the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
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King James Version
Romans 4:17
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That's what the Good Book means when it says, "I have made you the sire of my people, the first of many that will come." Abraham received this blessing because he believed in God who could bring the dead back to life and whose word brings something from nothing.
(as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
as it is written, "A father of many nations have I made you"—in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
(As it is said in the holy Writings, I have made you a father of a number of nations) before him in whom he had faith, that is, God, who gives life to the dead, and to whom the things which are not are as if they were.
(according as it is written, I have made thee father of many nations,) before the God whom he believed, who quickens the dead, and calls the things which be not as being;
(as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations" Genesis 17:5 ">[fn] ) in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
in God's sight. As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations. He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.
As it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations." This is before him whom he believed, God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.
I have made thee a father of many nations) before God in whom he believed, as quickning the dead, and calling the things that are not, as though they were:
so that the promise should be made sure to all Abraham's true descendants; not merely to those who are righteous through the Law, but to those who are righteous through a faith like that of Abraham. Thus in the sight of God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and makes reference to things that do not exist, as though they did, Abraham is the forefather of all of us. As it is written, "I have appointed you to be the forefather of many nations."
(As it is written, I haue made thee a father of many nations) before him whom he beleeued, euen God who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which bee not, as though they were,
according as it has been written, "I have appointed you a father of many nations;" before God, whom he believed, the One making the dead live, and calling the things that are not as if they were. Gen. 17:5
As it is wrytten: I haue made the a father of many Heythe before God, whom thou hast beleued: which quyckeneth the deed, and calleth it which is not, that it maye be.
" I have made thee a father of many nations," then existing in the sight of God, whom he believed, who gives life to the dead, and calls forth things that are not, as if they were:
We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"
(as it is written [in Scripture], "I HAVE MADE YOU A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS") in the sight of Him in whom he believed, that is, God who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
(as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.
as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations" --in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
As it is wrytten: I have made the a father to many nacions even before god whom thou hast beleved which quyckeneth the deed and called those thinges which be not as though they were.
(as it is written, A father of many nations I have made you) before him whom he believed, [even] God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.
(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations) before him whom he believed, [even] God, who reviveth the dead, and calleth those things which are not, as though they were.
who is father of us all (according as it hath been written -- `A father of many nations I have set thee,') before Him whom he did believe -- God, who is quickening the dead, and is calling the things that be not as being.
As it is written in the Scriptures: "I am making you a father of many nations." This is true before God, the God Abraham believed, the God who gives life to the dead and who creates something out of nothing.
(as it is written, " I have made you the father of many nations "). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed—the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.
As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.
The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he had faith in God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things.
This accords with the Tanakh, where it says, "I have appointed you to be a father to many nations." Avraham is our father in God's sight because he trusted God as the one who gives life to the dead and calls nonexistent things into existence.
as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
(As it is written, I haue made thee a father of many nations) euen before God whom he beleeued, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those thinges which be not, as though they were.
As it is written, I have made you a father of many peoples, in the presence of the God in whom you have believed, who quickens the dead, and who invites those who are not yet in being, as though they were present.
As it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations." This is before him whom he believed, God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.
As it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations."Genesis 17:5">[fn] AbrahamHe">[fn] acted in faith when he stood in God's presence, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that don't even exist.Genesis 17:5; Romans 8:11; 9:26; 1 Corinthians 1:28; Ephesians 2:1,5; 1 Peter 2:10;">[xr]
(as it is written, I have ordained thee the father of many nations before Aloha, in whom thou hast believed, who maketh alive the dead, and calleth those who are not as though they were:)
as it is written: " I have constituted thee a father to a multitude of nations;" [fn] before God, in whom thou hast believed; who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which are not, as if they were.
That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, "I have made you the father of many nations." This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
The Holy Writings say, "I have made you a father of many nations." This promise is good because of Who God is. He makes the dead live again. He speaks, and something is made out of nothing.
(as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.
as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Even as it is written - Father of many nations, have I appointed thee: before him whom he believed - God, who causeth the dead to live, and calleth the things that are not as things that are: -
(As it is written: I have made thee a father of many nations), before God, whom he believed: who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things that are not, as those that are.
(just as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") before God, in whom he believed, the one who makes the dead alive and who calls the things that are not as though they are,
(As it is written, that I haue made thee a father of many nations) before God, whom he beleued, which restoreth the dead vnto life, and calleth those thynges whiche be not, as though they were.
As the Scriptures say, "I have made you a father of many nations." This is true before God, the one Abraham believed—the God who gives life to the dead and speaks of things that don't yet exist as if they are real.
(as it is written: "I HAVE MADE YOU A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS") in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that do not exist.
as the scripture says, "I have made you father of many nations." So the promise is good in the sight of God, in whom Abraham believed—the God who brings the dead to life and whose command brings into being what did not exist.
As it is writun, For Y haue set thee fadir of many folkis, bifor God to whom thou hast bileued. Which God quykeneth deed men, and clepith tho thingis that ben not, as tho that ben.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
I have: Genesis 17:4, Genesis 17:5, Genesis 17:16, Genesis 17:20, Genesis 25:1-34, Genesis 28:3, Hebrews 11:12
before him: or, like unto him, Romans 3:29
who quickeneth: Romans 4:2, Romans 8:11, Matthew 3:9, John 5:21, John 5:25, John 6:63, 1 Corinthians 15:45, Ephesians 2:1-5, 1 Timothy 6:13
calleth: Romans 8:29, Romans 8:30, Romans 9:26, Isaiah 43:6, Isaiah 44:7, Isaiah 49:12, Isaiah 55:12, Acts 15:18, 1 Corinthians 1:28, Hebrews 11:7, 1 Peter 2:10, 2 Peter 3:8
Reciprocal: Genesis 21:1 - visited 1 Kings 17:9 - widow woman Ezekiel 37:3 - O Lord God Mark 5:41 - Damsel Mark 12:27 - is not Luke 7:14 - Young Luke 8:50 - believe Luke 8:54 - Maid John 11:25 - he that John 11:40 - Said John 11:52 - the children Acts 2:23 - being Romans 9:11 - the children 2 Corinthians 1:9 - in God 2 Corinthians 3:6 - giveth life Colossians 2:13 - he 1 Thessalonians 5:13 - and be Hebrews 6:15 - General Hebrews 7:4 - Abraham Hebrews 11:3 - faith Hebrews 11:19 - God James 1:18 - his own
Cross-References
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.
Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
Gill's Notes on the Bible
As it is written I have made thee a father of many nations,.... The passage referred to, is in Genesis 17:4; which proves him to be a father not of the Jews only, since they cannot be called "many nations", but of the Gentiles also; and which must be understood in a spiritual sense, for Abraham was the father of them,
before him whom he believed, [even] God; that is, he was so, either in the sight of God, who sees not as man sees; in his account, he was the father of many nations, long before he really in fact was; or "over against" or "like unto him", as the word may signify: as God was the Father of many nations, so was Abraham, though not in such a sense as he is; and as God is the Father of us all that believe, so was Abraham; there is some little likeness and resemblance in this between them, though not sameness. The object of his faith is described as he,
who quickeneth the dead: meaning either the dead body of Abraham and Sarah's womb; or Isaac, who was given up for dead; or the Gentiles, who were dead in trespasses and sins; or rather the dead bodies of men at the last day, a work which none but the almighty God can effect; the consideration of which is sufficient to engage faith in the promises of God, and a dependence on him for the fulfilment or them: and who stands further described as he, who
calleth those things which be not, as though they were; so he called Abraham the father of many nations, when he was not in fact, as if he really was; and the Gentiles his seed and offspring, before they were; and when he comes effectually to call them by his grace, they are represented as "things which are not", whom he called, "to bring to nought things that are", 1 Corinthians 1:28; they were not his people, nor his children, and he called them so, and by his grace made them so, and made them appear to be so; for as in creation so in regeneration, God calls and brings that into being which before was not: and the phrase seems to be an allusion to the creation of all things out of nothing; and it is a Rabbinical one, for so the Jews speaking of the creation say s
"Nya la arwq, "he calls to that which is not", and it is excluded; (i.e. all things are excluded out of it, as a chicken out of an egg;) and to that which is, and it is established, and to the world, and it is stretched out.''
s R. Solomon ben Gabirol in Cether Malcuth apud L. Capell. in loc.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
As it is written - Genesis 17:5.
I have made thee - The word used here in the Hebrew Genesis 17:5 means literally, to give, to grant; and also, to set, or constitute. This is also the meaning of the Greek word used both by the Septuagint and the apostle. The quotation is taken literally from the Septuagint. The argument of the apostle is founded in part on the fact that the past tense is used - I have made thee - and that God spoke of a thing as already done, which he had promised or purposed to do. The sense is, he had, in his mind or purpose, constituted him the father of many nations; and so certain was the fulfillment of the divine purposes, that he spoke of it as already accomplished.
Of many nations - The apostle evidently understands this promise as referring, not to his natural descendants only, but to the great multitude who should believe as he did.
Before him - In his view, or sight; that is, God regarded him as such a father.
Whom he believed - Whose promise he believed; or in whom he trusted.
Who quickeneth the dead - Who gives life to the dead, Ephesians 2:1, Ephesians 2:5. This expresses the power of God to give life. But why it is used here has been a subject of debate. I regard it as having reference to the strong natural improbability of the fulfillment of the prophecy when it was given, arising from the age of Abraham and Sarah, Romans 4:19. Abraham exercised power in the God who gives life, and who gives it as he pleases. It is one of his prerogatives to give life to the dead (νεκρους nekrous), to raise up those who are in their graves; and a power similar to that, or strongly reminding of that, was manifested in fulfilling the promise to Abraham. The giving of this promise, and its fulfillment, were such as strongly to remind us that God has power to give life to the dead.
And calleth ... - That is, those things which he foretels and promises are so certain, that he may speak of them as already in existence. Thus, in relation to Abraham, God, instead of simply promising that he would make him the father of many nations, speaks of it as already done, “I have made thee,” etc. In his own mind, or purpose, he had so constituted him, and it was so certain that it would take place, that he might speak of it as already done.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Romans 4:17. As it is written, I have made thee a father — That Abraham's being a father of many nations has relation to the covenant of God made with him, may be seen, Genesis 17:4, Genesis 17:5 : Behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations: neither shall thy name any more be called Abram; but thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee, i.e. he was constituted the head of many nations, the Gentile world, by virtue of the covenant, which God made then with him.
God, who quickeneth the dead, c.] God is the most proper object of trust and dependence for being almighty, eternal, and unchangeable, he can even raise the dead to life, and call those things which be not as though they were. He is the Creator, he gave being when there was none; he can as infallibly assure the existence of those things which are not, as if they were already actually in being. And, on this account, he can never fail of accomplishing whatsoever he has promised.
