Genesis 1:6

1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse ¹  in the midst of the waters and let it separate water ²  from water.

Genesis 1:8

1:8 God called the expanse “sky.” ³  There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

Genesis 1:15

1:15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so.

Genesis 18:18

18:18 After all, Abraham ⁴  will surely become ⁵  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁶  using his name.

Genesis 21:20

21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer.

Genesis 41:13

41:13 It happened just as he had said ⁷  to us – Pharaoh ⁸  restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” ⁹ 

[1:6]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word refers to an expanse of air pressure between the surface of the sea and the clouds, separating water below from water above. In v. 8 it is called “sky.”

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “the waters from the waters.”

[1:8]  ³ tn Though the Hebrew word can mean “heaven,” it refers in this context to “the sky.”

[18:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”

[18:18]  ⁶ tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.

[18:18]  ⁷ tn Theoretically the Niphal 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 Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later 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 [or “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 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham 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.

[41:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “interpreted.”

[41:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.