Genesis 17
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Summary
The Lord appears to Abram and commands him to be perfect, and if he will then the Lord covenants with Abram that He will make him the father of many nations. The Lord gives him a new name: Abraham. As a token of the covenant, the Lord commands Abraham that all his male posterity should be circumcised. Sarai also receives a new name: Sarah. The Lord tells Abraham that Sarah will bear him a son, and he should be named Issac. Abraham obeys and all the men of his house are circumcised.
Commentary
Bible Central Commentary
These free resources were developed for use in the free ScripturePlus app. Many of the contributors are professors of religion and ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.
Avram Shannon, “Circumcision,” in Old Testament Cultural Insights, ed. Taylor Halverson (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022).
Historical Commentaries
Many of the commentaries below are in the public domain and were authored over 100 years ago. In many cases, they do not reflect the findings of modern scholarship, but they may be helpful for understanding the history of biblical scholarship.
Videos
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Historical Settings
Time
*All Dates Are Approximate, according to the narrative of the Bible. These dates may reflect literary significance as opposed to the precise dates of history.
See Biblical Chronology- 2067 BC
Further Reading
Book of Mormon Central, “How Can We Receive the Blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant? (3 Nephi 20:25),” KnoWhy 408 (February 15, 2018).
Book of Mormon Central, “How Did Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Authors Use Chiasmus? (Alma 34:9),” KnoWhy 340 (July 16, 2017).
Michael A. Goodman, “The Abrahamic Covenant: A Foundational Theme for the Old Testament,” Religious Educator 4, no. 3 (2003): 43–53.
Bruce H. Porter and Stephen D. Ricks, “Names in Antiquity: Old, New, and Hidden,” in By Study and Also By Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley (Salt Lake City, FARMS, 1990).
Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible
Matthew Henry (1706)
Commentary on the Bible
Adam Clarke (1831)
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable
Thomas Constable
Rashi’s Commentary
Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki)
Notes on the Bible
Albert Barnes (1834)
Exposition of the Entire Bible
John Gill (1746–63)
Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch (1857–78)
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
John Wesley (1754–65)