Genesis 17:2-3

17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ¹  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ² 

17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, ³  and God said to him, ⁴ 

Genesis 17:7

17:7 I will confirm ⁵  my covenant as a perpetual ⁶  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁷ 

¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

² tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

³ tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.

⁴ tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

⁶ tn Or “as an eternal.”

⁷ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”