Genesis 17:16

17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. ¹  Kings of countries ²  will come from her!”

Genesis 18:10

18:10 One of them ³  said, “I will surely return ⁴  to you when the season comes round again, ⁵  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ⁶  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ⁷ 

Genesis 18:1

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ⁸  by the oaks ⁹  of Mamre while ¹⁰  he was sitting at the entrance ¹¹  to his tent during the hottest time of the day.

1 Samuel 1:20

1:20 After some time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, thinking, “I asked the Lord for him. ¹² 

1 Samuel 1:2

1:2 He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah and the name of the second was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless.

Acts 4:16

4:16 saying, “What should we do with these men? For it is plain ¹³  to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable miraculous sign ¹⁴  has come about through them, ¹⁵  and we cannot deny it.

Luke 1:13

1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, ¹⁶  and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you ¹⁷  will name him John. ¹⁸ 

Luke 1:31

1:31 Listen: ¹⁹  You will become pregnant ²⁰  and give birth to ²¹  a son, and you will name him ²²  Jesus. ²³ 

[17:16]  ¹ tn Heb “she will become nations.”

[17:16]  ² tn Heb “peoples.”

[18:10]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV) based on vv. 1, 13, but the Hebrew text merely has “he said” at this point, referring to one of the three visitors. Aside from the introductory statement in v. 1, the incident is narrated from Abraham’s point of view, and the suspense is built up for the reader as Abraham’s elaborate banquet preparations in the preceding verses suggest he suspects these are important guests. But not until the promise of a son later in this verse does it become clear who is speaking. In v. 13 the Hebrew text explicitly mentions the Lord.

[18:10]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ⁷ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[18:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁶ tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ⁷ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[1:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “because from the Lord I asked him.” The name “Samuel” sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “asked.” The explanation of the meaning of the name “Samuel” that is provided in v. 20 is not a strict etymology. It seems to suggest that the first part of the name is derived from the Hebrew root שׁאל (sh’l, “to ask”), but the consonants do not support this. Nor is it likely that the name comes from the root שׁמא (shm’, “to hear”), for the same reason. It more probably derives from שֶׁם (shem, “name”), so that “Samuel” means “name of God.” Verse 20 therefore does not set forth a linguistic explanation of the meaning of the name, but rather draws a parallel between similar sounds. This figure of speech is known as paronomasia.

[4:16]  ⁹ tn Or “evident.”

[4:16]  ¹⁰ tn Here σημεῖον (shmeion) has been translated as “miraculous sign” rather than simply “sign” or “miracle” since both components appear to be present in the context. It is clear that the healing of the lame man was a miracle, but for the Sanhedrin it was the value of the miraculous healing as a sign that concerned them because it gave attestation to the message of Peter and John. The sign “speaks” as Peter claimed in 3:11-16.

[4:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “has been done by them.”

[1:13]  ¹¹ tn The passive means that the prayer was heard by God.

[1:13]  ¹² tn Grk “a son, and you”; καί (kai) has not been translated. Instead a semicolon is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “you will call his name John.” The future tense here functions like a command (see ExSyn 569-70). This same construction occurs in v. 31.

[1:31]  ¹³ tn Grk “And behold.”

[1:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “you will conceive in your womb.”

[1:31]  ¹⁵ tn Or “and bear.”

[1:31]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

[1:31]  ¹⁷ tn See v. 13 for a similar construction.