Genesis 17:8-9

17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ¹  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ²  possession. I will be their God.”

17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep ³  the covenantal requirement ⁴  I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

Genesis 17:2

17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ⁵  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ⁶ 

Genesis 20:7

20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ⁷  he is a prophet ⁸  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ⁹  But if you don’t give her back, ¹⁰  know that you will surely die ¹¹  along with all who belong to you.”

Matthew 3:9

3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

John 8:33-39

8:33 “We are descendants ¹²  of Abraham,” they replied, ¹³  “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can you say, ¹⁴  ‘You will become free’?” 8:34 Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁵  everyone who practices ¹⁶  sin is a slave ¹⁷  of sin. 8:35 The slave does not remain in the family ¹⁸  forever, but the son remains forever. ¹⁹  8:36 So if the son ²⁰  sets you free, you will be really free. 8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. ²¹  But you want ²²  to kill me, because my teaching ²³  makes no progress among you. ²⁴  8:38 I am telling you the things I have seen while with the ²⁵  Father; ²⁶  as for you, ²⁷  practice the things you have heard from the ²⁸  Father!”

8:39 They answered him, ²⁹  “Abraham is our father!” ³⁰  Jesus replied, ³¹  “If you are ³²  Abraham’s children, you would be doing ³³  the deeds of Abraham.

Romans 4:13-18

4:13 For the promise ³⁴  to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 4:14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. ³⁵  4:15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression ³⁶  either. 4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, ³⁷  with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, ³⁸  who is the father of us all 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). ³⁹  He is our father ⁴⁰  in the presence of God whom he believed – the God who ⁴¹  makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. ⁴²  4:18 Against hope Abraham ⁴³  believed ⁴⁴  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ⁴⁵  according to the pronouncement, ⁴⁶  “so will your descendants be.” ⁴⁷ 

[17:8]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:9]  ³ tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.

[17:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.

[17:2]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[20:7]  ⁷ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ⁸ sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ⁹ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[8:33]  ¹² tn Grk “We are the seed” (an idiom).

[8:33]  ¹³ tn Grk “They answered to him.”

[8:33]  ¹⁴ tn Or “How is it that you say.”

[8:34]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:34]  ¹⁶ tn Or “who commits.” This could simply be translated, “everyone who sins,” but the Greek is more emphatic, using the participle ποιῶν (poiwn) in a construction with πᾶς (pas), a typical Johannine construction. Here repeated, continuous action is in view. The one whose lifestyle is characterized by repeated, continuous sin is a slave to sin. That one is not free; sin has enslaved him. To break free from this bondage requires outside (divine) intervention. Although the statement is true at the general level (the person who continually practices a lifestyle of sin is enslaved to sin) the particular sin of the Jewish authorities, repeatedly emphasized in the Fourth Gospel, is the sin of unbelief. The present tense in this instance looks at the continuing refusal on the part of the Jewish leaders to acknowledge who Jesus is, in spite of mounting evidence.

[8:34]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[8:35]  ¹⁸ tn Or “household.” The Greek work οἰκία (oikia) can denote the family as consisting of relatives by both descent and marriage, as well as slaves and servants, living in the same house (more the concept of an “extended family”).

[8:35]  ¹⁹ sn Jesus’ point is that while a slave may be part of a family or household, the slave is not guaranteed a permanent place there, while a son, as a descendant or blood relative, will always be guaranteed a place in the family (remains forever).

[8:36]  ²⁰ tn Or “Son.” The question is whether “son” is to be understood as a direct reference to Jesus himself, or as an indirect reference (a continuation of the generic illustration begun in the previous verse).

[8:37]  ²¹ tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).

[8:37]  ²² tn Grk “you are seeking.”

[8:37]  ²³ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:37]  ²⁴ tn Or “finds no place in you.” The basic idea seems to be something (in this case Jesus’ teaching) making headway or progress where resistance is involved. See BDAG 1094 s.v. χωρέω 2.

[8:38]  ²⁵ tc The first person pronoun μου (mou, “my”) may be implied, especially if ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) follows the second mention of “father” in this verse (as it does in the majority of mss); no doubt this implication gave rise to the reading μου found in most witnesses (א D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy). No pronoun here is read by Ì^66,75 B C L 070 pc. This problem cannot be isolated from the second in the verse, however. See that discussion below.

[8:38]  ²⁶ tn Grk “The things which I have seen with the Father I speak about.”

[8:38]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and you.”

[8:38]  ²⁸ tc A few significant witnesses lack ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here (Ì^66,75 B L W 070 pc), while the majority have the pronoun (א C D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 565 892 Ï al lat sy). However, these mss do not agree on the placement of the pronoun: τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν ποιεῖτε (tou patro" Jumwn poieite), τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν (tw patri Jumwn), and τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν ταῦτα (tw patri Jumwn tauta) all occur. If the pronoun is read, then the devil is in view and the text should be translated as “you are practicing the things you have heard from your father.” If it is not read, then the same Father mentioned in the first part of the verse is in view. In this case, ποιεῖτε should be taken as an imperative: “you [must] practice the things you have heard from the Father.” The omission is decidedly the harder reading, both because the contrast between God and the devil is now delayed until v. 41, and because ποιεῖτε could be read as an indicative, especially since the two clauses are joined by καί (kai, “and”). Thus, the pronoun looks to be a motivated reading. In light of the better external and internal evidence the omission is preferred.

[8:39]  ²⁹ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[8:39]  ³⁰ tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

[8:39]  ³¹ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:39]  ³² tc Although most mss (C W Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï) have the imperfect ἦτε (hte, “you were”) here, making this sentence a proper second class condition, the harder reading, ἐστε (este, “you are”), is found in the better witnesses (Ì^66,75 א B D L 070 pc lat).

[8:39]  ³³ tc Some important mss (Ì⁶⁶ B* [700]) have the present imperative ποιεῖτε (poieite) here: “If you are Abraham’s children, then do,” while many others (א² C K L N Δ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 565 579 892 pm) add the contingent particle ἄν (an) to ἐποιεῖτε (epoieite) making it a more proper second class condition by Attic standards. The simple ἐποιεῖτε without the ἄν is the hardest reading, and is found in some excellent witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א* B² D W Γ Θ 070 0250 1424 pm).

[4:13]  ³⁴ sn Although a singular noun, the promise is collective and does not refer only to Gen 12:7, but as D. Moo (Romans 1-8 [WEC], 279) points out, refers to multiple aspects of the promise to Abraham: multiplied descendants (Gen 12:2), possession of the land (Gen 13:15-17), and his becoming the vehicle of blessing to all people (Gen 12:13).

[4:14]  ³⁵ tn Grk “rendered inoperative.”

[4:15]  ³⁶ tn Or “violation.”

[4:16]  ³⁷ tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”

[4:16]  ³⁸ tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”

[4:17]  ³⁹ tn Verses 16-17 comprise one sentence in Greek, but this has been divided into two sentences due to English requirements.

[4:17]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “He is our father” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to show that they resume Paul’s argument from 16b. (It is also possible to supply “Abraham had faith” here [so REB], taking the relative clause [“who is the father of us all”] as part of the parenthesis, and making the connection back to “the faith of Abraham,” but such an option is not as likely [C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:243].)

[4:17]  ⁴¹ tn “The God” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[4:17]  ⁴² tn Or “calls into existence the things that do not exist.” The translation of ὡς ὄντα (Jw" onta) allows for two different interpretations. If it has the force of result, then creatio ex nihilo is in view and the variant rendering is to be accepted (so C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:244). A problem with this view is the scarcity of ὡς plus participle to indicate result (though for the telic idea with ὡς plus participle, cf. Rom 15:15; 1 Thess 2:4). If it has a comparative force, then the translation given in the text is to be accepted: “this interpretation fits the immediate context better than a reference to God’s creative power, for it explains the assurance with which God can speak of the ‘many nations’ that will be descended from Abraham” (D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 282; so also W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam, Romans [ICC], 113). Further, this view is in line with a Pauline idiom, viz., verb followed by ὡς plus participle (of the same verb or, in certain contexts, its antonym) to compare present reality with what is not a present reality (cf. 1 Cor 4:7; 5:3; 7:29, 30 (three times), 31; Col 2:20 [similarly, 2 Cor 6:9, 10]).

[4:18]  ⁴³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “who against hope believed,” referring to Abraham. The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:18]  ⁴⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.

[4:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”

[4:18]  ⁴⁷ sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.