Genesis 15:8

15:8 But ¹  Abram ²  said, “O sovereign Lord, ³  by what ⁴  can I know that I am to possess it?”

Genesis 33:20

33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” ⁵ 

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¹ tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn See note on the phrase “sovereign Lord” in 15:2.

⁴ tn Or “how.”

⁵ tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.