Kejadian 6:3

6:3 So the Lord said, “My spirit will not remain in ¹  humankind indefinitely, ²  since ³  they ⁴  are mortal. ⁵  They ⁶  will remain for 120 more years.” ⁷ 

Kejadian 15:18

15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ⁸  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ⁹  this land, from the river of Egypt ¹⁰  to the great river, the Euphrates River –

Kejadian 23:17

23:17 So Abraham secured ¹¹  Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border,

Kejadian 25:18

25:18 His descendants ¹²  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ¹³  to Egypt all the way ¹⁴  to Asshur. ¹⁵  They settled ¹⁶  away from all their relatives. ¹⁷ 

Kejadian 31:53

31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ¹⁸  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ¹⁹ 

[6:3]  ¹ tn The verb form יָדוֹן (yadon) only occurs here. Some derive it from the verbal root דִּין (din, “to judge”) and translate “strive” or “contend with” (so NIV), but in this case one expects the form to be יָדִין (yadin). The Old Greek has “remain with,” a rendering which may find support from an Arabic cognate (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:375). If one interprets the verb in this way, then it is possible to understand רוּחַ (ruakh) as a reference to the divine life-giving spirit or breath, rather than the Lord’s personal Spirit. E. A. Speiser argues that the term is cognate with an Akkadian word meaning “protect” or “shield.” In this case, the Lord’s Spirit will not always protect humankind, for the race will suddenly be destroyed (E. A. Speiser, “YDWN, Gen. 6:3,” JBL 75 [1956]: 126-29).

[6:3]  ² tn Or “forever.”

[6:3]  ³ tn The form בְּשַׁגַּם (bÿshagam) appears to be a compound of the preposition בְּ (beth, “in”), the relative שֶׁ (she, “who” or “which”), and the particle גַּם (gam, “also, even”). It apparently means “because even” (see BDB 980 s.v. שֶׁ).

[6:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the plural pronoun has been used in the translation since “man” earlier in the verse has been understood as a collective (“humankind”).

[6:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “flesh.”

[6:3]  ⁶ tn See the note on “they” earlier in this verse.

[6:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “his days will be 120 years.” Some interpret this to mean that the age expectancy of people from this point on would be 120, but neither the subsequent narrative nor reality favors this. It is more likely that this refers to the time remaining between this announcement of judgment and the coming of the flood.

[15:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ⁹ tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).

[15:18]  sn To your descendants I give this land. The Lord here unconditionally promises that Abram’s descendants will possess the land, but he does not yet ratify his earlier promises to give Abram a multitude of descendants and eternal possession of the land. The fulfillment of those aspects of the promise remain conditional (see Gen 17:1-8) and are ratified after Abraham offers up his son Isaac (see Gen 22:1-19). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

[15:18]  ¹⁰ sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.

[23:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[25:18]  ¹² tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ¹⁵ sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.

[31:53]  ¹⁸ tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.

[31:53]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.