CONTEXT GEN. 9-21: The context for the covenant story of Abraham has its roots in the covenant story of Noah, because the covenant that God established with Noah shares certain characteristics with the covenant that God establishes now with Abram/Abraham.
Abram's story began with his call. When God called Abram to leave his father's house and go to a land that God would show him (12:1), God promised, "I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you" (12:2-3). The covenant in chapter 17 expands on that promise that God made much earlier.
Some years later, in response to Abram's complaint that he remained childless and a slave would become his heir (15:2), God promised that Abram's own issue would be his heir (15:4)-and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (15:5)-and that God would give Abram's descendants the land from the River Nile to the River Euphrates (15:18). Abram "believed in Yahweh; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness" (15:6).
But then Sarai and Abram took matters into their own hands, demonstrating that their faith was less than complete. At Sarai's suggestion, Abram took Sarai's servant, Hagar, as his concubine, and she bore a son, Ishmael (16:1-15). "Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram" (16:16).
Then, when Abram was ninety-nine years old (17:1), God made a covenant with Abram, promising to make him multiply "exceedingly" (17:3)-and to make him "the father of a multitude of nations" (17:4). In recognition of the significance of this event, God changed Abram's name to Abraham (17:5) and Sarai's name to Sarah (17:15). God specifically named Sarah as the one through whom the promise would be fulfilled (17:16), at which point Abraham laughed at the absurdity of an old man fathering a child and an old woman bearing a child (17:17). But God promised a son of the covenant through Sarah and ordered Abraham to name the boy Isaac (17:19).
God required Abraham to circumcise "every male among you" (17:10) as "a token of the covenant" between God and Abraham (17:11-12). Abraham complied with that order "the same day" (17:23).
God reiterated the promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah in chapter 18, but Isaac was finally born in chapter 21 when Abraham was one hundred years old (21:5).
Chapters 15 and 17 both tell of God's covenant with Abram/Abraham. The differences in the two accounts are interesting:
Some scholars conclude that chapters 15 and 17 are parallel accounts written by two different authors. They attribute chapter 15 to the Yahwist (J-after the German spelling-Jahwist) and chapter 17 to the Priestly writer (P). These same scholars attribute Genesis 18:1-15 to the Yahwist. In that account, three visitors reiterate the promise of a son be born to Sarah.
In this view (parallel accounts by different authors), the author is writing from the perspective of the Babylonian Exile, in which the people of Israel had experienced the loss of Jerusalem, the temple, and their nation. Other scholars see chapter 17 simply as an expansion of the promises made by God in chapters 12 and 15 and a ratification of the covenant made in chapter 15.
GENESIS 17:1-3a. I WILL MAKE MY COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND YOU
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless. 2 I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." 3aAbram fell on his face.
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old" (v. 1a). It has been twenty-four years since Abram departed from Haran to go where God would lead (12:4). Chapter 16 closed with the birth of Ishmael to Abram and Hagar, and the narrator noted that Abram was eighty-six years old at that time (16:16). Now, in the very next verse, the narrator notes that Abram is ninety-nine years old, so thirteen years have passed since Ishmael's birth-thirteen silent years in which we heard nothing of Abram or his family.
"Yahweh appeared to Abram" (v. 1b). As noted above, YHWH (Yahweh) is the name used for God in chapter 15 (and also in chapter 16). This is its only occurrence in chapter 17. The Jewish people came to revere this name to the extent that they refused to say it lest they become guilty of profaning God's name in violation of Exodus 20:7. They substituted the name Adonai for Yahweh.
"I am God Almighty"(el sad·day-El Shaddai) (v. 1c). This is the second name for God in this verse. El is a generic word for any god. El Shaddai (or Shaddai without the El) is used many times in the Hebrew Scriptures (Genesis 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; 49:25; Exodus 6:3; Ezekiel 10:5; thirty-one times in the book of Job without the El). El Shaddai can mean "God of the Mountain," but the LXX (the Septuagint-the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures) translates sad·day as pantokrator, which means Almighty. Most English translations follow the LXX by translating El Shaddai as "God Almighty."
"Walk before me" (lepa·nay-walk before my face) (v. 1d). Abram is to walk before God's face-the kind of subservience that one would show a king-the kind of subservience where the subordinate is always conscious of the superior's presence and whereabouts, like the sunflower that constantly adjusts its direction so that it always faces the sun. To walk before God's face is to devote oneself to God and God's service. To walk before God's face is to live a life where the pre-eminent fact of life is God's presence and will.
"and be blameless" (ta·mim) (v. 1e). If Abram walks before God's face, he will be conscious of God's presence. That will help Abram to avoid temptation-will aid him in his blameless walk.
However, ta·mim is not a requirement for a sinless life, which would be an impossibly high standard. Noah was called ta·mim (6:9), but was guilty of drunkenness after the flood (9:21). God is calling Abram to a high standard, but not to an impossible one. Von Rad says that ta·mim in this context has more to do with a proper relationship with God than with moral perfection (Von Rad, 198). Hartley adds, "The standard is pure devotion toward God, not moral perfection" (Hartley, 170).
"I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly"(v. 2). God is requiring two things of Abram-to "walk before me" and to "be blameless." Now he offers two rewards-a covenant and numerous descendants.
"Abram fell on his face" (v. 3a). This is a gesture of respect. A person might fall on his/her face in the presence of a king. It is even more fitting to fall on one's face in the presence of God. By falling on his face, Abram acknowledges his subordinate position in relationship to God.
GENESIS 17:3b-8. YOU WILL BE THE FATHER OF A MULTITUDE OF NATIONS
3bGod talked with him, saying, 4"As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5Neither will your name any more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you. 8 I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God."
"God (elo·him-Elohim) talked with him, saying, 'As for me, behold, my covenant is with you'" (vv. 3b-4a). As in verse 2 and later verses, God is the one who initiates the covenant and establishes its terms. God first sets forth the benefits which he will provide to Abram (vv. 4b-8), and then sets forth the requirements that he will expect Abram to fulfill (vv. 9-14).
"You will be the father of a multitude of nations" (v. 4b). God earlier promised to make of Abram a great nation (12:2) and to give "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" to Abram's descendants (15:18). Now God expands the promises so that Abram will be the father, not of one nation, but of many.
"Neither will your name any more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations" (v. 5). Names have always been important. Our names stand as a proxy for ourselves. Our name in the form of a signature on a legal document binds us legally to certain obligations. We like for people to call us by name, and hearing our name called tends to get our attention, even if the voice is distant-perhaps especially if the voice is distant.
"for I have made you" (v. 5b) indicates an action already accomplished. God has already made Abraham the father of many nations, even though Abraham has not yet fathered Isaac, who will be the child of promise. God has set the action in motion. All that remains is for Abraham to exercise patience and faith while awaiting the fulfillment of the promise.
"I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you" (v. 6). There is a threefold progression in this verse. "Exceedingly fruitful" points to the many descendants that Abraham will father. But he will not only be the father of many descendants, but will also be the father of many nations-"a multitude of nations" (v. 4). And not only will he be the father of nations, but he will also be the father of kings.
"I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you" (v. 7). God expands the covenant even further. Not only will the covenant apply to Abraham, but it will also apply to his offspring "throughout their generations"-an everlasting covenant. Throughout the rest of time, there will never be a time when God is not the God of Abraham's offspring.
"I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God" (v. 8). This verse is not in the lectionary reading. One wonders why. Perhaps the decision to eliminate this verse has something to do with modern-day tensions in Israel. I would vote to read the verse. It is an integral part of the covenant promises that God makes to Abraham-and it is holy writ.
GENESIS 17:15-16. HER NAME WILL BE SARAH
15God (elo·him-Elohim) said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her."
"God said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but her name will be Sarah'" (v. 15). Just as God changed Abram's name to Abraham to acknowledge the covenant relationship, so also God changes Sarai's name to Sarah, which means "princess"-but God makes no reference to its meaning here, and the meaning of Sarai might also be "princess." The point is simply that God has chosen Sarah rather than Hagar as the woman through whom he will establish his people.
"I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her" (v. 16). God confers on Sarah the same blessings that he bestowed earlier on Abraham (albeit in different words). She can expect to give birth to a son and to receive God's blessings. She will be mother to nations and kings, just as Abraham will be their father.
FROM EW COMMENTARY:
2. (17:17-18) Abraham's response to the promise.
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"
3. (17:19-22) God repeats the promise and names the child who will come forth from Abraham and Sarah.
Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year." Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
Gen. 17:1-8, 15-22 - Bible Ref
CONTEXT: God appears to Abram once more in Genesis 17, but this instance is very different from prior meetings. God reconfirms His promises to make Abram a father of nations and to give to him and his descendants the land of Canaan. This time, though, God changes Abram's name to Abraham and gives him a requirement to circumcise himself and every male in his household forever. He also changes Sarai's name to Sarah. God announces that Abraham and Sarah will have a son, after all. His 13-year old son Ishmael will be blessed, but this new son, Isaac, to be born within the year, will be the one to whom God's covenant promises will pass. Genesis 17:1-14 describes God's appearance to a 99-year-old Abram. Again God confirms His expansive covenant promises: to make Abram a father of nations and to give to him and his offspring the land of Canaan. At this time, God even changes Abram's name to Abraham to mark the occasion. This time, though, the repetition of the promise comes with God's requirements for Abraham: walk with me, be blameless, and circumcise yourself and every male of your household from now through every generation in the future. Genesis 17:15-27 describes God's surprising revelation to the newly renamed, 99-year-old Abraham: His presumably barren, 89-year-old wife, Sarai, now to be named Sarah, would bear him a son within a year. Ishmael, now 13, would still be abundantly blessed, but this new son, Isaac, would be the one through whom God would keep His covenant promises. As soon as God left, Abraham immediately set about obeying God's command to circumcise himself and every male in his household as a sign of the covenant with the Lord.
v. 1: When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, - Abram's story jumps ahead 13 years from the end of the previous chapter. As far as we know, Abram has not heard from God, at least in any special way, since the birth of his son Ishmael to Sarai's servant girl Hagar. The Lord now appears to a 99-year-old Abram who, in his waiting, has decided that perhaps Ishmael is the child of God's covenant promises, after all. God will make clear to Abram that is not the case.
v. 2: that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." - This appearance by God to Abram differs from their previous encounters in the book of Genesis. In the previous verse, God began by placing an expectation on Abram. He told Abram to walk before Him and to be blameless. God now restates that He will make His covenant between Himself and Abram and will multiply him exceedingly by greatly increasing Abram's numbers.
v. 3: And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, - In the previous two verses, God appeared to Abram and told him to walk before the Lord and to be blameless. God also repeated His promise to increase Abram's numbers greatly. Abram's response in this verse is entirely appropriate. He fell facedown before the Lord. Throughout history and in many cultures, this has been the ultimate expression of humility and submission. In one gesture, Abram communicated to God that he would receive all that God was saying with humility and great reverence. Although God does not require it of us, many believers today continue to approach God in prayer while kneeling or lying facedown on the ground.
v. 4: "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. - After God appeared to Abram, instructing him to walk with the Lord and to be blameless, promising to increase Abram's numbers greatly, Abram fell face down before the Lord in reverence. This is a common expression of worship, submission, and humility. To this point, Abram has demonstrated a willingness to honor God, and to follow Him, even when he's unsure of every detail.
v. 5: No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. - In the previous verse, God's covenant promise was that Abram would become the father of many nations. Now God changes Abram's name to match this destiny. After 23 years, and more than 4 chapters of the book of Genesis, the man called Abram will take on the famous name of Abraham (Genesis 12:4; Genesis 17:1).
v. 6: I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. - God continues to reveal His covenant promise to make Abram, now renamed Abraham, into a father of multiple nations. God insists that He will make Abram fruitful, causing many offspring to come from him. Earlier in Genesis, God commanded men like Adam and Noah to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 9:1). Now God tells Abraham that He will make him fruitful and cause him to multiply. Unlike those earlier encounters, God has now taken on Himself the responsibility to create nations out of a single patriarch.
v. 7: And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. - God continues to describe His covenant promises to the newly renamed Abraham, formerly known as Abram. Already, God has revealed that Abraham will be the father of multiple nations; kings will come from him. Now God makes it clear that these covenant promises will extend to Abraham's offspring throughout all their generations. In fact, God describes this covenant as everlasting. God will be Abraham's God and the God of Abraham's offspring forever. This covenant relationship will never end. God will keep these promises into eternity.
v. 8: And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God." - In the previous verse, God revealed to Abraham that the covenant He is describing would extend to Abraham's offspring through all the generations to follow. Now God makes clear that includes the promise of "all" the land of Canaan. Abraham's descendants would possess it forever. It is this covenant promise from God, sometimes called the Abrahamic Covenant, by which Israel would claim and later conquer and possess the land of Canaan.
v. 15: And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. - In verse 5 of this chapter, God signaled a new stage in His relationship with Abram by changing his name to Abraham. This name is very similar to the Hebrew phrase meaning "father of a multitude," emphasizing that Abraham will be the father of nations and that kings would come from him.
v. 16: I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." - In the previous verse, God told Abraham that He was changing Sarai's name to Sarah. Earlier, God had renamed Abram as Abraham, indicating that Abraham would become the father of nations. Now God reveals that Sarah's name change is related to her own destiny as the "mother of nations." From her, as well, will come future kings.
v. 17: Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" - Compared to modern times, it seems the people of Abraham's era lived slightly longer lives. But even then, 100-year-old men did not have babies with 90-year-old women. The very idea of it was laughable. So Abraham fell facedown before God and laughed to himself. It's notable that Abraham's disbelieving comment is directed to himself. Abraham is, very directly, expressing doubt that God can or will follow through on this particular declaration.
v. 18: And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!" - Abraham found God's promise in the previous verse inconceivable. In fact, he literally found it fall-down-laughing funny. It was beyond imagining that a 100-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman could have a baby. In Abraham's mind, it was also unnecessary. He had a son, though not through Sarah. Ishmael was a young man of 13. His birth mother Hagar had received a promise from God that Ishmael's descendants would be exceedingly numerous, just as God had promised Abraham.
v. 19: God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. - The previous verse showed 99-year-old Abraham's reaction to God's revelation: that his barren, 89-year-old wife, Sarah, would bear him a son after all. Abraham's immediate response was disbelieving laughter (Genesis 17:17).
v. 20: As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. - This verse is God's "yes" to Abraham's apparently anguished request. Abraham desires that his son Ishmael might live under God's blessing. Abraham may have meant he wanted Ishmael to be the son of God's covenant promise. This certainly seems to be what he expected. God made clear in the previous verse that was not to be; Isaac would receive that blessing.
v. 21: But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year." - Here, God concludes His revelations to the newly renamed Abraham for this encounter. Unlike earlier visits from God with their grand unconditional promises and few details, God's words to Abraham, now 99 years old, have been overwhelmingly specific.
v. 22: When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. - God's relatively lengthy encounter with Abraham ends here. For the first time, we're told about God's departure from one of these meetings. He "went up" from Abraham. Perhaps this detail is included to emphasize that God's appearance to Abraham really happened. It wasn't something Abraham imagined. God came. God spoke. God left. The words here suggest the idea of Abraham being left with a choice: will he believe, trust, and obey? Again on his own, Abraham must believe and act on what God had said. He does so in the following verses.
GEN. 17 - CONSTABLE NOTES
The sign of circumcision ch. 17
The Lord confirmed His covenant with Abram, 13 years after Ishmael's birth, by reiterating the promises of descendants and land and by commanding Abram to circumcise all the males in his household. Circumcision thereby became the physical demonstration (sign) of the obedient faith of Abram and his descendants. There are three types of signs in the Old Testament. Some signs were proofs that convinced observers of something (e.g., the Egyptian plagues). Others were certain acts that resembled an announced situation (e.g., acted prophecies). Still others were reminders of something (e.g., the rainbow, circumcision). God further encouraged the patriarch's faith by changing Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's to Sarah. This was an added confirmation that God would indeed give them innumerable seed as He had promised.
"This chapter is a watershed in the Abraham story. The promises to him have been unfolded bit by bit, gradually building up and becoming more detailed and precise, until here they are repeated and filled out in a glorious crescendo in a long and elaborate divine speech. From this point in Genesis, divine speeches become rarer and little new content is added to the promises, but the fulfillment of these promises becomes more visible." [Note: Wenham, Genesis 16-50, p. 16.]
Really there are five divine speeches: Genesis 17:1 b, Genesis 17:2, Genesis 17:4-8, Genesis 17:9-14, Genesis 17:15-16, and Genesis 17:19-2. The third speech is the center of the chiastic structure of this chapter, which may also be read as two parallel panels, namely, 1-14 and 15-27.
"The chapter is more of a theological treatise than the typical Abraham story . . ." [Note: Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26, p. 199.]
Abram undoubtedly assumed that Ishmael would be the promised heir until God told him that Sarai would bear his heir herself (Genesis 17:16). That revelation is the most important feature of this chapter. God gave the name changes and circumcision to confirm the covenant promise of an heir and to strengthen Abram's faith.
Verses 1-8
Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael (Genesis 16:16) God spoke to Abram again (the fifth revelation; Genesis 17:1). God called Himself by a new name: El Shaddai (the Almighty God). This was appropriate in view of the thing God proceeded to reveal to Abram that He would do. It would require supernatural power.
The references to the "covenant" in this chapter have caused some confusion. The Abrahamic Covenant (ch. 15) is in view (Genesis 17:4; Genesis 17:7; Genesis 17:11; Genesis 17:19; Genesis 17:21) but also the outward sign of that covenant that was the covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17:2; Genesis 17:9-10; Genesis 17:13-14; cf. Acts 7:8). Thus Moses used the word "covenant" with two different references here, though throughout, the Abrahamic Covenant is in view. Perhaps visualizing the covenant of circumcision as a smaller circle within the larger circle of the Abrahamic Covenant will help. Whereas the Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional, the covenant of circumcision depended on Abram's obedience (Genesis 17:1-2). God would bless Abram as Abram obeyed God by circumcising his household. This blessing would be in the form of multiplying Abram's descendants "exceedingly," even more than God had already promised. The rite of circumcision was to be a continuing sign of the Abrahamic Covenant to all of Abram's descendants.
God also gave Abram and Sarai the added assurance that they would have a multitude of descendants by changing their names. [Note: See note on 1:4.] He changed the name "Abram" (high or exalted father) to "Abraham" (father of a multitude), and he changed the name "Sarai" (my princess [perhaps a reference to her noble descent]) to "Sarah" (royal princess [from whom kings would come, Genesis 17:16]). Abraham's name emphasized the number of his seed. Sarah's evidently stressed the royal nature of their line (Genesis 17:6; Genesis 17:16; Genesis 17:20; cf. Genesis 12:2).
"The choice of the word be fruitful in Genesis 17:6 and multiply in Genesis 17:2 seems intended to recall the blessing of all humankind in Genesis 1:29: 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land,' and its reiteration in Genesis 9:1: 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land.' Thus the covenant with Abraham was the means through which God's original blessing would again be channeled to all humankind." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 157.]
Circumcision was "an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7) because it marked the eternal salvation of the person who believed God as Abraham did, not because God wanted people to practice it forever. [Note: Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26, p. 203.] God has not commanded circumcision of the flesh for Christians. Some Christians in the reformed traditions of Protestantism regard baptism as what God requires of us today in place of circumcision. They practice infant baptism believing that this rite brings the infant into the "covenant community" (i.e., the church) and under God's care in a special sense. Some believe baptism saves the infant. Others believe it only makes the infant a recipient of special grace. The Bible is quite clear, however, that baptism is a rite that believers should practice after they trust Christ as their Savior as a testimony to their faith. There are parallels between circumcision and baptism, but God did not intend baptism to replace circumcision. God did command circumcision of the Israelites in the Mosaic Law, but He has not commanded it of Christians. We do not live under the Mosaic Law (Romans 4:10-13; Romans 6:14-15; Romans 7:1-4; Romans 10:4).
Verses 9-14
God wanted Abraham to circumcise his male servants as well as his children. The reason was that the Abrahamic Covenant would affect all who had a relationship with Abraham. Consequently they needed to bear the sign of that covenant. The person who refused circumcision was "cut off" from his people (Genesis 17:14) because by refusing it he was repudiating God's promises to Abraham.
"This expression undoubtedly involves a wordplay on cut. He that is not himself cut (i.e., circumcised) will be cut off (i.e., ostracized). Here is the choice: be cut or be cut off." [Note: Hamilton, p. 473.]
There are two main views as to the meaning of being "cut off" from Israel. Some scholars hold that it means excommunication from the covenant community and its benefits. [Note: J. Morganstern, "The Book of the Covenant, Part III-The Huqqim," Hebrew Union College Annual 8-9 (1931-32):1-150; and Anthony Phillips, Ancient Israel's Criminal Law, pp. 28-32.] However there is also evidence that points to execution, sometimes by the Israelites, but usually by God, and premature death. [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 1:224; Hamilton, p. 474; M. Tsevat, "Studies in the Book of Samuel," Hebrew Union College Annual 32 (1961):195-201; M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School, pp. 241-43; W. Horbury, "Extirpation and excommunication," Vetus Testamentum 35 (1985):16-18, 31-34; and Wenham, Genesis 16-50, p. 25.] The threat of being cut off hung over the Israelite offender as the threat of a terminal disease, that might end one's life at any time, does today.
The person who refused to participate in circumcision demonstrated his lack of faith in God by his refusal.
Thus he broke the covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17:14).
Only males underwent circumcision, of course. In the patriarchal society of the ancient Near East people considered that a girl or woman shared the condition of her father if she was single, or her husband if she was married.
Circumcision was a fitting symbol for several reasons.
Circumcision was not a new rite. The priests in Egypt practiced it as did most of the Canaanites, the Arabs, and the Hurrians (Horites), but in Mesopotamia it was not customary. Later the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites practiced it, but the Philistines did not. [Note: See Davis, p. 192; Wenham, Genesis 16-50, pp. 23-24; and J. Sasson, "Circumcision in the Anceint Near East," Journal of Biblical Literature 85 (1966):473-76.] By commanding it of Abraham and his household God was giving further evidence that he would bless the patriarch. Circumcision has hygienic value. One evidence of this is that cancer of the penis has a much higher incidence in uncircumcised males. [Note: Jay D. Fawver and R. Larry Overstreet, "Moses and Preventive Medicine," Bibliotheca Sacra 147:587 (July-September 1990):276.] Circumcision was a rite of passage to adulthood in these cultures. [Note: Kidner, p. 174.] Normally it was practiced on young adults (cf. ch. 34). Circumcising infants was something new.
"Research indicates that other Middle Eastern cultures practiced circumcision . . . However, the Hebrews were unique in that they practiced infant circumcision, which, though medically risky if not properly performed, is less physically and psychologically traumatic than circumcisions performed at an older age." [Note: Fawver and Overstreet, p. 277.]
"Designating the eighth day after birth as the day of circumcision is one of the most amazing specifications in the Bible, from a medical standpoint. Why the eighth day?
"At birth, a baby has nutrients, antibodies, and other substances from his mother's blood, including her blood-clotting factors, one of them being prothrombin. Prothrombin is dependent on vitamin K for its production. Vitamin K is produced by intestinal bacteria, which are not present in a newborn baby. After birth prothrombin decreases so that by the third day it is only 30 percent of normal. Circumcision on the third day could result in a devastating hemorrhage.
"The intestinal bacteria finally start their task of manufacturing vitamin K, and the prothrombin subsequently begins to climb. On day eight, it actually overshoots to 110 percent of normal, leveling off to 100 percent on day nine and remaining there for the rest of a person's healthy life. Therefore the eighth day was the safest of all days for circumcision to be performed. On that one day, a person's clotting factor is at 110 percent, the highest ever, and that is the day God prescribed for the surgical process of circumcision.
"Today vitamin K (Aqua Mephyton) is routinely administered to newborns shortly after their delivery, and this eliminates the clotting problem. However, before the days of vitamin K injections, a 1953 pediatrics textbook recommended that the best day to circumcise a newborn was the eighth day of life. [Note: L. Holt Jr. and R. McIntosh, Holt Pediatrics, pp. 125-26.]
Another writer saw the eighth day as symbolic of completing a cycle of time corresponding to the Creation. [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 261.]
Verses 15-21
Abraham's laugh (Genesis 17:17) may have expressed his incredulity, but it could have been a joyful response to God's promise. [Note: See Raymond L. Cox, "What Made Abraham Laugh?" Eternity (November 1975), pp. 19-20.] Sarah's laugh (Genesis 18:15) seems to have arisen from a spirit of unbelief. God did not criticize Abraham for laughing, but He did Sarah when she laughed.
Verses 22-27
The writer's use of the phrase "the very same day" (Genesis 17:26) points to a momentous day, one of the most important days in human history (cf. Noah's entry into the ark, Genesis 7:13; and the Exodus, Exodus 12:17; Exodus 12:41; Exodus 12:51).
This fifth revelation from God advanced God's promises in six particulars.
"Abraham's experiences should teach us that natural law [barrenness] is no barrier to the purposes and plans for [sic] God." [Note: Davis, p. 193.]
"Thus Abraham and Noah are presented as examples of those who have lived in obedience to the covenant and are thus 'blameless' before God, because both obeyed God 'as he commanded them' (Genesis 17:23; cf. Genesis 6:22; Genesis 7:5; Genesis 7:9; Genesis 7:16)." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 160.]
Blameless does not mean sinless but with integrity, wholeness of relationship (cf. Genesis 6:9). God requires a sanctified life of those who anticipate His promised blessings.
Gen. 17:1-8, 15-22 - Extra Commentary
Genesis 17:1 "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect."
"Almighty God": (Hebrew El Shaday): El denotes "power" and "shaddai" may be derived from the Akkadian shadadu, to "overpower," portraying God as the overpowering, almighty One who will supernaturally provide descendants for Abram when all other means fail.
This statement, above, did not say that an angel appeared. It said the LORD appeared to Abram.
When this personality met Abram, He explained to Abram how He is Almighty God. This is a plural word meaning most majestic supreme God. This all powerful God gave Abram a charge to live a holy life. We cannot be perfect in our flesh, but God wants us to try to be perfect.
Genesis 17:2 "And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly."
"My covenant between me and thee": Another reaffirmation of His unilateral covenant with Abram, which did not mean that there would be no responsibilities falling upon its recipients (See notes on verses 7-9 below and on 12:1-3; 15:13-21).
God again, was renewing His covenant with Abram. This time it was a blood covenant. He, again, promised to multiply Abram's seed.
Genesis 17:3 "And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,"
"And Abram fell on his face": At the sight of so glorious a Person that appeared to him, and in reverence of his majesty, and as sensible of his unworthiness of such a visit, and of having such favors bestowed upon him.
This is the lowliest form of reverence, in which the worshipper leans on his knees and elbows, and his forehead approaches the ground. Prostration is still customary in the East. Abram has attained to loftier notions of God.
"God talked with him." Yahweh, El Shaddai, is here called God. The Supreme appears as the Author of existence, the Irresistible and Everlasting, in this stage of the covenant relation.
After he was raised up, and was strengthened and encouraged to stand up before God, and hear what he had to say to him; for after this we read of his falling on his face again (Genesis 17:17); which shows that he had been erect, after he first fell on his face
Genesis 17:4 "As for me, behold, my covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations."
"Father of many nations": The 3-fold reaffirmation of the divine promise of many descendants, perhaps including Isaac's and Ishmael's, brackets the change of name (verses 4-6), giving it significant emphasis.
The only place any person can be in the presence of God is on his face, in total reverence to God. This voice of God is unmistakable; there is no question who this is, when you hear this voice. You see, Abram did not decide to make a covenant with God. God chose to make a covenant with Abram. He promised one more time that Abram would be a father of many nations.
Genesis 17:5 "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee."
"Thy name shall be Abraham" (11:27). The name meaning "father of many nations" reflected Abraham's new relationship to God as well as his new identity based on God's promise of seed (Rom. 4:17).
Abram means "High Father," but he is now to be called Abraham, suggesting he will become the father of a multitude.
His name was now being changed from Abram (high father), to Abraham (father of a multitude). Notice that this statement above, is past tense. God had decided long ago to make Abraham father of many nations.
Genesis 17:6 "And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee."
"Kings shall come out of thee": This promise highlights the reality of more than one people group, or nation in its own right, coming from Abraham.
Here, God was just reassuring Abraham that he would have many descendants, even though he was now 99 years old.
Genesis 17:7-8 "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
"I will establish my covenant": This relationship was set up at God's initiative and also designated as an "everlasting covenant" (verse 7), thus applying to Abraham's posterity with equal force and bringing forth the declaration "I will be their God" (verse 8). This pledge became the dictum of the covenant relationship between Yahweh, i.e., Jehovah and Israel.
"Everlasting covenant ... I will give ... the land": Since the covenant is "everlasting" and includes possession of "Canaan," it guarantees Israel the right of possession as an earthly inheritance forever. God is the Landlord who gives the title deed to Israel, His son. Thus, the Jews have a rightful claim to this land as long as the earth shall stand.
"All the land of Canaan": God's reaffirmation of His covenant promises to Abraham did not occur without mention of the land being deeded by divine right to him and his descendants as "an everlasting possession" (Acts 7:5).
This was an everlasting blood covenant that God, Himself, established. He told Abraham that this covenant was not just with him, but this covenant would extend to all of his ancestors for all of eternity. When Abraham lived here in Canaan, this land was occupied by evil Canaanite men. The only provision was that God be worshipped by Abraham and his descendants.
Genesis 17:12-13 "And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which [is] not of thy seed." "He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant."
The time of circumcision is the eighth day. At this stage, accordingly, the sign of sanctification is made on the child, betokening the consecration of the heart to God, when its rational powers have come into noticeable activity.
To be "cut off from his people" is to be excluded from any part in the covenant, and treated simply as a Gentile or alien, some of whom seem to have dwelt among the Israelites
"Eight days old": This same time frame was repeated (in Lev. 12:3).
He that is born in thine house, and he that is bought with thy money, "must needs be circumcised": this is repeated to denote the necessity of it, and what care should be taken that this be done, because there was to be no uncircumcised male among them (Genesis 17:10); nor any conversation and communion to be had among them, especially in a religious way.
"And my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant": Circumcision was to be seen in their flesh, and no methods were to be taken to draw over the foreskin again, but it was to continue as long as they lived; and so in their posterity, in all succeeding ages, as a sign of the covenant and promise which should remain until the Messiah's coming.
This seems like a strange request from God, but these were the physical descendants of Abraham that were mentioned here. This separated the Hebrew men from the men of the world. This sealed the blood covenant. Remember, Abraham was 99 and his son Ishmael 13 when they were circumcised, so this was no small sacrifice they made to seal the covenant.
Genesis 17:14 "And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant."
"Shall be cut off from his people": Being cut off from the covenant community meant loss of temporal benefits stemming from being part of the special, chosen and theocratic (a country ruled by religious leaders), nation, even to the point of death by divine judgment.
In verse 14, we see covenant breakers would not receive blessings from God.
Genesis 17:15 "And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah [shall] her name [be]."
"Sarai ... Sarah": Fittingly, since Sarai ("my princess"), would be the ancestress of the promised nations and kings. God changed her name to Sarah, taking away the limiting personal pronoun "my," and calling her "princess" (verse 16).
God really did not regard Hagar as Abraham's wife. The wife that God recognized was Sarah. God's promises would come through her.
Genesis 17:16 "And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be [a mother] of nations; kings of people shall be of her."
"And I will bless her": The Targum of Jonathan adds, "in her body", with fruitfulness, who before was barren, and in her soul with spiritual blessings, and in both with the blessing of eternal life.
"And give thee a son also of her" as he had given him one of Hagar. God had before promised Abraham a son that should be his heir, but he had not until now told him that he should be born of Sarah his wife.
"Yea, I will bless her" which is repeated for the confirmation of it, "and for the greater strengthening Abraham's faith in it". And she shall be a "mother of nations" of the twelve tribes of Israel; of the two nations of Israel and Judah. Kings of people shall be of her; as David, Solomon, and others, and especially the King Messiah. "Mother of nations" (17:5).
He told Abraham, again, you will have a son by Sarah, and I will bless you through this wife. These descendants through the spirit would be a more noble heritage.
