Through My Bible Yr 03 – March 08
Through My Bible Yr 03 – March 08
Genesis 16 – 17
Hagar and Ishmael
Genesis 16
1Ā Now Sarai, Abramās wife, bore no children for him. She had a servant girl, [1] an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2Ā Sarai said to Abram, āSee now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my servant girl. It may be that I can build up a family through her.ā Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
3Ā After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abramās wife, took her servant girl, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4Ā He went to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, she looked down on her mistress. 5Ā Sarai said to Abram, āThis wrong that I am suffering is on account of you. I gave my servant girl into your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked down on me. May the Lord judge between me and you.ā
6Ā But Abram said to Sarai, āLook, your servant girl is in your hands. Do to her whatever seems good to you.ā Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her presence.
7Ā The Angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a flowing spring in the wilderness, beside the spring on the way to Shur. 8Ā He said, āHagar, servant girl of Sarai, where did you come from? Where are you going?ā
She said, āI am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.ā
9Ā The Angel of the Lord said to her, āReturn to your mistress and submit to her authority.ā 10Ā The Angel of the Lord said to her, āI will greatly multiply your descendants, so that they will be too many to count.ā 11Ā The Angel of the Lord said to her, āListen, you are expecting a child and will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, [2] because the Lord has heard your affliction. 12Ā He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against every man, and every manās hand against him. He will dwell in hostility toward [3] all of his brothers.ā
13Ā She called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, āYou are a God who sees,ā for she said, āHere have I really seen him who sees me?ā [4] 14Ā Therefore the well was called Beāer Lahai Roi. [5] It is right there between Kadesh and Bered.
15Ā Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram. Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16Ā Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael for him.
The Covenant of Circumcision
Genesis 17
1Ā When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, āI am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. 2Ā I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will make your descendants very numerous.ā
3Ā Abram fell on his face. God spoke with him. He said, 4Ā āAs for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. 5Ā Your name will not be Abram anymore, but your name will be Abraham, [6] for I have made you the father of a large group of nations. 6Ā I will make you extremely fruitful, and I will produce nations from you. Kings will come out of you. 7Ā I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you as an everlasting covenant throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8Ā I will give the land where you are living as an alien, all the land of Canaan, to you and to your descendants after you as a permanent possession. I will be their God.ā
9Ā God said to Abraham, āAs for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10Ā This is my covenant, which you shall keep, a covenant between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11Ā You shall be circumcised by cutting the foreskin off your flesh. It will be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12Ā Every boy among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised, every male throughout your generations, whether he is born in your house or purchased with money [7] from any foreigner who is not descended from you. 13Ā Every male who is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked on your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14Ā The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised by removing the foreskin from his flesh, that person must be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.ā
15Ā God said to Abraham, āAs for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai anymore, but her name will be Sarah. [8] 16Ā I will bless her and even give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of many peoples will come from her.ā
17Ā Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, āWill a child be born to someone who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?ā 18Ā And Abraham said to God, āOh, let Ishmael live in your presence!ā
19Ā But God said, āNo, Sarah, your wife, will bear a son for you. You shall name him Isaac. [9] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
20Ā āAs for Ishmael, I have heard you. Yes, I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and will multiply him very greatly. He will become the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him into a great nation. 21Ā But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear for you at this set time next year.ā
22Ā When he finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23Ā Abraham took his son Ishmael, along with every male in Abrahamās house, all those who were born in his house, and all those who were purchased with his money, and he circumcised them by cutting off the foreskin from their flesh. He did this on that very day, just as God had said to him. 24Ā Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the foreskin of his flesh was circumcised. 25Ā Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when the foreskin of his flesh was circumcised. 26Ā On the same day both Abraham and Ishmael, his son, were circumcised. 27Ā All the men of his house, those born in the house as well as those purchased with money from a foreigner, were circumcised along with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 16:1 Or female slave. Shiphchah is allegedly the lower level word for a female servant who serves as an attendant to the lady of the house.
- Genesis 16:11 In Hebrew Ishmael sounds like God heard.
- Genesis 16:12 Or far away from
- Genesis 16:13 Or Have I been permitted to see even a glimpse of him who sees me?
- Genesis 16:14 Beāer Lahai Roi means well of the one who lives and sees me.
- Genesis 17:5 Abram and Abraham are variants of the same name. Both mean exalted father, but Abraham sounds more like the Hebrew for father of a multitude.
- Genesis 17:12 Literally silver. There were no coins at this time. Silver or gold were weighed out to make payments.
- Genesis 17:15 Sarai and Sarah are variants of the same name. Both mean princess.
- Genesis 17:19 Isaac means he laughs.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage VersionĀ®, EHVĀ®, Ā© 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.








