Discovery Box| (0.33) | (Gen 27:23) | 1 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity. |
| (0.31) | (Gen 25:12) | 1 sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36). |
| (0.30) | (Act 7:8) | 5 tn The words “became the father of” are not in the Greek text due to an ellipsis, but must be supplied for the English translation. The ellipsis picks up the verb from the previous clause describing how Abraham fathered Isaac. |
| (0.29) | (Gen 21:3) | 1 tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise. |
| (0.29) | (Deu 21:17) | 2 tn Heb “measure of two.” The Hebrew expression פִּי שְׁנַיִם (pi shenayim) suggests a two-thirds split; that is, the elder gets two parts and the younger one part. Cf. 2 Kgs 2:9; Zech 13:8. The practice is implicit in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob (Gen 25:31-34) and Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim (Gen 48:8-22). |
| (0.29) | (Gen 22:18) | 1 sn Because you have obeyed me. Abraham’s obedience brought God’s ratification of the earlier conditional promise (see Gen 12:2). |
| (0.29) | (Exo 4:11) | 2 sn The final question obviously demands a positive answer. But the clause is worded in such a way as to return to the theme of “I AM.” Isaiah 45:5-7 developed this same idea of God’s control over life. Moses protests that he is not an eloquent speaker, and the Lord replies with reminders about himself and promises, “I will be with your mouth,” an assertion that repeats the verb he used four times in 3:12 and 14 and in promises to Isaac and Jacob (Gen 26:3; 31:3). |
| (0.29) | (2Sa 23:1) | 1 tn Heb “the anointed one of the God of Jacob.” |
| (0.28) | (Gen 26:8) | 4 sn The Hebrew word מְצַחֵק (metsakheq), from the root צָחַק (tsakhaq, “laugh”), forms a sound play with the name “Isaac” right before it. Here it depicts an action, probably caressing or fondling, that indicated immediately that Rebekah was Isaac’s wife, not his sister. Isaac’s deception made a mockery of God’s covenantal promise. Ignoring God’s promise to protect and bless him, Isaac lied to protect himself and acted in bad faith to the men of Gerar. |
| (0.27) | (Gen 21:22) | 1 sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection. |
| (0.27) | (Act 7:8) | 3 sn God gave…the covenant. Note how the covenant of promise came before Abraham’s entry into the land and before the building of the temple. |
| (0.27) | (1Ki 1:43) | 2 tn For a similar use of אֲבָל (ʾaval), see Gen 17:19, where God rejects Abraham’s proposal and offers an alternative. |
| (0.27) | (Luk 13:28) | 2 tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. |
| (0.27) | (Mat 8:11) | 2 tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob.” One καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. |
| (0.27) | (Gen 27:7) | 3 tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the Lord,” she stresses how serious this matter is. |
| (0.27) | (Gen 28:4) | 1 tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham. |
| (0.26) | (Luk 19:9) | 4 sn Zacchaeus was personally affirmed by Jesus as a descendant (son) of Abraham and a member of God’s family. |
| (0.26) | (Gen 26:33) | 2 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, beʾer shavaʿ) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time. |
| (0.26) | (Gen 31:1) | 2 sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, kavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38). |
| (0.25) | (Joh 1:14) | 5 tn Or “of the unique one.” Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12; 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clem. 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant., 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God, Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14; 1:18; 3:16, and 3:18). |
