Genesis
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Genesis 17 – Skeptic's Annotated Bible answered
A response and reply to the notes on Genesis 17 in the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB).
King James Version
SAB comment
My comment
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
in a visible manner, in an human form very probably, even the Logos, the Word and Son of God:
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
God gives Abraham and his descendants all the land of Canaan "for an everlasting possession." This promise has inspired much of the unending strife and intolerance in the Middle East region, and it continues to do so today. Yet history and the Bible (Acts 7:5, Heb.11:13) show that this promise was not kept.
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
God establishes his covenant with Abram: "This is my covenant ... every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin."
Is circumcision required?
(17:12-13, 23, 27) "He that is bought with thy money"
Does God approve of slavery?
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 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.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
An uncircumcised boy is to be abandoned by his parents and community.
This verse is about those whose parents did not circumcise him. His parents broke God's covenant, indicating they did not wish to be part of it. So obviously they and their children cannot be part of God's covenant. When this child has become a man he could either become circumcised or reject God's covenant as well. God's people are under no obligation to include those who reject God's covenant; they are actually under the obligation to reject those. It's a decision made not by them, but by those who reject God. It's not the community that rejects the parents who did not circumcise their children, it's the parents themselves that deliberately take them out of that community.
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
(17:16) "I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her."
God blesses the union between Abraham and his sister (Genesis 20:12).
Is incest OK?
17 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 falls down laughing at God for telling him that he and Sarah will have a child, when they are 100 and 90 years old, respectively.
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
(17:19) "I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant."
Are Old Testament laws still binding?
20 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.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 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.
24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
How old was Ishmael when he was abandoned by Abraham?
26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Can God be seen?