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 ¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ² 

Genesis 46:2

46:2 God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night ³  and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!”

Job 4:13

4:13 In the troubling thoughts ⁴  of the dreams ⁵  in the night

when a deep sleep ⁶  falls on men,

Job 33:15

33:15 In a dream, a night vision,

when deep sleep falls on people

as they sleep in their beds.

Psalms 89:19

89:19 Then you ⁷  spoke through a vision to your faithful followers ⁸  and said:

“I have energized a warrior; ⁹ 

I have raised up a young man ¹⁰  from the people.

Ezekiel 1:1

A Vision of God’s Glory

1:1 In the thirtieth year, ¹¹  on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles ¹²  at the Kebar River, ¹³  the heavens opened ¹⁴  and I saw a divine vision. ¹⁵ 

Daniel 8:2

8:2 In this ¹⁶  vision I saw myself in Susa ¹⁷  the citadel, ¹⁸  which is located in the province of Elam. In the vision I saw myself at the Ulai Canal. ¹⁹ 

Daniel 10:8

10:8 I alone was left to see this great vision. My strength drained from ²⁰  me, and my vigor disappeared; ²¹  I was without energy. ²² 

Daniel 10:16-17

10:16 Then ²³  one who appeared to be a human being ²⁴  was touching my lips. I opened my mouth and started to speak, saying to the one who was standing before me, “Sir, ²⁵  due to the vision, anxiety has gripped me and I have no strength. 10:17 How, sir, am I able to speak with you? ²⁶  My strength is gone, ²⁷  and I am breathless.”

Luke 1:11

1:11 An ²⁸  angel of the Lord, ²⁹  standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared ³⁰  to him.

Luke 1:22

1:22 When ³¹  he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They ³²  realized that he had seen a vision ³³  in the holy place, ³⁴  because ³⁵  he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak. ³⁶ 

Acts 10:11

10:11 He ³⁷  saw heaven ³⁸  opened ³⁹  and an object something like a large sheet ⁴⁰  descending, ⁴¹  being let down to earth ⁴²  by its four corners.

Acts 10:17

10:17 Now while Peter was puzzling over ⁴³  what the vision he had seen could signify, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon’s house was ⁴⁴  and approached ⁴⁵  the gate.

Acts 22:17-18

22:17 When ⁴⁶  I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance ⁴⁷  22:18 and saw the Lord ⁴⁸  saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

[15:1]  ¹ 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]  ² 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).

[46:2]  ³ tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.

[4:13]  ⁴ tn Here too the word is rare. The form שְׂעִפִּים (sÿ’ippim, “disquietings”) occurs only here and in 20:2. The form שַׂרְעַפִּים (sar’appim, “disquieting thoughts”), possibly related by dissimilation, occurs in Pss 94:19 and 139:23. There seems to be a connection with סְעִפִּים (sÿ’ippim) in 1 Kgs 18:21 with the meaning “divided opinion”; this is related to the idea of סְעִפָּה (sÿ’ippah, “bough”). H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 47) concludes that the point is that like branches the thoughts lead off into different and bewildering places. E. Dhorme (Job, 50) links the word to an Arabic root (“to be passionately smitten”) for the idea of “intimate thoughts.” The idea here and in Ps 139 has more to do with anxious, troubling, disquieting thoughts, as in a nightmare.

[4:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “visions” of the night.

[4:13]  ⁶ tn The word תַּרְדֵּמָה (tardemah) is a “deep sleep.” It is used in the creation account when the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam; and it is used in the story of Jonah when the prophet was asleep during the storm. The LXX interprets it to mean “fear,” rendering the whole verse “but terror falls upon men with dread and a sound in the night.”

[89:19]  ⁷ tn The pronoun “you” refers to the Lord, who is addressed here. The quotation that follows further develops the announcement of vv. 3-4.

[89:19]  ⁸ tc Many medieval mss read the singular here, “your faithful follower.” In this case the statement refers directly to Nathan’s oracle to David (see 2 Sam 7:17).

[89:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “I have placed help upon a warrior.”

[89:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps “a chosen one.”

[1:1]  ¹¹ sn The meaning of the thirtieth year is problematic. Some take it to mean the age of Ezekiel when he prophesied (e.g., Origen). The Aramaic Targum explains the thirtieth year as the thirtieth year dated from the recovery of the book of the Torah in the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kgs 22:3-9). The number seems somehow to be equated with the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s exile in 1:2, i.e., 593 b.c.

[1:1]  ¹² sn The Assyrians started the tactic of deportation, the large-scale forced displacement of conquered populations, in order to stifle rebellions. The task of uniting groups of deportees, gaining freedom from one’s overlords and returning to retake one’s own country would be considerably more complicated than living in one’s homeland and waiting for an opportune moment to drive out the enemy’s soldiers. The Babylonians adopted this practice also, after defeating the Assyrians. The Babylonians deported Judeans on three occasions. The practice of deportation was reversed by the Persian conquerors of Babylon, who gained favor from their subjects for allowing them to return to their homeland and, as polytheists, sought the favor of the gods of the various countries which had come under their control.

[1:1]  ¹³ sn The Kebar River is mentioned in Babylonian texts from the city of Nippur in the fifth century b.c. It provided artificial irrigation from the Euphrates.

[1:1]  ¹⁴ sn For the concept of the heavens opened in later literature, see 3 Macc 6:18; 2 Bar. 22:1; T. Levi 5:1; Matt 3:16; Acts 7:56; Rev 19:11.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “saw visions from God.” References to divine visions occur also in Ezek 8:3; 40:2

[8:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the.”

[8:2]  ¹⁷ sn Susa (Heb. שׁוּשַׁן, shushan), located some 230 miles (380 km) east of Babylon, was a winter residence for Persian kings during the Achaemenid period. The language of v. 2 seems to suggest that Daniel may not have been physically present at Susa, but only saw himself there in the vision. However, the Hebrew is difficult, and some have concluded that the first four words of v. 2 in the MT are a later addition (cf. Theodotion).

[8:2]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew word בִּירָה (birah, “castle, palace”) usually refers to a fortified structure within a city, but here it is in apposition to the city name Susa and therefore has a broader reference to the entire city (against this view, however, see BDB 108 s.v. 2). Cf. NAB “the fortress of Susa”; TEV “the walled city of Susa.”

[8:2]  ¹⁹ tn The term אוּבַל (’uval = “stream, river”) is a relatively rare word in biblical Hebrew, found only here and in vv. 3 and 6. The Ulai was apparently a sizable artificial canal in Susa (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV), and not a river in the ordinary sense of that word.

[10:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “did not remain in.”

[10:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “was changed upon me for ruin.”

[10:8]  ²² tn Heb “strength.”

[10:16]  ²³ tn Heb “Behold.”

[10:16]  ²⁴ tc So most Hebrew MSS; one Hebrew MS along with the Dead Sea Scrolls and LXX read “something that looked like a man’s hand.”

[10:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “my lord,” here a title of polite address. Cf. v. 19.

[10:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “How is the servant of this my lord able to speak with this my lord?”

[10:17]  ²⁷ tn Heb “does not stand.”

[1:11]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And an angel.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.

[1:11]  ²⁹ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

[1:11]  ³⁰ sn This term is often used to describe a supernatural appearance (24:34; Acts 2:3; 7:2, 30, 35; 9:17; 13:31; 16:9; 26:16).

[1:22]  ³¹ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:22]  ³² tn Grk “and they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:22]  ³³ tn That is, “he had had a supernatural encounter in the holy place,” since the angel came to Zechariah by the altar. This was not just a “mental experience.”

[1:22]  ³⁴ tn Or “temple.” See the note on the phrase “the holy place” in v. 9.

[1:22]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and,” but the force is causal or explanatory in context.

[1:22]  ³⁶ tn Grk “dumb,” but this could be understood to mean “stupid” in contemporary English, whereas the point is that he was speechless.

[10:11]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[10:11]  ³⁸ tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[10:11]  ³⁹ tn On the heavens “opening,” see Matt 3:16; Luke 3:21; Rev 19:11 (cf. BDAG 84 s.v. ἀνοίγω 2). This is the language of a vision or a revelatory act of God.

[10:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “a large linen cloth” (the term was used for the sail of a ship; BDAG 693 s.v. ὀθόνη).

[10:11]  ⁴¹ tn Or “coming down.”

[10:11]  ⁴² tn Or “to the ground.”

[10:17]  ⁴³ tn Or “was greatly confused over.” The term means to be perplexed or at a loss (BDAG 235 s.v. διαπορέω).

[10:17]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “having learned.” The participle διερωτήσαντες (dierwthsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:17]  ⁴⁵ tn BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1 has “ἐπί τι approach or stand by someth. (Sir 41:24) Ac 10:17.”

[22:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “It happened to me that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:17]  ⁴⁷ tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἔκστασις 2 has “γενέσθαι ἐν ἐκστάσει fall into a trance Ac 22:17.”

[22:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “Jesus”; Grk “him.” The referent (the Lord, cf. v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.