Genesis 17:7-8

17:7 I will confirm ¹  my covenant as a perpetual ²  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ³  17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ⁴  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ⁵  possession. I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:2

17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ⁶  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ⁷ 

Genesis 23:5

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ⁸ 

Hebrews 13:20

Benediction and Conclusion

13:20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ,

[17:7]  ¹ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

[17:7]  ² tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:7]  ³ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

[17:8]  ⁴ tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.

[17:8]  ⁵ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:2]  ⁶ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

[17:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[23:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”