The Fallible Study Bible

The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Genesis17:1–8

Abraham to Father Many Nations

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Genesis 17:1–8 — Abraham to Father Many Nations. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

1

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’aḇ·rām way·hî tiš·‘îm wə·ṯê·ša‘ šā·nîm ben- šā·nāh Yah·weh way·yê·rā ’el- ’aḇ·rām way·yō·mer ’ê·lāw ’ă·nî- ’êl šad·day hiṯ·hal·lêḵ lə·p̄ā·nay weh·yêh ṯā·mîm

Word by word20 · parsed
אַבְרָ֔ם’aḇ·rāmWhen AbramH87
√ ʼAbrâm — Abram, the original name of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular
וַיְהִ֣יway·hîwasH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
תִּשְׁעִ֥יםtiš·‘îmninety-nineH8673
√ tishʻîym — ninetyNumbercommon plural
וְתֵ֣שַׁעwə·ṯê·ša‘. . .H8672
√ têshaʻ — nine or (ordinal) ninthConjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular
שָׁנִ֑יםšā·nîmyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine plural
בֶּן־ben-oldH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine singular construct
ben- (H1121, bên, "son of"): the Hebrew reckons age idiomatically as "a son of ninety years and nine years." The number is theologically loaded — Maclaren and Keil both stress that thirteen silent years had passed since Ishmael's birth (Gen 16:16), so that "for something over thirteen years he had been left to walk by faith" (Maclaren). The aged body is itself the stage for El Shaddai's power.
שָׁנָ֖הšā·nāh. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
יְהוָ֜הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
Yah·weh (H3068): the covenant name opens the verse, yet the speaker immediately names Himself El Shaddai — and the rest of the chapter uses Elohim (vv.3,7-9). The commentators wrestle with this. Cambridge raises the source-critical reading ("Jehovah, used here in P") and even "one sacred name has been substituted for another by editor or copyist"; Ellicott counters that "the very gist of the passage is the identification of Jehovah and El shaddai." The synthesis records the divine-name question without adjudicating it.
וַיֵּרָ֨אway·yê·rāappearedH7200
√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbNifalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶל־’el-toH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
אַבְרָ֗ם’aḇ·rāmhimH87
√ ʼAbrâm — Abram, the original name of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרway·yō·merand saidH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֵלָיו֙’ê·lāw. . .H413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionthird person masculine singular
אֲנִי־’ă·nî-IH589
√ ʼănîy — IPronounfirst person common singular
אֵ֣ל’êlam GodH410
√ ʼêl — strengthNounmasculine singular
ʼêl (H410), "the Strong One," cognate with Elohim, here qualified by Shaddai — the same construction-pattern as El Elyon (Gen 14:18) and El Olam (Gen 21:33), each pairing naming an attribute of the one God. Keil notes the name "belonged to the sphere of salvation," describing "the covenant God, as possessing the power to realize His promises, even when the order of nature presented no prospect of their fulfilment."
שַׁדַּ֔יšad·dayAlmightyH7706
√ Shadday — the AlmightyNounpropermasculine singular
šad·day (H7706, freq. 48 verses): Ellicott and Cambridge both note its concentration — "thirty-one times" in Job — and its appearance in Balaam (Num 24:4,16) and Naomi (Ruth 1:20), "one of the more general worldwide titles of the Most High." The derivation "has hitherto baffled enquiry" (Cambridge). The synthesis treats it as a name of irresistible power whose etymology is genuinely uncertain.
הִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְhiṯ·hal·lêḵWalkH1980
√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbHitpaelImperativemasculine singular
hiṯ·hal·lêḵ lə·p̄ā·nay ("walk before Me"): every voice marks that this differs from Enoch and Noah, who "walked with God" (Gen 5:22; 6:9). Ellicott: "the preposition before implies less closeness than with." Cambridge: "the 'walk,' not 'with,' but 'in the presence of.'" The phrase names a life lived consciously under God's gaze — "as if conscious of my inspection and solicitous of my approval" (Pulpit).
לְפָנַ֖יlə·p̄ā·naybefore MeH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNounmasculine plural constructfirst person common singular
וֶהְיֵ֥הweh·yêhand beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalImperativemasculine singular
תָמִֽים׃ṯā·mîmblamelessH8549
√ tâmîym — entire (literally, figuratively or morally)Adjectivemasculine singular
ṯā·mîm (H8549) closes the command. Benson reads the covenant as mutual: "this upright walking with God is the condition of our interest in his all- sufficiency." Keil frames it exactly: "as righteousness received in faith was necessary for the establishment of the covenant, so a blameless walk before God was required for the maintenance and confirmation of the covenant."
2

I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’et·tə·nāh ḇə·rî·ṯî bê·nî ū·ḇê·ne·ḵā wə·’ar·beh ’ō·wṯ·ḵā bim·’ōḏ mə·’ōḏ

Word by word8 · parsed
וְאֶתְּנָ֥הwə·’et·tə·nāhI will establishH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfect Cohortativefirst person common singular
wə·ʼet·tə·nāh (H5414, Cohortative): the verb of grace. Keil parses the idiom bᵉrîyth nâthan carefully — "signifies, not to make a covenant, but to give, to put, i.e., to realize, to set in operation the things promised" — equivalent to setting it up. The covenant of ch.15 is not replaced but carried into execution (so Pulpit, Keil).
בְרִיתִ֖יḇə·rî·ṯîMy covenantH1285
√ bᵉrîyth — a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)Nounfeminine singular constructfirst person common singular
ḇə·rî·ṯî (H1285): "My covenant" — the keyword of the unit, sounding seven-plus times across vv.2-21. Gill identifies it specifically as "the covenant of circumcision" (cf. Acts 7:8), "his own constitution, and depended on his sovereign will and pleasure."
בֵּינִ֣יbê·nîbetween Me and youH996
√ bêyn — between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles)Prepositionfirst person common singular
וּבֵינֶ֑ךָū·ḇê·ne·ḵā. . .H996
√ bêyn — between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles)Conjunctive wawPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
וְאַרְבֶּ֥הwə·’ar·behand I will multiplyH7235
√ râbâh — to increase (in whatever respect)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextualfirst person common singular
wə·ʼar·beh (H7235, râbâh, Hiphil): "and I will multiply." Gill notes this re-aims the promise away from Hagar's line: "lest be should think that Ishmael was the promised seed," reaching even to "his spiritual seed among all nations."
אוֹתְךָ֖’ō·wṯ·ḵāyouH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markersecond person masculine singular
בִּמְאֹ֥דbim·’ōḏexceedinglyH3966
√ mᵉʼôd — properly, vehemence, iPreposition-bAdverb
bim·ʼōḏ (H3966): the doubled adverb of intensity. The reduplication answers the impossibility of the case — an aged couple promised innumerable posterity — by sheer rhetorical weight, the verbal counterpart to El Shaddai's power.
מְאֹֽד׃mə·’ōḏ. . .H3966
√ mᵉʼôd — properly, vehemence, iAdverb
3

Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’aḇ·rām way·yip·pōl ‘al- pā·nāw ’ĕ·lō·hîm lê·mōr way·ḏab·bêr ’it·tōw

Word by word8 · parsed
אַבְרָ֖ם’aḇ·rāmThen AbramH87
√ ʼAbrâm — Abram, the original name of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular
וַיִּפֹּ֥לway·yip·pōlfell facedownH5307
√ nâphal — to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way·yip·pōl (H5307, nâphal): the fall is read two ways by the voices, and the synthesis keeps both. Benson: "As one overcome by the brightness of the divine glory... Or, as one ashamed of himself." Poole: "partly in self-abasement... and partly in reverence and worship." Awe and unworthiness are not opposed here.
עַל־‘al-. . .H5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
פָּנָ֑יוpā·nāw. . .H6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Nouncommon plural constructthird person masculine singular
pā·nāw (H6440, pânîym, "his face"): the same word root as lᵉphânay ("before Me," v.1). Abram is commanded to walk before God's face and responds by putting his own face to the ground — the wordplay of the unit's piety, invisible in English.
אֱלֹהִ֖ים’ĕ·lō·hîmand GodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural
ʼĕ·lō·hîm (H430): the name-shift the Pulpit Commentary calls evidence of "identity of being." Cambridge reads the same data source-critically ("Elohim occurs, as usual in P's narrative"); the synthesis records the alternation and the two readings of it.
לֵאמֹֽר׃lê·mōr. . .H559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רway·ḏab·bêrsaidH1696
√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way·ḏab·bêr (H1696): Gill's note that Abram had been raised before God resumed speaking guards the narrative logic — a man flat on his face does not hear a covenant expounded; the prostration is the response of worship, after which the LORD "still further expounded the nature of the covenant" (Keil).
אִתּ֛וֹ’it·tōwto himH854
√ ʼêth — properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), nearPrepositionthird person masculine singular
4

“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ă·nî hin·nêh ḇə·rî·ṯî ’it·tāḵ wə·hā·yî·ṯā lə·’aḇ hă·mō·wn gō·w·yim

Word by word8 · parsed
אֲנִ֕י’ă·nîAs for MeH589
√ ʼănîy — IPronounfirst person common singular
ʼă·nî (H589): the emphatic "I." Barnes: "The one party to the covenant is here made prominent, as in Genesis 17:9 the other party is brought out with like emphasis." Keil notes ʼani is chosen "with reference to the name Abram" — a play on the ab-sound that the new name will turn.
הִנֵּ֥הhin·nêhthis isH2009
√ hinnêh — lo!Interjection
בְרִיתִ֖יḇə·rî·ṯîMy covenantH1285
√ bᵉrîyth — a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)Nounfeminine singular constructfirst person common singular
אִתָּ֑ךְ’it·tāḵwith youH854
√ ʼêth — properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), nearPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
וְהָיִ֕יתָwə·hā·yî·ṯāYou will beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
לְאַ֖בlə·’aḇthe fatherH1
√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationPreposition-lNounmasculine singular construct
הֲמ֥וֹןhă·mō·wnof manyH1995
√ hâmôwn — a noise, tumult, crowdNounmasculine singular construct
hă·mō·wn (H1995): the "tumult, crowd" word. Cambridge confirms: "'Multitude,' hamôn = 'tumult.'" Benson reads the multitude both literally ("Isaac... Ishmael... the sons of Keturah") and spiritually ("all believers in every age should be looked upon as his spiritual seed," citing Rom 4:16).
גּוֹיִֽם׃gō·w·yimnationsH1471
√ gôwy — a foreign nationNounmasculine plural
gō·w·yim (H1471, gôwy): "nations" — and Barnes presses the word choice: "'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." The Gentile horizon is written into the noun.
5

No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·lō- ‘ō·wḏ ’eṯ- yiq·qā·rê šim·ḵā ’aḇ·rām šim·ḵā wə·hā·yāh ’aḇ·rā·hām kî nə·ṯat·tî·ḵā ’aḇ- hă·mō·wn gō·w·yim

Word by word14 · parsed
וְלֹא־wə·lō-NoH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle
ע֛וֹד‘ō·wḏlonger {will}H5750
√ ʻôwd — properly, iteration or continuanceAdverb
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
יִקָּרֵ֥אyiq·qā·rêyou be calledH7121
√ qârâʼ — to call out to (iVerbNifalImperfectthird person masculine singular
שִׁמְךָ֖šim·ḵāH8034
√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
אַבְרָ֑ם’aḇ·rāmAbramH87
√ ʼAbrâm — Abram, the original name of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular
ʼaḇ·rām (H87, freq. 50 verses): Cambridge flags this as "The shorter form is here used for the last time" in the running narrative. The name itself was the daily trial — Maclaren: "What a trial of Abram's faith it was to bid him take a name which would sound in men's ears liker irony than promise!"
שִׁמְךָ֙šim·ḵābut your nameH8034
√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
וְהָיָ֤הwə·hā·yāhwill beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
אַבְרָהָ֔ם’aḇ·rā·hāmAbrahamH85
√ ʼAbrâhâm — Abraham, the later name of AbramNounpropermasculine singular
ʼaḇ·rā·hām (H85, freq. 159 verses): the change is a covenant seal. Geneva: "The changing of his name is a seal to confirm God's promise to him." Keil: "a name which God gives cannot be a mere empty sound, but must be the expression of something real, or eventually acquire reality." The synthesis follows the voices in treating the assonance — not a strict etymology — as the point.
כִּ֛יkîforH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
נְתַתִּֽיךָ׃nə·ṯat·tî·ḵāI have made youH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalPerfectfirst person common singularsecond person masculine singular
nə·ṯat·tî·ḵā (H5414): the same root as v.2's "I will give My covenant" — God gives the covenant and gives/appoints Abraham his fatherhood. The repeated nâthan binds gift of covenant to gift of name.
אַב־’aḇ-a fatherH1
√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine singular construct
הֲמ֥וֹןhă·mō·wnof manyH1995
√ hâmôwn — a noise, tumult, crowdNounmasculine singular construct
hă·mō·wn gō·w·yim ("multitude of nations") echoes v.4 verbatim — the phrase that the new name Abraham condenses into a word. Maclaren: "It was the condensation into a word, of the divine promise."
גּוֹיִ֖םgō·w·yimnationsH1471
√ gôwy — a foreign nationNounmasculine plural
6

I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

bim·’ōḏ mə·’ōḏ ’ō·ṯə·ḵā wə·hip̄·rê·ṯî ū·nə·ṯat·tî·ḵā lə·ḡō·w·yim ū·mə·lā·ḵîm yê·ṣê·’ū mim·mə·ḵā

Word by word9 · parsed
בִּמְאֹ֣דbim·’ōḏI will make you exceedinglyH3966
√ mᵉʼôd — properly, vehemence, iPreposition-bAdverb
bim·ʼōḏ mə·ʼōḏ (H3966, doubled): the same superlative reduplication as v.2 — "exceedingly, exceedingly" — now attached to fruitfulness. The promise escalates: covenant (v.2), nations (v.4-5), and now nations and kings.
מְאֹ֔דmə·’ōḏ. . .H3966
√ mᵉʼôd — properly, vehemence, iAdverb
אֹֽתְךָ֙’ō·ṯə·ḵāH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markersecond person masculine singular
וְהִפְרֵתִ֤יwə·hip̄·rê·ṯîfruitfulH6509
√ pârâh — to bear fruit (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive perfectfirst person common singular
wə·hip̄·rê·ṯî (H6509, pârâh): the creation-blessing verb redirected to Abraham. What was spoken over all flesh in Gen 1 and renewed to Noah in Gen 9 is now concentrated on one covenant line — the particular bearing the universal.
וּנְתַתִּ֖יךָū·nə·ṯat·tî·ḵāI will makeH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectfirst person common singularsecond person masculine singular
לְגוֹיִ֑םlə·ḡō·w·yimnations [of you]H1471
√ gôwy — a foreign nationPreposition-lNounmasculine plural
וּמְלָכִ֖יםū·mə·lā·ḵîmand kingsH4428
√ melek — a kingConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural
ū·mə·lā·ḵîm (H4428): Pulpit names "David and Solomon" as the immediate fulfilment; Cambridge links it forward to Num 24:17-19 (the star and sceptre out of Jacob). Gill widens it to "all believers, who are all kings and priests unto God." The synthesis records the range from literal monarchy to messianic kingship without collapsing it.
יֵצֵֽאוּ׃yê·ṣê·’ūwill descendH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine plural
yê·ṣê·ʼū (H3318, yâtsâʼ): "shall come out." The verb of issue and origin; the kings are not granted to Abraham but generated from him — the covenant fruit made visible in crowns.
מִמְּךָ֥mim·mə·ḵāfrom youH4480
√ min — properly, a part ofPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
7

I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wa·hă·qi·mō·ṯî ’eṯ- bə·rî·ṯî ‘ō·w·lām liḇ·rîṯ bê·nî ū·ḇê·ne·ḵā ū·ḇên ’a·ḥă·re·ḵā lə·ḏō·rō·ṯām zar·‘ă·ḵā lih·yō·wṯ lə·ḵā lê·lō·hîm ū·lə·zar·‘ă·ḵā ’a·ḥă·re·ḵā

Word by word16 · parsed
וַהֲקִמֹתִ֨יwa·hă·qi·mō·ṯîI will establishH6965
√ qûwm — to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive perfectfirst person common singular
wa·hă·qi·mō·ṯî (H6965, qûwm): the "raise up / establish" verb, shared with the Noahic covenant (Gen 6:18; 9:9) — the Verifier confirms bᵉrîyth + qûwm as the link to Exodus 6:4. The covenant is not merely transacted but stood up as a lasting structure.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
בְּרִיתִ֜יbə·rî·ṯîMy covenantH1285
√ bᵉrîyth — a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)Nounfeminine singular constructfirst person common singular
עוֹלָ֑ם‘ō·w·lāmas an everlastingH5769
√ ʻôwlâm — properly, concealed, iNounmasculine singular
ʿō·w·lām (H5769): "eternity." The word's spiritual reach is the unit's hinge. Benson calls this "a covenant of exceeding great and precious promises," and Maclaren finds in the formula "the reciprocal possession of God by us, and of us by God."
לִבְרִ֣יתliḇ·rîṯcovenantH1285
√ bᵉrîyth — a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)Preposition-lNounfeminine singular construct
בֵּינִ֣יbê·nîbetween Me and youH996
√ bêyn — between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles)Prepositionfirst person common singular
וּבֵינֶ֗ךָū·ḇê·ne·ḵā. . .H996
√ bêyn — between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles)Conjunctive wawPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
וּבֵ֨יןū·ḇên. . .H996
√ bêyn — between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles)Conjunctive wawPreposition
אַחֲרֶ֛יךָ’a·ḥă·re·ḵāand your descendantsH310
√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
לְדֹרֹתָ֖םlə·ḏō·rō·ṯām. . .H1755
√ dôwr — properly, a revolution of time, iPreposition-lNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine plural
זַרְעֲךָ֧zar·‘ă·ḵāafter youH2233
√ zeraʻ — seedNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
zar·ʿă·ḵā (H2233, zeraʻ, "your seed"): the keyword that carries the covenant forward — the same lexeme that links this promise to Gen 28:4 (the blessing of Abraham passed to Jacob). The singular collective "seed" is the term Paul will read christologically (Gal 3:16), though the synthesis claims here only the Hebrew word.
לִהְי֤וֹתlih·yō·wṯto beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
לְךָ֙lə·ḵāyour
Prepositionsecond person masculine singular
לֵֽאלֹהִ֔יםlê·lō·hîmGodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary sensePreposition-lNounmasculine plural
lê·lō·hîm (H430): the formula "to be God to you and to your seed." The covenant's deepest gift is not land or progeny but God Himself. Maclaren finds in it "the deep truth of the reciprocal possession of God by us, and of us by God" and "the inmost blessedness of religion, when we learn that it takes God for its very own."
וּֽלְזַרְעֲךָ֖ū·lə·zar·‘ă·ḵāand the God of your descendantsH2233
√ zeraʻ — seedConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
ū·lə·zar·ʿă·ḵā (H2233): the "seed after you" repeats, binding generations into the single covenant. Cambridge cross-references Exod 6:7 and Deut 26:17 — the "I will be your God / you shall be my people" formula that runs the length of Scripture.
אַחֲרֶֽיךָ׃’a·ḥă·re·ḵāafter youH310
√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
8

And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lə·ḵā ū·lə·zar·‘ă·ḵā ’a·ḥă·re·ḵā ’êṯ wə·nā·ṯat·tî ’e·reṣ mə·ḡu·re·ḵā ’êṯ kāl- ’e·reṣ kə·na·‘an ‘ō·w·lām la·’ă·ḥuz·zaṯ wə·hā·yî·ṯî lā·hem lê·lō·hîm

Word by word16 · parsed
לְ֠ךָlə·ḵāAnd to you
Prepositionsecond person masculine singular
וּלְזַרְעֲךָ֨ū·lə·zar·‘ă·ḵāand your descendantsH2233
√ zeraʻ — seedConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
אַחֲרֶ֜יךָ’a·ḥă·re·ḵāH310
√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
אֵ֣ת׀’êṯH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
וְנָתַתִּ֣יwə·nā·ṯat·tîI will giveH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectfirst person common singular
אֶ֣רֶץ’e·reṣthe landH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Nounfeminine singular construct
מְגֻרֶ֗יךָmə·ḡu·re·ḵāwhere you are residingH4033
√ mâgûwr — a temporary abodeNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular
mə·ḡu·re·ḵā (H4033, freq. only 10 verses): a rare word — the Verifier's strongest hooks in this unit run on it (to Gen 28:4, 37:1, 47:9, 36:7). Cambridge gathers the cluster: "Gen 28:4, 36:7, 37:1, 47:9; Exod 6:4 (all in the P narrative)." The land-of-sojourning motif is woven by this single rare lexeme.
אֵ֚ת’êṯH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
כָּל־kāl-allH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
אֶ֣רֶץ’e·reṣthe landH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Nounfeminine singular construct
כְּנַ֔עַןkə·na·‘anof CanaanH3667
√ Kᵉnaʻan — Kenaan, a son a HamNounpropermasculine singular
kə·na·ʿan (H3667): "Canaan" specifies the land. The Verifier confirms the rare pairing of mâgûwr + Kᵉnaʻan with Gen 37:1 — Jacob dwelling "in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan," the same two words.
עוֹלָ֑ם‘ō·w·lāmas an eternalH5769
√ ʻôwlâm — properly, concealed, iNounmasculine singular
ʿō·w·lām (H5769): "eternity" — now attached to land, not just covenant. The voices' division here is the unit's deepest honesty: Poole insists the tenure was conditional ("upon condition of their obedience... wherein seeing they so notoriously failed"), while Benson hears the eternal heavenly antitype. The synthesis keeps both.
לַאֲחֻזַּ֖תla·’ă·ḥuz·zaṯpossessionH272
√ ʼăchuzzâh — something seized, iPreposition-lNounfeminine singular construct
la·ʼă·ḥuz·zaṯ (H272): the "seized possession." Barnes parses the "perpetual possession" as having "two elements of meaning" — a tenure lasting "as long as the co-existing relations of things are continued," and a possession that "in all the variety of its ever grander phases will last absolutely forever."
וְהָיִ֥יתִיwə·hā·yî·ṯîand I will beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectfirst person common singular
לָהֶ֖םlā·hemtheir
Prepositionthird person masculine plural
לֵאלֹהִֽים׃lê·lō·hîmGodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary sensePreposition-lNounmasculine plural
lê·lō·hîm (H430): the covenant formula closes the unit as it crowned v.7 — "I will be their God." Barnes: "in all its forms and at every stage it will be their chief glory that God is their God." Land and progeny are framed by the one supreme gift.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. El Shaddai, the name for an impossible promise — 17:1

Thirteen silent years stand behind this verse. Maclaren counts them: "For something over thirteen years he had been left to walk by faith," his heart "beginning to cling" to Ishmael; Keil notes the covenant "had been made with Abram for at least fourteen years, and yet Abram remained without any visible sign of its accomplishment." Into that silence Yahweh appeared (way·yê·rā, H7200, a Niphal self-disclosure) and named Himself ʼêl šad·day (H410+H7706). The voices cannot agree on what the name means — Keil derives Shaddai "from שׁדד to be strong" and reads "God the Mighty One"; Benson keeps the old "I am God all-sufficient"; Ellicott concedes the word is "Archaic" but holds "it means strong so as to overpower"; Cambridge admits its "derivation... has hitherto baffled enquiry." What the voices do agree on is the timing: the name of irresistible power is spoken precisely where nature offers "no prospect" of the promise's fulfilment (Keil). Maclaren paraphrases God's word to the doubting heart: "take My power into all thy calculations, and reckon certainties with it for the chief factor." The synthesis reads the name not as a definition but as an answer — God identifies Himself by the one attribute the moment requires.

ii. Walk before Me — the command inside the covenant — 17:1, 3

Before the promise is repeated, a command is given: hiṯ·hal·lêḵ lə·p̄ā·nay — "walk before Me" (H1980, a Hithpael of habitual self-motion). Every voice notes that this differs from Enoch and Noah, who walked with God (Gen 5:22; 6:9). Ellicott: "the preposition before implies less closeness than with." The Pulpit Commentary recovers the reflexive force — "set thyself to walk... in my presence, as if conscious of my inspection." And the demand is wholeness: ṯā·mîm (H8549), which Barnes refuses to soften — "not sincere merely... but complete, upright, holy... in heart, the spring of action." Keil states the structure plainly: "as righteousness received in faith was necessary for the establishment of the covenant, so a blameless walk before God was required for the maintenance." Abram's answer is bodily: he fell upon his face (v.3, way·yip·pōl ʿal-pā·nāw). Benson reads the fall doubly — "He looks upon himself with humility, and upon God with reverence" — and Gill notes Abram was then raised before God resumed speaking. The man told to walk before God's face first puts his own face to the ground.

iii. The new name as the covenant condensed — 17:4-6

God's part opens with an emphatic bare pronoun: ʼă·nî (H589), "As for Me" (Pulpit: "I, standing alone... by way of emphasis"). The promise is fatherhood of a hă·mō·wn gō·w·yim — and Ellicott rescues the buried image: hamôn is "a confused noise like the din of a populous city... a thronging crowd of nations." Then the seal: ʼaḇ·rām ("high father," the name Benson calls "an occasion of grief... who was not a father at all") becomes ʼaḇ·rā·hām. Here the synthesis must record a genuine dispute among the voices about the very etymology. Keil derives the new form from Arabic ruhâm, "multitude"; Poole takes it as Hamon shortened. But Cambridge dissents flatly: "There is no such word as raham meaning 'a multitude'... we have here a resemblance through assonance, and not a real derivation." Geneva keeps the function clear regardless of the etymology — "The changing of his name is a seal to confirm God's promise." Barnes captures the transformation: "The high father has become the father of the multitude of the faithful." And v.6 adds crowns: ū·mə·lā·ḵîm (H4428), kings — David and Solomon for Pulpit, "the Messias, who is King of kings" for Poole.

iv. Everlasting covenant, everlasting land, and God Himself the gift — 17:7-8

The covenant is now raised up (wa·hă·qi·mō·ṯî, H6965 — a different verb from the "give" of v.2) lᵉbᵉrîth ʿōlām, "for a covenant of eternity" (H5769). Benson hears it both ways at once: "from everlasting in the counsels of it, and to everlasting in the consequences of it." Barnes sets it in the line of grace — "He dealt with Adam and with Noah, and now he deals with Abraham." The land is promised by the same eternal word: the land of your sojournings (mᵉḡurêḵā, H4033 — Abraham the landless stranger) becomes "an everlasting possession" (ʼăḥuzzah, H272 — a thing seized and held). Cambridge names the reversal exactly: "The land will be no longer one of 'sojourning' (megûrîm), but a 'possession' (aḥuzzah)." Over the meaning of that eternal land-grant the voices divide honestly — Benson and JFB read "a type of heaven, 'the better country'" (Heb 11:16); Poole holds it conditional on obedience, "wherein seeing they so notoriously failed, it is no wonder if they possessed it but a little while." But twice — closing v.7 and v.8 — the covenant's true center sounds: lê·lō·hîm, "to be God to you." Poole: "Whatsoever I am or have, all that shall be thine." Maclaren names the depth: "the reciprocal possession of God by us, and of us by God."

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read under Sola Scriptura, this unit is the moment a promise that had grown dim is re-spoken in a name. For thirteen years Abram had walked by faith with nothing visible to show; his very name, "high father," had become a quiet mockery. God's answer is not first a new circumstance but a new self-disclosure — I am El Shaddai — and then a new name laid on the man: Abraham, the promise itself condensed into a word he would carry, ridicule and all, until it came true. The fallible synthesis offered here is this: the architecture of Genesis 17:1-8 is the architecture of grace ordering a life. It opens with God's character (the Almighty), grounds a command in it (walk before Me, be whole), receives the worshipful fall, and only then unfolds the threefold gift — multiplied nations, an everlasting covenant, an everlasting land — each crowned by the one promise that outranks them all: I will be God to you and to your seed. The land is conditional and the kings are many, but the gift at the center is God Himself, and that gift is unconditional. Abraham is justified, as the New Testament will insist and Henry already sees, "not by his own righteousness, but by faith in the promised Messiah"; the new name is the wager of that faith — to be called the father of a multitude while holding only one disputed son, because El Shaddai has spoken it. This is the tool's reading, offered to be tested against the Word, not in place of it.

The covenant gives nations, a name, and a land — but its center is one unconditional gift: God Himself, to you and to your seed. (a synthesis reading, not Scripture)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

Walk before Me and be blameless — Abram and Noah structural / thematic — confirmed

God's command to Abram, hiṯ·hal·lêḵ (walk, H1980) and be ṯā·mîm (blameless, H8549), is the very pair of words the narrator used to describe Noah, who "was a just man and perfect... and Noah walked with God" (Gen 6:9). The Verifier confirms both lexemes shared. Keil, Cambridge, and the Pulpit Commentary all make the comparison explicitly — and all note the telling difference of preposition: Noah is described as walking with God; Abram is commanded to walk before Him. The shared pattern (a covenant figure summoned to integrity of walk) is real; this is a structural/thematic link on a common motif, not a quotation.

Genesis 17:1 · Genesis 6:9

basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes H8549 tâmîym (blameless, in 85 vv) and H1980 hâlak (walk, in 1346 vv); a shared motif of the covenant-walk, expressly noted by Keil, Cambridge, and Pulpit — not a quotation.

The covenant given, then established — Genesis 15 cut, Genesis 17 raised structural / thematic — confirmed

The covenant of this unit is not new but the carrying-into-effect of the covenant "cut" with Abram in Genesis 15:18. The Verifier confirms the shared keyword bᵉrîyth (covenant, H1285) together with the rare name ʼAḇrâm (H87, freq. 50 verses). Ellicott reads the two passages together precisely on the verbs: in Gen 15:18 "the Heb. word for 'make' is cut, and refers to the severing of the victims; here it is 'give,' 'place.'" Poole agrees the LORD has "come to renew, establish, and enlarge that covenant which I formerly made." The link is structural/thematic — one covenant in two stages — resting on the shared keyword and the unanimous reading of the voices, not on a verbatim quotation.

Genesis 17:2 · Genesis 15:18

basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes H1285 bᵉrîyth (in 264 vv) and H87 ʼAbrâm (in 50 vv); the two covenant scenes are read as one covenant in two stages (Ellicott, Poole), a thematic not verbal link.

The land of sojournings becomes a possession — passed to Jacob structural / thematic — confirmed

The promise of Genesis 17:8 — that the land of your sojournings (mâgûwr, H4033) would become Abraham's seed's possession — is handed on word-for-word to Jacob in Genesis 28:4: "that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings." The Verifier confirms the shared rare lexeme mâgûwr (only 10 verses in the whole Hebrew Bible) along with zeraʻ (seed, H2233) and the name ʼAḇrâhâm (H85). Cambridge lists exactly this cluster of P-narrative cross-references (Gen 28:4, 36:7, 37:1, 47:9; Exod 6:4). Because mâgûwr is genuinely rare, the verbal hook between Gen 17:8 and the Jacob-blessing is strong; the synthesis treats it as a confirmed structural link carrying the covenant from Abraham to Jacob, while noting the shared word is a motif-token (the patriarchal stranger-in-the-land), not a citation.

Genesis 17:8 · Genesis 28:4

basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes H4033 mâgûwr (rare — in only 10 vv), H2233 zeraʻ (in 205 vv), H85 ʼAbrâhâm (in 159 vv); the rare mâgûwr binds the same promise across the patriarchs (Cambridge's P cluster). Confirmed structural; the rare word is a shared motif-token, not a quotation.

Jacob in the land of his father's sojournings verbal / quotation — confirmed

Genesis 37:1 — "And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan" — reuses the exact two-word collocation of Genesis 17:8: mâgûwr (sojournings, H4033) + Kᵉnaʻan (Canaan, H3667). The Verifier returns this pair and, on the rarity of mâgûwr (10 verses), tiers it "verbal / quotation — confirmed." The synthesis accepts the verbal tier on the strength of the rare shared collocation, but adds the honest qualifier the voices imply: this is the narrator's own recurring formula for the patriarchs' landless status, a deliberate phrase-echo within the Genesis P-material — a verbal hook, not Jacob quoting a saying. The land promised to Abraham's seed is, in ch.37, still the land where that seed merely sojourns.

Genesis 17:8 · Genesis 37:1

basis: Verifier-computed shared rare lexeme H4033 mâgûwr (in only 10 vv) plus H3667 Kᵉnaʻan (in 91 vv); the exact two-word collocation recurs — tiered verbal on the rarity of mâgûwr. It is a narratorial phrase-echo within Genesis, not a spoken citation.

El Shaddai, the patriarchal name of God structural / thematic — confirmed

The self-naming "I am El Shaddai" (H410 + H7706) recurs at the next great covenant-confirmation, Genesis 35:11, where God renews to Jacob the same promise of nations and kings: "I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins." The Verifier confirms the shared name Shadday (H7706, 48 verses) and ʼêl (H410). Ellicott and Cambridge both gather the El-Shaddai occurrences as the distinctively patriarchal divine title (cf. Exod 6:3, the name by which God "appeared" before the revelation to Moses). The link is structural/thematic — the same God under the same name making the same promise to the next generation — not a quotation.

Genesis 17:1 · Genesis 35:11

basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes H7706 Shadday (in 48 vv) and H410 ʼêl (in 231 vv); the patriarchal El-Shaddai self-naming recurs with the same nations-and-kings promise (Ellicott, Cambridge), a thematic link on a shared divine title.

El Shaddai — the name said to be revealed to the patriarchs (Exodus 6:3) flagged — verify source

Exodus 6:3 looks directly back to this verse: "I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty (El Shaddai), but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." The Verifier confirms the shared name Shadday (H7706) and the verb râʼâh (appeared, H7200) — the very pairing of "appeared" + "El Shaddai" that opens Genesis 17:1. This is a confirmed Hebrew-to-Hebrew structural link. But the synthesis flags the surrounding interpretive crux honestly: Exodus 6:3 is the storm-center of the source-critical reading of the divine names, because Genesis 17:1 has Yahweh appearing and saying "I am El Shaddai." Ellicott argues "the very gist of the passage is the identification of Jehovah and El shaddai"; Cambridge raises the possibility that "one sacred name has been substituted for another by editor or copyist." The lexeme link is solid; the doctrinal reconciliation of the names is contested, and the reader is pointed to weigh Exodus 6:3 directly.

Genesis 17:1 · Exodus 6:3

basis: Verifier confirms shared lexemes H7706 Shadday (in 48 vv) and H7200 râʼâh (appeared, in 1200 vv) — a real Hebrew-to-Hebrew hook; flagged because the divine-name relation between Gen 17:1 (Yahweh saying "I am El Shaddai") and Exod 6:3 is a long-contested interpretive crux (Ellicott vs. Cambridge), to be verified at the source.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The seed of Abraham, the promised Messiah, and Christians in Him ancient/widely-held

The covenant repeatedly turns on Abraham's zeraʻ (seed, H2233, vv.7-8), and the PD voices read that seed christologically with one voice. Matthew Henry: "The promised Seed was Christ, and Christians in him. And all who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abram"; and again, "the blessedness of Abraham himself, and all the rewards conferred upon him, were for Christ's sake. Abraham was justified, as we have seen, not by his own righteousness, but by faith in the promised Messiah." The reading is ancient and widely held — Paul himself grounds it (Gal 3:16, where the singular "seed" is read of Christ). The synthesis marks it as a typological/promise-fulfilment reading the New Testament makes explicit, not a verbal claim on the Hebrew word: "seed" in Genesis is the covenant line; that it terminates in Christ is the apostolic interpretation, here received.

Genesis 17:7 · Genesis 17:8 · Galatians 3:16

Father of many nations — and the God who calls things that are not as though they were ancient/widely-held

The new name Abraham, "father of a multitude of nations" (vv.5-6), is read by the apostle Paul as the charter of Gentile inclusion and of resurrection faith: "I have made thee a father of many nations... God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were" (Rom 4:17). Benson points the reader straight there: "all believers in every age should be looked upon as his spiritual seed. In this sense the apostle directs us to understand this promise, Romans 4:16." Maclaren hears the same: "God calls 'things that are not, as though they were.'" This is a cross-Testament link — Greek Romans and Hebrew Genesis share no Strong's lexeme, and the Verifier returns none — so it is tiered typological, resting on Paul's own argument that the multitude of nations is fulfilled in the church of faith, with Christ as the offspring through whom the nations are blessed. The reading is ancient and widely held, but it is the New Testament's interpretation of the name, not a verbal basis in the Hebrew.

Genesis 17:5 · Genesis 17:6 · Romans 4:17

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Four honesty notes specific to this unit. 1. The disputed name El Shaddai. The voices do not agree on what Shaddai (v.1) means: Keil, Gesenius, Rosenmüller derive it from a root "to be strong"; the older rabbinic tradition (and Benson's "all-sufficient") read it as "He who is sufficient"; Cambridge surveys five competing derivations and concludes the etymology "has hitherto baffled enquiry." The synthesis treats it as a name of irresistible power whose origin is genuinely uncertain, and does not assert one derivation as fact. 2. The divine names and the source-critical question. Genesis 17:1 has Yahweh appear and say "I am El Shaddai," while vv.3-9 use Elohim, and Exodus 6:3 states that El Shaddai (not Yahweh) was the patriarchal name. Cambridge frames this through the documentary hypothesis ("used here in P") and even raises scribal substitution; Ellicott and the Pulpit Commentary argue the passage's whole point is the identification of the names as one God. The synthesis records both readings of the data and adjudicates neither; the Gen 17:1 → Exod 6:3 thread is flagged accordingly. 3. The etymology of "Abraham." The new name (v.5) is read as "father of a multitude," but Cambridge denies a strict derivation outright — "There is no such word as raham meaning 'a multitude'" — calling it "a resemblance through assonance, and not a real derivation," against Keil's Arabic ruhâm and Poole's apocope. The synthesis presents the meaning the voices and the text intend (the name as covenant seal) while flagging that the philology is contested. 4. Cross-Testament links cannot be verbal. The two strongest theological connections in this unit — to Romans 4 and Galatians 3 — share no Strong's lexeme with the Hebrew, because Greek and Hebrew use separate numbering; the Verifier returns no shared original-language token for them. They are therefore presented as typological Christ-readings resting on the New Testament authors' own arguments, never as "verbal" threads. The Hebrew-to-Hebrew threads (Gen 6:9, 15:18, 28:4, 37:1, 35:11) are Verifier-confirmed on shared lexemes; where the Verifier tiered Gen 37:1 "verbal" on the rarity of mâgûwr, the synthesis accepts the tier but notes it is a narratorial phrase-echo within Genesis, not a spoken citation. This unit does not contain Genesis 1:5, so the mandated Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 flag does not apply here.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)