Genesis 8:7

8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying ¹  back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.

Genesis 8:9

8:9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered ²  the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah ³  in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, ⁴  and brought it back into the ark. ⁵ 

Genesis 13:16

13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. ⁶ 

Genesis 26:4

26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ⁷  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁸ 

Genesis 28:14

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ⁹  and you will spread out ¹⁰  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹¹  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹² 

Genesis 46:3

46:3 He said, “I am God, ¹³  the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Exodus 1:7

1:7 The Israelites, ¹⁴  however, ¹⁵  were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong, ¹⁶  so that the land was filled with them.

Exodus 1:12

1:12 But the more the Egyptians ¹⁷  oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread. ¹⁸  As a result the Egyptians loathed ¹⁹  the Israelites,

Deuteronomy 10:22

10:22 When your ancestors went down to Egypt, they numbered only seventy, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky. ²⁰ 

Deuteronomy 26:5

26:5 Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering ²¹  Aramean ²²  was my ancestor, ²³  and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, ²⁴  but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people.

Nehemiah 9:23

9:23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of the sky. You brought them to the land you had told their ancestors to enter in order to possess.

Psalms 105:24

105:24 The Lord ²⁵  made his people very fruitful,

and made them ²⁶  more numerous than their ²⁷  enemies.

Psalms 107:38

107:38 He blessed ²⁸  them so that they became very numerous.

He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number. ²⁹ 

Zechariah 10:8

10:8 I will signal for them and gather them, for I have already redeemed them; then they will become as numerous as they were before.

Acts 7:17

7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, ³⁰  the people increased greatly in number ³¹  in Egypt,

[8:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and it went out, going out and returning.” The Hebrew verb יָצָא (yatsa’), translated here “flying,” is modified by two infinitives absolute indicating that the raven went back and forth.

[8:9]  ² tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”

[13:16]  ⁶ tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.

[26:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ⁸ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[28:14]  ⁹ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ¹¹ tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ¹² tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[46:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “the God.”

[1:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[1:7]  ¹⁵ tn The disjunctive vav marks a contrast with the note about the deaths of the first generation.

[1:7]  ¹⁶ tn Using מְאֹד (mÿ’od) twice intensifies the idea of their becoming strong (see GKC 431-32 §133.k).

[1:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect tenses in this verse are customary uses, expressing continual action in past time (see GKC 315 §107.e). For other examples of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) with כֵּן (ken) expressing a comparison (“just as…so”) see Gen 41:13; Judg 1:7; Isa 31:4.

[1:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they felt a loathing before/because of”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:22]  ²⁰ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[26:5]  ²¹ tn Though the Hebrew term אָבַד (’avad) generally means “to perish” or the like (HALOT 2-3 s.v.; BDB 1-2 s.v.; cf. KJV “a Syrian ready to perish”), a meaning “to go astray” or “to be lost” is also attested. The ambivalence in the Hebrew text is reflected in the versions where LXX Vaticanus reads ἀπέβαλεν (apebalen, “lose”) for a possibly metathesized reading found in Alexandrinus, Ambrosianus, ἀπέλαβεν (apelaben, “receive”); others attest κατέλειπεν (kateleipen, “leave, abandon”). “Wandering” seems to suit best the contrast with the sedentary life Israel would enjoy in Canaan (v. 9) and is the meaning followed by many English versions.

[26:5]  ²² sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42).

[26:5]  ²³ tn Heb “father.”

[26:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[105:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[105:24]  ²⁶ tn Heb “him,” referring to “his people.”

[105:24]  ²⁷ tn Heb “his,” referring to “his people.”

[107:38]  ²⁸ tn “Bless” here carries the nuance “endue with sexual potency, make fertile.” See Gen 1:28, where the statement “he blessed them” directly precedes the command “be fruitful and populate the earth” (see also 1:22). The verb “bless” carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).

[107:38]  ²⁹ tn The verbal form in this line appears to be an imperfect, which may be taken as customary (drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame) or as generalizing (in which case one should use the English present tense, understanding a move from narrative to present reality).

[7:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “But as the time for the fulfillment of the promise drew near that God had declared to Abraham.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to improve English style. See vv. 6-7 above.

[7:17]  ³¹ tn Grk “the people increased and multiplied.”