King James Bible
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."
Paul references God's covenant promises given to Abraham in Genesis, particularly the promise that through his offspring all nations would be blessed. This establishes the foundation for Paul's argument about how God's promises find their fulfillment. Paul makes a precise grammatical argument based on the singular form of 'seed' (Greek: sperma) in the Genesis passages. This rabbinic-style interpretation emphasizes that the promise pointed to one specific descendant rather than Abraham's descendants collectively. Paul identifies Jesus as the singular 'seed' through whom the Abrahamic promises are fulfilled. This connects the Old Testament promises directly to Christ, making Him the focal point through whom all people—Jew and Gentile—receive the blessings promised to Abraham.