Genesis 12:3
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I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
And I will bless them that bless thee,.... Not the priests only that should bless his children, the children of Israel, as the Targum of Jonathan, but all men of all nations, and of every age, that speak well of him, commend him for his faith and holiness, and tread in his steps, these are blessed with faithful Abraham, Gal 3:7. And curse him that curseth thee; here is a change of numbers, before the plural, here the singular, denoting, it may be, that many would bless him, and but few curse him, and that every individual person that did curse him should be cursed himself: the Targum of Jonathan wrongly restrains this to Balaam's cursing Abraham's children, and was cursed by God; Maimonides (y) thinks, there is no doubt to be made of it, that the Zabaeans, the idolatrous people Abram was brought up with, when he contradicted them, loaded him with curses and reproaches; and, because he bore them all patiently for the glory of God, as became him, therefore these words are said; but they, without question, respect future as well as present times, and regard all such, in every age and of every nation, that disapproves of, or rejects and reproaches Abram's God, his faith, his religion, and his people. And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed; that is, in his seed, as in Gen 22:18 and which is interpreted of Christ, Act 3:25 meaning not every individual of all the families or nations of the earth; but that as many as believe in Christ, of all nations, are blessed in him; and that whoever of them are blessed, they are blessed and only blessed in him, and that they are blessed for his sake with all spiritual blessings; see Eph 1:3 such as redemption, justification, remission of sins, sanctification, adoption, and eternal life. (y) More Nevochim, ut supra. (par. 3.…
Open source ↗The pedigree and family of Abram we had an account of in the foregoing chapter; here the Holy Ghost enters upon his story, and henceforward Abram and his seed are almost the only subject of the sacred history. In this chapter we have, I. God's call of Abram to the land of Canaan (Gen 12:1-3). II. Abram's obedience to this call (Gen 12:4, Gen 12:5). III. His welcome to the land of Canaan (Gen 12:6-9). IV. His journey to Egypt, with an account of what happened to him there. Abram's flight and fault (Gen 12:10-13). Sarai's danger and deliverance (Gen 12:14-20).
Open source ↗12:3 Based on Abram’s obedience to the command to be a blessing (12:2), God gave him three more promises. • those who treat you with contempt: People who disregarded Abram and his covenant were rejecting God’s choice and plan. • All the families on earth will be blessed: By faith, they could participate in the covenant God was making with Abram. The blessing spread to the whole world through Abraham, Israel, the covenants, the prophets, Scripture, and the Messiah (Gal 3:8, 16; cp. Rom 9:4-5).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
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Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”
He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.