Genesis 15:14

15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ¹  Afterward they will come out with many possessions.

Genesis 18:18

18:18 After all, Abraham ²  will surely become ³  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁴  using his name.

Genesis 21:8

21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared ⁵  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ⁶ 

Genesis 21:18

21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

Genesis 41:29

41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt.

[15:14]  ¹ tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.

[18:18]  ² 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]  ³ tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.

[18:18]  ⁴ 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.

[21:8]  ³ tn Heb “made.”

[21:8]  ⁴ sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.