And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
I will make of thee a great nation. Nothing was more improbable at the time, since he was childless (Genesis 11:30). Yet this promise was verified in his numerous posterity, the Arabs (Genesis 17:20; Genesis 21:13) and Edomites, etc., but especially the Jews, who, though comparatively small in numbers, have, by their influence on the moral and religious interests of the world, been "a great nation" (cf. Genesis 18:18).
And I will bless thee. Many special tokens of the divine favour, temporal as well as spiritual, are recorded in the personal history of Abram.
And make thy name great. Although not renowned in science or arts, in civil or military affairs, Abram has been distinguished by higher honours and a more extensive fame than any mere man ever was-revered by the Jews as the founder of their nation, looked up to by the Christians as "the father of the faithful," honoured by the Arabians as their progenitor; and whatever of true religion is to be found in Islamism is traceable to the precepts and example of Abram.
And thou shalt be a blessing. [Gesenius considers bªraakaah (H1293), in the concrete sense, 'an object of blessing, namely, in all the ways just mentioned.' The Septuagint renders it: kai (G2532) esee (G1510) eulogeemenos (G2127), thou shalt be blessed, which Knobel views as a future form of blessing, or as a proverbial saying, 'as blessed as Abram.' Our own translation is the best]. The following history shows this in various ways: for Abram was a blessing to his numerous house hold, who were benefited by his instructions and godly influence; to his posterity, who were specially favoured for his sake; and to the world at large. 'All the true blessedness the world is now, or ever shall be possessed of, is owing to Abram and his posterity. Through them we have a Bible, a Saviour, and a Gospel. They are the stock on which the Christian Church is grafted. Their very dispersions have proved the riches of the world' (Fuller).