Psalms 21:4

21:4 He asked you to sustain his life, ¹ 

and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty. ² 

Psalms 91:16

91:16 I will satisfy him with long life, ³ 

and will let him see my salvation.

Deuteronomy 6:2

6:2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments ⁴  that I am giving ⁵  you – you, your children, and your grandchildren – all your lives, to prolong your days.

Deuteronomy 30:20

30:20 I also call on you ⁶  to love the Lord your God, to obey him and be loyal to him, for he gives you life and enables you to live continually ⁷  in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Deuteronomy 30:1

The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation

30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses ⁸  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them ⁹  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.

Deuteronomy 3:10-11

3:10 all the cities of the plateau, all of Gilead and Bashan as far as Salecah ¹⁰  and Edrei, ¹¹  cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 3:11 Only King Og of Bashan was left of the remaining Rephaites. (It is noteworthy ¹²  that his sarcophagus ¹³  was made of iron. ¹⁴  Does it not, indeed, still remain in Rabbath ¹⁵  of the Ammonites? It is thirteen and a half feet ¹⁶  long and six feet ¹⁷  wide according to standard measure.) ¹⁸ 

[21:4]  ¹ tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”

[21:4]  ² tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.

[91:16]  ³ tn Heb “length of days.”

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Here the terms are not the usual חֻקִּים (khuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim; as in v. 1) but חֻקֹּת (khuqqot, “statutes”) and מִצְוֹת (mitsot, “commandments”). It is clear that these terms are used interchangeably and that their technical precision ought not be overly stressed.

[6:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.

[30:20]  ⁶ tn The words “I also call on you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20 are one long sentence, which the translation divides into two.

[30:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “he is your life and the length of your days to live.”

[30:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”

[30:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”

[3:10]  ¹⁰ sn Salecah. Today this is known as Salkhad, in Jordan, about 31 mi (50 km) east of the Jordan River in the Hauran Desert.

[3:10]  ¹¹ sn Edrei. See note on this term in 3:1.

[3:11]  ¹² tn Heb “Behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

[3:11]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term עֶרֶשׂ (’eres), traditionally translated “bed” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) is likely a basaltic (volcanic) stone sarcophagus of suitable size to contain the coffin of the giant Rephaite king. Its iron-like color and texture caused it to be described as an iron container. See A. Millard, “King Og’s Iron Bed: Fact or Fancy?” BR 6 (1990): 16-21, 44; cf. also NEB “his sarcophagus of basalt”; TEV, CEV “his coffin.”

[3:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “of iron-colored basalt.” See note on the word “sarcophagus” earlier in this verse.

[3:11]  ¹⁵ sn Rabbath. This place name (usually occurring as Rabbah; 2 Sam 11:11; 12:27; Jer 49:3) refers to the ancient capital of the Ammonite kingdom, now the modern city of Amman, Jordan. The word means “great [one],” probably because of its political importance. The fact that the sarcophagus “still remain[ed]” there suggests this part of the verse is post-Mosaic, having been added as a matter of explanation for the existence of the artifact and also to verify the claim as to its size.

[3:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “nine cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 in (45 cm) for the standard cubit, this would be 13.5 ft (4.1 m) long.

[3:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “four cubits.” This would be 6 ft (1.8 m) wide.

[3:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “by the cubit of man.” This probably refers to the “short” or “regular” cubit of approximately 18 in (45 cm).