Kejadian 18:18

18:18 After all, Abraham ¹  will surely become ²  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ³  using his name.

Kejadian 22:18

22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ⁴  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁵  using the name of your descendants.’”

Kejadian 26:4

26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ⁶  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁷ 

Kejadian 28:14

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ⁸  and you will spread out ⁹  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁰  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹¹ 

Kejadian 30:27

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ¹²  for I have learned by divination ¹³  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.”

Kejadian 30:30

30:30 Indeed, ¹⁴  you had little before I arrived, ¹⁵  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ¹⁶  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ¹⁷  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ¹⁸ 

Kejadian 39:5

39:5 From the time ¹⁹  Potiphar ²⁰  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ²¹  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ²²  in his house and in his fields. ²³ 

[18:18]  ¹ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”

[18:18]  ² tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.

[18:18]  ³ tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings upon”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[22:18]  ⁴ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  sn Because you have obeyed me. Abraham’s obedience brought God’s ratification of the earlier conditional promise (see Gen 12:2).

[22:18]  ⁵ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[26:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ⁷ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[28:14]  ⁸ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ⁹ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ¹⁰ tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[30:27]  ¹² tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:27]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the Lord has blessed me” (cf. NEB). See J. Finkelstein, “An Old Babylonian Herding Contract and Genesis 31:38f.,” JAOS 88 (1968): 34, n. 19.

[30:30]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[30:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “before me.”

[30:30]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”

[30:30]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “at my foot.”

[30:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”

[39:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and it was from then.”

[39:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:5]  ²¹ sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).

[39:5]  ²² tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:5]  ²³ sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.