Seed of Abraham

Biblical Text

The "seed of Abraham" refers to the descendants God promised to Abraham in the Abrahamic covenant. In Genesis, God promises to give the land of Canaan to this seed (Genesis 12:7; 13:15). He also promises to make the seed as numerous as the dust of the earth (Genesis 13:16) and the stars of heaven (Genesis 15:5). In Genesis 17:7 the covenant is established "between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations," and circumcision becomes its sign. Genesis 22:18 declares, "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," extending the promise to all peoples. The same promise is repeated to Isaac (Genesis 26:4) and to Jacob (Genesis 28:14). Depending on the passage, the New Korean Revised Version renders the term as "seed," "offspring," or "descendants."

Terminology and Background

The Hebrew word zera originally denotes the seed of grain, and it is also used of human offspring. Although singular in form, it is frequently used as a collective noun referring to many descendants together. The Septuagint and the New Testament render it with the Greek word sperma.

In the ancient world, descendants and land were directly tied to the continuation of a family line. For the childless Abraham and Sarah, therefore, this promise became a test of faith. The promise passes not to Ishmael but to Isaac (Genesis 21:12: "for in Isaac shall thy seed be called").

Development in the New Testament

In John 8:33, the Jews appeal to their lineage, saying, "We be Abraham's seed." John the Baptist warns that God is able even from stones to raise up children unto Abraham (Matthew 3:9).

In Galatians 3:16, Paul interprets the promise as referring not to many but to "one," namely Christ. In 3:29 he goes on to say that those who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Romans 4 presents Abraham, who was justified by faith before he was circumcised, as the father of all who believe. Romans 9:7–8 states that it is not the children of the flesh but the children of the promise who are counted for the seed.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Galatians 3:16: Paul reads a collective noun as referring to a single person. Some interpreters take this to mean that the whole body of descendants is gathered up in one representative, while others explain it as following the methods of scriptural interpretation current in Judaism at the time.
• The church and baptism: The Reformed and Presbyterian traditions, which follow covenant theology, regard the church as the spiritual seed of Abraham and emphasize the continuity of the promise. This tradition cites "thee and thy seed" in Genesis 17 as one of the grounds for infant baptism. Baptists and others hold that the seed of the new covenant is constituted by faith rather than by lineage, and they administer baptism by immersion only to those who have professed faith.
• Israel and the land promise: Dispensationalism distinguishes between the physical seed, the nation of Israel, and the spiritual seed, the church, and holds that the land promise will be literally fulfilled to the nation of Israel in the future. Covenant theology, by contrast, tends to hold that this promise has been fulfilled in Christ.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, Abraham is commonly called "the father of faith." The promise of descendants as the stars of heaven and the sand upon the sea shore (Genesis 22:17) is frequently used as a text on blessing and prosperity. Some sermons interpret "the blessing of Abraham" in Galatians 3:14 as material prosperity. Others criticize this reading as prosperity theology, arguing that the thrust of the passage is receiving the promise of the Spirit through faith.