Washington, DC —

"I go bless those wey bless you, and anybody wey curse you, I go curse."

For plenty American Evangelicals, dis Genesis 12:3 verse no be just Bible tok; e be like foreign policy instruction.

Dem dey quote am for Capitol Hill and for pulpit for red-state America, use am take justify di strong US support for Israel, even though church and state suppose dey separate. Dem dey see any change from dis belief as spiritual betrayal.

But di verse wey Republican Senator Ted Cruz recently use for one televised exchange with Tucker Carlson, no even mention Israel at all.

Di truth be say, e never mention am before.

So, where di Israel connection come from? And why dis one verse, wey no get geopolitical context, don turn central to di American Christian Right belief system?

1909 Reference Bible wey change everything

Di idea say Genesis 12:3 dey refer to Israel fit trace go one source: di Scofield Reference Bible, wey dem publish for 1909. Na di Bible footnotes, no be di main text, wey suggest say di verse dey talk about Israel.

Bible scholars talk say na stretch e be that time, and e still dey wrong today.

"Di Scofield (Reference) Bible, with di footnotes and commentary, dem write am before di State of Israel even dey exist, so e no fit dey refer to di State of Israel," Jonathan Kuttab, wey co-found di Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, tell TRT World.

"But e dey reflect Christian Zionist thinking say di End Times go happen after Jews gather for Palestine, and one big battle (Armageddon) go happen where dem go kill all di Jews except small people wey go convert to Christianity."

Kuttab add say, "Christian Zionism actually start before Jewish Zionism, wey be secular movement wey no get religious meaning."

E explain say di verse dey refer to di "seed of Abraham", wey no be modern Israel or even di biological descendants of Abraham, but "Jesus Christ, and through am, all di nations of di world go dey blessed."

E no dey alone for dis view.

Reverend Dr Donald Wagner, Presbyterian clergyman and Middle East analyst, talk say Genesis 12:3 dey refer to covenant with Abraham — no be political state wey dem create for 1948.

"Genesis 12:3 talk say God start covenant with Abraham, and di assumption say Israel dey included no dey correct. Di Bible mention Israel four times, and none of dem mean modern state," Wagner tell TRT World.

"For Biblical covenant, na God dey start am, and e get conditions. Dem dey for di first five books of di law, and dem include to keep commandments, di first one na to no get other gods apart from di one God, Yahweh or Elohim."

E add: "For some texts, dem warn di children of Abraham say if dem break di covenant (no kill, no thief, no worship idol), dem fit lose di land. And dem really lose di land."

Gary Burge, New Testament Scholar, talk say na only some Evangelicals for US believe say di verse dey refer to Israel, but e talk say, "Plenty things dey wrong with dis argument."

"Dis na promise for Abraham immediate context with Egypt — and di descendants suppose create temple-centred religious nation. Modern Israel no be any of dis," Burge tell TRT World.

'Narrow understanding of identity'

Even if Evangelicals wan apply di verse to Abraham descendants, dat logic get im own wahala.

Di Torah dey separate di blessings of Ishmael (di papa of Arabs) and im brother Isaac.

For di Torah, di blessings of Abraham dey follow Isaac and Jacob (di prophet wey later dey called Israel), but both Old and New Testament prophets no agree with dis.

"Because some people think say di promises and blessings dey follow ethnic line, dem believe say na only Jewish ethnicity fit benefit from dem," Burge talk.

"Na ethnic argument. But di OT (Old Testament) prophets and especially di NT (New Testament) no agree with dis narrow understanding of identity," e add.

Plenty Jews for Israel today na Ashkenazi descent. Among dem na Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wey dem born to secular Jewish parents.

Who be Scofield, and wetin im reference mean?

So, who be Cyrus Scofield, di man wey help join Bible prophecy with modern Zionism?

By most accounts, e no be perfect person. E be war veteran wey struggle with alcohol abuse and abandon im wife and children. E be lawyer wey resign after bribery allegations. E even go jail for forging im sister signature.

But na im reference Bible, full with unverified commentary, wey help put di Israel-Genesis connection for American Evangelical mind.

Jesse Wheeler, Associate Executive Director for Friends of Sabeel–North America: A Christian Voice for Palestine, call am "deeply problematic."

"Di issue no be about di translation, but di way Scofield notes/commentary dey inside di scripture pages and di way dem elevate am almost like sacred text," Wheeler tell TRT World.

Reverend Wagner agree.

"Dis reference Bible include one kind fundamentalist Christian theology wey dem dey call premillennial dispensationalism," e talk. "E imply say God dey favour di Jewish people and modern Israel go be di place for di final prophetic events, like di return of Jesus and di final battle between evil, di devil, and one militarised Israel."

"Dis na human invention and e no dey consistent with di Hebrew prophets or di life and teachings of Jesus. In fact, Jesus no support di use of Bible or religious ideas to predict di future, especially militant interpretation of di final days."

Burge talk say, "Very few Evangelicals dey use am for US. But na dispensational project wey believe for di ethnic exclusivity of di Jews for God programme, and dem insert dis things for di footnotes."

For Kuttab, di reason why dem dey misread di verse no be theology — na politics.

"Those wey dey exclude not only Arabs, but also Christians from di label 'children of Abraham' dey do am for political reasons wey no get anything to do with theology or religion," e tok.