Albert Barnes Commentary Genesis 17:1-27
Albert Barnes Commentary
Genesis 17:1-27
Albert Barnes Commentary
Genesis 17:1-27
SCRIPTURE
"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout 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 of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner that 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. And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and moreover I will give thee a son of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be [a mother of] nations; kings of peoples shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, Oh that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Nay, but Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham`s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, those born in the house, and those bought with money of a foreigner, were circumcised with him." — Genesis 17:1-27 (ASV)
שׁדי shaday — Shaddai, “Irresistible, able to destroy, and by inference to create, Almighty.” שׁדד shādad, “be strong, destroy.” This name is found six times in Genesis and thirty-one times in Job.
אברהם 'abrâhām — Abraham, from אברם 'abrām, “high-father,” and הם hām, the radical part of המין hāmôn, a “multitude,” is obtained by a euphonic abbreviation אברהם 'abrâhām—“father of a multitude.” The root רהם rhm is a variation of רום rvm, affording, however, a link of connection in sound and sense with the root המה hāmâh, “hum, be tumultuous,” from which comes המון hāmôn, a “multitude.” The confluence of the biliterals רם rm and הם hm yields the triliteral רהם rhm, occurring in Arabic, though not elsewhere in our written Hebrew. The law of formation noticed here is interesting and real, though רהם rhm may not have been an actual result of it.
נמלתם nemaltem — Formed from נמל nāmal, “circumcised.” מוּל mûl, “cut, circumcise.”
שׂרה śārâh — Sarah, “princess.”
יצהק yı̂tschāq — Jitschaq, “laughing.”
The present form of the covenant is not identical with the former one. The former referred chiefly to the land; this one chiefly to the seed. The former dwelt much on temporal things; this one rises to spiritual things. The former specifies only Abram; this one mentions both Abram and Sarai. In the former period, God formally entered into covenant with Abram (ברית כרת kārat berı̂yt, Genesis 15:18); at present, He takes the first step in the fulfillment of the covenant (ברית נתן nātan berı̂yt), seals it with a token and a perpetual ordinance, and gives Abram and Sarai new names as a token of a new nature. There was an interval of at least fourteen years between the ratification of the covenant and the preparation for the fulfillment of its conditions, during which Abraham’s faith had time to unfold.
The covenant in its spiritual aspect. “The Lord” is the Author of existence and performance. “God Almighty” is El Shaddai. “El” signifies the Lasting, Eternal, Absolute. “Shaddai” means the Irresistible, Unchangeable, Destructive (Isaiah 13:6; Joel 1:15).
This term indicates, on the one hand, His judicial, punitive power, and points to His holiness. On the other hand, it indicates His alterative, reconstructive power, and points to His providence.
The complex name, therefore, describes God as the Holy Spirit, who works in the development of things. This work is seen especially in the punishment and eradication of sin and its works, and in the regeneration and defense of holiness. It refers to potency, and potency combined with promise affords ground for faith.
Walk before me and be perfect. In the institution of the covenant, we had “fear not”—an encouragement to the daunted or the doubting. In its confirmation, we have a command, a prescribed rule of life. This is in keeping with Abraham’s circumstances.
For, first, he now has faith in the Lord, which is the fruit of the new man in him prevailing over the old, and he is therefore competent to obey. Second, the Lord in whom he believes is God Almighty, the all-efficient Spirit, who works both to will and to do in destroying sin and building up holiness.
“Walk” means to act in the most comprehensive sense of the term. “Before me” means not behind, as one conscious of doing what is pleasing, not displeasing, to Me. “And be perfect” means not merely sincere (unless in the primitive sense of duty), but complete, upright, holy—not only in walk, which is provided for in the previous clause, but in heart, the spring of action.
My covenant—which I have already purposed and formally closed. “I will grant,” meaning carry into effect, its provisions. “Multiply thee.” The seed is here identified with the head or parent seat of life. The seed now comes forward as the prominent benefit of the covenant.
Abram fell on his face. This is the lowliest form of reverence, where the worshipper leans on his knees and elbows, and his forehead approaches the ground. Prostration is still customary in the East. Abram has attained loftier notions of God. “God talked with him.” Yahweh, El Shaddai, is here called God. The Supreme Being appears as the Author of existence, the Irresistible and Everlasting, in this stage of the covenant relation.
As for me. The one party to the covenant is here made prominent, just as in Genesis 17:9 the other party is brought out with similar emphasis. The exalted Being who has entered into it imparts grandeur, solemnity, and excellence to the covenant.
“Father of many nations.” The promise of seed is here expanded and particularized. A multitude of nations and kings are to trace their descent from Abram. This is true in a literal sense: the twelve tribes of Israel and many Arab tribes—the twelve princes of Ishmael, Keturah’s descendants, and the dukes of Edom—sprang from him. However, it is to be more magnificently realized in a spiritual sense. “Nations” is a term usually applied not to the chosen people, but to the other great branches of the human race.
This points to the original promise that in him all the families of the earth should be blessed. “Abraham.” The father of many nations is to be called by a new name, as he has come to have a new nature and been elevated to a new dignity. The “high father” has become the “father of the multitude of the faithful.”
Next, the spiritual part of the covenant comes into view. “To be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” Here we find God, in the progress of human development, for the third time laying the foundations of a covenant of grace with humanity. He dealt with Adam and with Noah, and now He deals with Abraham. “A perpetual covenant.” This covenant will not fail, since God has originated it, despite the moral instability of humankind. Though we cannot yet see the possibility of fulfilling the condition on humanity’s side, we may be assured that what God purposes will somehow be accomplished. The seed of Abraham will eventually embrace the whole human family in fellowship with God.
Thirdly, the temporal and the spiritual are brought together. The land of promise is made sure to the heir of promise, “for a perpetual possession,” and God engages to “be their God.”
The phrase “perpetual possession” here has two elements of meaning: first, that the possession, in its coming form of a certain land, will last as long as the co-existing relations of things are continued; and, second, that the said possession in all the variety of its ever grander phases will last absolutely forever. Each form will be perfectly adequate to each stage of a progressive humanity. But in all its forms and at every stage, it will be their chief glory that God is their God.
The sign of the covenant. “And thou”—the other party to the covenant now learns his obligation. “Every male of you shall be circumcised.” Circumcision, like the rainbow, might have existed before it was adopted as the token of a covenant.
The sign of the covenant with Noah was a purely natural phenomenon and therefore entirely independent of humanity. That of the Abrahamic covenant was an artificial process and therefore, though prescribed by God, was dependent on human voluntary agency. The former marked the sovereignty of God in ratifying the covenant and ensuring its fulfillment, despite human mutability; the latter indicates human responsibility, the trust placed in the word of promise, and the assent given to the terms of divine mercy.
Just as the former covenant conveys a common natural blessing to all humankind and contemplates a common spiritual blessing, so the latter conveys a special spiritual blessing and contemplates its universal acceptance.
The rainbow was the appropriate natural emblem of preservation from a flood; and the removal of the foreskin was the fitting symbol of that removal of the “old man” and renewal of nature, which qualified Abraham to be the parent of a holy seed. And just as the former sign foreshadows an incorruptible inheritance, so the latter prepares the way for a holy seed, by which holiness and the heritage will at length be universally extended.
It is worthy of remark that in circumcision, after Abraham himself, the parent is the voluntary imposer, and the child merely the passive recipient of the sign of the covenant. By this is taught the lesson of parental responsibility and parental hope. This is the first formal step in a godly education, in which the parent acknowledges his obligation to perform all the rest. It is also, by God’s command, the formal admission of the believing parents’ offspring into the privileges of the covenant, and therefore cheers the parent’s heart in entering upon the parental task. This admission cannot be reversed except by the child's deliberate rebellion.
Furthermore, the sign of the covenant is to be applied to every male in Abraham’s household. This indicates that the servant or serf stands in the relation of a child to his master or owner, who is therefore accountable for the soul of his serf, as for that of his son. It points out the applicability of the covenant to others, as well as to Abraham’s children, and therefore its capability for universal extension when the fullness of time should come. It also intimates the very plain but very often forgotten truth that our obligation to obey God is not canceled by our unwillingness. The serf is bound to have his child circumcised as long as God requires it, even if he is unwilling to comply with the divine commandments.
The time of circumcision is the eighth day. Seven is the number of perfection. Seven days are therefore regarded as a type of completed development and individuality. 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 lived among the Israelites. It was sometimes accompanied by the death sentence (Exodus 31:14), and this shows that being cut off did not of itself imply such a doom. Excommunication, however, for the omission of circumcision would be extremely rare, as no parent would intentionally neglect his child’s sacred interest.
Yet the omission of this rite has not been unprecedented, as the children of Israel did not generally circumcise their children in the wilderness (Joshua 5:5).
Sarai is now formally taken into the covenant, as she is to be the mother of the promised seed. Her name is therefore changed to Sarah, meaning “princess.” She is aptly so named, for she is to bear the child of promise, become nations, and be the mother of kings.
“Abraham fell upon his face and laughed.” From the reverential attitude Abraham assumed, we infer that his laughter sprang from joyful and grateful surprise. He “said in his heart.” The following questions of wonder are not addressed to God; they merely agitate the astonished patriarch’s breast. Hence, his irrepressible smile arises not from any doubt of the promise’s fulfillment, but from surprise at the unexpected way in which it is to be fulfilled. In Scripture, laughing expresses joy in the countenance, just as dancing expresses it in the whole body.
Abraham seems, until this time, to have regarded Ishmael as the promised seed. Hence, a feeling of anxiety instantly penetrates his breast. It finds utterance in the prayer, “Oh that Ishmael might live before thee!” He asks “life” for his beloved son—that is, a share in the divine favor; and that “before God”—that is, a life of holiness and communion with God.
But God affirms His purpose of giving him a son by Sarah. This son is to be called Isaac—meaning “he laughs” or “he shall laugh”—in reference to the various emotions of surprise and delight with which his parents regarded his birth. Abram’s prayer for Ishmael, however, is not unanswered. Ishmael is to be fruitful, father twelve princes, and become a great nation. But Isaac is to be the heir of promise.
At the appointed time next year, Isaac is to be born. The communication being completed, “God went up from Abraham.”
In the self-same day. In this passage, we have the prompt and punctual fulfillment of the command concerning circumcision detailed with all the minuteness due to its importance. Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised. Josephus relates that the Arabs accordingly delay circumcision until the thirteenth year (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 12, Section 2).