Thursday, February 22, 2018


Thursday, February 22, 2018
Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

“YHWH said : No longer shall your name be called Avram,
rather shall your name be Avraham,
for I will make you Av Hamon Goyyim/ Father of a Throng of Nations!" 
Genesis 17:5( Schocken Bible, Everett Fox, tr.)

            In this covenantal discourse between God and Avram, God changes Avram's name in verse 5 and Sarai's in verse 15. Changing one's name is an act of changing one's destiny, one's role in the world. God declares that Avram is no longer Av-Aram, Father of the Aram people of Mesopotamia, but rather Av-Hamon-Goyyim, Father of a Throng of Nations. The word for throng here actually depicts the sound of a large crowd of people. Sarah is the only woman in the Bible to have her name changed by God. In the covenant illumination in the Saint John's Bible we can see her praised in gold among the stars. Both Avraham's and Sarah's names are at the base of the page, giving rise to all the names of the twelve tribes in the menorah/family tree. Sarai will no longer be princess-to-Avraham, but Sarah, princess-to-all-nations.

God of Sarah and Abraham, call us by name and lead us in your paths. Amen

  • ·       learn the name of three people at mount olive. learn the names of three people in your neighborhood. learn the names of three plants in your yard or a nearby park. learn the names of three trees on your street.


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