Genesis 17

Covenant Circumcision

1 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, "I am God Almighty.[a] Live in My presence and be devout.[b]
2 I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly."
3 Then Abram fell to the ground,[c] and God spoke with him:
4 "As for Me, My covenant is with you, and you will become the father of many nations.[d]
5 Your name will no longer be Abram,[e] but your name will be Abraham,[f] for I will make you the father of many nations.[g]
6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you.
7 I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the [God] of your offspring after you.
8 And to you and your offspring after you I will give the land where you are residing-all the land of Canaan-as an eternal possession, and I will be their God."
9 God also said to Abraham, "As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep My covenant.
10 This 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.
11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and you.[h]
12 Throughout your generations, every male among you at eight days old is to be circumcised. This includes a slave born in your house and one purchased with money from any foreigner. The one who is not your offspring,
13 a slave born in your house, as well as one purchased with money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.
14 If 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."
15 God said to Abraham, "As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah[i] will be her name.
16 I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
17 Abraham fell to the ground,[j] laughed, and thought in his heart, "Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?"
18 So Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael could live in Your presence!"
19 But God said, "No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac.[k] I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
20 As 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,[l] and I will make him into a great nation.
21 But I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year."[m]
22 When He finished talking with him, God withdrew[n] from Abraham.[o]
23 Then 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.
24 Abraham was 99 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised,
25 and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised.
26 On that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.
27 And all the men of his household-both slaves born in his house and those purchased with money from a foreigner-were circumcised with him.

Footnotes 15

  • [a]. Gn 28:3; 35:11; Ex 6:3
  • [b]. Gn 6:9; Ps 15:2; Lk 1:6
  • [c]. Lit fell on his face
  • [d]. Abraham was father not only of the Israelites, but also of the Ishmaelites, the Edomites, and the Midianites. Spiritually, he is the father of all believers; Gl 3:7,29.
  • [e]. The Father Is Exalted
  • [f]. Father of a Multitude
  • [g]. Rm 4:17-18
  • [h]. You in v. 11 is pl.
  • [i]. Princess
  • [j]. Lit fell on his face
  • [k]. He Laughs
  • [l]. Gn 25:13-16
  • [m]. Gn 18:10,14; 21:1
  • [n]. Lit went up, or ascended
  • [o]. Gn 35:13

Genesis 17 Commentaries

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