into a great nation
The Hebrew word for "nation" is "גוי" (goy), which often refers to a people or ethnic group. Historically, this promise is foundational, as it sets the stage for the emergence of Israel as a distinct people chosen by God. The greatness of the nation is not merely in numbers but in its unique relationship with God and its role in His redemptive plan.

and I will bless you
The Hebrew root "ברך" (barak) means to bless, to kneel, or to praise. This blessing is multifaceted, encompassing material prosperity, protection, and spiritual favor. In the biblical context, blessing is a sign of God's favor and presence, and it is through Abram that this blessing will extend to others.

I will make your name great
In ancient Near Eastern culture, a great name was synonymous with honor, reputation, and legacy. The promise of a great name for Abram is significant, as it contrasts with the human ambition seen in the Tower of Babel narrative (Genesis 11), where people sought to make a name for themselves. Here, God is the one who elevates Abram's name, highlighting the divine origin of true honor.

so that you will be a blessing
This phrase reveals the purpose of God's blessings to Abram: to be a conduit of blessing to others. The Hebrew construction suggests a causative action, indicating that Abram's blessed state is intended to overflow to those around him. This sets a precedent for the Abrahamic covenant, where the blessings of God are not to be hoarded but shared, ultimately pointing to the universal blessing through Christ, a descendant of Abram.

I will bless . . . --These words indicate relations mysteriously close between Jehovah and Abram, whereby the friends and enemies of the one become so equally to the other. But in the second clause our version has not noticed an essential difference between the verbs used. They occur together again in Exodus 22:28, and are there more correctly rendered by "revile" and "curse." The one word signifies to treat lightly and contemptuously, the other to pronounce a curse, usually in a judicial manner. We might, therefore, translate, "I will curse--pass a sentence of rejection upon--him that speaketh lightly of, or revileth thee."

In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.--Some authorities translate, "shall bless themselves;" but there is a different conjugation to express this meaning, and no reason exists for forcing it upon the text. Henceforward Abram and the nation sprung from him were to be the intermediaries between God and mankind, and accordingly revelation was virtually confined to them. But though the knowledge of God's will was to be given through them, it was for the benefit of all the families of every race and kindred distributed throughout the habitable world, the adamah (Romans 3:29; Romans 10:12, &c).

(1) numerically (Keil, Rosenmüller),

(2) influentially (Kalisch, Inglis),

(3) spiritually (Luther, Wordsworth). And I will bless thee. Temporally (Pererius, Murphy), with every kind of good (Rosenmüller), in particular with offspring (Vatablus); but also spiritually (Rupertus, Bush), in the sense., e.g., of being justified by faith, as in Galatians 3:8 (Candlish). The blessing was a recompense for the deprivations entailed upon him by forsaking the place of his birth and kindred (Murphy). And make thy name great. Render thee illustrious and renowned (Rosenmüller); not so much in the annals of the world as in the history of the Church (Bush); in return for leaving thy father's house (Murphy). So God made David a great name (2 Samuel 7:9; cf. Proverbs 22:1; Ecclesiastes 7:3). And thou shalt be a blessing. I.e. "blessed," as in Zechariah 8:12 (Chaldee, Syriac, LXX., Dathe, Rosenmüller, Gesenius); or "a type or example of blessing," so that men shall introduce thy name into their formularies of blessing (Kimchi, Clericus, Knobel, Calvin); but, best, "a source of blessing' (spiritual) to others" (Tuch, Delitzsch, Keil, Kalisch, Murphy). The sense in which Abram was to be a source of blessing to others is explained in the next verse. First, men were to be either blessed or cursed of God according as their attitude to Abram was propitious or hostile. And I will bless them - grace expecting they will be many to bless (Delitzsch) - that bless thee, and curse (with a judicial curse, the word being the same as in Genesis 3:14; Genesis 4:11) him - only an individual here and there, in the judgment of the Deity, being likely to inherit this malediction (Delitzsch) - that curseth (literally, treateth lightly or despiseth The verb is applied in Genesis 8:11 to the diminution of the waters of the flood) thee. The Divine Being thus identifies himself with Abram, and solemnly engages to regard Abrams friends and enemies as his, as Christ does with his Church (cf. Acts 1:4). And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Not Mess themselves by thee or in thy name (Jarchi, Clericus); but in thee, as the progenitor of the promised seed, shall all the families of the ground (which was cursed on account of sin, Genesis ill 17) be spiritually blessed - cf. Galatians 3:8 (Calvin, Luther, Rosenmüller, Keil, Wordsworth, Murphy, 'Speaker's Commentary'). Thus the second sense in which Abram was constituted a blessing lay in this, that the whole fullness of the Divine promise of salvation for the world was narrowed up to his line, by which it was in future to be carried forward, and at the appointed season, when the woman s seed was horn, distributed among mankind.

Parallel Commentaries ...