Genesis 17:20

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ¹  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ²  He will become the father of twelve princes; ³  I will make him into a great nation.

Genesis 47:9

47:9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All ⁴  the years of my travels ⁵  are 130. All ⁶  the years of my life have been few and painful; ⁷  the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.” ⁸ 

[17:20]  ¹ sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

[17:20]  ² tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ³ tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

[47:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “the days of.”

[47:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “sojournings.” Jacob uses a term that depicts him as one who has lived an unsettled life, temporarily residing in many different places.

[47:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “the days of.”

[47:9]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew word רַע (ra’) can sometimes mean “evil,” but that would give the wrong connotation here, where it refers to pain, difficulty, and sorrow. Jacob is thinking back through all the troubles he had to endure to get to this point.

[47:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they have not reached the days of the years of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”