Genesis 12:2

12:2 Then I will make you ¹  into a great nation, and I will bless you, ² 

and I will make your name great, ³ 

so that you will exemplify divine blessing. ⁴ 

Genesis 13:16

13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. ⁵ 

Genesis 16:10

16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, ⁶  “so that they will be too numerous to count.” ⁷ 

Genesis 22:17

22:17 I will indeed bless you, ⁸  and I will greatly multiply ⁹  your descendants ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  of the strongholds ¹²  of their enemies.

Genesis 28:14

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ¹³  and you will spread out ¹⁴  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁵  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹⁶ 

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 ¹⁷  like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about ¹⁸  I will give to your descendants, ¹⁹  and they will inherit it forever.’”

Deuteronomy 1:10

1:10 The Lord your God has increased your population ²⁰  to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky. ²¹ 

Deuteronomy 10:22

10:22 When your ancestors went down to Egypt, they numbered only seventy, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky. ²² 

Deuteronomy 10:1

The Opportunity to Begin Again

10:1 At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark. ²³ 

Deuteronomy 27:23

27:23 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Romans 4:18

4:18 Against hope Abraham ²⁴  believed ²⁵  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ²⁶  according to the pronouncement, ²⁷  “so will your descendants be.” ²⁸ 

Hebrews 11:12

11:12 So in fact children ²⁹  were fathered by one man – and this one as good as dead – like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand ³⁰  on the seashore. ³¹ 

[12:2]  ¹ tn The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative.

[12:2]  ² sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.

[12:2]  ³ tn Or “I will make you famous.”

[12:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.

[13:16]  ⁵ tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.

[16:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “The Lord’s angel said, ‘I will greatly multiply your descendants….” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”

[22:17]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ¹² 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”).

[28:14]  ¹³ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ¹⁵ tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[32:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your seed.”

[32:13]  ¹⁸ tn “about” has been supplied.

[32:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “seed.”

[1:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “multiplied you.”

[1:10]  ²¹ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[10:22]  ²² tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[10:1]  ²³ tn Or “chest” (so NIV, CEV); NLT “sacred chest”; TEV “wooden box.” This chest was made of acacia wood; it is later known as the ark of the covenant.

[4:18]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:18]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.

[4:18]  ²⁷ tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”

[4:18]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.

[11:12]  ²⁹ tn Grk “these”; in the translation the referent (children) has been specified for clarity.

[11:12]  ³⁰ tn Grk a collective “the sand.”

[11:12]  ³¹ sn An allusion to Gen 22:17 (which itself goes back to Gen 15:5).