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NASB | Genesis 17:6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 17:6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. |
Bible Question:
Hi eklektos, Thank you for your welcome and your answer. The covenant made in verses 4, 5, and 6 of Gen. 17 appears to me to be a covenant in regards to Sarah and Isaac and not to Hagar and Ishmael or to Keturah. Please correct me if I am in error on this point. Gen 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard and heeded you: behold, I will bless him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly; He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. Gen 17:21 But My covenant, My promise and pledge, I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year. Verses 20-21 confirm this covenant is established with Isaac. Also verse 16. Gen 17:16 And I will bless her and give you a son also by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her. So, let me rephrase my question. What nations did Sarah mother as referred to in 17: 4-6, and 16, other than Israel and Judah? Thanks again, Hoth |
Bible Answer: Greetings HOTH, Yes, the covenant was between God and Abraham, not God and Sarah. So, the promise also included the tribes of Ishmael plus Isaac. Gen 17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. But the promise of the "seed", leading to Christ, was to Abraham through Sarah in Isaac, not with Hagar, for the blood line would be impure, for Hagar was Egyptian. Thus, what we call "half-breed". But in your previous question you asked about the OTHER nations that did not include Israel. "Gen 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his ""seed"" after him. Gen 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." (Double quotes( "" "" ) are mine to show emphasis.) The promise of many nations was fulfilled in Isaac and Ishmael. However, the SEED was the covenant for Christ. Isaac, the seed, was born to lead us through to the lineage of Christ. We know that Isaac gave his blessing on Jacob and not Esau. So, the "seed" continued through Jacob (Gen 27). Jacob was renamed to Israel. And the promise in Gen 17:16 were the 12 twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob)[the seed]. "Gen 35:22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: Gen 35:23 The sons of Leah; [Reuben], Jacob's firstborn, and [Simeon], and [Levi], and [Judah], and [Issachar], and [Zebulun]: Gen 35:24 The sons of Rachel; [Joseph], and [Benjamin]: Gen 35:25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; [Dan], and [Naphtali]: Gen 35:26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; [Gad], and [Asher]: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram. Gen 35:27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. Gen 35:28 And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. Gen 35:29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him." Brackets [] are mine to highlight the beginnings of the twelve tribes. Thus, overall, the "many nations" (Gen 17:4,5) included both the twelve nations and the Arab nations. Therefore, after all that, the nations through Sarah were only the twelve. Does this help? eklektos |