Genesis 24:2-5

24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ¹  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ²  24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ³  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ⁴  a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives ⁵  to find ⁶  a wife for my son Isaac.”

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ⁷  to this land? Must I then ⁸  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

Genesis 24:58-67

24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want ⁹  to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”

24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: ¹⁰ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ¹¹  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ¹²  of their enemies.”

24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with ¹³  the man. So Abraham’s servant ¹⁴  took Rebekah and left.

24:62 Now ¹⁵  Isaac came from ¹⁶  Beer Lahai Roi, ¹⁷  for ¹⁸  he was living in the Negev. ¹⁹  24:63 He ²⁰  went out to relax ²¹  in the field in the early evening. ²²  Then he looked up ²³  and saw that ²⁴  there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up ²⁵  and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked ²⁶  Abraham’s servant, ²⁷  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ²⁸  So she took her veil and covered herself.

24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ²⁹  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ³⁰  as his wife and loved her. ³¹  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ³² 

Psalms 45:10-11

45:10 Listen, O princess! ³³ 

Observe and pay attention! ³⁴ 

Forget your homeland ³⁵  and your family! ³⁶ 

45:11 Then ³⁷  the king will be attracted by ³⁸  your beauty.

After all, he is your master! Submit ³⁹  to him! ⁴⁰ 

Isaiah 54:5

54:5 For your husband is the one who made you –

the Lord who commands armies is his name.

He is your protector, ⁴¹  the Holy One of Israel. ⁴² 

He is called “God of the entire earth.”

Isaiah 62:4-5

62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”

and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”

Indeed, ⁴³  you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” ⁴⁴ 

and your land “Married.” ⁴⁵ 

For the Lord will take delight in you,

and your land will be married to him. ⁴⁶ 

62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,

so your sons ⁴⁷  will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

Hosea 2:19-20

2:19 I will commit myself to you ⁴⁸  forever;

I will commit myself to you in ⁴⁹  righteousness and justice,

in steadfast love and tender compassion.

2:20 I will commit myself to you in faithfulness;

then ⁵⁰  you will acknowledge ⁵¹  the Lord.” ⁵² 

John 3:29

3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly ⁵³  when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. ⁵⁴ 

Romans 7:4

7:4 So, my brothers and sisters, ⁵⁵  you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God. ⁵⁶ 

Romans 7:1

The Believer’s Relationship to the Law

7:1 Or do you not know, brothers and sisters ⁵⁷  (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law is lord over a person ⁵⁸  as long as he lives?

Colossians 4:15

4:15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters ⁵⁹  who are in Laodicea and to Nympha and the church that meets in her ⁶⁰  house. ⁶¹ 

[24:2]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).

[24:2]  ² sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.

[24:3]  ³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.

[24:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “because you must not take.”

[24:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”

[24:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “and take.”

[24:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “to go after me.”

[24:5]  ⁸ tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.

[24:58]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.

[24:60]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and said to her.”

[24:60]  ¹¹ tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”

[24:60]  ¹² tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.

[24:61]  ¹³ tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”

[24:61]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:62]  ¹⁵ tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.

[24:62]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from the way of.”

[24:62]  ¹⁷ sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” See Gen 16:14.

[24:62]  ¹⁸ tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.

[24:62]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the South [country].”

[24:63]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:63]  ²¹ tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).

[24:63]  ²² tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”

[24:63]  ²³ tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.

[24:63]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and look.” The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.

[24:64]  ²⁵ tn Heb “lifted up her eyes.”

[24:65]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and she said to.”

[24:65]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:65]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ²⁹ tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.

[24:67]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”

[24:67]  ³² tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.

[45:10]  ³³ tn Heb “daughter.” The Hebrew noun בת (“daughter”) can sometimes refer to a young woman in a general sense (see H. Haag, TDOT 2:334).

[45:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “see and turn your ear.” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “see”) is used here of mental observation.

[45:10]  ³⁵ tn Heb “your people.” This reference to the “people” of the princess suggests she was a foreigner. Perhaps the marriage was arranged as part of a political alliance between Israel (or Judah) and a neighboring state. The translation “your homeland” reflects such a situation.

[45:10]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and the house of your father.”

[45:11]  ³⁷ tn After the preceding imperatives, the jussive verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive is best understood as introducing a purpose (“so that the king might desire your beauty”) or result clause (see the present translation and cf. also NASB). The point seems to be this: The bride might tend to be homesick, which in turn might cause her to mourn and diminish her attractiveness. She needs to overcome this temptation to unhappiness and enter into the marriage with joy. Then the king will be drawn to her natural beauty.

[45:11]  ³⁸ tn Or “desire.”

[45:11]  ³⁹ tn Or “bow down.”

[45:11]  ⁴⁰ sn Submit to him. The poet here makes the point that the young bride is obligated to bring pleasure to her new husband. Though a foreign concept to modern western culture, this was accepted as the cultural norm in the psalmist’s day.

[54:5]  ⁴¹ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[54:5]  ⁴² sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[62:4]  ⁴³ tn Or “for”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “but.”

[62:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (kheftsi-vah), traditionally transliterated “Hephzibah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ⁴⁵ tn Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (bÿ’ulah), traditionally transliterated “Beulah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ⁴⁶ tn That is, the land will be restored to the Lord’s favor and once again enjoy his blessing and protection. To indicate the land’s relationship to the Lord, the words “to him” have been supplied at the end of the clause.

[62:5]  ⁴⁷ tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).

[2:19]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “I will betroth you to me” (so NIV) here and in the following lines. Cf. NRSV “I will take you for my wife forever.”

[2:19]  ⁴⁹ tn The preposition בְּ (bet), which is repeated throughout 2:19-20 [21-22], denotes price paid (BDB 90 s.v. בְּ III.3; e.g., Ezek 3:14). The text contains an allusion to the payment of bridal gifts. The Lord will impute the moral character to Israel that will be necessary for a successful covenant relationship (contra 4:1).

[2:20]  ⁵⁰ tn The vav consecutive on the suffix conjugation verb וְיָדַעַתְּ (véyada’at, “then you will know”) introduces a result clause (cf. NASB, CEV).

[2:20]  ⁵¹ tn Or “know.” The term יָדַע (yada’, “know, acknowledge”) is often used in covenant contexts. It can refer to the suzerain’s acknowledgment of his covenant obligations to his vassal or to the vassal’s acknowledgment of his covenant obligations to his suzerain. When used in reference to a vassal, the verb “know” is metonymical (cause for effect) for “obey.” See H. Huffmann, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew ya„daà,” BASOR 181 (1966): 31-37.

[2:20]  ⁵² tc The MT reads יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”); however, many Hebrew mss read כִּי אָנִי (ki ’ani, “that it is I”), as also reflected in the Latin Vulgate (cf. CEV “know who I am”).

[3:29]  ⁵³ tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).

[3:29]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”

[7:4]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[7:4]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “that we might bear fruit to God.”

[7:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[7:1]  ⁵⁸ sn Here person refers to a human being.

[4:15]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[4:15]  ⁶⁰ tc If the name Nympha is accented with a circumflex on the ultima (Νυμφᾶν, Numfan), then it refers to a man; if it receives an acute accent on the penult (Νύμφαν), the reference is to a woman. Scribes that considered Nympha to be a man’s name had the corresponding masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ here (autou, “his”; so D [F G] Ψ Ï), while those who saw Nympha as a woman read the feminine αὐτῆς here (auth", “her”; B 0278 6 1739^[*^] 1881 sa). Several mss (א A C P 075 33 81 104 326 1175 2464 bo) have αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”), perhaps because of indecisiveness on the gender of Nympha, perhaps because they included ἀδελφούς (adelfou", here translated “brothers and sisters”) as part of the referent. (Perhaps because accents were not part of the original text, scribes were particularly confused here.) The harder reading is certainly αὐτῆς, and thus Nympha should be considered a woman.

[4:15]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “the church in her house.” The meaning is that Paul sends greetings to the church that meets at Nympha’s house.