Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
- BSB No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
- NKJV No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
- NASB “No longer shall you be named Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
- NLT What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many 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 changed Abram's name to Abraham, father of a multitude. The new name embodied the enlarged promise.
Overview
God renames Abram, high father, as Abraham, father of a multitude, sealing the promise in his very identity. Name changes in Scripture often mark a new calling or covenant role. Abraham becomes the father of many nations, a title Paul applies to all who share his faith, foreshadowing the gathering of the nations into God's people through the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Matt 1:21–23And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
- Neh 9:7Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham;
- Rom 4:17(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
- Gen 17:15And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
- Gen 32:28And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
- Rev 2:17He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
- Jer 20:3And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.
- Isa 62:2–4And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
- Jer 23:6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
- 2 Sam 12:25And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
- Isa 65:15And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
- John 1:42And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
- Num 13:16These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
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 17:5 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.