Genesis 12:12-13

12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. ¹  12:13 So tell them ²  you are my sister ³  so that it may go well ⁴  for me because of you and my life will be spared ⁵  on account of you.”

Genesis 20:11

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ⁶  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ⁷  my wife.’

Genesis 20:1

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ⁸  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ⁹  in Gerar,

Genesis 27:1-2

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ¹⁰  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ¹¹  he called his older ¹²  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ¹³  replied. 27:2 Isaac ¹⁴  said, “Since ¹⁵  I am so old, I could die at any time. ¹⁶ 

Colossians 1:8-9

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹⁷  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹⁸  to fill ¹⁹  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Hebrews 11:32

11:32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets.

[12:12]  ¹ tn The Piel of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) means “to keep alive, to preserve alive,” and in some places “to make alive.” See D. Marcus, “The Verb ‘to Live’ in Ugaritic,” JSS 17 (1972): 76-82.

[12:13]  ² tn Heb “say.”

[12:13]  ³ sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.

[12:13]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.

[12:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and my life will live.”

[20:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “Because I said.”

[20:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[20:1]  ⁸ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[27:1]  ¹⁰ tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.

[27:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ¹² tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ¹⁵ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[1:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ¹⁸ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.