as the dust of the earth and again in 15:5, where his descendants will be as many as the stars. The promise begins to be fulfilled in chapter 16 where Abraham fathers a child through whose offspring innumerable offspring would follow. Now in chapter 17 that promise is expanded and explained that Abraham will not just found a great nation (e.g., one nation), but he will father a “multitude of nations” and “kings will be descended from you” (17:4–6).
The nature of the covenant relationship is also defined more clearly in chapter 17 than previously. In 12:3 there was a vague guarantee of protection: those who bless Abraham will be blessed and his disdainers cursed. But this too becomes more explicit. Chapter 15 predicts Egyptian slavery and exodus, but 17:7 announces an eternal covenant with Abraham and his descendants, “in order to be your God and your descendants’ God.”
To mark these great promises, the names of Abram and Sarai are changed to the more familiar Abraham and Sarah, and the national rite of circumcision is instituted as a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham’s descendants. The changing of Abram’s name is significant because names convey meaning. In this case, the original name of Abram was the fusion of two Hebrew words ‘Ab (father) and rām (exalted).41 The changing of the name brings a new component hamôn (multiple). Therefore, the original meaning of Abram’s name was “he is exalted as to his father” (likely referring to God as father); however, it is also possible that the name refers to Abraham as “exalted father.” God is now changing the name to “the exalted father of a multitude” (likely referring to Abraham as the father).
Moving back to explore the linkage to our study of being fruitful and increasing in number, the key is found in 17:6 when God states “I will make you very fruitful . . .” Here the Hebrew root prh (fruit), regularly paired with rbh (multiply), reappears, linking this verse with v. 2. To “be fruitful and increase in numbers” was the first command given to mankind (1:28) and was repeated to Noah in 8:17 and 9:1, 7. Wenham finds that a similar remark is made to Abraham, who like Adam and Noah, stands at the beginning of an epoch in human history. God’s original purpose for mankind, thwarted by the fall and faltering again in the post-Noah period, is eventually to be achieved by Abraham’s descendants.42 Unlike the prior two passages we discussed, the verb used to relate God’s message is no longer an imperative but a reflexive verb. This changes the action from a command on mankind to an action that will be conducted and completed by God himself. Wenham notes that “this change of conjugation suggests that Abraham will be given divine power to achieve this fertility, whereas his predecessors. Left simply to themselves, failed.”43
The key to understanding the passage begins with God’s second speech. Abraham is not simply to become a great nation (12:2) but to become the father of a multitude of nations. His name is changed to confirm that this action, to “father of a multitude” as a lasting guarantee of God’s covenant, will be performed by God. Adam and Noah had simply been told to be fruitful (1:28; 9:1). Here the action is changed so that God will complete what he commands. Abraham will be enabled to achieve the impossible through divine aid. Furthermore, through Abraham God’s plans for humanity will be realized. Indeed, kings will now descend from Abraham. The strong suggestion is that Abrahams offspring will fulfill the other aspect of mankind’s original mandate to have dominion over creation (1:28).
Just as important, however, are the fresh remarks about the covenant (vv. 7–8). Already implicit in 12:1–3 and 15:18, it is now defined more precisely with a view to its confirmation or ratification. This covenant is not simply between God and Abraham but between God and Abraham’s descendants “after you throughout their generations.” It is to be an “eternal covenant.” Similar to the covenant made with Noah, the nature of the covenant demonstrates that a permanent relationship is envisaged, as durable as life itself (cf. 8:20–22; 9:11). This relationship with Abraham’s descendants is to be unique because, unlike the other nations, Israel enjoys a unique relationship with the one true God.
A key feature of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants is their required response. God has taken upon himself the difficult task of providing land, descendants, nations, and kings. All that is left for Abraham and his descendants is to provide a demonstration of acceptance. Abraham is to institute the circumcision of all the males in his household. While this practice was well known in Canaan and the ancient Near East, God commands the practice for those accepting the covenant—investing a singular significance in the practice. The enduring mark of circumcision reflects the eternity of the covenant, the permanent bond between God and Abraham’s descendants (17:13). Most importantly, it is a sign of the covenant (v. 11) that reminds the Israelites of their special spiritual relationship and of their obligation to walk before God and be perfect.
Essentially, circumcision as the sign of the covenant becomes synonymous with being a descendant of Abraham and heir to God’s promises. Therefore, one who is circumcised is grafted into the covenant and the promise of being fruitful, increasing in number, having land, becoming a nation, and being associated with kings.
As with the prior two passages we are left with the hermeneutical question—so what is the point? Is Abraham to be fruitful and increase in numbers merely so that he might possess land, found nations, and produce kings? Waltke argues that God’s promise to make Abraham a father of many nations should be understood, on the one hand, in a purely biological sense. Through Hagar, Abraham physically “begets” the Ishmaelites (cf. 17:20; 21:13; 25:12–18); through Keturah, the Midianites, among others (25:14). Through Isaac and Rebekah, the Edomistes (cf. 25:23; 36:1–43). This interpretation is validated by the genealogies of Keturah (25:1–4), Ishmael (25:12–18), and Edom (chap. 36).44
Waltke goes on to argue that the promise should also be understood as a reference to the nations that reproduce his faith. Essentially, the descendants of Abraham are the people who follow the theological teaching of God. This cannot be said of the Ishmaelites, the Edomites, or the descendants of Keturah. Significantly, whereas God says that kings will be born from Abraham’s loins, God does not say that of the nations’ Abraham will father.45 Therefore, this passage continues to support and further clarifies that the theological intent is that Abraham will multiply and produce kings so that mankind may act as God’s viceroy and agents on the earth. In addition, that the descendants of Abraham will theologically reach out to all nations of the earth.
If this is correct, then we should be able to identify the theme of the descendants of Abraham as God’s agents on earth throughout the balance of the Old Testament and into the New Testament.
Unity of Fruitfulness and Increasing in Number in the Old Testament
Several passages in the balance of the Old Testament continue the theme of fruitfulness and increasing in number. In the previous section, we found that the theme of fruitfulness was closely tied to the Abrahamic Covenant. This meant that to be fruitful and increase in number is linked to God’s promise that Abraham’s descendants would poses the land given by God, form nations, and generate kings. The sign of this relationship is circumcision. Let’s now turn to explore how this theme of fruitfulness, God’s covenant with Abraham, and the sign of the covenant are lived out in the rest of the Old Testament.
The theme is evident with Abraham’s heir and continuing throughout the Pentateuch. In Gen 26:4 God repeats the Abrahamic promises to Isaac saying “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.” This passage clearly links the blessing of Adam’s fruitfulness with the ongoing Abrahamic covenant. These promises are then relayed to Jacob/Israel and Joseph (Gen 28:3; 35:11; 47:27; 48:4).
The
