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Genesis 17:17
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Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, "Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is ninety?"
Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed as he said to himself, "Can a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall [a child] be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear?
Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?"
Abraham felde doun on his face, and leiyede in his hert, and seide, Gessist thou, whethir a sone schal be borun to a man of an hundrid yeer, and Sara of nynti yeer schal bere child?
And Abraham falleth upon his face, and laugheth, and saith in his heart, `To the son of an hundred years is one born? or doth Sarah -- daughter of ninety years -- bear?'
Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?"
Abraham bowed with his face to the ground and thought, "I am almost a hundred years old. How can I become a father? And Sarah is ninety. How can she have a child?" So he started laughing.
At this Avraham fell on his face and laughed — he thought to himself, "Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah give birth at ninety?"
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?
Then Abraham went down on his face, and laughing, said in his heart, May a man a hundred years old have a child? will Sarah, at ninety years old, give birth?
But Abraham fell vppon his face, and laughed, and sayde in his heart: shall a chylde be borne vnto hym that is an hundreth yere olde? And shall Sara that is ninetie yere olde beare?
And Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall [a child] be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear?
Abraham bowed his face to the ground to show he respected God. But he laughed and said to himself, "I am 100 years old. I cannot have a son, and Sarah is 90 years old. She cannot have a child."
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?'
Then Abraham fell vpon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be borne vnto him that is an hundred yeeres old? and shal Sarah that is ninetie yeeres old, beare?
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed. He said to himself, "Will a child be born to a man who is 100 years old?
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
And Abraham fell on his face and laughed, - and said in his heart To one a hundred years old, shall a child be born? And shall even Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?
Then Abraham fell vpon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a childe be borne vnto him, that is an hundreth yeere olde? and shall Sarah that is ninetie yeere olde beare?
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, Shall a son be born to him who is a hundred years old? Or shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?
Abraham bowed down with his face touching the ground, but he began to laugh when he thought, "Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah have a child at ninety?"
Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, saying in his heart: Shall a son, thinkest thou, be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sara that is ninety years old bring forth?
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
And Abraam fell upon his face, and laughed; and spoke in his heart, saying, Shall there be a child to one who is a hundred years old, and shall Sarrha who is ninety years old, bear?
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?”
Then Avraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?"
And Abraham fell upon his face and laughed. And he said in his heart, "Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?"
And Abraham fell on his face and laughed. And he said in his heart, Shall one be born to a son of a hundred years? And shall Sarah bear, a daughter of ninety years?
Then fell Abraha vpo his face, and laughed, and sayde in his hert: Shal a childe be borne vnto me that am an hundreth yeare olde? And shall Sara yt is nyentie yeare olde, beare?
Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, "Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?"
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth to a child?"
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. "How could I become a father at the age of 100?" he thought. "And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?"
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, "Will a son be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?"
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
fell: Genesis 17:3, Leviticus 9:24, Numbers 14:5, Numbers 16:22, Numbers 16:45, Deuteronomy 9:18, Deuteronomy 9:25, Joshua 5:14, Joshua 7:6, Judges 13:20, 1 Chronicles 21:16, Job 1:20, Ezekiel 1:28, Daniel 8:17, Matthew 2:11, Revelation 5:8, Revelation 11:16
laughed: Genesis 18:12, Genesis 21:6, John 8:56, Romans 4:19, Romans 4:20
Reciprocal: Genesis 17:19 - Isaac Genesis 17:24 - General Genesis 18:11 - old Genesis 21:5 - General Genesis 23:1 - an Leviticus 10:15 - for ever Ruth 1:12 - too old 2 Kings 4:14 - she hath no child 2 Kings 4:16 - thou shalt Luke 1:7 - well Luke 1:18 - Whereby Luke 6:21 - ye shall laugh Hebrews 6:15 - General Hebrews 11:11 - Sara
Cross-References
Then Abram fell on his face [in worship], and God spoke with him, saying,
But God said, "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed, and you shall name him Isaac (laughter); and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him.
"As for Ishmael, I have heard and listened to you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will greatly multiply him [through his descendants]. He will be the father of twelve princes (chieftains, sheiks), and I will make him a great nation.
So Sarah laughed to herself [when she heard the LORD'S words], saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure and delight, my lord (husband) being also old?"
Sarah said, "God has made me laugh; all who hear [about our good news] will laugh with me."
Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward [in awe and worship].
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites.
But they fell on their faces [before the LORD], and said, "O God, God of the spirits of all flesh! When one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?"
"Get away from among this congregation, so that I may consume them immediately." Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces [in silence before the LORD].
"Then, as before, I fell down before the LORD for [another] forty days and forty nights; I did not eat food or drink water, because of all the sin you had committed by doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Then Abraham fell upon his face,.... In reverence of the divine Being, and as amazed at what was told him:
and laughed; not through distrust and diffidence of the promise, as Sarah did, for he staggered not at that through unbelief, but for joy at such good news; and so Onkelos renders it, "and he rejoiced", with the joy of faith; it may be our Lord refers to this in John 8:56; he saw Christ in the promise of Isaac, and rejoiced that he should spring from his seed: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase it, "and he wondered"; he was amazed at the grace of God that gave him such a promise, and he was astonished at the power of God that must be exerted in the fulfilment of it: and therefore it follows,
and said in his heart; within himself, without expressing anything as to be heard and understood by any creature; but the omniscient God knew what he said, and the language of it, whether of unbelief or not:
shall [a child] be born unto him that is an hundred years old? not that he was now a full an hundred years old, he was ninety nine, and going in his hundredth year; but then he would be, as he was, an hundred years old when this child was born to him, Genesis 21:5. It had been no unusual thing for a child to be born to a man when an hundred, and even many hundred years old, but it was so in Abraham's time; though indeed after this we read that Abraham himself had six sons by Keturah, when, his natural strength was afresh invigorated, and his youth was renewed like the eagle's; and besides Abraham said this, not so much with respect to himself, though his age was a circumstance that served to heighten the wonder, as with respect to Sarah, and the circumstances in which she was, who was to bear this son to him:
and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? and with whom it had ceased to be after the manner of women, which made it more difficult of belief how it could be. Some think that Abraham said this, as somewhat doubting of it, until he was more strongly assured by the Lord that so it would be indeed, as is expressed in Genesis 17:19; but meeting with no reproof for what he said and did, as Sarah, it seems to show the contrary.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- The Sealing of the Covenant
1. ש××× shaday, Shaddai, âIrresistible, able to destroy, and by inference to make, Almighty.â ש××× shaÌdad âbe strong, destroy.â This name is found six times in Genesis, and thirty-one times in Job.
5. ××ר×× 'abraÌhaÌm, Abraham, from ×××¨× 'abraÌm âhigh-father,â and ×× haÌm the radical part of ×××× haÌmoÌn a âmultitude,â is obtained by a euphonic abbreviation ××ר×× 'abraÌhaÌm, âfather of a multitude.â The root ר×× rhm is a variation of ר×× rvm; affording, however, a link of connection in sound and sense with the root ××× haÌmaÌh âhum, be tumultuous,â from which comes ×××× haÌmoÌn a âmultitude.â The confluence of the biliterals ×¨× rm and ×× hm yields the triliteral ר×× rhm occurring in Arabic, though not elsewhere in our written Hebrew. The law of formation here noticed is interesting and real, though ר×× rhm may not have been an actual result of it.
11. × ×××ª× nemaltem formed from × ×× naÌmal, âcircumcised.â ××Ö¼× muÌl âcut, circumcise.â
15. ש××¨× sÌaÌraÌh Sarah, âprincess.â
19. ×צ×ק yıÌtschaÌq Jitschaq, âlaughing.â
The present form of the covenant is not identical with the former. That referred chiefly to the land; this chiefly to the seed. That dwelt much on temporal things; this rises to spiritual things. That specifies only Abram; this mentions both Abram and Sarai. At the former period God formally entered into covenant with Abram ×ר×ת ×רת kaÌrat berıÌyt, Genesis 15:18); at present he takes the first step in the fufillment of the covenant ×ר×ת × ×ª× naÌtan berıÌyt, seals it with a token and a perpetual ordinance, and gives Abram and Sarai new names in token of a new nature. There was an interval of fourteen years at least between the ratification of the covenant and the preparation for the fulfillment of its conditions, during which Abrahamâs faith had time to unfold.
Genesis 17:1-8
The covenant in its spiritual aspect. âThe Lord,â the Author of existence and performance. âGod Almighty,â El Shaddai. âEl,â the Lasting, Eternal, Absolute. âShaddai,â 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; and on the other hand, 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, especially in the punishment and eradication of sin and its works, and in the regeneration and defense of holiness. It refers to potence, and potence combined with promise affords ground for faith.
Walk before me and be perfect. - In the institution of the covenant we had âfear notâ - an encouragement to the daunted or the doubting. In its confirmation we have a command, a rule of life, prescribed. This is in keeping with the circumstances of Abraham. For, first, he has now faith in the Lord, which is the fruit of the new man in him prevailing over the old, and is therefore competent to obey; and, next, the Lord in whom he believes is God Almighty, the all-efficient Spirit, who worketh both to will and to do in the destroying of sin and building up of holiness. âWalkâ - act in the most comprehensive sense of the term; âbefore me,â and not behind, as one conscious of doing what is, not displeasing, but pleasing to me; âand be perfect,â not sincere merely, 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.
Genesis 17:2
My covenant - which I have already purposed and formally closed. âI will grant,â carry into effect, the provisions of it. âMultiply thee.â 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.
Genesis 17:3-6
Abram fell on his face. - This is the lowliest form of reverence, in which the worshipper leans on his knees and elbows, and his forehead approaches the ground. Prostration is still customary in the East. Abram has attained to loftier notions of God. âGod talked with him.â Yahweh, El Shaddai, is here called God. The Supreme appears as the Author of existence, the Irresistible and Everlasting, in this stage of the covenant relation.
Genesis 17:4
As for me. - The one party to the covenant is here made prominent, as in Genesis 17:9 the other party is brought out with like emphasis. The exalted Being who has entered into it imparts a grandeur, solemnity, and excellence to the covenant. âFather of many nations.â 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, Keturahâs descendants, and the dukes of Edom sprang from him. But it is to be more magnificently realized in a spiritual sense. âNationsâ 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 should all the families of the earth be blessed. âAbraham.â 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.
Genesis 17:7
Next, the spiritual part of the covenant comes into view. âTo be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.â Here we find God, in the progress of human development, for the third time laying the foundations of a covenant of grace with man. He dealt with Adam and with Noah, and now be deals with Abraham. âA perpetual covenant.â This covenant will not fail, since God has originated it, notwithstanding the moral instability of man. Though we cannot as yet see the possibility of fulfilling the condition on manâs side, yet 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.
Genesis 17:8
Thirdly, the temporal and the spiritual are brought together. The land of promise is made sure to the heir of promise, âfor a perpetual possession,â and God engages to âbe their God.â The phrase âperpetual possessionâ has here two elements of meaning - first, that the possession, in its coming form of a certain land, shall last as long as the co-existing relations of things are continued; and, secondly, 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.
Genesis 17:9-14
The sign of the covenant. âAnd thou.â The other party to the covenant now learns his obligation. âEvery male of you shall be circumcised.â Circumcision, as the rainbow, might have been in existence 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 man. That of the Abrahamic covenant was an artificial process, and therefore, though prescribed by God, was dependent on the voluntary agency of man. The former marked the sovereignty of God in ratifying the covenant and insuring its fulfillment, notwithstanding the mutability of man; the latter indicates the responsibility of man, the trust he places in the word of promise, and the assent he gives to the terms of the divine mercy. As the former covenant conveys a common natural blessing to all mankind 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 fit symbol of that removal of the old man and renewal of nature, which qualified Abraham to be the parent of a holy seed. And as the former sign foreshadows an incorruptible inheritance, so the latter prepares the way for a holy seed, by which the 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 imponent, and the child merely the passive recipient of the sign of the covenant. Hereby 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, on the command of God, the formal admission of the believing parentsâ offspring into the privileges of the covenant, and therefore cheers the heart of the parent in entering upon the parental task. This admission cannot be reversed but by the deliberate rebellion of the child.
Still further, the sign of the covenant is to be applied to every male in the household of Abraham. 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 the children of Abraham, and therefore its capability of universal extension when the fulness of time should come. It also intimates the very plain but very often forgotten truth, that our obligation to obey God is not cancelled by our unwillingness. The serf is bound to have his child circumcised as long as God requires it, though he may be unwilling to comply with the divine commandments.
Genesis 17:12-14
The time of circumcision is the eighth day. Seven is the number of perfection. Seven days are therefore regarded as a type of perfectage 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 âcut off from his peopleâ is to be excluded from any part in the covenant, and treated simply as a Gentile or alien, some of whom seem to have dwelt among the Israelites. It was sometimes accompanied with the sentence of death Exodus 31:14; and this shows that it 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 the sacred interest of his child. 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.
Genesis 17:15-22
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, âprincess.â Aptly is she so named, for she is to bear the child of promise, to become nations, and be the mother of kings. âAbraham fell upon his face and laughed.â From the reverential attitude assumed by Abraham we infer that his laughter sprang from joyful and grateful surprise. âSaid in his heart.â The following questions of wonder are not addressed to God; they merely agitate the breast of the astonished patriarch. Hence, his irrepressible smile arises not from any doubt of the fulfillment of the promise, but from surprise at the unexpected mode in which it is to be fulfilled. Laughing in Scripture expresses joy in the countenance, as dancing does in the whole body.
Genesis 17:18-20
Abraham seems up to 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, âOh that Ishmael might live before thee.â He asks âlifeâ for his beloved son - that is, a share in the divine favor; and that âbefore Godâ - that is, a life of holiness and communion with God. But God asseverates his purpose of giving him a son by Sarah. This son is to be called Isaac - he that laughs or he shall laugh, in reference to the various emotions of surprise and delight with which his parents regarded his birth. Abramâs prayer for Ishmael, however, is not unanswered. He is to be fruitful, beget twelve princes, and become a great nation. But Isaac is to be the heir of promise. At the present season next year he is to be born. The communication being completed, âGod wentâ up from Abram.
Genesis 17:23-27
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 of age when he was circumcised. Josephus relates that the Arabs accordingly delay circumcision until the thirteenth year (Ant. I. 12. 2).
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 17:17. Then Abraham - laughed — I am astonished to find learned and pious men considering this as a token of Abraham's weakness of faith or unbelief, when they have the most positive assurance from the Spirit of God himself that Abraham was not weak but strong in the faith; that he staggered not at the promise through unbelief, but gave glory to God, Romans 4:19-20. It is true the same word is used, Genesis 18:12, concerning Sarah, in whom it was certainly a sign of doubtfulness, though mixed with pleasure at the thought of the possibility of her becoming a mother; but we know how possible it is to express both faith and unbelief in the same way, and even pleasure and disdain have been expressed by a smile or laugh. By laughing Abraham undoubtedly expressed his joy at the prospect of the fulfilment of so glorious a promise; and from this very circumstance Isaac had his name. ×צ×ק yitschak, which we change into Isaac, signifies laughter; and it is the same word which is used in the verse before us: Abraham fell on his face, ××צ×ק vaiyitschak, and he laughed; and to the joy which he felt on this occasion our Lord evidently alludes, John 8:56: Your father Abraham REJOICED to see my day; and he saw it, and was GLAD. And to commemorate this joy he called his son's name Isaac. Genesis 21:6.
