Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ² 

Genesis 17:7

17:7 I will confirm ³  my covenant as a perpetual ⁴  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁵ 

Genesis 24:12

24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. ⁶  Be faithful ⁷  to my master Abraham.

Genesis 28:13

28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. ⁸  I will give you and your descendants the ground ⁹  you are lying on.

Genesis 31:5

31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ¹⁰  but the God of my father has been with me.

Exodus 3:6

3:6 He added, “I am the God of your father, ¹¹  the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look ¹²  at God.

Matthew 22:32

22:32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ¹³  He is not the God of the dead but of the living!” ¹⁴ 

Acts 7:32

7:32 ‘I am the God of your forefathers, ¹⁵  the God of Abraham, Isaac, ¹⁶  and Jacob.’ ¹⁷  Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look more closely. ¹⁸ 

[15:1]  ¹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ² tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[17:7]  ³ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

[17:7]  ⁴ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

[24:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).

[24:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”

[28:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.

[28:13]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.

[31:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”

[3:6]  ¹¹ sn This self-revelation by Yahweh prepares for the revelation of the holy name. While no verb is used here, the pronoun and the predicate nominative are a construction used throughout scripture to convey the “I am” disclosures – “I [am] the God of….” But the significant point here is the naming of the patriarchs, for this God is the covenant God, who will fulfill his promises.

[3:6]  ¹² tn The clause uses the Hiphil infinitive construct with a preposition after the perfect tense: יָרֵא מֵהַבִּיט (yare’ mehabbit, “he was afraid from gazing”) meaning “he was afraid to gaze.” The preposition min (מִן) is used before infinitives after verbs like the one to complete the verb (see BDB 583 s.v. 7b).

[22:32]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.

[22:32]  ¹⁴ sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.

[7:32]  ¹⁵ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:32]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and Isaac,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[7:32]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6. The phrase suggests the God of promise, the God of the nation.

[7:32]  ¹⁸ tn Or “to investigate,” “to contemplate” (BDAG 522 s.v. κατανοέω 2).