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Genesis 48:4

Context
48:4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful 1  and will multiply you. 2  I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants 3  as an everlasting possession.’ 4 

Genesis 48:16

Context

48:16 the Angel 5  who has protected me 6 

from all harm –

bless these boys.

May my name be named in them, 7 

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

1 tn Heb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.

2 tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.

3 tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

4 tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (’akhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ’akhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).

5 sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.

6 tn The verb גָּאַל (gaal) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).

7 tn Or “be recalled through them.”



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