A great name, and blessing for the nations
The Lord will make Abram a great nation, bless him, and make his name great, and Abram is told to be a blessing. 12:3 promises blessing and curse, and that all the families of the earth will be blessed in him. The niphal venivrekhu has been read as passive, “will be blessed,” or as reflexive, “will bless themselves.” Keil holds that the form “has only the passive signification”, and that a reflexive reading would leave Paul’s use at Gal 3:8 without a firm basis. Skinner prefers “by thee shall all . . . bless themselves” Driver allows either sense, and still calls the thought, in a wider sense, Messianic, comparing Gal 3:8. Calvin allows a proverbial reading (“let him enjoy his opinion”), but extends it so that Abram is a cause of blessing, and he reads “the promise to the seed of Abraham, that is, to Christ” Early readings take a blessing in Abram: the Targum has “in thee shall be blessed all the generations of the earth”, and the Jerusalem text “in thy righteousness shall all the generations of the earth be blessed”; Jubilees, “And in Thee shall all families of the earth be blessed,” Augustine, “in thee shall all tribes of the earth be blessed”, distinguishing the land promise from “not about the carnal but the spiritual seed” Gal 3:8 is taken up with Keil and Driver in Gen 12:3 → Gal 3:8. No ruling is given.
Claims
- SaysThe Lord promises to make Abram a great nation, to bless him and make his name great, to bless those who bless him and curse the one who curses him, and that all the families of the earth will be blessed in him.
- ImpliesThe great name is given, where the builders of 11:4 sought one for themselves.
- UncertainThe niphal of 12:3 may be passive (“will be blessed”) or reflexive (“will bless themselves”); Keil, Skinner, Driver, and Calvin are each attributed, with Gal 3:8 set beside Keil and Driver; the Targum, Jubilees, and Augustine take a blessing in Abram; no ruling is given.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 12:2–3
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 12:2–3 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
- Keil–Delitzsch, Pentateuch 1 public domain p. 195 (leaf n198)
- Keil–Delitzsch, Pentateuch 1 public domain p. 195 (leaf n198)
- Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain p. 244 (leaf n345)
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain p. 145 (leaf n246)
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain p. 349 (leaf n358)
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain p. 348 (leaf n357)
- Etheridge public domain p. 193 (leaf n205)
- Etheridge public domain p. 193 (leaf n205)
- APOT public domain p. 32 (leaf n51)
- Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain p. 321 (leaf n344)
- Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain p. 321 (leaf n344)
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-12
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