Bible Strands
Genesis 17:20
As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses Abraham immediately after declaring that the covenant will pass through Isaac, responding to Abraham’s prior intercession for Ishmael.
The words — The text foregrounds שְׁמַעְתִּיךָ (shema-ti-kha, "I have heard you") and בֵּרַכְתִּי (be.Rakh.ti, "I will bless"), pairing divine attentiveness with active favor.
The thread — The same promises of multiplication and nationhood reappear in Genesis 21:13, Genesis 21:18, and Genesis 25:12.
Why it lands — The passage explicitly grants Ishmael fruitfulness, twelve rulers, and a great nation before noting that the covenant line bypasses him, requiring the reader to accept God’s sovereign distribution of blessing without demanding it match human preference.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
Cross-references
- Genesis 21:18 Get up, lift up the boy, and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
- Genesis 21:13 But I will also make a nation of the slave woman’s son, because he is your offspring.”
- Genesis 25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.
- Genesis 16:10 Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”