38 | Genesis 17:5
the fa ther of many na tions . 5 No lon ger will you be called Abram a ; your name will be Abra ham , b for I have made you a fa ther of many na tions . 6 I will make you very fruit ful ; I will make na tions of you , and kings will come from you . 7 I will estab lish my cov enant as an ever last ing cov enant be tween me and you and your de scen dants af ter you for the gen er a tions to come , to be your God and the God of your de scen dants af ter you . 8 The whole land of Ca naan , where you now re side as a for eign er , I will give as an ever last ing pos ses sion to you and your de scen dants af ter you ; and I will be their God .”
9
Then God said to Abra ham , “ As for you , you must keep my cov enant , you and your de scendants af ter you for the gen er a tions to come . 10 This is my cov enant with you and your de scen dants af ter you , the cov enant you are to keep : Ev ery male among you shall be cir cum cised . 11 You are to un der go cir cum ci sion , and it will be the sign of the cov enant be tween me and you . 12 For the gen er a tions to come ev ery male among you who is eight days old must be cir cum cised , in cluding those born in your house hold or bought with mon ey from a for eign er — those who are not your off spring . 13 Wheth er born in your house hold or bought with your mon ey , they must be cir cumcised . My cov enant in your flesh is to be an everlast ing cov enant . 14 Any un cir cum cised male , who has not been cir cum cised in the flesh , will be cut off from his peo ple ; he has bro ken my cov enant .”
15
God also said to Abra ham , “ As for Sa rai your wife , you are no lon ger to call her Sa rai ; her name will be Sar ah . 16 I will bless her and will sure ly give you a son by her . I will bless her so that she will be the moth er of na tions ; kings of peo ples will come from her .”
17
Abra ham fell face down ; he laughed and said to him self , “ Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old ? Will Sar ah bear a child at the age of nine ty ?” 18 And Abra ham said to God , “ If only Ish ma el might live un der your bless ing !”
19
Then God said , “ Yes , but your wife Sar ah will bear you a son , and you will call him Isaac . c I will es tab lish my cov enant with him as an ever last ing cov enant for his de scen dants af ter him . 20 And as
a
5 Abram means exalted father . b
5 Abraham probably means father of many . c
19 Isaac means he laughs . can be understood as God establishing or confirming his covenant ( see Ge 17:6 ). The covenant was earlier made in ch . 15 ( see 17:4 ). See the table “ Covenants in the Old Testament ” on p . 469 . 17:5 Abram The name Abram ( avram in Hebrew ) may be related to the names Abiram or Abarama , known from Akkadian texts contemporary with Abraham . The first syllable ( av ) is the Hebrew word for “ father .” The second syllable ( ram ) likely derives from the Hebrew verb ram ( meaning “ to be raised ,” or “ to be exalted ”); this means the name means “ exalted father ” or “ the father is exalted .” See the table “ Symbolic Names of People in Hebrew ” on p . 1388 . Abraham The new name Abraham ( avraham in Hebrew ) is related to Abraham ’ s role as “ father of many nations ” or “ father of a multitude of nations ” — the first part of this phrase , av hamon , seems to be a wordplay in Hebrew on Abraham ’ s new name , avraham . It is difficult to discern the actual derivation of the Hebrew name avraham .
17:6 – 8 God ’ s promises here reinforce what God had earlier promised to Abram in Ge 12 and Ge 15 . Years of Abraham ’ s life separate these repetitions of the promise , but each repetition has the same basic elements : God promises Abraham many descendants and land . See the people diagram “ Family Tree of the Patriarchs ” on p . 52 .
17:10 shall be circumcised Circumcision — the surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis — was required as part of the covenant ( see v . 14 ). Female circumcision is not intended by this statement . Circumcision was not unique to Israel , nor was it invented by the Israelites . The custom is known in Egypt as early as the twenty-third century BC , except that Egyptians slit the foreskin rather than removing it . Ancient Near Eastern art from Syria dating several centuries earlier depicts Syrian warriors as circumcised . 17:12 eight days old While the OT contains examples of adult male circumcision ( vv . 23 – 27 ; 34:15 – 24 ; Jos 5:3 – 7 ), the normal practice for Abraham ’ s descendants was infant circumcision .
17:15 Sarai The Hebrew word for “ prince ” or “ ruler ” is sar ; both the name Sarai , and it seems Sarah , are related to this term and mean “ princess .” Sarah Sarah is the only woman renamed by God in the Bible . The context shows Abraham producing “ kings ” ( Ge 17:6,16 ), and thus her new name , Sarah , may draw attention to Sarah as the matriarch of kings . While the name Sarah could mean “ princess ” — like Sarai — it could be affiliated with the Hebrew verb sarah ( commonly translated as “ to strive ” or “ to struggle ”); this verb is used when Jacob ’ s name is changed to Israel because he has both striven with God and people ( 32:28 ). 17:17 laughed The name Isaac ( yitschaq in Hebrew ) derives from the Hebrew verb used here , tsachaq . Abraham ’ s laughter — expressing both joy and surprise — suggests that his original faith expression in 15:6 was not based on a realization that Sarah would be the mother . 17:19 Isaac This name means “ he laughs ” ( see v . 17 and note ). See the table “ Symbolic Names of People in Hebrew ” on p . 1388 .
Genesis 17:19
ISAAC Despite his importance as the child of promise , Isaac plays a relatively minor role in the Genesis narratives . Soon after Abraham dies ( ch . 25 ), Jacob — the next major figure in Genesis — is introduced ( ch . 25 ). After his birth and early years in 21:1 – 12 , Isaac appears as a young man in the story of his binding in ch . 22 , where he is a mostly passive character . He is largely absent from the narrative of ch . 24 when Abraham ’ s servant finds Rebekah from among their relatives as Isaac ’ s wife . The remaining narratives involving Isaac alone are nearly identical to incidents from Abraham ’ s life ( compare chs . 26 ; 20 – 21 ).
17:20 twelve rulers Equal in number to the 12 tribes