Genesis 15:6

RBT Hebrew Literal:

And he was trusted⁵⁶² in Yahweh, and he is interweaving⁵⁶³ her to-himself a just-one.⁵⁶⁴

RBT Paraphrase:
And he was confirmed/trusted within He is, and he is regarding herself a just one to himself.

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And he believed in Jehovah; and it shall be reckoned to him justice.

LITV Translation:
And he believed in Jehovah. And He counted it to him for righteousness.

ESV Translation:
And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Brenton Septuagint Translation:
And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.

Footnotes

562

Strong’s #539, aman. To trust, support. As pillars are trusted, and as pillars support. Here it is in the Hophal causative form האמן which means to "cause to be trusted, be confirmed" Typically translated to believe but this misses the Hophal form:

האמן has been generally interpreted as a Hiphil causative and then translated "he believed" which is hardly a causative notion. But it is missing the typical Hiphil letter "י" where it would be written האמין as happens elsewhere (cf. Genesis 45:26). This leaves the Hophal, imperative 2nd masculine singular/plural, and and infintive construct for true to text translation.

 

Hophal "Trust/Believe"

• Passive Voice: The Hophal stem generally denotes the passive voice. This means that the subject of the verb undergoes the action rather than performs it. For example:

  • Qal (Simple Active): פתח (patakh) - "he opened"
  • Hophal (Passive): הפתח (hupatakh) - "he was opened"

• Causative or Permissive Nuance: While primarily passive, the Hophal stem can also carry a causative or permissive nuance. This implies that the action may have been allowed or caused to happen by someone or something. For instance:

  • Qal (Simple Active): קטל (qatal) - "he killed"
  • Hophal (Passive/Causative): הקטל (huqatal) - "he was killed" or "he was caused to be killed"

• Usage: The Hophal stem is used to describe actions or events where the subject is acted upon or affected by an external force or agent. It is common in biblical Hebrew and is used to express passive actions or states.

563

Strong’s #2803, chashab. think, account, devise.  "A primitive root; properly, to plait or interpenetrate, i.e. (literally) to weave or (gen.) To fabricate; figuratively, to plot or contrive, count, calculate"

564

He is regarding her to himself a just-one. The Hebrew יחשבה, yachshevehah (#2803) has a feminine direct object suffix denoting a “her”. We find this same verb construct in Genesis 38:15, “And Judah is seeing her, and he is regarding [yachshevehah] her for a harlot” and in 1 Samuel 1:13, “and Eli is regarding [yachshevehah] her for a drunk.”

The noun “justice” (#6666) is in the feminine, tsedaqah. “Righteousness” is an abstract interpretation of what is really an objective concept—just or justice. This is the “Bride” of Heaven. Justice in the feminine appears in the Proverbs and Prophets and also in Genesis 18:19, Deuteronomy 24:13, Psalm 33:5, 106:3, and Job 37:23.