A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

eflects a change in Abram which ended at least thirteen years of dryness in his relationship with
God.
Concerning Abraham (vv. 4-8)
Notice the growth of the covenant as it relates to Abraham and his descendants. First,
God promised to make Abram “a great nation” (12:2). Then his descendants are compared to
“the dust of the earth (13:16—physical Israel), and the stars of heaven (15:5—spiritual children
of Abraham by faith). Now God speaks of Abram’s descendants as “many nations” (17:4).
With the announcement concerning the fulfillment of the covenant, God also changes his
name from Abram to Abraham, noting he would be “a father of many nations” (v. 4). This name
change involved the addition of the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet to the name of the man of
faith which added the phonetic sound ha to his name. This is the same basic change which was
later made to the name of his wife. The significance of this name change has been variously
interpreted.
Linguistically, the name Abraham has a meaning in keeping with the expanded promise
of the covenant. It is a compound of the word ‘ab meaning “father” and raham which like the
Arabic word ruham means “multitude,” hence the father of multitudes or many nations. Some
writers see a special significance in the addition of the letter to the name of the patriarch and his
wife, in that it is the only letter common to the two principle names of God in the Old Testament.
Also, it is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet which has special significance to some who
interpret the number five as representing grace. It has even been suggested that there is a
phonetic significance to the names Abraham and Sarah. The change involves the sound ha ha or
ah ah which is reminiscent of laughter. The name Isaac means laughter and, when his birth is
announced, both Abraham and Sarah laugh. Some commentators suggest God also laughs,
rejoicing with Sarah in the birth of her son (cf. 21:6).
Though Abraham was at the time ninety-nine years old and the father of only one son not
recognized by God, the Lord promises here to make him “exceedingly fruitful” (17:6). The
Hebrew expression used here is bime’od me’od, literally “exceedingly exceedingly” fruitful.
When one considers the sheer numbers of those ethnic groups who today trace their cultural and
racial roots to Abraham, it is evident that the promise given here was not exaggerated.
The covenant God made with Abraham was an everlasting covenant (v. 7). It was a
covenant made by God alone (15:17) and therefore was not dependent on Abraham or his
descendants at all. It was a promise not only to Abraham but also to his “seed.” The Hebrew
word zer’ach is a collective noun and may be singular or plural depending on the context. The
context here suggests the noun is plural referring to Israel as the seed of Abraham. The Apostle
Paul’s argument of Galatians 3:16 concerning the seed (singular) is based on Genesis 21:12
where the context demands this same word be understood as singular. The land of Abraham’s
sojournings is the eternal possession of his descendants, the nation Israel (17:8).
Concerning circumcision (w. 9-14)
A third feature of this fresh revelation from God was the introduction of circumcision as
the sign of the covenant. This was not the first time circumcision was practiced by primitive
peoples. It was widely practiced by the Egyptians before this and there is some evidence it may
also have been practiced in Ur. Normally, the pagan practice of circumcision is associated with
an initiation rite into manhood and is therefore usually performed around puberty. Circumcision
as practiced by the Jews was unique in that it was practiced on the eighth day. It is here given a