Kejadian 15:7

15:7 The Lord said ¹  to him, “I am the Lord ²  who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ³  to give you this land to possess.”

Kejadian 35:1

The Return to Bethel

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once ⁴  to Bethel ⁵  and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ⁶ 

Kejadian 35:11

35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. ⁷  Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! ⁸ 

[15:7]  ¹ tn Heb “And he said.”

[15:7]  ² sn I am the Lord. The Lord initiates the covenant-making ceremony with a declaration of who he is and what he has done for Abram. The same form appears at the beginning of the covenant made at Sinai (see Exod 20:1).

[15:7]  ³ sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium b.c.

[35:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

[35:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:1]  ⁶ sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).

[35:11]  ⁷ tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[35:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”

[35:11]  sn A nation…will descend from you. The promise is rooted in the Abrahamic promise (see Gen 17). God confirms what Isaac told Jacob (see Gen 28:3-4). Here, though, for the first time Jacob is promised kings as descendants.