Abram and the City of God.
Brian Feltcher
Genesis 12:1–3
The call of Abram in Genesis 12:1–3 consists of two commands (“go” [12:1] and “be” a blessing [12:2]). Each command is followed by three promises. The first promise is “I will make you into a great nation,” and the last promise is “All the clans/families of the earth will be blessed in you” (12:1, 3). We need to pay attention to the terms used here to describe both the people of God and the other peoples of the world. God promises to make Abram into a great “nation”; this is the word go^y in Hebrew. The other people groups of the world are called “clans” or “families”; here the Hebrew term is mis?pa¯h?a^.
First, consider the term go^y, or “nation.” It is highly unusual for this term to be applied to the people of God. There is in the language of the Old Testament a completely consistent usage: the word ?am is almost always reserved for Israel. It is a kinship term that expresses effectively the closeness of the family/marriage relationship between God and Israel established by the covenant made at Sinai (Exodus 24). On the other hand, the word go^y is the standard term for the communities or other societies in the world, excluding Israel. So consistent is this use, that when we see something different, we need to ask why. For example, there are instances where the term go^y is ap plied to Israel in a pejorative sense. Sometimes Israel is called “nation” and not “people” because the author may wish to communicate that because of her wickedness, Israel is behaving as if she were not the people of God. Her actions and attitudes indicate that she is like those communities who have no special status as the chosen people of God (e.g., Judg. 2:20).
Why, then, in Genesis 12 does God speak of Abram becoming a great go^y, or nation? The basic meaning of go^y is an organized community of people having governmental, political, and social structure. This word contrasts with the derogatory term for the oth ...
Brian Feltcher
Genesis 12:1–3
The call of Abram in Genesis 12:1–3 consists of two commands (“go” [12:1] and “be” a blessing [12:2]). Each command is followed by three promises. The first promise is “I will make you into a great nation,” and the last promise is “All the clans/families of the earth will be blessed in you” (12:1, 3). We need to pay attention to the terms used here to describe both the people of God and the other peoples of the world. God promises to make Abram into a great “nation”; this is the word go^y in Hebrew. The other people groups of the world are called “clans” or “families”; here the Hebrew term is mis?pa¯h?a^.
First, consider the term go^y, or “nation.” It is highly unusual for this term to be applied to the people of God. There is in the language of the Old Testament a completely consistent usage: the word ?am is almost always reserved for Israel. It is a kinship term that expresses effectively the closeness of the family/marriage relationship between God and Israel established by the covenant made at Sinai (Exodus 24). On the other hand, the word go^y is the standard term for the communities or other societies in the world, excluding Israel. So consistent is this use, that when we see something different, we need to ask why. For example, there are instances where the term go^y is ap plied to Israel in a pejorative sense. Sometimes Israel is called “nation” and not “people” because the author may wish to communicate that because of her wickedness, Israel is behaving as if she were not the people of God. Her actions and attitudes indicate that she is like those communities who have no special status as the chosen people of God (e.g., Judg. 2:20).
Why, then, in Genesis 12 does God speak of Abram becoming a great go^y, or nation? The basic meaning of go^y is an organized community of people having governmental, political, and social structure. This word contrasts with the derogatory term for the oth ...
There are 6167 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
