Genesis 18:12-14

18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ¹  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, ²  especially when my husband is old too?” ³ 

18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why ⁴  did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really ⁵  have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible ⁶  for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” ⁷ 

Numbers 11:21-23

11:21 Moses said, “The people around me ⁸  are 600,000 on foot; ⁹  but you say, ‘I will give them meat, ¹⁰  that they may eat ¹¹  for a whole month.’ 11:22 Would they have enough if the flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?” 11:23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? ¹²  Now you will see whether my word to you will come true ¹³  or not!”

Psalms 78:19-21

78:19 They insulted God, saying, ¹⁴ 

“Is God really able to give us food ¹⁵  in the wilderness?

78:20 Yes, ¹⁶  he struck a rock and water flowed out,

streams gushed forth.

But can he also give us food?

Will he provide meat for his people?”

78:21 When ¹⁷  the Lord heard this, he was furious.

A fire broke out against Jacob,

and his anger flared up ¹⁸  against Israel,

Psalms 78:41

78:41 They again challenged God, ¹⁹ 

and offended ²⁰  the Holy One of Israel. ²¹ 

[18:12]  ¹ tn Heb “saying.”

[18:12]  ² tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.

[18:12]  ³ tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the Lord’s amazement: “Why on earth did Sarah laugh?”

[18:13]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”

[18:14]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”

[18:14]  ⁷ sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the Lord fixed an exact date for the birth of the child, the promise became rather overwhelming to Abraham and Sarah. But then this was the Lord of creation, the one they had come to trust. The point of these narratives is that the creation of Abraham’s offspring, which eventually became Israel, is no less a miraculous work of creation than the creation of the world itself.

[11:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “the people who I am in their midst,” i.e., among whom I am.

[11:21]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew sentence stresses the number. The sentence begins “600,000….”

[11:21]  ¹⁰ tn The word order places the object first here: “Meat I will give them.” This adds to the contrast between the number and the statement of the Lord.

[11:21]  ¹¹ tn The verb is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the sequence from the preceding imperfect tense. However, this verb may be subordinated to the preceding to express a purpose clause.

[11:23]  ¹² sn This anthropomorphic expression concerns the power of God. The “hand of the Lord” is idiomatic for his power, what he is able to do. The question is rhetorical; it is affirming that his hand is not shortened, i.e., that his power is not limited. Moses should have known this, and so this is a rebuke for him at this point. God had provided the manna, among all the other powerful acts they had witnessed. Meat would be no problem. But the lack of faith by the people was infectious.

[11:23]  ¹³ tn Or “will happen” (TEV); KJV “shall come to pass unto thee.”

[78:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”

[78:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”

[78:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “look.”

[78:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “therefore.”

[78:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and also anger went up.”

[78:41]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they returned and tested God.” The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate that an earlier action was repeated.

[78:41]  ²⁰ tn Or “wounded, hurt.” The verb occurs only here in the OT.

[78:41]  ²¹ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.