Genesis Chapter 17 in Simple English

Read Genesis Chapter 17

1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am the Almighty God. Walk before me, and be perfect."

2"I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will greatly increase your numbers."

3Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,

4"As for me, look, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of many nations."

5Your name will no longer be called Abram. Your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

6I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

7I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you, through all their generations. It will be an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your descendants after you.

8"I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land where you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, to possess for ever. And I will be their God."

9God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, through all their generations."

10This is my covenant, which you must keep, between me and you and your descendants after you. Every male among you must be circumcised.

11You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. It will be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

12Every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, in all your generations. This includes the one born in your house, and the one bought with money from any stranger who is not of your descendants.

13The one born in your house, and the one bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.

14"Any male who is not circumcised, whose flesh of his foreskin is not cut, that person will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant."

15God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai. Her name will be Sarah."

16"I will bless her, and I will also 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."

17Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed. He said in his heart, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? And can Sarah, who is ninety years old, have a child?"

18Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live before you!"

19God said, "Sarah your wife will indeed bear you a son, and you will call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him."

20As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Look, I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful, and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

21"But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year."

22He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

23Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house. He circumcised the flesh of their foreskin that very same day, as God had said to him.

24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

25Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

26On that very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

27And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from the stranger, were circumcised with him.

Explanation

Genesis 17

In short

God appears to Abram at age ninety-nine and makes him a covenant, changing his name to Abraham and promising he will father many nations. God requires circumcision as the sign of this covenant and promises that Abraham's wife Sarah will bear a son named Isaac. Abraham immediately circumcises himself, his son Ishmael, and all the males in his household.

Context

This passage comes after Abraham (still called Abram) has been living in Canaan for many years. He has already fathered Ishmael through his wife's servant Hagar, but God has not yet given him a son through his wife herself. Abraham is now very old, and God appears to him to renew and clarify the promise made years earlier.

What the text says

God introduces himself as "the Almighty God" (verse 1) and tells Abram to walk before him and be perfect. God says he will multiply Abram exceedingly and change his name to Abraham, making him "a father of many nations" (verses 4-5). The land of Canaan will belong to Abraham and his descendants forever (verse 8).

God then gives Abraham the requirement: all males must be circumcised, as a sign of the covenant (verses 10-11). This applies to newborns at eight days old, household servants, and slaves (verse 12). Whoever breaks this covenant by refusing circumcision will be cut off from his people (verse 14).

Next, God changes Sarai's name to Sarah and promises she will bear a son (verses 15-16). Abraham laughs at this, thinking he is one hundred years old and Sarah is ninety (verse 17). Abraham asks God to bless Ishmael instead (verse 18). God replies that Sarah will indeed have a son named Isaac, and the covenant will be established through Isaac, not Ishmael (verses 19-21). However, God says he has blessed Ishmael and will make him fruitful and a great nation (verse 20).

After God finishes speaking and leaves, Abraham immediately circumcises himself, Ishmael, and all males in his household that same day (verses 23-27).

Takeaways

God's covenant with Abraham includes a permanent sign, circumcision, which marks those who belong to the covenant and commits them to it.
The promise of a son through Sarah herself, not through the servant's child, is God's specific plan, though God also blesses Ishmael separately.
Abraham's immediate obedience to circumcise himself and his household shows his trust in God's promise, despite his doubts about how it could happen at such an old age.

Genesis 17 - Simple English