The Institution of the Rite of Circumcision. (P.) 1 8. The Covenant with Abram. 9 14. Circumcision the Token of the Covenant. 15 22. The Promise to Sarai. 23 27. Abraham circumcises his household. The whole of this chapter is from P.... [ Continue Reading ]
_ninety years old and nine_ There has been an interval of 13 years since the birth of Ishmael in Genesis 16:16. _the Lord_ "Jehovah," used here in P, probably, for the special purpose of connecting the covenant of Abram with Him whose full name was revealed to Moses, Exodus 6:3. Or, as not infreque... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I will make my covenant_ See note on Genesis 15:9; Genesis 15:18. The words of this verse imply no knowledge of the covenant described in chap. 15. The covenant has yet to be made. P's account of the covenant is different from that of J; and, the two traditions being distinct, there is no allus... [ Continue Reading ]
_father of a multitude of nations_ "Multitude," _hamôn_= "tumult." LXX πολλῶν ἐθνῶν.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abram_ The shorter form is here used for the last time. Except in Genesis, it only occurs in 1 Chronicles 1:27; Nehemiah 9:7. _thy name shall be Abraham_ The change from "Abram" to "Abraham" is associated with the covenant promise that the patriarch shall be "the father of a multitude of nations" ... [ Continue Reading ]
_kings shall come out of thee_ Cf. Genesis 17:16 and Genesis 35:11 (P). The promise contains a reference to the Israelite monarchy. This is recognized as overruled by God (cf. 1 Samuel 11:12) to be the means of the people's blessing and expansion. Cf. Numbers 24:14; Numbers 24:17-19. With the "king... [ Continue Reading ]
_for an everlasting covenant_ Cf. 13, 19. LXX εἰς διαθήκην αἰώνιον. The relationship is to be one transcending the limits of time. The covenant is to be "established," cf. Genesis 6:18; Genesis 9:9. The idea is slightly different from that of the covenant being "made," Genesis 15:18. There the phras... [ Continue Reading ]
_the land of thy sojournings_ This is explained to be "all the land of Canaan." The word "sojournings" denotes "residences of a stranger" (cf. Genesis 15:13). The stranger (_gêr_) has no fixed possession in a land. The land where he has been a stranger is now promised to become his settled possessio... [ Continue Reading ]
Circumcision the Token of the Covenant 9. _thou shalt keep_ "Keep" in the sense of "observe": the reverse is to "break" (Genesis 17:14) the covenant. Notice the sing, "thou," and the plur. "ye shall keep" in Genesis 17:10; cf. the interchange of plur. and sing. in Genesis 17:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall be circumcised_ The rite of circumcision, which is here given as the symbol of the covenant with Abraham and his seed, was no new institution. In Abraham's time it was already a well-known practice. It is adopted as the sign of the covenant, and consecrated to be the abiding pledge and witnes... [ Continue Reading ]
_a token_ i.e. an outward sign. Cf. the rainbow which was the token of the covenant of Noah, Genesis 9:12-13.... [ Continue Reading ]
_he that is eight days old_ The performance of the rite at this early age is distinctive of the Israelite usage. Cf. Genesis 21:4; Leviticus 12:3; Luke 1:59; Luke 2:21; Philippians 3:5. The operation at this exceedingly early age (see note on Genesis 17:25) is probably for the purpose (1) of includi... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall be cut off_ The penalty of being "cut off" is frequently mentioned in P. It does not appear certain, (1) whether the penalty is to be inflicted by God or by man; (2) whether, if it be the infliction of a judicial punishment by man, it denotes capital punishment, or expulsion from the ranks of... [ Continue Reading ]
The Promise to Sarai 15. _Sarah shall her name be_ That is, _Princess_. The name "Sarai" (LXX Σάρα) is altered to "Sarah" (LXX Σάῤῥα). The name "Sarah" is the feminine form of the Heb. _Sar_, "a prince." Other explanations which give the meaning "the contentious one," or "the merry one," are improb... [ Continue Reading ]
_nations … kings of peoples_ See note on Genesis 17:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
_fell upon his face_ See Genesis 17:3. _laughed_ The incredulous laughter of Abraham here, according to P, should be compared with that of Sarah, in Genesis 18:12, according to J, as a play upon the name "Isaac" and its meaning of "laughter." Along with the incredulity must be reckoned the joy of... [ Continue Reading ]
_said unto God_ The previous verse contained what Abraham "said in his heart." Aloud he expresses his incredulity in a more reverent manner, shewing that his hope of descendants rested upon Ishmael. _might live before thee_ i.e. that his life might be blessed by God's special protection.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Sarah thy wife_ God's answer in this verse is made to the utterance of Abraham's heart (Genesis 17:17), and not of his lips (Genesis 17:18). _thou shalt call his name Isaac_ R.V. marg. "From the Heb. word meaning _to laugh_." See Genesis 21:3. The name Isaac is here, and in 18 and 21, associated wi... [ Continue Reading ]
_as for Ishmael, I have heard thee_ This verse contains the reply to Abraham's spoken words in Genesis 17:18. "I have heard thee" contains a reference to the meaning of the name "Ishmael" = "God hears." See note on Genesis 16:11. _twelve princes_ Recorded in Genesis 25:13-16. As in the family of Is... [ Continue Reading ]
_God went up_ This expression, which occurs also in Genesis 35:13 (P), means that God returned to His dwelling-place, which the Israelite believed to be above the Heavens.... [ Continue Reading ]
Abraham circumcises his Household 23. _And Abraham took_, &c. This verse repeats the directions contained in Genesis 17:11. _in the selfsame day_ As in Genesis 17:26: see note on Genesis 7:13. The expression is characteristic of P. The performance of this rite upon all the males of Abraham's househ... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ishmael … thirteen years old_ The mention of Ishmael and of his age, is of interest; for it implies (1) the fact that the Ishmaelite people practised circumcision; (2) the possible reminiscence of a variant custom by which it was performed at the age of thirteen years, instead of eight days; as in... [ Continue Reading ]