The Seed of Abraham

Genesis 13.15

…all the land that you see
I will give to you
and to your seed
forever.

When Abram had entered into the land of Kena’an
YAHWEH was seen by him (a Hebraism for ‘experienced’),
more than once.
In those experiences 
YAHWEH made a promise to Abram.
He promised to give to him the land of Kena’an.
He also promised to give that land
                                                                                         to Abram's "seed" (offspring, descendants).

In order to fully appreciate the significance of this
it's necessary to review what Scripture says
about
who is the seed of Abraham
and who is not the seed of Abraham.

 
The Scripture passages given below reveal
that it includes the "Gentiles" (non-Yisra’elites)
as well as the "believing” Yisra'elites.
If you're not clear on the distinctions
you need to read the Scriptures given below. 

Within them you'll discover the astounding Truth.
Most of what's presented provides the background
on the promises
YAHWEH made to Abram
and provides a proper perspective
on the historical progression of events related to this. 

When you get to The Book of Romans, Chapter 4,
you learn who ultimately counts as "the seed of Abraham".
Most people are quite surprised
to discover what's revealed in Romans.
They've never been taught that "THEY"
may in fact be included in "the seed of Abraham",
and are therefore entitled to participate
in The Promise made to him by
YAHWEH.

As you study these verses carefully
you'll recognize that The Promise
has not yet been fulfilled completely.
Portions of it have taken place.
A partial fulfillment has occurred.
But the full realization is yet to be completed. 

Will you be a part of that complete fulfillment?
Well, that depends upon your relationship with 
YAHWEH.
Do you know what your relationship with Him truly is?
Either you've chosen to trust Him 100%,
with every part of your existence,
or you have not.
Those are the only two choices.
There is no "half-way”. In or out.
Faith or no faith.
Belief or no belief.

Revelation 3.16 puts it this way:
"So then, because you are lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot,
I will vomit you out of My mouth."

The Promise awaits those
who will surrender their lives to
YAHWEH.
It offers an exciting future.
While these verses don't reveal all of what's involved
in connection with The Promise
they do set the stage so we can understand
some of the other portions of Scripture more clearly.
To learn more please read on.
The passages have been restructured and clarified
to help you understand them better.

The Promise

Gen. 12:7 And YAHWEH was seen by Abram.
And He said,
To your seed I am giving this land itself.
And he built there an altar to
YAHWEH,
who was seen by him.

Gen. 13:14-17 YAHWEH spoke to Abram,
after Lot had separated from him.
“Please, lift up your eyes and look from the place
where you yourself are, there,
northward
and southward
and eastward
and westward,
Gen. 13:15 because 
all the land itself
which you yourself are seeing 
I Myself am giving to you and to your seed, as far as forever.
Gen. 13:16 And i am establishing your seed itself
like the dust of the land,
so that, if a man is able to count the dust itself of the land,
so also may your seed be counted.

Gen. 13:17 Rise up!
Walk on the land according to its length
and according to its width,
because to you I Myself am giving it.”

The Land Covenant

The Promise is next confirmed by a covenant
between
YAHWEH and Abram.
A covenant is a legal contract.
It is legally binding on both parties.
If either party breaks the covenant (contract)
there are very serious consequences.

Gen. 15: 1-21 After these matters the word of YAHWEH 
existed for to Abram in a vision saying,
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I Myself a
m your shield,
your exceedingly great compensation.” 

Gen. 15:2 And Abram said,
“My Sovereign, 
YAHWEH,
why do You give to me?
Also, I myself am walking childless.
And the son of possession of my household 

is this Eli’ezer of Damascus?”

Gen. 15:3 Then Abram said,
“Behold! You have not given seed to me.
And behold!
A son of my household is inheriting from me myself.”
Gen. 15:4
And behold,
the word of YAHWEH was saying to him,
“This one will not inherit from you,
because behold, 
that which comes from your own abdomen,
he will inherit from you.”

Gen. 15:5 And He brought he himself outside and said,
“Look now, intently, at the skies and count the stars
if you are able to number they themselves.”
And He said to him,
“Like this will your seed exist!”

Gen. 15:6 And he trusted in YAHWEH.
And He attributed it to him as rightness.

Gen. 15:7 Then He said to him, “I Myself am YAHWEH,
  Please note: The use of
YAHWEH occurs
  long before the account in Exodus 3.14-16
  where He identifies his Name to Moshe
  as His personal and eternal Name.
Who caused you to com out from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give to you this land itself, to inherit it.”

Note: 
YAHWEH reveals that He brought Abram here
for a specific purpose.

Gen. 15:8 And he said,
“My Sovereign, 
YAHWEH,
by what will I know that I am to inherit it?”
Gen. 15:9 And He said to him,
“Take for Me a three-year-old heifer,
and a three-year-old female goat,
and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove, and a nestling.”

Gen. 15:10 And he took to Him all of these themselves.
And he cut they themselves in the middle,
and placed each section one opposed to another.
But the birds themselves he did not cut.
Gen. 15:11 And the birds of prey
came down upon the carcasses
and Abram dispersed they themselves.

Gen. 15:12 And it was at the going down of the sun.
And a deep sleep fell upon Abram.
And behold!
Fright, great darkness, was falling upon him. 

Gen. 15:13 And He said to Abram,
“Know absolutely that your seed will be sojourners
in a land that is not theirs,
and they will serve and they will be afflicted, they themselves
four hundred years.
Gen. 15:14 And also the nation itself which they will serve
I Myself am judging.
And immediately afterward they will come out
with great substance.

Gen. 15:15 And you yourself will go to your fathers
amidst total well being.

You will be buried at a good old age.
Gen. 15:16 And in the fourth generation they will return here,
because the perversity of the Amorites 
is not yet complete.”

Gen. 15:17 And it was as the sun went down.
And it was twilight.
And behold!

A smoking fire pot and a torch of fire
which passed between these pieces. 

Gen. 15:18 On the very same day
YAHWEH cut a covenant with Abram himself saying,
“To your seed I have given this land itself,
from the river of Egypt 
to the great river, the River Euphrates
Gen. 15:19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites,
Gen. 15:20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
Gen. 15:21 the Amorites, the Kena’anites,
the Girgashites, and the Yebusites.”

The Covenant of Circumcision

It's important to recognize that the Covenant of Circumcision
occurs AFTER the giving of The Promise.
The Promise came while Abram was still uncircumcised.
This point will become a vital focus in Romans 4.

Gen. 17:1-11   And Abram was ninety years and nine years old.
And 
YAHWEH was seen by Abram. 
And He said to him, “I am The Mightiest El. 
Walk before My face and be whole! 
Gen 17.2 And I have given My covenant between Me and you.
And I have increased your sign with exceeding abundance.”

Gen. 17:3 And Abram fell on his face.
And The Elohim spoke with he himself saying,
Gen. 17:4 “Behold I Myself!
My covenant is with you yourself.
And you will exist as father of many nations. 
Gen. 17:5 And no longer will your name itself be Abram. 
Now your name is Abraham, because as father of a many nations 
I have established you.

Gen. 17:6 I will cause you yourself
to bear fruit in exceeding, abundance.
And I will give nations to you.
And kings will of go forth from you.

Gen. 17:7 And I will establish My covenant itself
between Me and youand your seed after you
according to their generations for an eternal covenant,
to be as The Elohim to you and to your seed after you.
Gen. 17:8 And I will give to you
and to your seed after you
the land of your sojournings itself,
all the land of Kena’an itself,
for an eternal possession.

And I will be to them as The Elohim.”

Gen. 17:9 And The Elohim said to Abraham,
“You yourself are to protect My covenant itself,
you yourself and your seed after you,
according to their generations.
 

Gen. 17:10 This is My covenant which you are to protect
between Me and you and your seed after you:
Every male of yours is to be circumcised.

Gen. 17:11 And you are to circumcise the flesh itself of your foreskin.
And
it will be for a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

The Transfer of The Promise And The Land Covenant to Isaac

Abraham never experienced, yet, the fulfillment of The Promise,
or of The Covenant of Circumcision.
He will one day in the coming Kingdom of
YAHWEH.

Gen. 21:10-13 And she (Sarah) said to Abraham,
“Drive out this female slave herself and her son himself,
because
the son of this female slave herself
will not inherit with my son, with Yitzhak.”

Gen. 21:11 And the matter was exceedingly hurtful
in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.
Gen. 21:12 But The Elohim said to Abraham,
“Let it not be hurtful in your eyes concerning the young man
and concerning your female slave.
All that Sarah has said to you, listen attentively to her voice,
because
in Yitzhak your seed will be called after you.

Gen. 21:13 And even of the son himself of the female slave
 I will make a nation, 
because he himself is your seed.”

Gen. 26:2-5 
 YAHWEH was seen by him (Yitzhak).
And He said, “Do not go down to Egypt.
Settle in the land which I say to you.
Gen. 26:3 Sojourn in this land.
And I will be with you.
And I will bless you,
because to you and to your seed
I will give all these lands themselves
.

And I have established the oath itself
which I swore to Abraham, your father.
Gen. 26:4 I will increase your seed itself
like the stars of the skies.
And I will give to your seed
all these lands themselves.
And by means of your seed all the nations of the earth
will themselves be blessed
Gen. 26:5 as a consequence of Abraham
who listened attentively to My voice
and protected My watch,
My directives,

My appointments,
and My teachings.

Restatement of The Promise To Yitzhak

Gen. 26:23-24 And he (Yitzhak) went up from there to Be’ersheba.
Gen. 26:24 And
YAHWEH was seen by him that very night.
And He said,
“I
am The Elohim of Abraham, your father.
Do not be afraid because I
am with you yourself!
And I will bless you and I will increase your seed itself
on account of My servant, Abraham.”

The Blessing of Yitzhak on Ya’akov
- After Yitzhak ‘Stole' The Birthright From Esau

Gen. 28:2-4  Get up! Go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethu’el,
your mother’s father, and take a wife for yourself from there 
from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.

Gen. 28:3 And the Mightiest El bless you yourself,
and make you fruitful and increase you!
And you will become an assembly of peoples.
Gen. 28:4
And may He give to you the blessing itself of Abraham,
to you and to your seed, you yourself,
for the sake of inheriting the land itself of your sojournings,
which The Elohim has given to Abraham.”

YAHWEH Confirms The Promise With Ya'akov

Gen. 28:12-15 And he dreamed.
And behold!
A ladder
was set up on the ground
and the top of it reached to The Heaven.
And behold!
Messengers of The Elohim
were ascending and descending upon it.
Gen. 28:13 And behold!
YAHWEH was standing above it.
And He said, “I
am YAHWEH,
The Elohim of Abraham, your forefather,
and The Elohim of Yitzhak.
The land on which you yourself are lying, 
to you I will give it and to your seed.

Gen. 28:14 And your seed will be like the dust of the ground.
And you will break out to the west and to the east,
to the north and to the south.
And in you 
and in your seed
all the families of the earth will be blessed.

Gen. 28:15 Behold,
I
am with you and I will protect you
in every place where you will go.
And I will bring you back to this land itself,
because I will not leave you
until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

Ya’akov's Name Changed to Yisra’el
- The Promise Transferred Also

Gen. 35:10-12  And The Elohim said to him,
“Your name is Ya’akov.
Your name is no longer to be called Ya’akov,
because now Yisra’el will be your name.”
And He called his name itself Yisra’el.
Gen. 35:11 The Elohim said to him,
“I am The Mightiest El.
Bear fruit and increase!
A people, even a great assembly of people,
will exist from you,
and kings will come from your loins.
Gen. 35:12 And t
he land itself
which I gave to Abraham and to Yitzhak,
to you I will give it.
And to your seed after you
I will give the land itself."

Moshe Reminds YAHWEH of His Promise

Ex. 32:11-14  Then Moshe pleaded
with
YAHWEHhis Elohim, and said,
“Why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people
whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt
with great power and with a mighty hand?
Ex. 32:12 Why should the Egyptians speak and say,
“He brought them out to harm them,
to kill them in the mountains,
and to consume them from the face of the earth’?
Turn from Your fierce wrath,
and relent from this harm to Your people.
Ex. 32:13
Remember Abraham, Yitzhak, and Yisra’el, Your servants,
to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them,
“I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the sky,
and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your seed,
and they will inherit it forever.’ ”
Ex. 32:14 And 
YAHWEH relented from the harm
which He said He would do to His people.

YAHWEH Verifies The Promise

Ex. 33:1-2  Then YAHWEH said to Moshe,
“Depart
and go up from here, you and the people
whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt,
to the land of which I swore
to Abraham, Yitzhak, and Ya’akov saying,
‘To your seed I will give it.’
Ex. 33:2 And I will send
My messenger before you,
and I will drive out
the Kena’anite and the Amorite
and the Hittite and the Perizzite 
and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

Deut. 1:6-8  YAHWEH, our Elohim,
spoke to us at Horeb saying,
“You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
Deut. 1:7 Resume your journey,
and go into the hill country of the Amorites
as well as into the neighboring regions,
the Arabah,
the hill country,
the Shephelah,
the Negeb,
and the seacoast,
the land of the Kena'anites
 and the Lebanon,
as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
Deut. 1:8 See, I have set the land before you.
Go in and take possession of the land 
that I swore to your ancestors, 
to Abraham, to Yitzhak, and to Ya’akov, 
to give to them 
and to their seed after them.”

Deut. 34:4 YAHWEH said to him,
“This is the land of which I swore
to Abraham, to Yitzhak, and to Ya’akov saying,
‘I will give it to your seed’.
I have let you see it with your eyes,
but you will not cross over there.”

The Entry Into The Land

Josh. 1:1-6  And it was after the death of Moshe,
the servant of
YAHWEH
And
YAHWEH spoke to Yahoshua, son of Nun, 
the attendant of Moshe saying, 
Josh. 1:2 “Moshe, My servant, is dead. 
And now stand up! 
Pass over this Yarden itself 
אתyou yourself את
and this entire people, 
to the land which I am giving to them, to the children of Yisra'el.

Josh. 1:3 Every spot where the sole of your foot treads on it 
I have given to you according to what I have spoken to Moshe. 
1.4 From this desert and this Lebanon 
and as far as the great river, the great River Euphrates, 
all the land of the Hittites even to the great sea 
toward the entrance of the sun will be your boundary. 

Josh. 1:5 No man will be able to stand before your face 
all the days of your life.

As I was with
 Moshe I will be with you!

I will not let you down! 
And I will not abandon you! 

1.6 Be strong and courageous, 
because you yourself 
את will cause this people themselves את
to inherit the land itself את
which I swore to their fathers to give to them!

Reminders of The Promise and The Covenant

2Chr. 20:5-7  And Yahoshaphat stood
with the assembly of Yahudah and Yerushalaim,
in The House of YAHWEH, in front of the new courtyard.
20:6 And  he said, “
YAHWEH, The Elohim of our fathers,
are not You Yourself 
את He, The Elohim in The Heavens?
And You Yourself 
את are ruling
among all the kingdoms of the nations?
And in Your hand is
power and might.
And no one can stand himself against You? 

20:7 Are not You Yourself את our Elohim?
You have caused to be driven out
those themselves את dwelling in this land
from before the faces of Your people, Yisra’el.
And You have given it to the seed of Abraham,
whom You were loving, to eternity.

Psa. 105:4-8  Seek YAHWEH and His strength! 
Seek His face continually! 
105:5 Remember His extraordinary acts
which He has done,
His signs and the judgments of His mouth,
105:6
Seed of Abraham, His servant,
Children of Ya‛akov, His chosen!
105:7 He Himself is
YAHWEH, our Elohim!
His judgments are in all the earth.
105:8
He has remembered His Covenant to eternity,
The Word He has given as direction
for the sake of a thousand generations
,

Is. 41:8-10  But you yourself את, Yisra'el, are My servant, 
Ya'akob, whom I have chosen, 
the seed of Abraham,
 My friend, 
9 whom I have strengthened 
from among the extremities of the earth. 
And from its boundaries I have called you. 
And I said to You, ‘You yourself את are My servant! 
I have chosen you! 
AndI have not despised you! 
10 You are not to be afraid 
because I Myself am with you! 
You are not to look around anxiously 
because I Myself am your Elohim! 
I will strengthen you! 
Indeed I will help you! 
Indeed, I will support you with the right hand of My justice!

Jer. 33:25-26  Thus said YAHWEH
‘If My covenant is not with day and night, 
and if I have not established the rules 
of the skies and the earth 
33:26 then the seed of Ya'akov and David My servant 
I will also reject from taking from his seed 
rulers over the seed of Abraham, Yitzhak, and Ya'akov!

Indeed, I will turn back their captivity itself את!
And I will have compassion on them!’ ”

From The New Covenant

Many people fail to recognize the vital connection
between The Old Covenant and The New Covenant.
The New Covenant is based 
entirely upon The Old Covenant.
You simply cannot have one without the other.
But because many fail to study The Old Covenant,
thinking it somehow does not apply to them today,
they fail to comprehend the powerful message
that is presented here. 

Luke 1:54-5  He has helped his servant, Yisra’el,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Acts 3:24-25  Yes, and all the prophets,
from Samuel and those who follow,
as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.
25
You are sons of the prophets,
and of The Covenant which YAHWEH made with our fathers,
saying to Abraham,
“And in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed.’

The Gentiles As The Seed of Abraham

In The New Covenant we are finally taught
the real significance of The Promise and The Land Covenant
given to Abram/Abraham,
and then to Yitzhak and Ya’akov/Yisra’el.
For both Yisra’elites and non-Yisra’elites
the following verses are extremely important.

Rom. 4:11-18   And he received the sign of circumcision,
a seal of the justification by means to the trust
while still uncircumcised,
so that he exists as the father
of all those who are trusting,
even though they are uncircumcised,
so that justification might be accounted to them also,
12 and as the father of circumcision
to those who are not of the circumcision alone,
but who also walk in the steps of trust 
which our father, Abraham, had while still uncircumcised.

13 Indeed, the promise
that he would be the heir of the world
was not to Abraham or to his seed through law,
but rather through the justification of trust.
4 Indeed, if those 
who are of law are heirs
trust is made meaningless
and the promise is rendered useless
5 because The Torah brings about wrath.
Indeed where no law exists there is no violation.

16 Because of this justification is the result of trust
in order that
it is according to favor,
so that the promise exists as stable for all the offspring,
not only to those who are from The Torah,
but instead, also to those who are of the trust of Abraham,
who is the father of us all,
17 just as it is written,
“I have made you a father of many nations.” (
Gen 17.5)
in the presence of Him in whom he trusted,
YAHWEH, who gives life to the dead
and calls those things which do not exist
as though they did exist;
8 who against hope, beyond hope, he trusted,
so that he became the father of many nations
according to what was spoken, 
“So will your descendants be.”
(Gen 15.5)

Rom. 9:6-9   Now it is not as though
The Word of
YAHWEH has taken no effect,
because they are not all Yissra’el who are from Yisra’el.
7 Neither is it because they exist as the seed of Abraham
that the are all children, 
but rather, “In Yitzhak your seed will be called.”

8 That is to say they who are the children of the flesh,
these are not the children of YAHWEH
Instead, the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
9
Indeed, this is the word of promise:
“At this time I will come and Sarah will have a son.”
(Gen 18.10,14)

Rom. 10:20-21  But Yeshay’yahu is very bold and says:
            
“I was found by those who did not seek Me;
            I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.” (Is 65.1)
21 Then to Israel he says:
            
“All day long I have stretched out My hands
            to a rebellious and disputing people.” (Is 65.2
Rom. 11:1-2  I say therefore, has YAHWEH rejected His people?
May it never be so!
!Indeed, I also am an Yisra’elite,

from the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Rom. 11:2
YAHWEH has not rejected His people
whom He has chosen ahead of time.

2Cor. 11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. 
Are they Yisra’elites? So
am I.
Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.

Gal. 3:7-9  Know therefore that those who exist by faith,
these same ones are children of Abraham.
8 Now the Scripture, foreseeing
that
YAHWEH would justify the Gentiles by faith,
announced the good news to Abraham in advance:

“In you all the nations will be blessed.” (Gen 12.3, 22.18, 26.4)
9
Therefore, those of faith are blessed with trustworthy Abraham.

Gal. 3:13-18  The Messiah has ransomed us
from the curse of The Torah,
having become a curse for our sakes... 
Indeed, it is written,

“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”
(Deut. 21.23)
14 ...
in order that the blessing of Abraham
might come unto the Gentiles
by means of The Messiah, YAHUSHUA,
in order that we might obtain the promise
of the Divine Nature of YAHWEH through faith.
15 Brothers, I am speaking
according to the manner of human beings.
At the time a human being’s covenant has been authenticated
no one sets it aside or adds to it.

16 Now to Abraham and to his seed
were the promises uttered.

He does not say,
And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one,
“And to your Seed,” 
(Gen 13.15which is The Messiah.
17 NowI say this.
"The covenant, having been previously authenticated
by means of
YAHWEH in The Messiah,
a law, having come into being
four hundred and thirty years later,
cannot render the promise entirely meaningless. 
18 Indeed, if an inheritance is the result of law
it is no longer the result of a promise. 
But
YAHWEH gave it to Abraham by promise. 
However,
YAHWEH gave it to Abraham through a promise.

Gal. 3:27-29  Indeed, as many of you
as were baptized 
into The Messiah
have put on The Messiah.
28 There is neither Yisra’elite or Greek.
There is neither slave nor free.
There is neither male nor female.
Now you are all one 
in The Messiah, YAHUSHUA.
29 And if you are The Messiah’s,
then you are Abraham’s seed,
and heirs according to the promise.

Heb. 2:16 For it is clear that He did not take upon Himself
that form of messengers,
but He took upon Himself the form of the seed of Abraham.

Having reviewed the foregoing Scriptures
it's clear that those who trust in
YAHWEH
and in His Messiah, YAHUSHUA,
are, by their trust in Him,
counted as
The Seed of Abraham.

This means that everyone
who indeed has placed their trust fully
in
YAHWEH and His Messiah
is indeed entitled to share
in the fulfillment of the Promises made to Abraham.

Parts of those Promises are yet to be fulfilled.
The "seed of Abraham" has never occupied all of the land
 
YAHWEH promised to Abraham.
It will happen in the future.
And everyone who is earnestly
seeking YAHWEH with their entire being
will find Him,
and, by their personal trust in Him,
will be included in the promises.

Praise YAHWEH!!

NOTE These pages are a "work in progress". They're updated fairly often as new information or insights are provided that require a change in what's presented. Please check back regularly to see what may have changed since your last visit. Scripture verses used on the site are from The Aleph-Tav BibleThey're not always presented on these pages in exactly the same format as they occur in the text due to space considerations but the text is the same. Download or print your own copy today.  
Personal use is free, but these are not to be used for any commercial purpose. Please contact the site owner if you have an interest in commercial usage.

May YAHWEH speak to your heart and bless you with understanding as you explore His Word.