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 27:28-29

27:28 May God give you

the dew of the sky ⁵ 

and the richness ⁶  of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ⁷  lord ⁸  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ⁹ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

Genesis 28:3

28:3 May the sovereign God ¹⁰  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ¹¹  Then you will become ¹²  a large nation. ¹³ 

Genesis 28:14-22

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ¹⁴  and you will spread out ¹⁵  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁶  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹⁷  28:15 I am with you! ¹⁸  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

28:16 Then Jacob woke up ¹⁹  and thought, ²⁰  “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

28:18 Early ²¹  in the morning Jacob ²²  took the stone he had placed near his head ²³  and set it up as a sacred stone. ²⁴  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ²⁵  although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food ²⁶  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ²⁷  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ²⁸  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ²⁹  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ³⁰ 

Genesis 49:25-26

49:25 because of the God of your father,

who will help you, ³¹ 

because of the sovereign God, ³² 

who will bless you ³³ 

with blessings from the sky above,

blessings from the deep that lies below,

and blessings of the breasts and womb. ³⁴ 

49:26 The blessings of your father are greater

than ³⁵  the blessings of the eternal mountains ³⁶ 

or the desirable things of the age-old hills.

They will be on the head of Joseph

and on the brow of the prince of his brothers. ³⁷ 

Deuteronomy 28:2-13

28:2 All these blessings will come to you in abundance ³⁸  if you obey the Lord your God: 28:3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field. ³⁹  28:4 Your children ⁴⁰  will be blessed, as well as the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. 28:5 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed. 28:6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. ⁴¹  28:7 The Lord will cause your enemies who attack ⁴²  you to be struck down before you; they will attack you from one direction ⁴³  but flee from you in seven different directions. 28:8 The Lord will decree blessing for you with respect to your barns and in everything you do – yes, he will bless you in the land he ⁴⁴  is giving you. 28:9 The Lord will designate you as his holy people just as he promised you, if you keep his commandments ⁴⁵  and obey him. ⁴⁶  28:10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you belong to the Lord, ⁴⁷  and they will respect you. 28:11 The Lord will greatly multiply your children, ⁴⁸  the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil in the land which he ⁴⁹  promised your ancestors ⁵⁰  he would give you. 28:12 The Lord will open for you his good treasure house, the heavens, to give you rain for the land in its season and to bless all you do; ⁵¹  you will lend to many nations but you will not borrow from any. 28:13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always end up at the top and not at the bottom, if you obey his ⁵²  commandments which I am urging ⁵³  you today to be careful to do.

Ephesians 1:3

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

1:3 Blessed ⁵⁴  is ⁵⁵  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed ⁵⁶  us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.

[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.

[27:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[27:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

[27:29]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

[27:29]  ⁹ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[28:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ¹² tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

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

[28:14]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[28:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).

[28:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[28:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “said.”

[28:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”

[28:18]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:18]  ²³ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.

[28:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[28:19]  ²⁵ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[28:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[28:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

[28:22]  ²⁸ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ²⁹ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.

[49:25]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he will help you.”

[49:25]  ³² tn Heb “Shaddai.” See the note on the title “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1. The preposition אֵת (’et) in the Hebrew text should probably be emended to אֵל (’el, “God”).

[49:25]  ³³ tn Heb “and he will bless you.”

[49:25]  ³⁴ sn Jacob envisions God imparting both agricultural (blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below) and human fertility (blessings of the breasts and womb) to Joseph and his family.

[49:26]  ³⁵ tn Heb “have prevailed over.”

[49:26]  ³⁶ tn One could interpret the phrase הוֹרַי (horay) to mean “my progenitors” (literally, “the ones who conceived me”), but the masculine form argues against this. It is better to emend the text to הַרֲרֵי (harare, “mountains of”) because it forms a better parallel with the next clause. In this case the final yod (י) on the form is a construct plural marker, not a pronominal suffix.

[49:26]  ³⁷ tn For further discussion of this passage, see I. Sonne, “Genesis 49:24-26,” JBL 65 (1946): 303-6.

[28:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “come upon you and overtake you” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “come upon you and accompany you.”

[28:3]  ³⁹ tn Or “in the country” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). This expression also occurs in v. 15.

[28:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[28:6]  ⁴¹ sn Come in…go out. To “come in” and “go out” is a figure of speech (merism) indicating all of life and its activities.

[28:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “who rise up against” (so NIV).

[28:7]  ⁴³ tn Heb “way” (also later in this verse and in v. 25).

[28:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” Because English would not typically reintroduce the proper name following a relative pronoun (“he will bless…the Lord your God is giving”), the pronoun (“he”) has been employed here in the translation.

[28:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.

[28:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and walk in his ways” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[28:10]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the name of the Lord is called over you.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership; see 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1, as well as BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph. 2.d.(4).

[28:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “will give you a lot of children.”

[28:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.

[28:11]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 36, 64).

[28:12]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”

[28:13]  ⁵² tn Heb “the Lord your God’s.” See note on “he” in 28:8.

[28:13]  ⁵³ tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV); NASB “which I charge you today.”

[1:3]  ⁵⁴ sn Eph 1:3-14 comprises one long sentence in Greek, with three major sections. Each section ends with a note of praise for God (vv. 6, 12, 14), focusing on a different member of the Trinity. After an opening summary of all the saints’ spiritual blessings (v. 3), the first section (vv. 4-6) offers up praise that the Father has chosen us in eternity past; the second section (vv. 7-12) offers up praise that the Son has redeemed us in the historical past (i.e., at the cross); the third section (vv. 13-14) offers up praise that the Holy Spirit has sealed us in our personal past, at the point of conversion.

[1:3]  ⁵⁵ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos), the author’s intention at this point in the epistle, and the literary genre of this material must all come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb here and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb here and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response, which would favor the indicative. However, many scholars regard Eph 1:3-14 as a berakah psalm (cf. A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 10-11). Rooted in the OT and Jewish worship, berakah psalms were songs of praise in which the worshiper gave praise to God; this would favor the optative (although not all scholars are agreed on this genre classification here; see H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 153-59, for discussion and an alternate conclusion). When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the indicative seems to fit all the factors better. The author seems to be pointing to who God is and what he has done for believers in this section; the indicative more naturally fits that emphasis. Cf. also 2 Cor 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.

[1:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “enriched,” “conferred blessing.”