9:7a
(NET Bible🙂 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants: The Greek is literally “neither that (they) are seed of Abraham all children.” There are two issues of interpretation.
Issue 1: Interpretation of the Greek word hoti
There are several ways to interpret the Greek word that is often translated as “that.” Here are the main ones:
(1) The Greek word introduces an explanation. But 9:6b is already an explanation, so some versions translate this connection with “and.” For example:
and not all the descendants of Abraham count as his children (New Jerusalem Bible)
(New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, NET Bible, New Century Version)
(2) The Greek word means “because” and connects “seed” to children, rather than back to 9:6b. For example:
Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children (New International Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, English Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the Greek word probably has the same meaning as in 9:6 (where the Berean Standard Bible leaves it implicit).
Issue 2: Interpretation of what the subject of the Greek verb translated are is
The Greek verb has the ending that indicates third person plural (“they” or a group mentioned in the clause). It is not clear whether to take “they” as referring to “seed” or children. (In Greek, the singular “seed” can refer to either a singular seed or plural seeds, so it is grammatical for “seed” here to take the plural verb ending.) There are a number of interpretations. Here are the three main ones:
(1) The subject is children. For example:
nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants (New Revised Standard Version)
(New Revised Standard Version, NET Bible)
(2) The subject is seed/descendants. For example:
and not all the descendants of Abraham count as his children (New Jerusalem Bible)
(Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition)
(3) The subject is all. For example:
and not all are children of Abraham because they are his descendants (Revised Standard Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it fits better with 9:7b and 9:8. But you may want to follow what the major language version does here.
9:7b
On the contrary: This indicates contrast to “all of the descendants of Abraham,” only part of 9:7a. Some languages would not consider “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named” to contrast to “not all the descendants of Abraham count as his children” (9:7a). For example:
because
-or-
God told him
-or-
Just like what God said to Abraham
“Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned”: This quote is from Genesis 21:12. In some languages a quote from the Old Testament must be clearly introduced as such. For example:
but ⌊as the Scriptures say,⌋ “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
If you indicate the location of quotes from the Old Testament with cross-references, you may want to do so here.
Of Abraham’s children, God only chose Isaac to inherit the promises of God to Abraham. Isaac and then Jacob became the founders of the people of Israel, and God named them his people. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
It is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
-or-
Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
It is only the descendants of Isaac who will be counted as your grandchildren/descendants
This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊God said,⌋ “Through Isaac shall ⌊I⌋ reckon your offspring.”
The phrase Through Isaac is put in the front of the clause to emphasize it. In some languages, the phrase must be in its usual place. If possible emphasize it in another way. For example:
Of your (sg) children, only just the descendants of Isahak will I regard/consider your (sg) descendants
-or-
The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac (New Century Version)
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