Genesis 15:4

15:4 But look, ¹  the word of the Lord came to him: “This man ²  will not be your heir, ³  but instead ⁴  a son ⁵  who comes from your own body will be ⁶  your heir.” ⁷ 

Genesis 15:8

15:8 But ⁸  Abram ⁹  said, “O sovereign Lord, ¹⁰  by what ¹¹  can I know that I am to possess it?”

Genesis 15:3

15:3 Abram added, ¹²  “Since ¹³  you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” ¹⁴ 

Genesis 15:7

15:7 The Lord said ¹⁵  to him, “I am the Lord ¹⁶  who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ¹⁷  to give you this land to possess.”

Genesis 21:10

21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ¹⁸  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

Genesis 24:60

24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: ¹⁹ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ²⁰  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ²¹  of their enemies.”

Genesis 28:4

28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ²²  so that you may possess the land ²³  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ²⁴ 

Genesis 45:11

45:11 I will provide you with food ²⁵  there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor – you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’

Genesis 22:17

22:17 I will indeed bless you, ²⁶  and I will greatly multiply ²⁷  your descendants ²⁸  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ²⁹  of the strongholds ³⁰  of their enemies.

[15:4]  ¹ tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.

[15:4]  ² tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the Lord does not mention him by name is significant; often in ancient times the use of the name would bring legitimacy to inheritance and adoption cases.

[15:4]  ³ tn Heb “inherit you.”

[15:4]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.

[15:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:4]  ⁶ tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”

[15:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “will inherit you.”

[15:8]  ⁸ tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”

[15:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:8]  ¹⁰ tn See note on the phrase “sovereign Lord” in 15:2.

[15:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “how.”

[15:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “And Abram said.”

[15:3]  ¹⁶ tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).

[15:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “is inheriting me.”

[15:7]  ²² tn Heb “And he said.”

[15:7]  ²³ sn I am the Lord. The Lord initiates the covenant-making ceremony with a declaration of who he is and what he has done for Abram. The same form appears at the beginning of the covenant made at Sinai (see Exod 20:1).

[15:7]  ²⁴ sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium b.c.

[21:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.

[24:60]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and said to her.”

[24:60]  ³⁷ tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”

[24:60]  ³⁸ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.

[28:4]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁴⁵ 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.

[45:11]  ⁵⁰ tn The verb כּוּל (kul) in the Pilpel stem means “to nourish, to support, to sustain.” As in 1 Kgs 20:27, it here means “to supply with food.”

[22:17]  ⁵⁷ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ⁵⁹ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).