Genesis 12:10

The Promised Blessing Jeopardized

12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt ¹  to stay for a while ²  because the famine was severe. ³ 

Isaiah 19:23-25

19:23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. ⁴  19:24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing ⁵  in the earth. ⁶  19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, ⁷  “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, ⁸  Israel!”

Jeremiah 9:26

9:26 That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples. ⁹  I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord’s sight. ¹⁰  Moreover, none of the people of Israel ¹¹  are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.” ¹² 

Hosea 11:1

Reversal of the Exodus: Return to Egypt and Exile in Assyria

11:1 When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, ¹³ 

and I summoned my son ¹⁴  out of Egypt.

Matthew 2:15

2:15 He stayed there until Herod ¹⁵  died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” ¹⁶ 

Revelation 11:8

11:8 Their ¹⁷  corpses will lie in the street ¹⁸  of the great city that is symbolically ¹⁹  called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified.

[12:10]  ¹ sn Abram went down to Egypt. The Abrahamic narrative foreshadows some of the events in the life of the nation of Israel. This sojourn in Egypt is typological of Israel’s bondage there. In both stories there is a famine that forces the family to Egypt, death is a danger to the males while the females are preserved alive, great plagues bring about their departure, there is a summons to stand before Pharaoh, and there is a return to the land of Canaan with great wealth.

[12:10]  ² tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” means “to stay for a while.” The “stranger” (traditionally “sojourner”) is one who is a temporary resident, a visitor, one who is passing through. Abram had no intention of settling down in Egypt or owning property. He was only there to wait out the famine.

[12:10]  ³ tn Heb “heavy in the land.” The words “in the land,” which also occur at the beginning of the verse in the Hebrew text, have not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:23]  ⁴ tn The text could be translated, “and Egypt will serve Assyria” (cf. NAB), but subjugation of one nation to the other does not seem to be a theme in vv. 23-25. Rather the nations are viewed as equals before the Lord (v. 25). Therefore it is better to take אֶת (’et) in v. 23b as a preposition, “together with,” rather than the accusative sign. The names of the two countries are understood to refer by metonymy to their respective inhabitants.

[19:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).

[19:24]  ⁶ tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).

[19:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “which the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will bless [it], saying.” The third masculine singular suffix on the form בֵּרֲכוֹ (berakho) should probably be emended to a third feminine singular suffix בֵּרֲכָהּ (berakhah), for its antecedent would appear to be the feminine noun אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) at the end of v. 24.

[19:25]  ⁸ tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[9:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “all those who are cut off on the side of the head who live in the desert.” KJV and some other English versions (e.g., NIV “who live in the desert in distant places”; NLT “who live in distant places”) have followed the interpretation that this is a biform of an expression meaning “end or remote parts of the [far] corners [of the earth].” This interpretation is generally abandoned by the more recent commentaries and lexicons (see, e.g. BDB 802 s.v. פֵּאָה 1 and HALOT 858 s.v. פֵּאָה 1.β). It occurs also in 25:33; 49:32.

[9:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “For all of these nations are uncircumcised.” The words “I will do so” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection with the preceding statement.

[9:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

[9:26]  ¹² tn Heb “And all the house of Israel is uncircumcised of heart.”

[11:1]  ¹³ tn The words “like a son” are not in the Hebrew text, but are necessary to clarify what sort of love is intended (cf. also NLT).

[11:1]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads בְנִי (vÿni, “My son”); however, the LXX reflects בָנָיו (vanav, “his sons”). The MT should be retained as original here because of internal evidence; it is much more appropriate to the context.

[2:15]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:15]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.

[11:8]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:8]  ¹⁸ tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).

[11:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “spiritually.”