Jeremiah 35:19

35:19 So the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Jonadab son of Rechab will never lack a male descendant to serve me.’” ¹ 

Deuteronomy 1:38

1:38 However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, ²  will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land. ³ 

Proverbs 22:29

22:29 Do you see a person skilled ⁴  in his work?

He will take his position before kings;

he will not take his position ⁵  before obscure people. ⁶ 

Luke 21:36

21:36 But stay alert at all times, ⁷  praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must ⁸  happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

[35:19]  ¹ tn Heb “There shall not be cut to Jonadab son of Rechab a man standing before me all the days.” For the first part of this idiom see 33:17-18 where it is applied to David always having a descendant to occupy the throne and the Levites will always have priests to offer up sacrifices. For the latter part of the idiom “to stand before” referring to service see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד 1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 1:2; 2 Kgs 3:14; Jer 15:19; Deut 10:8. As comparison with those passages will show, it refers to attending on, or serving a superior, a king, or the Lord. It is used of both prophets (e.g., 1 Kgs 17:1) and priests (e.g., Deut 10:8) serving the Lord. Its most common use is to refer to priestly service. The nature of the service is not further defined in this case, though several of the commentaries point out a Mishnaic tradition that the Rechabites later were given the function of bringing wood for the altar.

[1:38]  ² tn Heb “the one who stands before you”; NAB “your aide”; TEV “your helper.”

[1:38]  ³ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:29]  ⁴ sn The word translated “skilled” is general enough to apply to any crafts; but it may refer to a scribe or an official (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 134).

[22:29]  ⁵ tn The verb form used twice here is יִתְיַצֵּב (yityatsev), the Hitpael imperfect of יָצַב (yatsav), which means “to set or station oneself; to take one’s stand” in this stem. With the form לִפְנֵי (life) it means “to present oneself before” someone; so here it has the idea of serving as a courtier in the presence of a king.

[22:29]  ⁶ sn The fifth saying affirms that true skill earns recognition and advancement (cf. Instruction of Amenemope, chap. 30, 27:16-17 [ANET 424]).

[21:36]  ⁷ sn The call to be alert at all times is a call to remain faithful in looking for the Lord’s return.

[21:36]  ⁸ tn For the translation of μέλλω (mellw) as “must,” see L&N 71.36.