Following his recognition of the significance of Melchizedek, King of Salem, Abram was assured that the promises he had already received would be confirmed to him and to his direct descendants in spite of these facts: he was still childless, and his heir at this time was his steward Eliezer, from the Syrian capital of Damascus. Moreover it was stated that Abram must banish fear, for the Lord would be his protection and his "exceeding great reward" (Gen. 15:1).
On this occasion the patriarch provided further evidence of the unwavering faith in God which he had so consistently shown throughout his career, for it is expressly stated that "he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (verse 6). May this not be understood as implying that his inner faith and expectancy were accepted as providing the equivalent, not only of rightful thought, but also of the right and constructive action proceeding from it? Such, at least, appears to have been the conclusion drawn from this passage by the Apostle Paul, who lays so much stress upon Abraham's faith, and upon the righteousness associated with it, in his own famous teaching regarding righteousness, or justification by faith. (See Rom. 4:1-25; Gal. 3:6-29.)
In the seventeenth chapter of Genesis, a further indication of the significance of Abram is set forth in that his name is changed to Abraham. Throughout the history of the Hebrews, the names they bore were normally considered of deep importance as indicating either the actual or the desired nature, or character, of the individual; while the acceptance of a new name uniformly marked a milestone in his experience, as shown in many Biblical passages. In the present instance, the name Abram (generally taken to mean "exalted father") is replaced by the more familiar Abraham, which, although its original etymology is uncertain, seems to have suggested to the thought of the ancient writer the meaning of "father of many nations"—from ab (father) and hamon (multitude). (See Gen. 17:4, 5.)
