Pauline anomaly

[Mike_Stallard]

In Galatians 3.15-19, the Apostle Paul speaks of the Will being made out to Abraham and his offspring (singular) which is Christ. “(It does not, by the way, say,To your descendants as if it meant a number of people; it says, To your offspring, in the singular, meaning Christ).”
However, if this passage is in fact based on Genesis17.1-8, then God is speaking of descendants “you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” In verse 7 we read of descendants - plural.
Has the Apostle nodded?

 

[Liberian]

Mike Stallard:

In Galatians 3.15-19, the Apostle Paul speaks of the Will being made out to Abraham and his offspring (singular) which is Christ. “(It does not, by the way, say,To your descendants as if it meant a number of people; it says, To your offspring, in the singular, meaning Christ).”
However, if this passage is in fact based on Genesis17.1-8, then God is speaking of descendants “you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” In verse 7 we read of descendants - plural.
Has the Apostle nodded?

Mike,

Has the Apostle nodded? No; apostles didn’t nod when they wrote Sacred Scripture. (Sorry if that sounds brusque, but that’s a pretty simple answer.) Obviously there is something going on that we are missing.

The Hebrew in Genesis 17:7 is “zar’akha” (zayin-resh-ayin-kaf) and is translated by the Jewish Publication Society as “offspring.” The number in Hebrew is apparently indefinite as “offspring” is in English; it could mean a single person or a collective progeny.

But I’m sure there’s more to it than that.

• Liberian

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

Robertson’s Word Pictures of the New Testament

But as of one (all wß ep enoß). But as in the case of one. Which is Christ (oß estin Cristoß). Masculine relative agreeing with Cristoß though sperma is neuter. But the promise to Abraham uses sperma as a collective substantive and applies to all believers (both Jews and Gentiles) as Paul has shown in verses Hebrews 7-14, and as of course he knew full well Here Paul uses a rabbinical refinement which is yet intelligible. The people of Israel were a type of the Messiah and he gathers up the promise in its special application to Christ. He does not say that Christ is specifically referred to in Genesis 13:15 or Genesis 17:7.

bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/RobertsonsWordPictures/rwp.cgi?book=ga&chapter=003&verse=016&next=017&prev=015

 

[Marquette]

Genesis 13:15-17 is a promise for LAND to be given to Abraham’s descendants forever. And also a promise for DESCENDANTS to be as many as the dust of the earth.

Genesis 22:18 is a promise that IN Abraham’s SEED (singular–Christ) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

No one blinked. These are two different promises.

As an aside, an interesting thing that most people don’t notice occurs in Genesis 22:13 where “Abraham raised his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.”

In the original Hebrew, “looked” has the meaning of a vision looking through time. Messianic Jews believe Abraham was given a vision of Jesus being sacrificed on the cross. Note that the ram was caught by its horns in the thicket, which represented the sins of the Hebrews as the crown of thorns represented the sins of the world. And of course we all know what the ram represented!

Genesis 22:14 the Bible says Abraham called the name of the place “The Lord Will Provide” but in Hebrew it would be literally translated “The Lord has given a vision.”

 

[Mike_Stallard]

Thank you both for your scholarly and thorough answer to my question
Well done indeed!