Genesis 17:5

17:5 No longer will your name be ¹  Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham ²  because I will make you ³  the father of a multitude of nations.

Genesis 20:6

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ⁴  That is why I have kept you ⁵  from sinning against me and why ⁶  I did not allow you to touch her.

[17:5]  ¹ tn Heb “will your name be called.”

[17:5]  ² sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.

[17:5]  ³ tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.

[20:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

[20:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

[20:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “therefore.”