⁴ See how great he is! Even^[a] Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils.^(A)

²⁹ “Fellow Israelites,^[a] I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.^(A)

And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything.^(A)

²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.^{(A) 29} And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,^[a] heirs according to the promise.^(B)

¹⁷ as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”), in the presence of the God in whom he believed,^[a] who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.^{(A) 18} Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So shall your descendants be.”

¹¹ He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith^[a] while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe^[b] without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,^{(A) 12} and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised.

God’s Promise Realized through Faith

¹³ For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.^(B)

⁸ Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham^[a] became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac did likewise to Jacob and Jacob to the twelve patriarchs.^(A)

⁹ “The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him^(B)

⁵ No longer shall your name be Abram,^[a] but your name shall be Abraham,^[b] for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.^{(A) 6} I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.^(B)

² I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.^(A)