Genesis 14:14-16

14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew ¹  had been taken captive, he mobilized ²  his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders ³  as far as Dan. ⁴  14:15 Then, during the night, ⁵  Abram ⁶  divided his forces ⁷  against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north ⁸  of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. ⁹  He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of ¹⁰  the people.

Genesis 18:18

18:18 After all, Abraham ¹¹  will surely become ¹²  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹³  using his name.

Genesis 19:29

19:29 So when God destroyed ¹⁴  the cities of the region, ¹⁵  God honored ¹⁶  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ¹⁷  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ¹⁸  the cities Lot had lived in.

Genesis 28:4

28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ¹⁹  so that you may possess the land ²⁰  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ²¹ 

Genesis 28:1

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ²² 

Genesis 1:1

The Creation of the World

1:1 In the beginning ²³  God ²⁴  created ²⁵  the heavens and the earth. ²⁶ 

Galatians 3:14

3:14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, ²⁷  so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.

[14:14]  ¹ tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).

[14:14]  ² tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.

[14:14]  ³ tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:14]  ⁴ sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.

[14:15]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.

[14:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”

[14:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.

[14:16]  ⁹ tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:16]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[18:18]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.

[18:18]  ¹³ 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.

[19:29]  ¹⁴ tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

[19:29]  ¹⁵ tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:29]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the Lord not destroy the righteous with the wicked. While the requisite minimum number of righteous people (ten, v. 32) needed for God to spare the cities was not found, God nevertheless rescued the righteous before destroying the wicked.

[19:29]  ¹⁷ sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

[19:29]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

[28:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.

[28:4]  ²⁰ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.

[28:1]  ²² tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[1:1]  ²³ tn The translation assumes that the form translated “beginning” is in the absolute state rather than the construct (“in the beginning of,” or “when God created”). In other words, the clause in v. 1 is a main clause, v. 2 has three clauses that are descriptive and supply background information, and v. 3 begins the narrative sequence proper. The referent of the word “beginning” has to be defined from the context since there is no beginning or ending with God.

[1:1]  ²⁴ sn God. This frequently used Hebrew name for God (אֱלֹהִים,’elohim ) is a plural form. When it refers to the one true God, the singular verb is normally used, as here. The plural form indicates majesty; the name stresses God’s sovereignty and incomparability – he is the “God of gods.”

[1:1]  ²⁵ tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (bara’) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15, 65:17).

[1:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “the entire universe”; or “the sky and the dry land.” This phrase is often interpreted as a merism, referring to the entire ordered universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The “heavens and the earth” were completed in seven days (see Gen 2:1) and are characterized by fixed laws (see Jer 33:25). “Heavens” refers specifically to the sky, created on the second day (see v. 8), while “earth” refers specifically to the dry land, created on the third day (see v. 10). Both are distinct from the sea/seas (see v. 10 and Exod 20:11).

[3:14]  ²⁷ tn Or “so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus.”