Genesis 21:1

The Birth of Isaac

21:1 The Lord visited ¹  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ²  for Sarah what he had promised. ³ 

Genesis 39:13

39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside,

Genesis 41:11

41:11 We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. ⁴ 

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¹ sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the Lord “visits.” For a more detailed study of the term, see G. André, Determining the Destiny (ConBOT).

² tn Heb “and the Lord did.” The divine name has not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn Heb “spoken.”

⁴ tn Heb “and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we dreamed.”