Genesis 14:19

14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by ¹  the Most High God,

Creator ²  of heaven and earth. ³ 

Leviticus 9:22-23

9:22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them and descended from making the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering. 9:23 Moses and Aaron then entered into the Meeting Tent. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.

Numbers 6:23-27

6:23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way ⁴  you are to bless ⁵  the Israelites. Say ⁶  to them:

6:24 “The Lord bless you ⁷  and protect ⁸  you;

6:25 The Lord make his face to shine upon you,

and be gracious to you; ⁹ 

6:26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you ¹⁰ 

and give you peace.”’

6:27 So they will put my name ¹¹  on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Joshua 22:6

22:6 Joshua rewarded ¹²  them and sent them on their way; they returned to their homes. ¹³ 

Joshua 22:2

22:2 and told them: “You have carried out all the instructions of Moses the Lord’s servant, and you have obeyed all I have told you. ¹⁴ 

Joshua 6:18

6:18 But be careful when you are setting apart the riches for the Lord. If you take any of it, you will make the Israelite camp subject to annihilation and cause a disaster. ¹⁵ 

Joshua 6:1

6:1 Now Jericho ¹⁶  was shut tightly ¹⁷  because of the Israelites. No one was allowed to leave or enter. ¹⁸ 

Joshua 8:14

8:14 When the king of Ai saw Israel, he and his whole army quickly got up the next day and went out to fight Israel at the meeting place near the Arabah. ¹⁹  But he did not realize ²⁰  men were hiding behind the city. ²¹ 

Joshua 8:1

Israel Conquers Ai

8:1 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! ²²  Take the whole army with you and march against Ai! ²³  See, I am handing over to you ²⁴  the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land.

Joshua 16:2

16:2 The southern border ²⁵  extended from Bethel to Luz, ²⁶  and crossed to Arkite territory at Ataroth.

Joshua 16:2

16:2 The southern border ²⁷  extended from Bethel to Luz, ²⁸  and crossed to Arkite territory at Ataroth.

Joshua 6:3

6:3 Have all the warriors march around the city one time; ²⁹  do this for six days.

Joshua 1:1

The Lord Commissions Joshua

1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant:

Nehemiah 11:2

11:2 The people gave their blessing on all the men who volunteered to settle in Jerusalem.

Psalms 19:11

19:11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; ³⁰ 

those who obey them receive a rich reward. ³¹ 

[14:19]  ¹ tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.

[14:19]  ² tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”

[14:19]  ³ tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.

[6:23]  ⁴ tn Or “thus.”

[6:23]  ⁵ tn The Piel imperfect has the nuance of instruction. The particle “thus” explains that the following oracle is the form to use.

[6:23]  ⁶ tn Here is the only use of the verb אָמַר (’amar) as an infinitive absolute; it functions as a verb form, an imperative or an imperfect of instruction. Several commentators have attempted to emend the text to get around the difficulty, but such emendations are unnecessary.

[6:24]  ⁷ tn The short blessing uses the jussive throughout, here the Piel jussive with a pronominal suffix. While the jussive has quite a range of nuances, including wish, desire, prayer, or greeting, the jussives here are stronger. The formal subject of the verb is the Lord, and the speaker pronouncing the blessing is the priest, notably after emerging from the holy of holies where atonement has been made. The Lord says in this passage that when the priest says this, then the Lord will bless them. The jussive then is an oracle, not a wish or a prayer. It is a declaration of what the Lord imparts. It is as binding and sure as a patriarchal blessing which once said officially could not be taken back. The priest here is then pronouncing the word of the Lord, declaring to the congregation the outcome of the atonement.

[6:24]  ⁸ tn The verb “to keep” concerns the divine protection of the people; its basic meaning is “to exercise great care over,” “to guard,” or “to give attention to” (see TWOT 2:939). No doubt the priestly blessing informed the prayer and promise that makes up Ps 121, for the verb occurs six times in the eight verses. So in addition to the divine provision (“bless” basically means “enrich” in a number of ways) there is the assurance of divine protection.

[6:25]  ¹⁰ tn Whereas the first line of the blessing had three Hebrew words, the second has five, and the third has seven. In this second line and the following third, the blessing takes the form of an emblem followed by the truth. For the Lord to make his face shine on them would mean to be gracious to them. M. Noth rightly calls this image of the shining face “a figure of speech for benevolence and favour” (Numbers [OTL], 59); see, for example, Pss 4:7; 31:17; 44:4; 67:2; 80:4, 8, 20; 119:135; Dan 9:17). The image may have its inspiration in the theophanies. The picture is of divine favor – the beaming face of a parent for his beloved.

[6:26]  ¹³ tn The last line of the blessing also has first the image and then the parallel interpretation – for God to lift up his face is for God to give peace. The idea of the fallen face is one of anger (see Gen 4:6,7); and the idea of the hidden face is that of withholding support, favor, or peace (see Deut 31:18; Ps 30:8; Ps 44:25). If God lifts his face toward his people, it means he has given them peace – peace, prosperity, completeness, health, safety, general well-being, and the like.

[6:27]  ¹⁶ tn The idea of their putting the name of Yahweh on the people is somewhat problematic. The pronouncing of the name of Yahweh in this context over the people was taken to be the effectual means of blessings. “Putting the name on them” is an expression that emphasizes the truth that he is their God and they are his people or that having his name is having his blessing.

[22:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “blessed.” However, see v. 8, where rewards are given.

[22:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and they went to their tents.”

[22:2]  ²² tn Heb “You have kept all which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you, and you have listened to my voice, to all which I commanded you.”

[6:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Only you keep [away] from what is set apart [to the Lord] so that you might not, as you are setting [it] apart, take some of what is set apart [to the Lord] and make the camp of Israel set apart [to destruction by the Lord] and bring trouble on it.”

[6:1]  ²⁸ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[6:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “was shutting and shut up.” HALOT 2:743 paraphrases, “blocking [any way of access] and blocked [against any who would leave].”

[6:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “there was no one going out and there was no one coming in.”

[8:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “When the king of Ai saw, the men of Ai hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people at the meeting place before the Arabah.”

[8:14]  ³² tn Or “know.”

[8:14]  ³³ tn Heb “that (there was) an ambush for him behind the city.”

[8:1]  ³⁴ tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

[8:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”

[8:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “I have given into our hand.” The verbal form, a perfect, is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action.

[16:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the southern border) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ³⁸ tn In the Hebrew text the place name “Luz” has the directive ending, indicating that the border went from Bethel to Luz. Elsewhere Luz and Bethel appear to be names for the same site (cf. Judg 1:23), but here they appear to be distinct. Note that the NIV translates “from Bethel (that is, Luz)” here, following the reading of the LXX, εἰς Βαιθηλ Λουζα (eis Baiqhl Louza, “from Bethel [Luz]”).

[16:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the southern border) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ⁴¹ tn In the Hebrew text the place name “Luz” has the directive ending, indicating that the border went from Bethel to Luz. Elsewhere Luz and Bethel appear to be names for the same site (cf. Judg 1:23), but here they appear to be distinct. Note that the NIV translates “from Bethel (that is, Luz)” here, following the reading of the LXX, εἰς Βαιθηλ Λουζα (eis Baiqhl Louza, “from Bethel [Luz]”).

[6:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and go around the city, all [you] men of war, encircling the city one time.” The Hebrew verb וְסַבֹּתֶם (vÿsabbotem, “and go around”) is plural, being addressed to the whole army.

[19:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “moreover your servant is warned by them.”

[19:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “in the keeping of them [there is] a great reward.”