Genesis 18:2 | 51
17:10 z ver 23; Ge 21:4; Jn 7:22; Ac 7:8;
Ro 4:11
17:11 a Ex 12:48; Dt 10:16 b Ro 4:11
17:12 c Lev 12:3; Lk 2:21
17:14 d Ex 4:24‐26
17:16 e Ge 18:10 f Ge 35:11; Gal 4:31
17:17 g Ge 18:12; 21:6
17:19 h Ge 18:14; 21:2 i Ge 26:3
17:20 j Ge 16:10 k Ge 25:12-16 l Ge 21:18
17:21 m Ge 21:2 17:24 n Ro 4:11
18:1 o Ge 13:18; 14:13 be cir cum cised. z
11 You are to un dergo cir cum ci sion, a and it will be the sign of the covenant b 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, c in clud ing those born in your house hold or bought with money from a for eigner— those who are not your off spring. 13 Whether born in your house hold or bought with your money, they must be cir cum cised. My cov enant in your flesh is to be an ever last ing cov enant. 14 Any un cir cum cised male, who has not been circum cised in the flesh, will be cut off from his peo ple; d 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 Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. e I will bless her so that she will be the mother of na tions; f kings of peo ples will come from her.”
17 Abra ham fell face down; he laughed g and said to him self,“ Will a son be born to a man a hun dred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abra ham said to God,“ If only Ish mael might live un der your bless ing!”
19 Then God said,“ Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, h and you will call him Isaac. a
I will es tab lish my cov enant with him i as an ever last ing cov enant for his descen dants af ter him. 20 And as for Ish mael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruit ful and will greatly in crease his num bers. j He will be the fa ther of twelve rul ers, k and I will make him into a great na tion. l 21 But my cov enant I will es tablish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” m 22 When he had fin ished speak ing with Abra ham, God went up from him.
23 On that very day Abra ham took his son Ish mael and all those born in his house hold or bought with his money, ev ery male in his house hold, and cir cum cised them, as God told him. 24 Abra ham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, n
25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abra ham and his son Ish mael were both cir cum cised on that very day. 27 And ev ery male in Abra ham’ s household, in clud ing those born in his house hold or bought from a for eigner, was cir cum cised with him.
A detail of a relief in the tomb of Ankhmahor at Saqqara depicting a priest performing ritual circumcision, ca. 2600 BC.
Werner Forman Archive / Glow Images
The Three Visitors
The Lord ap peared to Abra ham near
18 the great trees of Mamre o while he was sit ting at the en trance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abra ham looked up and saw
a 19 Isaac means he laughs.
17:12 – 14 Every male within Abraham’ s household must be circumcised, including those bought as slaves from foreigners. Given the international aspect of the covenant, circumcision is not restricted to only those who are the biological descendants of Abraham. 17:14 will be cut off from his people. Applies to those who are not circumcised. While the precise nature of this cutting off is unclear, it undoubtedly implies exclusion from the community, if not death. To refuse circumcision would have been perceived as rejecting the significance of God’ s promises to Abraham. Much later, when these promises are being fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul insists that the circumcision of the heart is more important than circumcision of the foreskin( Rom 2:25 – 29; cf. 1 Cor 7:18 – 19; Gal 6:15). For Paul,“ righteousness” comes through faith in Christ, the one to whom circumcision pointed. 17:15 Sarah. Sarai’ s name is changed to Sarah; both forms mean“ princess.” 17:16 bless her. Although Sarah has been childless for many years( 11:30), God states that he will bless her with a son. God’ s blessing, however, is not restricted to a son. Sarah will produce“ nations,” as well as“ kings of peoples”
( cf. 17:6). Once again this chapter underscores the international aspect of this covenant. 17:19 Isaac. Since Abraham laughed when God announced that Sarah will have a son( v. 17), it is ironic that their son should be called“ he laughs”( see NIV text note). Later, when Sarah overhears that she will have a son, she also laughs( 18:12 – 15). In both instances the laughter of Abraham and Sarah probably reflects their disbelief, given their ages( 17:17). The motif of laughter recurs in the account of Isaac’ s birth( 21:6). establish my covenant. Although Abraham considers Ishmael to be his son, God stresses that his covenant will be linked specifically to Isaac. While Ishmael and the other male members of Abraham’ s household will be circumcised before Isaac is born, God does not establish the covenant with them. descendants after him. God indicates that the covenant will pass from Abraham to Isaac and then on through Isaac to future generations. This links the blessing of the nations to the unique line of offspring descended from Abraham via Isaac and then Jacob. Ultimately this special lineage leads to Jesus Christ( Matt 1:1 – 17). 17:20 the father of twelve rulers. In spite of being passed over in favor of his yet-to-beborn brother, Ishmael’ s family will be important in its own right( 25:12 – 18). 17:23 – 27 Abraham confirms that he accepts everything God has said by circumcising all the males in his household.
18:1— 19:38 The three episodes that comprise this section center on Lot’ s dramatic rescue when God destroys Sodom. By comparing Lot’ s hospitality with Abraham’ s, the narrative explains why God saves Lot and his family. However, God punishes the remaining inhabitants of the city for their immorality. 18:1 – 15 The Three Visitors. Responding generously to the unexpected arrival of three“ men” at his tent, Abraham graciously offers them hospitality that extends from washing their feet to providing a freshly prepared meal. While the text describes all three visitors as“ men,” one of them is the Lord( v. 1), and the others are angels( 19:1). They disclose the purpose of their encounter with Abraham only when they set out to journey on to Sodom( vv. 16 – 21). 18:1 the great trees of Mamre. As a seminomadic herdsman and tent-dweller, Abraham may have regularly camped at this location( 13:18).