Genesis 12:7

12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants ¹  I will give this land.” So Abram ²  built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 13:15

13:15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants ³  forever.

Genesis 15:13-21

15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ⁴  that your descendants will be strangers ⁵  in a foreign country. ⁶  They will be enslaved and oppressed ⁷  for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ⁸  Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, ⁹  you will go to your ancestors ¹⁰  in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹¹  15:16 In the fourth generation ¹²  your descendants ¹³  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ¹⁴ 

15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch ¹⁵  passed between the animal parts. ¹⁶  15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ¹⁷  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ¹⁸  this land, from the river of Egypt ¹⁹  to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land ²⁰  of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” ²¹ 

Genesis 26:3-4

26:3 Stay ²²  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ²³  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ²⁴  and I will fulfill ²⁵  the solemn promise I made ²⁶  to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ²⁷  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ²⁸ 

Genesis 28:4

28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ²⁹  so that you may possess the land ³⁰  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ³¹ 

Genesis 28:13-14

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. ³²  I will give you and your descendants the ground ³³  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ³⁴  and you will spread out ³⁵  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ³⁶  using your name and that of your descendants. ³⁷ 

Exodus 3:8

3:8 I have come down ³⁸  to deliver them ³⁹  from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, ⁴⁰  to a land flowing with milk and honey, ⁴¹  to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁴² 

Exodus 23:27-31

23:27 “I will send my terror ⁴³  before you, and I will destroy ⁴⁴  all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backs ⁴⁵  to you. 23:28 I will send ⁴⁶  hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you. 23:29 I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals ⁴⁷  multiply against you. 23:30 Little by little ⁴⁸  I will drive them out before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land. 23:31 I will set ⁴⁹  your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River, ⁵⁰  for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

Psalms 44:3

44:3 For they did not conquer ⁵¹  the land by their swords,

and they did not prevail by their strength, ⁵² 

but rather by your power, ⁵³  strength ⁵⁴  and good favor, ⁵⁵ 

for you were partial to ⁵⁶  them.

Psalms 106:42-45

106:42 Their enemies oppressed them;

they were subject to their authority. ⁵⁷ 

106:43 Many times he delivered ⁵⁸  them,

but they had a rebellious attitude, ⁵⁹ 

and degraded themselves ⁶⁰  by their sin.

106:44 Yet he took notice of their distress,

when he heard their cry for help.

106:45 He remembered his covenant with them,

and relented ⁶¹  because of his great loyal love.

[12:7]  ¹ tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[12:7]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:15]  ³ tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”

[15:13]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.

[15:13]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.

[15:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”

[15:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.

[15:14]  ⁸ tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.

[15:15]  ⁹ tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.

[15:15]  ¹⁰ sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.

[15:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in a good old age.”

[15:16]  ¹² sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.

[15:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[15:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “is not yet complete.”

[15:17]  ¹⁵ sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).

[15:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “these pieces.”

[15:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ¹⁸ tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).

[15:18]  ¹⁹ sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.

[15:19]  ²⁰ tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:21]  ²¹ tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.

[26:3]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[26:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ²⁸ 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 22:18). 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.)

[28:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.

[28:4]  ³⁰ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.

[28:13]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ³⁵ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[3:8]  ³⁸ sn God’s coming down is a frequent anthropomorphism in Genesis and Exodus. It expresses his direct involvement, often in the exercise of judgment.

[3:8]  ³⁹ tn The Hiphil infinitive with the suffix is לְהַצִּילוֹ (lÿhatsilo, “to deliver them”). It expresses the purpose of God’s coming down. The verb itself is used for delivering or rescuing in the general sense, and snatching out of danger for the specific.

[3:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “to a land good and large”; NRSV “to a good and broad land.” In the translation the words “that is both” are supplied because in contemporary English “good and” combined with any additional descriptive term can be understood as elative (“good and large” = “very large”; “good and spacious” = “very spacious”; “good and ready” = “very ready”). The point made in the Hebrew text is that the land to which they are going is both good (in terms of quality) and large (in terms of size).

[3:8]  ⁴¹ tn This vibrant description of the promised land is a familiar one. Gesenius classifies “milk and honey” as epexegetical genitives because they provide more precise description following a verbal adjective in the construct state (GKC 418-19 §128.x). The land is modified by “flowing,” and “flowing” is explained by the genitives “milk and honey.” These two products will be in abundance in the land, and they therefore exemplify what a desirable land it is. The language is hyperbolic, as if the land were streaming with these products.

[3:8]  ⁴² tn Each people group is joined to the preceding by the vav conjunction, “and.” Each also has the definite article, as in other similar lists (3:17; 13:5; 34:11). To repeat the conjunction and article in the translation seems to put more weight on the list in English than is necessary to its function in identifying what land God was giving the Israelites.

[23:27]  ⁴³ tn The word for “terror” is אֵימָתִי (’emati); the word has the thought of “panic” or “dread.” God would make the nations panic as they heard of the exploits and knew the Israelites were drawing near. U. Cassuto thinks the reference to “hornets” in v. 28 may be a reference to this fear, an unreasoning dread, rather than to another insect invasion (Exodus, 308). Others suggest it is symbolic of an invading army or a country like Egypt or literal insects (see E. Neufeld, “Insects as Warfare Agents in the Ancient Near East,” Or 49 [1980]: 30-57).

[23:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “kill.”

[23:27]  ⁴⁵ tn The text has “and I will give all your enemies to you [as] a back.” The verb of making takes two accusatives, the second being the adverbial accusative of product (see GKC 371-72 §117.ii, n. 1).

[23:28]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and I will send.”

[23:29]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the beast of the field.”

[23:30]  ⁴⁸ tn The repetition expresses an exceptional or super-fine quality (see GKC 396 §123.e).

[23:31]  ⁴⁹ tn The form is a perfect tense with vav consecutive.

[23:31]  ⁵⁰ tn In the Hebrew Bible “the River” usually refers to the Euphrates (cf. NASB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT). There is some thought that it refers to a river Nahr el Kebir between Lebanon and Syria. See further W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:447; and G. W. Buchanan, The Consequences of the Covenant (NovTSup), 91-100.

[44:3]  ⁵¹ tn Or “take possession of.”

[44:3]  ⁵² tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.

[44:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7; 20:6; 21:8).

[44:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “your arm.”

[44:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[44:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “favorable toward.”

[106:42]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “they were subdued under their hand.”

[106:43]  ⁵⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“he would deliver”).

[106:43]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “but they rebelled in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“they would have a rebellious attitude”).

[106:43]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “they sank down.” The Hebrew verb מָכַךְ (makhakh, “to lower; to sink”) occurs only here in the Qal.

[106:45]  ⁶¹ tn The Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) refers here to God relenting from a punishment already underway.