Genesis 6:3

6:3 So the Lord said, “My spirit will not remain in ¹  humankind indefinitely, ²  since ³  they ⁴  are mortal. ⁵  They ⁶  will remain for 120 more years.” ⁷ 

Genesis 9:12

9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee ⁸  of the covenant I am making ⁹  with you ¹⁰  and every living creature with you, a covenant ¹¹  for all subsequent ¹²  generations:

Genesis 9:16

9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember ¹³  the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”

Genesis 17:7-8

17:7 I will confirm ¹⁴  my covenant as a perpetual ¹⁵  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ¹⁶  17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ¹⁷  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ¹⁸  possession. I will be their God.”

Genesis 48:4

48:4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful ¹⁹  and will multiply you. ²⁰  I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants ²¹  as an everlasting possession.’ ²² 

Genesis 49:26

49:26 The blessings of your father are greater

than ²³  the blessings of the eternal mountains ²⁴ 

or the desirable things of the age-old hills.

They will be on the head of Joseph

and on the brow of the prince of his brothers. ²⁵ 

[6:3]  ¹ tn The verb form יָדוֹן (yadon) only occurs here. Some derive it from the verbal root דִּין (din, “to judge”) and translate “strive” or “contend with” (so NIV), but in this case one expects the form to be יָדִין (yadin). The Old Greek has “remain with,” a rendering which may find support from an Arabic cognate (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:375). If one interprets the verb in this way, then it is possible to understand רוּחַ (ruakh) as a reference to the divine life-giving spirit or breath, rather than the Lord’s personal Spirit. E. A. Speiser argues that the term is cognate with an Akkadian word meaning “protect” or “shield.” In this case, the Lord’s Spirit will not always protect humankind, for the race will suddenly be destroyed (E. A. Speiser, “YDWN, Gen. 6:3,” JBL 75 [1956]: 126-29).

[6:3]  ² tn Or “forever.”

[6:3]  ³ tn The form בְּשַׁגַּם (bÿshagam) appears to be a compound of the preposition בְּ (beth, “in”), the relative שֶׁ (she, “who” or “which”), and the particle גַּם (gam, “also, even”). It apparently means “because even” (see BDB 980 s.v. שֶׁ).

[6:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the plural pronoun has been used in the translation since “man” earlier in the verse has been understood as a collective (“humankind”).

[6:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “flesh.”

[6:3]  ⁶ tn See the note on “they” earlier in this verse.

[6:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “his days will be 120 years.” Some interpret this to mean that the age expectancy of people from this point on would be 120, but neither the subsequent narrative nor reality favors this. It is more likely that this refers to the time remaining between this announcement of judgment and the coming of the flood.

[9:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “sign.”

[9:12]  ⁹ sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.

[9:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “between me and between you.”

[9:12]  ¹¹ tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:12]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.

[9:16]  ¹⁵ tn The translation assumes that the infinitive לִזְכֹּר (lizkor, “to remember”) here expresses the result of seeing the rainbow. Another option is to understand it as indicating purpose, in which case it could be translated, “I will look at it so that I may remember.”

[17:7]  ²² tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

[17:7]  ²³ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

[17:8]  ²⁹ tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.

[17:8]  ³⁰ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[48:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.

[48:4]  ³⁷ tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.

[48:4]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[48:4]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (’akhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ’akhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).

[49:26]  ⁴³ tn Heb “have prevailed over.”

[49:26]  ⁴⁴ tn One could interpret the phrase הוֹרַי (horay) to mean “my progenitors” (literally, “the ones who conceived me”), but the masculine form argues against this. It is better to emend the text to הַרֲרֵי (harare, “mountains of”) because it forms a better parallel with the next clause. In this case the final yod (י) on the form is a construct plural marker, not a pronominal suffix.

[49:26]  ⁴⁵ tn For further discussion of this passage, see I. Sonne, “Genesis 49:24-26,” JBL 65 (1946): 303-6.