48:4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful5 and will multiply you.6 I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants7 as an everlasting possession.’8
tnHeb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.
6
tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.
7
tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8
tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (’akhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ’akhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).
