Genesis 17:4-6

17:4 “As for me, ¹  this ²  is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be ³  Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham ⁴  because I will make you ⁵  the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you ⁶  extremely ⁷  fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ⁸ 

Genesis 17:16

17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. ⁹  Kings of countries ¹⁰  will come from her!”

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¹ tn Heb “I.”

² tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

³ tn Heb “will your name be called.”

⁴ sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.

⁵ tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.

⁶ tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.

⁷ tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

⁸ tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”

⁹ tn Heb “she will become nations.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “peoples.”