Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 3:16

"Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." — Galatians 3:16 (ASV)

This verse appears to be a parenthesis. But showing the scope of the promises made to Abraham is essential to Paul’s argument. If those promises were made only to Abraham and his immediate descendants, they might well be considered fulfilled even before the giving of the law; the law would then inaugurate a new era in God’s dealings with humankind. But the promises were not fulfilled in the period before the giving of the law, Paul argues. They were embodied in the coming Redeemer through whom the fullness of blessing was to come. That Redeemer was Christ. Consequently, God’s blessing of justification by grace through faith spans the ages; and the law, whatever else one might think of it, served only an interim function. Paul’s essential point is that the promises made to Abraham must be in effect eternally.

When Paul speaks of “seed” in the singular as opposed to “seeds,” he poses a problem for commentators, especially since the singular form has a collective significance and often denotes more than one person. The nearest English equivalent is the word “offspring.” What is the explanation? Obviously, Paul knew as well as anybody that “seed” generally referred to many persons (cf. Romans 4:16–18; 9:6–8). But he is simply pointing out that the singular word “seed” (rather than a plural word like “children” or “descendants”) is appropriate, inasmuch as Israel had always believed that the ultimate messianic blessing would come through a single individual.