Genesis 4:25

4:25 And Adam had marital relations ¹  with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given ²  me another child ³  in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”

Genesis 15:18

15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ⁴  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ⁵  this land, from the river of Egypt ⁶  to the great river, the Euphrates River –

Genesis 17:12

17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old ⁷  must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants.

Genesis 17:19

17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. ⁸  I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual ⁹  covenant for his descendants after him.

Genesis 19:34

19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ¹⁰  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ¹¹  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ¹² 

Genesis 21:12

21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ¹³  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ¹⁴  all that Sarah is telling ¹⁵  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ¹⁶ 

Genesis 24:7

24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ¹⁷  promised me with a solemn oath, ¹⁸  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ¹⁹  before you so that you may find ²⁰  a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 26:3

26:3 Stay ²¹  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ²²  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ²³  and I will fulfill ²⁴  the solemn promise I made ²⁵  to your father Abraham.

Genesis 26:24

26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant 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. ²⁶  I will give you and your descendants the ground ²⁷  you are lying on.

Genesis 47:19

47:19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become ²⁸  Pharaoh’s slaves. ²⁹  Give us seed that we may live ³⁰  and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” ³¹ 

Genesis 48:19

48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude ³²  of nations.”

[4:25]  ¹ tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:25]  ² sn The name Seth probably means something like “placed”; “appointed”; “set”; “granted,” assuming it is actually related to the verb that is used in the sentiment. At any rate, the name שֵׁת (shet) and the verb שָׁת (shat, “to place, to appoint, to set, to grant”) form a wordplay (paronomasia).

[4:25]  ³ tn Heb “offspring.”

[15:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ⁵ tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).

[15:18]  ⁶ sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.

[17:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “the son of eight days.”

[17:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).

[17:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[19:34]  ¹³ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[21:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

[21:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.

[21:12]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ¹⁹ tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.

[24:7]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the land of my birth.”

[24:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”

[24:7]  ²¹ tn Or “his messenger.”

[24:7]  ²² tn Heb “before you and you will take.”

[26:3]  ²² tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.

[26:3]  ²³ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  ²⁴ 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.

[26:3]  ²⁵ tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.

[26:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[28:13]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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.

[47:19]  ²⁸ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.

[47:19]  ²⁹ sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.

[47:19]  ³⁰ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.

[47:19]  ³¹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.

[48:19]  ³¹ tn Heb “fullness.”