^22:16and said, “ ‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’³⁶ decrees the Lord,³⁷ ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ^22:17I will indeed bless you,³⁸ and I will greatly multiply³⁹ your descendants⁴⁰ so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession⁴¹ of the strongholds⁴² of their enemies. ^22:18Because you have obeyed me,⁴³ all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another⁴⁴ using the name of your descendants.’ ”

^22:19Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together⁴⁵ for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed.⁴⁶

^22:20After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah⁴⁷ also has borne children to your brother Nahor—^22:21Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram),⁴⁸^22:22Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ^22:23(Now⁴⁹ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. ^22:24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children—Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

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Footnotes

36 Heb “By myself I swear.”
37 Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.
38 The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.
39 Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative). I will greatly multiply. The Lord here ratifies his earlier promise to give Abram a multitude of descendants. For further discussion see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35–54.
40 The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
41 Or “inherit.”
42 Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).
43 In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons. Because you have obeyed me. Abraham’s obedience brought God’s ratification of the earlier conditional promise (see Gen 12:2).
44 Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
45 Heb “and they arose and went together.”
46 Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.
47 In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.
48 This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.
49 The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).