Genesis 22:16-18

22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ¹  decrees the Lord, ²  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ³  and I will greatly multiply ⁴  your descendants ⁵  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ⁶  of the strongholds ⁷  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ⁸  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁹  using the name of your descendants.’”

Exodus 32:13

32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants ¹⁰  like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about ¹¹  I will give to your descendants, ¹²  and they will inherit it forever.’”

Psalms 105:8-10

105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,

the promise he made ¹³  to a thousand generations –

105:9 the promise ¹⁴  he made to Abraham,

the promise he made by oath to Isaac!

105:10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,

to Israel as a lasting promise, ¹⁵ 

Psalms 105:42

105:42 Yes, ¹⁶  he remembered the sacred promise ¹⁷ 

he made to Abraham his servant.

Luke 1:55

1:55 as he promised ¹⁸  to our ancestors, ¹⁹  to Abraham and to his descendants ²⁰  forever.”

Luke 1:72-73

1:72 He has done this ²¹  to show mercy ²²  to our ancestors, ²³ 

and to remember his holy covenant ²⁴  –

1:73 the oath ²⁵  that he swore to our ancestor ²⁶  Abraham.

This oath grants ²⁷ 

Hebrews 6:13-17

6:13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 6:14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.” ²⁸  6:15 And so by persevering, Abraham ²⁹  inherited the promise. 6:16 For people ³⁰  swear by something greater than themselves, ³¹  and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. ³²  6:17 In the same way ³³  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ³⁴  and so he intervened with an oath,

[22:16]  ¹ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

[22:16]  ² tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

[22:17]  ³ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ⁴ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ⁶ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[22:18]  ⁵ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  ⁶ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[32:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “your seed.”

[32:13]  ⁸ tn “about” has been supplied.

[32:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “seed.”

[105:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.

[105:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “which.”

[105:10]  ¹³ tn Or “eternal covenant.”

[105:42]  ¹⁵ tn Or “for.”

[105:42]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his holy word.”

[1:55]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “as he spoke.” Since this is a reference to the covenant to Abraham, ἐλάλησεν (elalhsen) can be translated in context “as he promised.” God keeps his word.

[1:55]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “fathers.”

[1:55]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).

[1:72]  ¹⁹ tn The words “He has done this” (referring to the raising up of the horn of salvation from David’s house) are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to allow a new sentence to be started in the translation. The Greek sentence is lengthy and complex at this point, while contemporary English uses much shorter sentences.

[1:72]  ²⁰ sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ²¹ tn Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.

[1:72]  ²² sn The promises of God can be summarized as being found in the one promise (the oath that he swore) to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3).

[1:73]  ²¹ tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.

[1:73]  ²² tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”

[1:73]  ²³ tn Again for reasons of English style, the infinitival clause “to grant us” has been translated “This oath grants” and made the beginning of a new sentence in the translation.

[6:14]  ²³ tn Grk “in blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply you,” the Greek form of a Hebrew idiom showing intensity.

[6:15]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.

[6:16]  ²⁷ tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”

[6:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.

[6:16]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”

[6:17]  ²⁹ tn Grk “in which.”

[6:17]  ³⁰ tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”