Genesis 9:13

9:13 I will place ¹  my rainbow ²  in the clouds, and it will become ³  a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 17:11

17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder ⁴  of the covenant between me and you.

Genesis 21:27

21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. ⁵ 

Genesis 31:44

31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ⁶  you and I, and it will be ⁷  proof that we have made peace.” ⁸ 

Genesis 9:16

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

Genesis 14:13

14:13 A fugitive ¹⁰  came and told Abram the Hebrew. ¹¹  Now Abram was living by the oaks ¹²  of Mamre the Amorite, the brother ¹³  of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty ¹⁴  with Abram.) ¹⁵ 

Genesis 21:32

21:32 So they made a treaty ¹⁶  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ¹⁷  to the land of the Philistines. ¹⁸ 

Genesis 26:28

26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ¹⁹  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ²⁰  a pact between us ²¹  – between us ²²  and you. Allow us to make ²³  a treaty with you

Genesis 15:18

15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ²⁴  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ²⁵  this land, from the river of Egypt ²⁶  to the great river, the Euphrates River –

[9:13]  ¹ tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. NIV, NRSV) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. NEB).

[9:13]  ² sn The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:473, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:196.

[9:13]  ³ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.

[17:11]  ⁴ tn Or “sign.”

[21:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[31:44]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[31:44]  ¹¹ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”

[31:44]  ¹² tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”

[9:16]  ¹³ 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.”

[14:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.

[14:13]  ¹⁷ sn E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14-16).

[14:13]  ¹⁸ tn Or “terebinths.”

[14:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”

[14:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.

[14:13]  ²¹ tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.

[21:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ²⁰ tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ²¹ sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.

[26:28]  ²² tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ²³ tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:28]  ²⁴ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ²⁵ tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ²⁶ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”

[15:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.