Genesis 14:15

14:15 Then, during the night, ¹  Abram ²  divided his forces ³  against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north ⁴  of Damascus.

Genesis 15:2

15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, ⁵  what will you give me since ⁶  I continue to be ⁷  childless, and my heir ⁸  is ⁹  Eliezer of Damascus?” ¹⁰ 

Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ¹¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ¹² 

Genesis 11:24

11:24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.

Isaiah 17:1-3

The Lord Will Judge Damascus

17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:

“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,

it is a heap of ruins!

17:2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned. ¹³ 

They will be used for herds,

which will lie down there in peace. ¹⁴ 

17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,

and Damascus will lose its kingdom. ¹⁵ 

The survivors in Syria

will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,”

says the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 37:13

37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, ¹⁶  Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

Amos 1:3-5

1:3 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Damascus has committed three crimes ¹⁷  –

make that four! ¹⁸  – I will not revoke my

decree of judgment. ¹⁹ 

They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth. ²⁰ 

1:4 So I will set Hazael’s house ²¹  on fire;

fire ²²  will consume Ben Hadad’s ²³  fortresses.

1:5 I will break the bar ²⁴  on the gate of Damascus.

I will remove ²⁵  the ruler ²⁶  from Wicked Valley, ²⁷ 

the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. ²⁸ 

The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” ²⁹ 

The Lord has spoken!

Zechariah 9:1-2

The Coming of the True King

9:1 An oracle of the word of the Lord concerning the land of Hadrach, ³⁰  with its focus on Damascus: ³¹ 

The eyes of all humanity, ³²  especially of the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord, 9:2 as are those of Hamath also, which adjoins Damascus, and Tyre ³³  and Sidon, ³⁴  though they consider themselves to be very wise.

Zechariah 9:2

9:2 as are those of Hamath also, which adjoins Damascus, and Tyre ³⁵  and Sidon, ³⁶  though they consider themselves to be very wise.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

[14:15]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.

[14:15]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:15]  ³ tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”

[14:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.

[15:2]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master, Lord”). Since the tetragrammaton (YHWH) usually is pointed with the vowels for the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “master”) to avoid pronouncing the divine name, that would lead in this place to a repetition of אֲדֹנָי. So the tetragrammaton is here pointed with the vowels for the word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God”) instead. That would produce the reading of the Hebrew as “Master, God” in the Jewish textual tradition. But the presence of “Master” before the holy name is rather compelling evidence that the original would have been “Master, Lord,” which is rendered here “sovereign Lord.”

[15:2]  ⁶ tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.

[15:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “I am going.”

[15:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”

[15:2]  ⁹ tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).

[15:2]  ¹⁰ 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.

[15:1]  ¹¹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ¹² tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[17:2]  ¹³ tn Three cities are known by this name in the OT: (1) an Aroer located near the Arnon, (2) an Aroer in Ammon, and (3) an Aroer of Judah. (See BDB 792-93 s.v. עֲרֹעֵר, and HALOT 883 s.v. II עֲרוֹעֵר.) There is no mention of an Aroer in Syrian territory. For this reason some want to emend the text here to עֲזֻבוֹת עָרַיהָ עֲדֵי עַד (’azuvot ’arayha ’adey ’ad, “her cities are permanently abandoned”). However, Aroer near the Arnon was taken by Israel and later conquered by the Syrians. (See Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judg 11:26; 2 Kgs 10:33). This oracle pertains to Israel as well as Syria (note v. 3), so it is possible that this is a reference to Israelite and/or Syrian losses in Transjordan.

[17:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”

[17:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”

[37:13]  ¹⁶ sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.

[1:3]  ¹⁷ tn Traditionally, “transgressions” or “sins.” The word refers to rebellion against authority and is used in the international political realm (see 1 Kgs 12:19; 2 Kgs 1:1; 3:5, 7; 8:22). There is debate over its significance in this context. Some relate the “rebellion” of the foreign nations to God’s mandate to Noah (Gen 9:5-7). This mandate is viewed as a treaty between God and humankind, whereby God holds humans accountable to populate the earth and respect his image as it is revealed in all people. While this option is a possible theological explanation of the message in light of the Old Testament as a whole, nothing in these oracles alludes to that Genesis passage. J. Barton suggests that the prophet is appealing to a common morality shared across the ancient Near East regarding the conduct of war since all of the oracles can be related to activities and atrocities committed in warfare (Amos’s Oracles against the Nations [SOTSMS], 39-61). The “transgression” then would be a violation of what all cultures would take as fundamental human decency. Some argue that the nations cited in Amos 1-2 had been members of the Davidic empire. Their crime would consist of violating the mutual agreements that all should have exhibited toward one another (cf. M. E. Polley, Amos and the Davidic Empire). This interpretation is connected to the notion that Amos envisions a reconstituted Davidic empire for Israel and the world (9:11-15). Ultimately, we can only speculate what lay behind Amos’ thinking. He does not specify the theological foundation of his universal moral vision, but it is clear that Amos believes that all nations are responsible before the Lord for their cruelty toward other human beings. He also assumes that even those who did not know his God would recognize their inhumane treatment of others as inherently wrong. The translation “crimes” is general enough to communicate that a standard (whether human or divine) has been breached. For a survey of the possible historical events behind each oracle, see S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia).

[1:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Because of three violations of Damascus, even because of four.”

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The pronominal object (1) refers to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 46-47. Another option (2) is to understand the suffix as referring to the particular nation mentioned in the oracle and to translate, “I will not take him [i.e., that particular nation] back.” In this case the Lord makes it clear that he does not intend to resume treaty relations with the nation in view. See M. L. Barré, “The Meaning of lá ásŒybnw in Amos 1:3-2:6,” JBL 105 (1986): 622.

[1:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they threshed [or “trampled down”] Gilead with sharp iron implements” (NASB similar).

[1:4]  ²¹ tn “Hazael’s house” (“the house of Hazael”) refers to the dynasty of Hazael.

[1:4]  ²² tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:4]  ²³ sn Ben-hadad may refer to Hazael’s son and successor (2 Kgs 13:3, 24) or to an earlier king (see 1 Kgs 20), perhaps the ruler whom Hazael assassinated when he assumed power.

[1:5]  ²⁴ sn The bar on the city gate symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “cut off.”

[1:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some English versions take the Hebrew term in a collective sense as “inhabitants” (e.g., KJV, NKJV, NASB, NRSV). The context and the parallel in the next clause (“the one who holds the royal scepter”), however, suggest that the royal house is in view. For this term (יוֹשֵׁב, yoshev), see N. K. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh, 512-30.

[1:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “valley of wickedness.” Though many English versions take the Hebrew phrase בִקְעַת־אָוֶן (biq’-at ’aven) as a literal geographical place name (“Valley of Aven,” so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), it appears to be a derogatory epithet for Damascus and the kingdom of Aram.

[1:5]  ²⁸ tn Many associate the name “Beth Eden” with Bit Adini, an Aramean state located near the Euphrates River, but it may be a sarcastic epithet meaning “house of pleasure.”

[1:5]  ²⁹ sn According to Amos 9:7, the Arameans originally came from Kir. The Lord threatens to reverse their history and send them back there.

[9:1]  ³⁰ sn The land of Hadrach was a northern region stretching from Aleppo in the north to Damascus in the south (cf. NLT “Aram”).

[9:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “Damascus its resting place.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix on “resting place” (מְנֻחָתוֹ, mÿnukhato), however, precludes “land” or even “Hadrach,” both of which are feminine, from being the antecedent. Most likely “word” (masculine) is the antecedent, i.e., the “word of the Lord” is finding its resting place, that is, its focus in or on Damascus.

[9:1]  ³² tc Though without manuscript and version support, many scholars suggest emendation here to clarify what, to them, is an unintelligible reading. Thus some propose עָדֵי אָרָם (’ade ’aram, “cities of Aram”; cf. NAB, NRSV) for עֵין אָדָם (’en ’adam, “eye of man”) or אֲדָמָה (’adamah, “ground”) for אָדָם (’adam, “man”), “(surface of) the earth.” It seems best, however, to see “eye” as collective and to understand the passage as saying that the attention of the whole earth will be upon the Lord (cf. NIV, NLT).

[9:2]  ³³ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[9:2]  ³⁴ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[9:2]  ³⁵ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[9:2]  ³⁶ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.