Genesis 24:60

24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: ¹ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ²  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ³  of their enemies.”

Jude 1:9

1:9 But even ⁴  when Michael the archangel ⁵  was arguing with the devil and debating with him ⁶  concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”

Psalms 127:3

127:3 Yes, ⁷  sons ⁸  are a gift from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalms 128:3

128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine ⁹ 

in the inner rooms of your house;

your children ¹⁰  will be like olive branches,

as they sit all around your table.

[24:60]  ¹ tn Heb “and said to her.”

[24:60]  ² tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”

[24:60]  ³ 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.

[1:9]  ⁴ tn The word “even” is not in Greek; it is implied by the height of the contrast.

[1:9]  ⁵ sn According to Jewish intertestamental literature (such as 1 En. 20), Michael was one of seven archangels.

[1:9]  ⁶ tn The sentence structure is a bit different in Greek. Literally it reads: “But Michael the archangel, when arguing with the devil and disputing.”

[127:3]  ⁷ tn or “look.”

[127:3]  ⁸ tn Some prefer to translate this term with the gender neutral “children,” but “sons” are plainly in view here, as the following verses make clear. Daughters are certainly wonderful additions to a family, but in ancient Israelite culture sons were the “arrows” that gave a man security in his old age, for they could defend the family interests at the city gate, where the legal and economic issues of the community were settled.

[128:3]  ⁹ sn The metaphor of the fruitful vine pictures the wife as fertile; she will give her husband numerous children (see the next line).

[128:3]  ¹⁰ tn One could translate “sons” (see Ps 127:3 and the note on the word “sons” there), but here the term seems to refer more generally to children of both genders.