וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ ל֨וֹ אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֲנִ֨י אֵ֤ל שַׁדַּי֙ פְּרֵ֣ה וּרְבֵ֔ה גּ֛וֹי וּקְהַ֥ל גּוֹיִ֖ם יִהְיֶ֣ה מִמֶּ֑ךָּ וּמְלָכִ֖ים מֵחֲלָצֶ֥יךָ יֵצֵֽאוּ׃
And God* said to him,
“I am El Shaddai.
Be fertile and increase;
A nation, yea an assembly of nations,
Shall descend from you.
Kings shall issue from your loins.
*This label may refer to an agent—as speaking on God’s behalf; cf. v. 13.
(The above rendering—and footnote—come from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation.)
Here the participant reference (the label אֱלֹהִים “God”) is probably not meant to be taken literally. Rather, the narrator seems to be employing a linguistic device that I call agency metonymy. On this device, see my comment at 17:22.