Genesis 15:4

15:4 But look, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir.”

Genesis 22:13

22:13 Abraham looked up and saw behind him 10  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 11  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.


tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.

tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the Lord does not mention him by name is significant; often in ancient times the use of the name would bring legitimacy to inheritance and adoption cases.

tn Heb “inherit you.”

tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-im) forms a very strong adversative.

tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”

tn Heb “will inherit you.”

tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”

tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.

10 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Samaritan Pentateuch read “one” (אֶחָד, ’ekhad) instead of “behind him” (אַחַר, ’akhar).

11 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.