Genesis 1:22

1:22 God blessed them ¹  and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” ² 

Genesis 28:14

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ³  and you will spread out ⁴  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁵  using your name and that of your descendants. ⁶ 

Genesis 32:12

32:12 But you ⁷  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ⁸  and will make ⁹  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ¹⁰ 

Genesis 41:49

41:49 Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, ¹¹  until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure.

[1:22]  ¹ tn While the translation “blessed” has been retained here for the sake of simplicity, it would be most helpful to paraphrase it as “God endowed them with fruitfulness” or something similar, for here it refers to God’s giving the animals the capacity to reproduce. The expression “blessed” needs clarification in its different contexts, for it is one of the unifying themes of the Book of Genesis. The divine blessing occurs after works of creation and is intended to continue that work – the word of blessing guarantees success. The word means “to enrich; to endow,” and the most visible evidence of that enrichment is productivity or fruitfulness. See C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[1:22]  ² sn The instruction God gives to creation is properly a fuller expression of the statement just made (“God blessed them”), that he enriched them with the ability to reproduce. It is not saying that these were rational creatures who heard and obeyed the word; rather, it stresses that fruitfulness in the animal world is a result of the divine decree and not of some pagan cultic ritual for fruitfulness. The repeated emphasis of “be fruitful – multiply – fill” adds to this abundance God has given to life. The meaning is underscored by the similar sounds: בָּרָךְ (barakh) with בָּרָא (bara’), and פָּרָה (parah) with רָבָה (ravah).

[28:14]  ³ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ⁴ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[32:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[32:12]  ⁶ tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.

[32:12]  ⁷ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.

[32:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.

[41:49]  ⁷ tn Heb “and Joseph gathered grain like the sand of the sea, multiplying much.” To emphasize the vast amount of grain he stored up, the Hebrew text modifies the verb “gathered” with an infinitive absolute and an adverb.