Genesis 17:16

17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. ¹  Kings of countries ²  will come from her!”

Genesis 27:27

27:27 So Jacob ³  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ⁴  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ⁵  my son smells

like the scent of an open field

which the Lord has blessed.

Genesis 27:29

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ⁶  lord ⁷  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ⁸ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

Genesis 48:20

48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you ⁹  will Israel bless, ¹⁰  saying,

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ¹¹ 

Genesis 49:28

49:28 These ¹²  are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing. ¹³ 

[17:16]  ¹ tn Heb “she will become nations.”

[17:16]  ² tn Heb “peoples.”

[27:27]  ³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “see.”

[27:29]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[48:20]  ⁷ tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.

[48:20]  ⁸ tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”

[48:20]  ⁹ sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.

[49:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “All these.”

[49:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he blessed them, each of whom according to his blessing, he blessed them.”