“This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations!
Parallel translations
- WEB “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations.
- KJV As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
- BSB “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
- NKJV “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
- NASB “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God declared His covenant would make Abram the father of many nations. The promise widens from one nation to many peoples.
Overview
God reveals the expansive scope of His covenant: Abram will father a multitude of nations, not merely the people of Israel. Paul interprets this as fulfilled in the worldwide family of faith. The promise points beyond physical descent to the spiritual fatherhood Abram has over all who believe, Jew and Gentile alike, in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Gen 35:11God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will come out of your body.
- Rom 4:11–18He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they might be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might also be accounted to them.
- Gen 12:2I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
- Gal 3:28–29There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Gen 48:19His father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a multitude of nations.”
- Gen 16:10Yahweh’s angel said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, that they will not be counted for multitude.”
- Gen 25:1–18Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah.
- Gen 36:1–43Now this is the history of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).
- Gen 13:16I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be counted.
- Gen 32:12You said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which can’t be counted because there are so many.’”
- Gen 22:17that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your offspring greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gate of his enemies.
- Num 1:1–54Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
- Num 26:1–65After the plague, Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 17:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.