Genesis 17:6

17:1-6 The covenant was to be accomplished in due time. The promised Seed was Christ, and Christians in him. And all who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abram, being partakers of the same covenant blessings. In token of this covenant his name was changed from Abram, a high father, to Abraham, the father of a multitude. All that the Christian world enjoys, it is indebted for to Abraham and his Seed.

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful,.... In children, for he had not only a son by Sarai, from whom sprung a numerous offspring, but he had six sons by Keturah, who became the heads of large nations: and I will make nations of thee; as the nations of Israel and Judah, of the Midianites and Edomites, of the Arabs, Saracens, and Turks: and kings shall come out of thee; as the twelve princes of Ishmael, the kings of Edom and Midian, of the Arabs, Saracens, and Turks, and of Israel and Judah, and especially, as observed by Grotius, and others, the King Messiah: to which may be added, in a mystical sense, all Christian kings and princes of the same faith with him; nay, all believers, who are all kings and priests unto God.

6 . kings shall come out of thee ] Cf. Genesis 17:16 and Genesis 35:11 (P). The promise contains a reference to the Israelite monarchy. This is recognized as overruled by God (cf. 1 Samuel 11, 12) to be the means of the people’s blessing and expansion. Cf. Numbers 24:14 ; Numbers 24:17-19 . With the “kings” of Israel, compare the “princes” of “Ishmael” ( Genesis 17:20 ) and “the dukes of Edom” ( Genesis 36:40 ).

5. but thy name shall be Abraham—In Eastern countries a change of name is an advertisement of some new circumstance in the history, rank, or religion of the individual who bears it. The change is made variously, by the old name being entirely dropped for the new, or by conjoining the new with the old; or sometimes only a few letters are inserted, so that the altered form may express the difference in the owner's state or prospects. It is surprising how soon a new name is known and its import spread through the country. In dealing with Abraham and Sarai, God was pleased to adapt His procedure to the ideas and customs of the country and age. Instead of Abram, "a high father," he was to be called Abraham, "father of a multitude of nations" (see Re 2:17).

CHAPTER 17 Ge 17:1-27. Renewal of the Covenant. 1. Abram … ninety years old and nine—thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael [Ge 16:16]. During that interval he had enjoyed the comforts of communion with God but had been favored with no special revelation as formerly, probably on account of his hasty and blameable marriage with Hagar. the Lord appeared—some visible manifestation of the divine presence, probably the Shekinah or radiant glory of overpowering effulgence. I am the Almighty God—the name by which He made Himself known to the patriarchs (Ex 6:3), designed to convey the sense of "all-sufficient" (Ps 16:5, 6; 73:25). walk … and … perfect—upright, or sincere (Ps 51:6) in heart, speech, and behavior.God renews his covenant with Abram, Genesis 17:1-4. His name in token thereof changed, Genesis 17:5. Kings shall be born of him, Genesis 17:6. The covenant established with his seed, Genesis 17:7. The promise of Canaan to him and his seed repeated, Genesis 17:8. Circumcision instituted, Genesis 17:9,10. The part to be circumcised, Genesis 17:11. The time and persons, Genesis 17:12,13. The punishment on neglecters of it, Genesis 17:14. Sarai’s named changed, Genesis 17:15. A son by her promised, Genesis 17:16. Abraham’s surprise, Genesis 17:17. His prayer for Ishmael, Genesis 17:18. The promise of a son by Sarah confirmed; his name, Genesis 17:19. Abraham’s prayer for Ishmael answered, Genesis 17:20, but the covenant established in Isaac, Genesis 17:21.

As for me. - The one party to the covenant is here made prominent, as in Genesis 17:9 the other party is brought out with like emphasis. The exalted Being who has entered into it imparts a grandeur, solemnity, and excellence to the covenant. "Father of many nations." The promise of seed is here expanded and particularized. A multitude of nations and kings are to trace their descent from Abram. This is true in a literal sense. The twelve tribes of Israel and many Arab tribes, the twelve princes of Ishmael, Keturah's descendants, and the dukes of Edom sprang from him. But it is to be more magnificently realized in a spiritual sense. "Nations" is a term usually applied, not to the chosen people, but to the other great branches of the human race. This points to the original promise, that in him should all the families of the earth be blessed. "Abraham." The father of many nations is to be called by a new name, as he has come to have a new nature, and been elevated to a new dignity. The high father has become the father of the multitude of the faithful.

On the part of God אני placed at the beginning absolutely: so far as I am concerned, for my part) it was to consist of this: (1) that God would make Abram the father (אב instead of אני chosen with reference to the name Abram) of a multitude of nations, the ancestor of nations and kings; (2) that He would be God, show Himself to be God, in an eternal covenant relation, to him and to his posterity, according to their families, according to all their successive generations; and (3) that He would give them the land in which he had wandered as a foreigner, viz., all Canaan, for an everlasting possession. As a pledge of this promise God changed his name אברם, i.e., high father, into אברהם, i.e., father of the multitude, from אב and רהם, Arab. ruhâm equals multitude. In this name God gave him a tangible pledge of the fulfilment of His covenant, inasmuch as a name which God gives cannot be a mere empty sound, but must be the expression of something real, or eventually acquire reality.

[Bible] 17:2. And I will make my covenant between me and thee: and I will multiply thee exceedingly. 17:3. Abram fell flat on his face. 17:4. And God said to him: I am, and my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 17:5. Neither shall thy name be called any more Abram: but thou shalt be called Abraham: because I have made thee a father of many nations. Abram... in the Hebrew, signifies a high father: but Abraham, the father of the multitude; Sarai signifies my Lady, but Sara absolutely Lady. 17:6. And I will make thee increase exceedingly, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 17:7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and between thy seed after thee in their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee. 17:8. And I will give to thee, and to thy seed, the land of thy sojournment, all the land of Chanaan, for a perpetual possession, and I will be their God. 17:9. Again God said to Abraham: And thou therefore shalt keep my covenant, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 17:10. This is my covenant which you shall observe between me and you, and thy seed after thee: All the male-kind of you shall be circumcised. 17:11. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, that it may be for a sign of the covenant between me and you. 17:12. An infant of eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every manchild in your generations: he that is born in the house, as well as the bought servant, shall be circumcised, and whosoever is not of your stock: 17:13. And my covenant shall be in your flesh for a perpetual covenant. 17:14. The male whose flesh of his foreskin shall not be circumcised, that soul shall be destroyed out of his people: because he hath broken my covenant. 17:15. God said also to Abraham: Sarai thy wife thou shalt not call Sarai, but Sara.

And thy name shall no more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of a multitude of nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I give to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be a God to them. And God said to Abraham, And [as for] thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee — that every male among you be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and [that] shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. And at eight days old shall every male in your generations be circumcised among you — he who is born in the house, and he who is bought with money, any stranger who is not of thy seed. He who is born in thy house, and he who is bought with thy money, must be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male who hath not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his peoples: he hath broken my covenant.