All Kindreds shall be Blessed: Nephite, Jewish, and Christian Interpretations of the Abrahamic Covenant (original) (raw)

Over the last two decades there has been a small, but important revival of scholarly interest in the ancient promises God made to Abraham. The resurgence of scholarly study on this topic appears to be a natural consequence of the major transitions taking place in Old Testament studies across the board. As the last two centuries' dominance by source criticism fades faster and faster, scholars favoring holistic and literary approaches to the canonical texts are taking new looks at old materials that had been thought by most to have been exhausted long since. While Genesis 12:2-3 is usually treated as the locus classicus of the original Abrahamic covenant, it surfaces in other locations and in somewhat different formulations. And there is no universal agreement as to what the covenant says or includes. Most studies of this topic focus on the twin promises of descendants and land implicit in the opening statement: "I will make you into a great nation." Much less attention has been given to the closing promise that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:2-3, NIV). This third promise provides the principal focus for most Book of Mormon discussion of the Abrahamic covenant. And it is the Nephite interpretation of this specific promise that