“Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.”
My Notes
What Does Genesis 17:5 Mean?
"Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee." God changes Abram's name to Abraham — from "exalted father" to "father of many nations." The name change is itself a prophetic act: Abraham must walk around being called "father of many nations" while having exactly one son (Ishmael) by a servant. The name is a promise worn as identity.
The phrase "have I made thee" uses the perfect tense — it's done. Not "I will make you" but "I have made you." God speaks the future as if it's already accomplished. Abraham is called a father of many nations before the nations exist. The naming precedes the fulfillment by centuries.
The name change accompanies the covenant of circumcision (verses 9-14). The new name and the new sign go together: Abraham receives a new identity and a new mark. Both are permanent. Both are physical. The name you hear and the sign in your flesh both declare: you belong to God's promise.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What name has God given you that your circumstances don't yet confirm?
- 2.How do you carry an identity that contradicts your current reality?
- 3.What does God using the past tense ('I have made') for future events teach about His perspective?
- 4.What promise are you wearing as your name before the fulfillment arrives?
Devotional
Your new name is Abraham — father of many nations. You have one son by a servant girl. And God says: I've already made you the father of nations you can't yet see.
The name change is the most audacious act of faith required of Abraham: carry a name that contradicts your reality. Every time someone calls you Abraham, they're calling you something you're not — yet. Father of many nations, with zero nations to show for it. The name is a promise you wear every day as your identity.
God uses the perfect tense: 'I have made thee.' Not future — past. In God's view, it's already done. The nations already exist. The fatherhood is already established. Abraham just can't see it yet because the timeline hasn't caught up with the declaration.
This is how God often operates: He names the reality before the reality arrives. He calls things that are not as though they are (Romans 4:17). He gives you an identity that your circumstances haven't confirmed yet and asks you to live in it before the evidence appears.
What name has God given you that your circumstances don't yet confirm? What identity has He declared that the evidence doesn't yet support? Abraham walked around called 'father of many nations' for decades before the nations materialized. Your new name might precede its fulfillment by just as long.
Wear the name. The nations are coming.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Neither shall thy name be any more called Abram,.... Which signifies an "high father", which name he bore for many years…
- The Sealing of the Covenant 1. שׁדי shaday, Shaddai, “Irresistible, able to destroy, and by inference to make,…
Thy name shall be Abraham - Abram אברם literally signifies a high or exalted father. Ab-ra-ham אברהם differs from the…
The promise here is introduced with solemnity: "As for me," says the great God, "behold, behold and admire it, behold…
Abram The shorter form is here used for the last time. Except in Genesis, it only occurs in 1Ch 1:27; Neh 9:7.
thy name…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture