 20 is 21 Eliezer of Damascus?” 22
46:11 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! 23
The God of Jacob 24 is our protector! 25 (Selah)
60:12 By God’s power we will conquer; 26
he will trample down 27 our enemies.
1 sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.
2 tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).
3 tn Heb “and he was.”
4 tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.
6 sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.
7 tn Heb “from the hand of.”
8 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
9 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
10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
12 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.
13 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
14 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
15 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).
16 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
17 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
18 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
19 tn Heb “I am going.”
20 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
21 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
22 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.
23 tn Heb “the
24 tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).
25 tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).
26 tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 108:13; 118:15-16).
27 sn Trample down. On this expression see Ps 44:5.
28 tn Grk “they will call his name.”
29 sn A quotation from Isa 7:14.
30 tn Grk “is translated.”
31 sn An allusion to Isa 8:8, 10 (LXX).
32 tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).
33 sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.
34 tc Most
35 tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
36 tn The meaning “sell” for the middle voice of ἀποδίδωμι (apodidwmi) is given by BDAG 110 s.v. 5.a. See Gen 37:12-36, esp. v. 28.
37 tn Though the Greek term here is καί (kai), in context this remark is clearly contrastive: Despite the malicious act, God was present and protected Joseph.
38 tn Or “appointed.” See Gen 41:41-43.