Genesis 17
17
Covenant Circumcision
1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. # Gn 28:3; 35:11; Ex 6:3 Live in My presence and be blameless. # Gn 6:9; Ps 15:2; Lk 1:6 2I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”
3Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: 4“As for Me, My covenant is with you: you will become the father of many nations. # Abraham was the father of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Edomites, and Midianites. Spiritually, he is the father of all believers; Gl 3:7,29. 5Your name will no longer be Abram, # = The Father Is Exalted but your name will be Abraham, # = Father of a Multitude for I will make you the father of many nations. # Gn 35:11; 48:19; Rm 4:11-12,16-18 6I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. 7I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your future offspring throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant # Gn 9:16 to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. # Ex 6:7; Lv 11:45; 26:12,45; Dt 29:13; Heb 11:16; Rv 21:7 8And to you and your future offspring # Gl 3:16 I will give the land where you are residing — all the land of Canaan — as an eternal possession, # Gn 48:4; Ac 7:5 and I will be their God.”
9God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep My covenant. 10This is My covenant, which you are to keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every one of your males must be circumcised. 11You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and you. # You in v. 11 is pl. # Ex 12:48; Dt 10:16; Ac 7:8; Rm 4:11 12Throughout your generations, every male among you at eight days old is to be circumcised. # Lv 12:3; Lk 1:59; 2:21; Php 3:5 This includes a slave born in your house and one purchased with money from any foreigner. The one who is not your offspring, 13a slave born in your house, as well as one purchased with money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah # = Princess will be her name. 16I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. # Gn 18:10 I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
17Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed # Gn 21:6-7; Rm 4:19 and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth? ” 18So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptable to You! ”# Lit Ishmael would live in Your sight
19But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. # = He Laughs I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring. 20As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father 12 tribal leaders, # Gn 25:13-16 and I will make him into a great nation. 21But I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” # Gn 18:10,14; 21:1 22When He finished talking with him, God withdrew # Lit went up, or ascended from Abraham. # Gn 35:13
23Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or purchased with his money — every male among the members of Abraham’s household — and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him. 24Abraham was 99 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised, 25and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. 26On that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27And all the men of his household — both slaves born in his house and those purchased with money from a foreigner — were circumcised with him.
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Genesis 17
17
God changes Abram's name to Abraham and promises him a son
1Abram was ninety-nine years old when the LORD appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, 2I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.” 3Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:
4-5I promise that you will be the father of many nations. That's why I now change your name from Abram to Abraham.#17.4,5 Abraham: In Hebrew “Abraham” sounds like “father of many nations”.#Ro 4.17. 6I will give you a lot of descendants, and in the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.
7I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God.#Lk 1.55. 8I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family for ever, and I will be their God.#Ac 7.5.
9Abraham, you and all future members of your family must promise to obey me. 10-11As the sign that you are keeping this promise, you must circumcise every man and boy in your family.#Ac 7.8; Ro 4.11. 12-13From now on, your family must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old. You must even circumcise any man or boy you have as a slave, both those born in your homes and those you buy from foreigners. This will be a sign that my promise to you will last for ever. 14Any man who isn't circumcised hasn't kept his promise to me and cannot be one of my people.
15Abraham, your wife's name will now be Sarah instead of Sarai. 16I will bless her, and you will have a son by her. She will become the mother of nations, and some of her descendants will even be kings.
17Abraham bowed with his face to the ground and thought, “I am almost a hundred years old. How can I become a father? And Sarah is ninety. How can she have a child?” So he started laughing. 18Then he asked God, “Why not let Ishmael#17.18 Ishmael: Ishmael was the son of Sarah's slave Hagar (see 16.1-16). inherit what you have promised me?”
19But God answered:
No! You and Sarah will have a son. His name will be Isaac,#17.19 Isaac: In Hebrew “Isaac” sounds like “laugh”. and I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants.
20I have heard what you asked me to do for Ishmael, and so I will also bless him with many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make his family a great nation. 21But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants for ever.
22God finished speaking to Abraham and then left.
23-27On that same day Abraham obeyed God by circumcising Ishmael. Abraham was also circumcised, and so were all other men and boys in his household, including his servants and slaves. He was ninety-nine years old at the time, and his son Ishmael was thirteen.
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012