Kejadian 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. ¹ 

Kejadian 15:5

15:5 The Lord ²  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

Kejadian 17:2

17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ³  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ⁴ 

Kejadian 17:4

17:4 “As for me, ⁵  this ⁶  is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations.

Kejadian 18:18

18:18 After all, Abraham ⁷  will surely become ⁸  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁹  using his name.

Kejadian 22:17

22:17 I will indeed bless you, ¹⁰  and I will greatly multiply ¹¹  your descendants ¹²  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ¹³  of the strongholds ¹⁴  of their enemies.

Kejadian 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 ¹⁵  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ¹⁶ 

Kejadian 28:3

28:3 May the sovereign God ¹⁷  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ¹⁸  Then you will become ¹⁹  a large nation. ²⁰ 

Kejadian 28:14

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ²¹  and you will spread out ²²  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²³  using your name and that of your descendants. ²⁴ 

[13:16]  ¹ tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.

[15:5]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:2]  ³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

[17:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “I.”

[17:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

[18:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”

[18:18]  ⁸ tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.

[18:18]  ⁹ tn Theoretically the Niphal 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 Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later 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 [or “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 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham 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.

[22:17]  ¹⁰ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ¹¹ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  sn I will greatly multiply. The Lord here ratifies his earlier promise to give Abram a multitude of descendants. For further discussion see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

[22:17]  ¹² 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.

[22:17]  ¹³ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[26:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ¹⁶ 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.)

[28:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ¹⁹ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[28:14]  ²¹ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ²² tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”