Genesis 15:16-21

15:16 In the fourth generation ¹  your descendants ²  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ³ 

15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch ⁴  passed between the animal parts. ⁵  15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ⁶  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ⁷  this land, from the river of Egypt ⁸  to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land ⁹  of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” ¹⁰ 

Exodus 23:31

23:31 I will set ¹¹  your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River, ¹²  for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

Numbers 34:3-12

34:3 your southern border ¹³  will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the Edomite border, and your southern border will run eastward to the extremity of the Salt Sea, 34:4 and then the border will turn from the south to the Scorpion Ascent, ¹⁴  continue to Zin, and then its direction ¹⁵  will be from the south to Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and pass over to Azmon. 34:5 There the border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and then its direction is to the sea. ¹⁶ 

The Western Border of the Land

34:6 “‘And for a western border ¹⁷  you will have the Great Sea. ¹⁸  This will be your western border.

The Northern Border of the Land

34:7 “‘And this will be your northern border: From the Great Sea you will draw a line to Mount Hor; 34:8 from Mount Hor you will draw a line to Lebo Hamath, ¹⁹  and the direction of the border will be to Zedad. 34:9 The border will continue to Ziphron, and its direction will be to Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.

The Eastern Border of the Land

34:10 “‘For your eastern border you will draw a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 34:11 The border will run down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain, and the border will descend and reach the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth. ²⁰  34:12 Then the border will continue down the Jordan River ²¹  and its direction will be to the Salt Sea. This will be your land by its borders that surround it.’”

Joshua 24:15

24:15 If you have no desire ²²  to worship ²³  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ²⁴  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ²⁵  worshiped ²⁶  beyond the Euphrates, ²⁷  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ²⁸  will worship ²⁹  the Lord!”

Amos 2:9

2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. ³⁰ 

They were as tall as cedars ³¹ 

and as strong as oaks,

but I destroyed the fruit on their branches ³² 

and their roots in the ground. ³³ 

[15:16]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[15:16]  ³ tn Heb “is not yet complete.”

[15:17]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “these pieces.”

[15:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.

[15:19]  ⁹ tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:21]  ¹⁰ tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.

[23:31]  ¹¹ tn The form is a perfect tense with vav consecutive.

[23:31]  ¹² 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.

[34:3]  ¹³ tn The expression refers to the corner or extremity of the Negev, the South.

[34:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [’aqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).

[34:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “its going forth,” or the way it runs.

[34:5]  ¹⁶ sn That is, the Mediterranean.

[34:6]  ¹⁷ tn The word for west is simply “sea,” because the sea is west of Israel.

[34:6]  ¹⁸ sn That is, the Mediterranean Sea (also in the following verse).

[34:8]  ¹⁹ tn Or “to the entrance to Hamath.”

[34:11]  ²⁰ tn Or “the Sea of Galilee” (so NLT); NCV, TEV, CEV “Lake Galilee.”

[34:12]  ²¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:15]  ²² tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

[24:15]  ²³ tn Or “to serve.”

[24:15]  ²⁴ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:15]  ²⁶ tn Or “served.”

[24:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[24:15]  ²⁹ tn Or “will serve.”

[2:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “I destroyed the Amorites from before them.” The translation takes מִפְּנֵי (mippÿney) in the sense of “for the sake of.” See BDB 818 s.v. פָּנֻה II.6.a and H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos (Hermeneia), 134. Another option is to take the phrase in a spatial sense, “I destroyed the Amorites, [clearing them out] from before them [i.e., Israel]” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[2:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “whose height was like the height of cedars.”

[2:9]  ³² tn Heb “his fruit from above.”

[2:9]  ³³ tn Heb “and his roots from below.”