Genesis 17:15-21

15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.
16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”
18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.[a] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.”

Genesis 17:15-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 17

This chapter treats of a covenant made with Abram, sometimes called the covenant of circumcision, the time when God appeared to him, and promised to make it, and did, Ge 17:1-3; the particulars of it, both with respect to himself, whose name was now changed, and to his posterity, Ge 17:4-8; the token of it, circumcision, the time of its performance, and the persons obliged to it, Ge 17:9-14; the change of Sarai's name, and a promise made that she should have a son, to the great surprise of Abraham, Ge 17:15-17; a prayer of his for Ishmael, and the answer to it, with a confirmation of Sarah's having a son, whose name should be called Isaac, and the establishment of the covenant with him, Ge 17:18-22; and the chapter is closed with an account of the circumcision of Abraham, and all his family of the male sort, agreeably to the command of God, Ge 17:23-27.

Cross References 20

  • 1. S Genesis 11:29
  • 2. S ver 5
  • 3. S ver 6; S Isaiah 29:22; Genesis 18:10
  • 4. S ver 4; Genesis 24:60; Genesis 35:11; Galatians 4:31
  • 5. S ver 3
  • 6. Genesis 18:12; Genesis 21:6
  • 7. S Genesis 12:4
  • 8. Genesis 18:11,13; Genesis 21:7; Genesis 24:1,36; Jeremiah 20:15; Luke 1:18; Romans 4:19; Galatians 4:23; Hebrews 11:11
  • 9. S Genesis 16:15
  • 10. Genesis 21:11
  • 11. S ver 6,21; Genesis 18:14; Genesis 21:2; 1 Samuel 1:20
  • 12. S Genesis 16:11; Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:13,31
  • 13. Genesis 26:3; Genesis 50:24; Exodus 13:11; Deuteronomy 1:8
  • 14. S Genesis 9:16; S Galatians 3:16
  • 15. S Genesis 13:16; Genesis 16:10
  • 16. Genesis 25:12-16
  • 17. Genesis 25:18; Genesis 48:19; Genesis 21:18
  • 18. Exodus 34:10
  • 19. S ver 19
  • 20. Genesis 18:10,14; Genesis 21:2

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. "Isaac" means "he laughs."
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