Seder 10: Gen 12:1-9---the call of Abram

After the Tower of Babel rebellion, God focused his plan to bring blessing to all mankind on the family of Abram.  Calling Abram to separate from country, clan, and family, God made these promises:

1. "I will make of you a great nation"  This promise is striking, since up to this point Abram had no children.
2. "I will bless you"---in land, livestock, precious metals, and human labor in addition to offspring.
3. "and make your name great"--in contrast to the people at Babel, who wanted to make a name for themselves.
4. "you will be a blessing" (or perhaps, "Be a blessing!") People would make blessings in the name of Abraham.  ("May you be like Abraham.") Others would be blessed by a relationship with his family--e.g., Laban, Potiphar.
5. "I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse."  God would deal with nations based on their treatment of his family.  
6. "in you all families of the earth shall be blessed"  Abram's family would be a vehicle for blessing the nations.  Christians see this blessing carried out especially through the coming of Jesus the Messiah--see Gal 3:8-9, 14, 29.  

There is some question about the proper translation of the final clause of Gen 12:3.  The ESV translation ("in you all families of the earth shall be blessed") is the traditional rendering of the clause in the passive voice, followed by the Septuagint (and thus the New Testament), Sirach 44:21, Targum Onkelos, and the Vulgate.

It can also be given a reflexive translation ("in you all families of the earth shall bless themselves"), as mentioned in the ESV footnote.  The meaning of this translation would be similar to number 4 above.

In a sense, both translations lead to the same result, as Richard Middleton has pointed out. As is pictured in prophecies like Zech 8:20-23, people who seek to be blessed like Abraham will also tend to seek the God of Abraham, which will lead to blessing.

Middleton also explains that there is a strong tradition in both Judaism and Christianity that Abram's family has a special mission to bring blessing to the nations.  We see this in the prophets in passages like Isa 42:6 and Isa 49:6.  This understanding is also reflected in Jewish traditions about Abraham as an evangelist.

One such tradition is based on Gen 12:5, which mentions Abram, Sarai and Lot traveling with "the people they had acquired in Haran".  Literally, the verse speaks of "souls that they made" in Haran.  The rabbis interpret this as a reference to converts that they had made, based on the idea that someone who has taught another about the true God is considered to have in some sense "made" that person.