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“On my part, behold, my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. You will no longer be called Abram, but Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations.[a] I will make you very, very fruitful. I will make nations come from you, and you shall give birth to kings. I will establish my covenant with you for all generations. It will be an eternal covenant. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will give you and your descendants after you this land where you are now an alien. All of the land of Canaan shall be your eternal possession. I will be your God.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 17:5 In the Semitic vision of things, when one person changes the name of another, the former is asserting power over the latter and guiding his destiny. Here “Abraham” is explained by assonance with ab hamôn, “father of a multitude,” or ab rab hamôn, “father of a great multitude.”

Eternal One: Here is My covenant with you. I promise you will become the root of a huge family tree of multiple nations. To symbolize your foundational role in this covenant, I hereby change your name. You will no longer go by the name “Abram.” Your new name will be “Abraham,” which means “father of a great multitude of nations,” because that is exactly what I will make of you.[a] Your descendants will be exceedingly fruitful. Nations and kings will descend from you. I hereby make this covenant—this sacred bond—between Me and you and all of your children and their children’s children throughout the coming generations. It will be an eternal covenant. I will be your God and the God to all who come after you! I will fulfill My promise to give you and your descendants the land of Canaan, where you now live as foreigners. I will place all of Canaan into your hands to be yours forever. I will be your God and their God forever.

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Footnotes

  1. 17:5 Romans 4:17