When God said, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you,” was He referring to Abraham alone, or did God include Abraham’s descendants?

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“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you” (Genesis 12:3).

Some argue that when God said, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you,” He was referring to Abraham alone, not his descendants. If true, it would mean there is no ongoing blessing for those who bless Abraham’s descendants, nor a curse for those who curse them. This interpretation is often used by supersessionists (defenders of replacement theology) to negate Israel’s covenant status and discredit the idea that God blesses those who bless the Jewish people. But is this correct? Scripture clearly states otherwise. Consider the following.

First, in the ancient Hebrew worldview, covenant promises applied not only to the covenant head but also to his descendants or tribe. In this context, the patriarch (Abraham) did not stand as an isolated individual but as the representative head of his entire lineage. His descendants were bound up within him, “rolled up” (so-to-speak) into his person as an extension of his covenant identity. In fact, the writer of Hebrews draws directly on this concept in Hebrews 7:9–10, where he states that Levi—born about 170 years later and three generations removed—paid tithes to Melchizedek while “still in the loins” of Abraham, emphasizing that Abraham’s descendants were part of his very own identity and personhood. To clarify further, this same principle carries over into the New Covenant. For example, Jesus is described as “the head of the church,” and the promises and blessings given to Him extend to all who are “in Christ” (Eph 5:23; Col 1:18; Gal. 3:29). Dismissing this principle in the Abrahamic covenant undermines it in the New Covenant.

Second, God Himself reaffirmed this blessing to Abraham’s physical descendants multiple times. For starters, Abraham’s descendants stand at the very core of God’s promise (Gen 12:2, 7). God clearly stated that His covenant blessing was not limited to Abraham but would continue through his descendants for all generations forever (Gen 17:7). God upheld His covenant blessing to Isaac, Abraham’s son (Gen 26:3–5). Later, Isaac passed down the same blessing to Jacob (who later became Israel), saying, “Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you” (Gen 27:29). Additionally, God Himself expressly reaffirmed the identical blessing to all twelve tribes of Israel, saying, “Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you” (Num 24:2, 9). This stands as one of the strongest and clearest affirmations of this blessing extending to Abraham’s physical descendants throughout their generations.

Scripture is clear! God’s blessing to Abraham was not limited to him alone. It is a real inheritance, promised and passed down to his descendants forever as a sign of God’s unwavering faithfulness (Ps 105:8-15; Zech 2:8-9; Rom 11:1-2, 28-29). In the same way, the New Covenant blessing between the Father and Jesus extends to all who are “in Christ” (Gal 3:29; 2 Cor 1:20; Rom 8:16-17). Yet the latter does not replace the former. Israel’s covenant blessing in Abraham, including God’s promise to bless those who bless you and to curse him who curses you, is irrevocable and rooted in God’s unchanging nature, though many still need to be saved (Rom 9:11; 11:1-2, 28-29; Rom 10:1; Heb 6:13-18).