Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you.
but thy name.
Genesis 17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
Genesis 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Numbers 13:16 These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
Abraham.
but your name will be Abraham
The name "Abraham" means "father of a multitude." This change reflects God's promise to make Abraham the progenitor of many nations. The renaming signifies God's authority and the establishment of a new identity and purpose. It also foreshadows the fulfillment of God's covenant, as Abraham becomes the patriarch of the Israelites and other nations.
for I have made you a father of many nations
This phrase underscores the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. It connects to earlier promises in Genesis 12:2 and 15:5, where God assures Abraham of numerous descendants. Historically, Abraham is recognized as the patriarch of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths, each tracing their spiritual lineage to him. This promise is also prophetic, pointing to the coming of Jesus Christ, through whom all nations would be blessed, as seen in Galatians 3:8.
God personally announces a decisive break with Abram’s former identity.
• The change is initiated by the LORD Himself, underscoring divine authority (Genesis 17:1, “the LORD appeared to Abram”).
• A name in Scripture often represents character and destiny; here, God is telling Abram, “Your story is no longer defined by what has been, but by what I am doing.” Cf. Isaiah 43:18-19 where God urges His people to “remember not the former things.”
• This moment comes within an already-established covenant relationship (Genesis 15:5-6), showing that God’s commitments are progressive and cumulative.
• When God says “No longer,” He is literally ending Abram’s past for the sake of a promised future, much like 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “The old has passed away.”
The new name signals a new covenant role.
• God does not leave a vacuum; He supplies a fresh identity that carries His purpose.
• Similar renamings mark turning points in biblical history—Sarai to Sarah in this same chapter (Genesis 17:15), Jacob to Israel (Genesis 32:28), Simon to Peter (John 1:42).
• Each renaming is more than symbolic; it is God’s authoritative declaration of what He will certainly bring to pass. Compare Romans 4:17, where God “calls into being things that do not yet exist.”
• By speaking the new name before the promise is fulfilled, God invites Abraham to live daily in light of that promise—an example of walking by faith, not by sight (Hebrews 11:8-10).
God states the promise as an already-accomplished fact.
• Though Abraham at this point has only Ishmael and the yet-unborn Isaac, the LORD’s word is final reality. See Genesis 21:12-13, where God affirms both Isaac and Ishmael’s roles in the unfolding plan.
• “Many nations” reaches beyond physical descendants to all who share Abraham’s faith (Galatians 3:7-9, 29). The global scope anticipates Revelation 7:9, “a great multitude…from every nation.”
• The covenant is unconditional; God says “I have made,” emphasizing His sole responsibility for its fulfillment (Genesis 22:16-18; Psalm 105:8-11).
• This promise anchors the gospel itself: in Christ, Gentiles are brought into Abraham’s blessing (Romans 4:16-18; Ephesians 2:12-13).
Genesis 17:5 records God’s direct, literal act of renaming Abram to Abraham, declaring an irreversible shift in identity and destiny. The verse unfolds in three steps: God ends the old name, grants a new one, and seals it with a completed promise that Abraham will father many nations. Each phrase showcases the LORD’s absolute authority, faithfulness, and global redemptive purpose, calling believers today to trust His Word as finished fact and to live in the new identity He provides.
(5) Abram.--That is, high father.Abraham = Father of a multitude, "raham" being an Arabic word, perhaps current in Hebrew in ancient times. Another interpretation of Abram is that it is equivalent to Abi-aram, Father of Aram, or Syria. This too is an Arabic form, like Abimael in Genesis 10:28. By some commentators the stress is thrown upon the insertion of the letter "h," as being the representative of the name Yahveh or Yehveh. (Compare the change of Oshea into Jehoshua, Numbers 13:16.)
Verse 5. - Neither shall thy name any mere be called Abram, - Abram, i.e. high father (vide Genesis 11:26); but Abraham - Abraham (in Arabic signifying a multitude); hence "the father of a multitude," as the next clause explains - for a father of many (or a multitude of) nations have I made thee.