Genesis 8:12

8:12 He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, ¹  but it did not return to him this time. ² 

Genesis 18:10

18:10 One of them ³  said, “I will surely return ⁴  to you when the season comes round again, ⁵  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ⁶  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ⁷ 

Genesis 32:9

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ⁸  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ⁹  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ¹⁰ 

[8:12]  ¹ tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:12]  ² tn Heb “it did not again return to him still.” For a study of this section of the flood narrative, see W. O. E. Oesterley, “The Dove with the Olive Leaf (Gen VIII 8–11),” ExpTim 18 (1906/07): 377-78.

[18:10]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV) based on vv. 1, 13, but the Hebrew text merely has “he said” at this point, referring to one of the three visitors. Aside from the introductory statement in v. 1, the incident is narrated from Abraham’s point of view, and the suspense is built up for the reader as Abraham’s elaborate banquet preparations in the preceding verses suggest he suspects these are important guests. But not until the promise of a son later in this verse does it become clear who is speaking. In v. 13 the Hebrew text explicitly mentions the Lord.

[18:10]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ⁷ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[32:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[32:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “the one who said.”

[32:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.