Genesis 17

CHAPTER 17

1Forsooth after that Abram began to be of ninety years and nine, the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, I am Almighty God; go thou before me, and be thou perfect;

2and I shall set my covenant of peace betwixt me and thee; and I shall multiply thee full greatly.

3And Abram felled down low on his face. And God said to him,

4I am, and my covenant of peace is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of many folks;

5and thy name shall no more be called Abram, but thou shalt be called Abraham, for I have made thee [the] father of many folks;

6and I shall make thee to wax full greatly, and I shall set thee in folks, and kings shall go out of thee;

7and I shall make my covenant between me and thee, and between thy seed after thee, in their generations, by everlasting bond of peace, that I be thy God, and of thy seed after thee;

8and I shall give to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy pilgrimage, all the land of Canaan, into everlasting possession, and I shall be the God of them.

9God said again to Abraham, And therefore thou shalt keep my covenant, and thy seed after thee, in their generations.

10This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, betwixt me and you, and thy seed after thee; each male kind of you shall be circumcised,

11and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your man’s rod, that it be into a sign of bond of peace betwixt me and you.

12A young child of eight days shall be circumcised in you, all male kind in your generations, as well a born servant [of your household], as a servant bought, shall be circumcised,

13and whoever is of your kindred, he shall be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh into everlasting bond of peace.

14A man whose flesh of his rod shall not be circumcised, that man shall be done away from his people; for he made void my covenant.

15Also God said to Abraham, Thou shalt not call Sarai, thy wife, Sarai, but Sarah;

16and I shall bless her, and of her I shall give to thee a son, whom I shall bless, and he shall be into nations, and kings of peoples shall be born of him.

17Abraham felled down on his face, and laughed in his heart, and said, Guessest thou, whether a child shall be born to a man of an hundred years, and Sarah of ninety years shall bear a child?

18And he said to the Lord, I would that Ishmael might live before thee.

19And the Lord said to Abraham, Sarah, thy wife, shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I shall make my covenant with him into everlasting bond of peace, and to his seed after him;

20also on Ishmael I have heard thee, lo! I shall bless him, and I shall increase him, and I shall multiply him greatly; he shall engender twelve dukes, and I shall make him into a great folk.

21Forsooth I shall make my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall child to thee in this time in the tother year.

22And when the word of the speaker with him was ended, God ascended from Abraham.

23Forsooth Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all the born servants of his house, and all which he had bought, all the males of all men of his house, and circumcised the flesh of their rods, anon in that day, as the Lord commanded to him.

24Abraham was of ninety years and nine when he circumcised the flesh of his rod,

25and Ishmael, his son, had filled thirteen years in the time of his circumcision.

26Abraham was circumcised in the same day, and Ishmael his son,

27and all the men of his house, as well born servants, as those bought and aliens, were circumcised together.

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B'resheet (Gen) 17

1When Avram was 99 years old Adonai appeared to Avram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai [God Almighty]. Walk in my presence and be pure-hearted. 2I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will increase your numbers greatly.” 3Avram fell on his face, and God continued speaking with him: 4“As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. 5Your name will no longer be Avram [exalted father], but your name will be Avraham [father of many], because I have made you the father of many nations. 6I will cause you to be very fruitful. I will make nations of you, kings will descend from you.

(vii) 7“I am establishing my covenant between me and you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as an everlasting covenant, to be God for you and for your descendants after you. 8I will give you and your descendants after you the land in which you are now foreigners, all the land of Kena‘an, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.”

9God said to Avraham, “As for you, you are to keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation. 10Here is my covenant, which you are to keep, between me and you, along with your descendants after you: every male among you is to be circumcised. 11You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12Generation after generation, every male among you who is eight days old is to be circumcised, including slaves born within your household and those bought from a foreigner not descended from you. 13The slave born in your house and the person bought with your money must be circumcised; thus my covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14Any uncircumcised male who will not let himself be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin — that person will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my covenant.”

15God said to Avraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai [mockery]; her name is to be Sarah [princess]. 16I will bless her; moreover, I will give you a son by her. Truly I will bless her: she will be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” 17At this Avraham fell on his face and laughed — he thought to himself, “Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah give birth at ninety?” 18Avraham said to God, “If only Yishma‘el could live in your presence!” 19God answered, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you are to call him Yitz’chak [laughter]. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20But as for Yishma‘el, I have heard you. I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and give him many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21But I will establish my covenant with Yitz’chak, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” 22With that, God finished speaking with Avraham and went up from him.

23Avraham took Yishma‘el his son, all the slaves born in his house and all who had been bought with his money, every male among the people in Avraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin that very day, just as God had said to him.

(Maftir) 24Avraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, 25and Yishma‘el his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26Avraham and Yishma‘el his son were circumcised on the same day; 27and all the men in his household, both slaves born in his house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Haftarah Lekh L’kha: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 40:27–41:16

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Lekh L’kha: Acts 7:1–8; Romans 3:19–5:6; Galatians 3:15–18; 5:1–6; Colossians 2:11–15; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 7:1–19; 11:8–12

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