Genesis 17:15-21
New English Translation
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai;[a] Sarah[b] will be her name. 16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations.[c] Kings of countries[d] will come from her!”
17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed[e] as he said to himself,[f] “Can[g] a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old?[h] Can Sarah[i] bear a child at the age of ninety?”[j] 18 Abraham said to God, “O that[k] Ishmael might live before you!”[l]
19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac.[m] I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual[n] covenant for his descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you.[o] I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants.[p] He will become the father of twelve princes;[q] I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.”
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- Genesis 17:15 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
- Genesis 17:15 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
- Genesis 17:16 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
- Genesis 17:16 tn Heb “peoples.”
- Genesis 17:17 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
- Genesis 17:17 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
- Genesis 17:17 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
- Genesis 17:17 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
- Genesis 17:17 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
- Genesis 17:17 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
- Genesis 17:18 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
- Genesis 17:18 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
- Genesis 17:19 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
- Genesis 17:19 tn Or “as an eternal.”
- Genesis 17:20 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
- Genesis 17:20 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
- Genesis 17:20 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
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