Basics of Bible Interpretation - RayStedman.org

So I sense there is meaning in both of these names, and my curiosity leads me to check the
Hebrew dictionary in Strong’s Concordance. I look under Abram in the main concordance
section (on page 12) and find under Genesis 17:5 the verse I’m checking with a number 87 on
the right hand margin. This is a reference number to the Hebrew dictionary (page 8) in the back
of the book. So I turn there, making sure I don’t mistake it for the Greek dictionary adjoining it
(which has the numbers italicized to distinguish it from the Hebrew dictionary), and I find this:
“Abram, ab-rawm; contr. (contraction) from 48; high father; Abram, the original name of
Abraham.”
I check 48 on the previous page to see the longer form of the word, meaning the same, high
father. I follow the same procedure with Abraham and find under 85 on page 8 of the Hebrew
dictionary:
“Abraham, ab-raw-hawm; contraction from 1 and an unused root (probably meaning to be
populous); father of a multitude.”
Then I turn back to 1 (on page 7) and find that ab is a primary word meaning father. So I
have learned a little Hebrew, and returning to the verse I’m investigating, I observe that this little
bit of research correlates with the explanatory clause, “for I have made you the father of a
multitude of nations” in Genesis 17:5.
You say, “I could have understood that much from the English text,” and it’s true that
sometimes our research doesn’t add much to our understanding. But then, when we come to
“…Abba, father…” in Romans 8:15 we are able to recognize that Paul is lapsing back into his
familiar Hebrew (or Aramaic) vocabulary which takes the mystery out of Abba. However, the
real value of the study of this word shows up when we read God’s promise to Abraham:
Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of
heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore…and in your seed all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed…. (Genesis 22:17, 18 NASB)
Here we see how his name Abraham (father of a multitude) really applies. By implication his
will be an earthly family (depicted by “sand”), a heavenly family (depicted by “stars”), and
universal blessing to all nations through his seed which is Christ (see Gal. 3:16 NASB). For even
further emphasis we find the same promise repeated in Genesis 15:5 and restated to Isaac and
Jacob in Genesis 26:4 and 32:12. So our investigation of the Hebrew meaning of Abraham’s
name really pays off. He is indeed “father of a multitude,” both physically and spiritually.
I have outlined this simple, step-by-step procedure because I have found that many do not
know the availability of this information in the concordance, or how to dig it out. And though the
rewards may be minimal on some occasions at other times we will discover a wealth of
information.
For other salient features of the Hebrew, I have turned to my dear friend and fellow-pastor,
David Roper, who is a real “pro” on biblical Hebrew. Listen to what he has to say regarding this
phase of Bible interpretation. And I’ll be learning along with you, for this data will be new to
me, too.
Basics Of Bible Interpretation – page 105