Hebrews 6:17

6:17 In the same way ¹  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ²  and so he intervened with an oath,

Genesis 26:3-4

26:3 Stay ³  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ⁴  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ⁵  and I will fulfill ⁶  the solemn promise I made ⁷  to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ⁸  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁹ 

Genesis 28:4

28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ¹⁰  so that you may possess the land ¹¹  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ¹² 

Genesis 28:13-14

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. ¹³  I will give you and your descendants the ground ¹⁴  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ¹⁵  and you will spread out ¹⁶  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁷  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹⁸ 

Genesis 48:3-4

48:3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The sovereign God ¹⁹  appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 48:4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful ²⁰  and will multiply you. ²¹  I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants ²²  as an everlasting possession.’ ²³ 

[6:17]  ¹ tn Grk “in which.”

[6:17]  ² tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”

[26:3]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[26:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ⁹ 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.)

[28:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.

[28:4]  ¹¹ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ¹² tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.

[28:13]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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.

[28:14]  ¹⁵ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ¹⁶ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[48:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[48:4]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.

[48:4]  ²² tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[48:4]  ²³ 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).