Prophecy 2 of 30 · Promise
All the families of the earth blessed
God promises Abraham that through him every family on earth will be blessed.
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Hebrew · Leningrad Codexעִבְרִית
3וַאֲבָֽרֲכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃va'avarakha mevarkhekha umekallelkha a'or venivrekhu vekha kol mishpechot ha'adama
JPS 1917 · Jewish translation
3And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’
World Messianic Bible
3I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:3. Transliteration simplified. Read the whole chapter
Also in this passage: Genesis 22:18
18וְהִתְבָּרֲכ֣וּ בְזַרְעֲךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל גּוֹיֵ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ עֵ֕קֶב אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ בְּקֹלִֽי׃
vehitbarakhu vezar'akha kol goye ha'aretz ekev asher shama'ta bekoli
18and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice.’
Genesis 22:18 (Hebrew & JPS 1917)
Fulfilment · New CovenantWMB
Galatians 3:8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Good News beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.”
Galatians 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring. He doesn’t say, “To descendants”, as of many, but as of one, “To your offspring”, which is Messiah.
Acts 3:25-26 You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘All the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.’ God, having raised up his servant Yeshua, sent him to you first to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.”
How rabbinic tradition reads it
Rabbinic tradition reads this as Israel being a blessing to the nations through Torah and faithfulness, and as nations blessing themselves by Abraham's name.
Why Messianic Jews read it as Yeshua
Genesis 22:18 says the nations will be blessed "by your offspring". The apostles, all Jewish, said the blessing of Abraham reaches the nations through one descendant, Yeshua, and that it came "to you first", to Israel (Acts 3:26).
Look at the text for yourself
Read Genesis 12:3 slowly, in the Hebrew and the JPS translation above. Then ask the question the Ethiopian official asked: "Who is the prophet talking about?"
Sources
- Rashi on Genesis 12:3
- Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain), via OpenScriptures. English: JPS 1917; World Messianic Bible (public domain).