Kejadian 17:9-10

17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep ¹  the covenantal requirement ²  I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: ³  Every male among you must be circumcised. ⁴ 

Kejadian 19:32

19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ⁵  so we can have sexual relations ⁶  with him and preserve ⁷  our family line through our father.” ⁸ 

Kejadian 32:30

32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ⁹  explaining, ¹⁰  “Certainly ¹¹  I have seen God face to face ¹²  and have survived.” ¹³ 

[17:9]  ¹ tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.

[17:9]  ² tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.

[17:10]  ³ tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”

[17:10]  ⁴ sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.

[19:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.

[19:32]  ⁷ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

[19:32]  ⁸ tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:32]  sn For a discussion of the cultural background of the daughters’ desire to preserve our family line see F. C. Fensham, “The Obliteration of the Family as Motif in the Near Eastern Literature,” AION 10 (1969): 191-99.

[32:30]  ⁹ sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

[32:30]  ¹⁰ tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:30]  ¹¹ tn Or “because.”

[32:30]  ¹² sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

[32:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

[32:30]  sn I have survived. It was commonly understood that no one could see God and live (Gen 48:16; Exod 19:21, 24:10; and Judg 6:11, 22). On the surface Jacob seems to be saying that he saw God and survived. But the statement may have a double meaning, in light of his prayer for deliverance in v. 11. Jacob recognizes that he has survived his encounter with God and that his safety has now been guaranteed.