This chapter begins with a new revelation of God as El Shaddai to Abram, and continues with God changing Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. What relevance do these names have for us today? The chapter closes with God's decree that His Covenant to Abraham will be fulfilled through Isaac and not Ishmael. Understanding this chapter is critical in rightly understanding biblical eschatology, prophecy in general and the conflicts in the MidEast.

1. An expositional study taught by
Harry Morgan

2. For those of you online post your comments or questions
in the “comment section” on your screen. As time
affords they may be read to the class.

3. Genesis 12
Genesis 16
Genesis 17
Departs Haran Fathers Ishmael Circumcision
“I will make
you a great
nation”
“look up at the
sky and count
the stars”
“you will be the
father of many
nations”

4. 1. How many years pass between the last verse
of chapter 16 (16) and the first verse of
chapter 17?
16:16 Abram was eighty-six years old
when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years
old, the LORD appeared to Abram
99
-86
13

5. Genesis 14:4 “12 years they served Chedorlaomer,
and in the 13th year they rebelled.”
Joshua 6:15 Israel marched around Jericho 13x
Judges 21:25 13 “judges” enumerated
Mark 7:21–23 Christ specified 13 evil characteristics
and products of man’s depraved heart
Revelation 12:3,4,7,9,13,16,17; 13:1,2,4,11; 16:13;
20:2 “Dragon” is found exactly 13x

6. Romans 4:19 And not being weak in faith,
he did not consider his own body, already
dead (since he was about a hundred years
old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
2. Why the delay?
Can’t wait?

7. 17:1 (NKJV) When Abram was…
17:1 (KJV 1900) And when Abram was…
17:1 (NASB95) Now when Abram was…
17:1 (YLT) And Abram is a son of…
3. Why does Genesis 17:1 begin with the
conjunction “and” when there is such a
long gap in time since the events of the
previous chapter?

8. 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the
LORD appeared to Abram and said to him…
4. What did the LORD do for Abram? Why?
‫ר‬ָ‫א‬ָ‫ה‬ (rā·ʾāh) = became visible
‫א‬ָ‫מ‬ַ‫ר‬ (ʾā·mǎr) = spoke

9. 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD
appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am
Almighty God…
5. How did the LORD introduce Himself to
Abram? Explain His name in Hebrew and its
meaning. What does this name tell you
about God’s character?
‫י‬‫ה‬‫ו‬‫ה‬ (yhwh) = LORD
‫א‬ֵ‫ל‬ (šǎd·dǎy ʾēl) = Almighty God‫שׁ‬ַ‫דּ‬ַ‫י‬
‫שׁ‬ָ‫ד‬ַ‫ד‬ = to be strong

10. 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD
appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty
God; walk before Me and be blameless.
6. What two commands did God give Abram?
Explain the meaning of each.
1. “walk before Me”
2. “be blameless”
‫תּ‬ָ‫מ‬ִ‫י‬‫ם‬ (tā·mîm) = perfect, without defect;
translated 44x “without blemish”

11. Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect ( ),
converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is
sure, making wise the simple;
Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just
as your Father in heaven is perfect.
‫תּ‬ָ‫מ‬ִ‫י‬‫ם‬
What is – perfect?‫תּ‬ָ‫מ‬ִ‫י‬‫ם‬

12. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and
you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
7. What two promises did God make with
Abram? What is the significance of each?
not “cut” (kārat)
but “gives” (nātan)
hence “ratify” ( ‫ה‬‫ק‬‫י‬‫ם‬ ) v. 7
• covenant – used 13x in this chapter
• my covenant – used 9x
• everlasting covenant – used 3x
• the covenant between me and you – used 1x
Unilateral
Eternal
Gracious
God’s
Covenant:

13. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and
you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
7. What two promises did God make with
Abram? What is the significance of each?

14. 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked
with him, saying:
8. What was Abram’s response? Why?
“And God (Elohim) talked with him….”

15. 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No
longer shall your name be called Abram, but your
name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a
father of many nations.
9. How did God elaborate on His promise to
Abram?
• covenant – used 13x in this chapter
• my covenant – used 9x
• everlasting covenant – used 3x
• the covenant between me and you – used 1x

16. 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and
you shall be a father of many nations.
10. What is the meaning of the phrase “My
covenant is with you”? How does this
phrase apply to you?
Isaiah 59:21 “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this
is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is
upon you, and My words which I have put in
your mouth, shall not depart from your
mouth, nor from the mouth of your
descendants, nor from the mouth of your
descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD,
“from this time and forevermore.”

17. Jeremiah 31:31–40 “Behold, the days are
coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the
house of Judah— …after those days, says the
LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write
it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and
they shall be My people.
40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and
of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook
Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward
the east, shall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be
plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”

18. Matthew 26:28 For this is My blood of the
new covenant, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins.

19. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but
your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you
a father of many nations.
11. What is the significance of Abram’s name
change to Abraham?
‫א‬ַ‫ב‬ְ‫ר‬ָ‫ם‬ (Abram or Avram) = “exalted father”
(Abraham or Avraham) = “the father of a
multitude”
‫א‬ַ‫ב‬ְ‫ר‬ָ‫ה‬ָ‫ם‬
+

20. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will
make nations of you, and kings shall come from
you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between
Me and you and your descendants after you in
their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to
be God to you and your descendants after you. 8
Also I give to you and your descendants after you
the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of
Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be
their God.”
12. How many times did God declare, “I will”
in Genesis 17?

21. 15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your
wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah
shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also
give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she
shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall
be from her.”
12. How many times did God declare, “I will”
in Genesis 17?

22. 19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear
you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will
establish My covenant with him for an everlasting
covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20
And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I
have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and
will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve
princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But
My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom
Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
12. How many times did God declare, “I will”
in Genesis 17?

23. Exodus 6:6–8 Therefore say to the children of
Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from
under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue
you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with
an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I
will take you as My people, and I will be your God.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God
who brings you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you into the land which
I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I
will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.’ ”
12. Identify each of the 7 times God declares,
“I will” in Exodus 6:6-8.

24. “everlasting covenant” (berîṯ ʿôlām) v.7
“everlasting possession” (ʾaḥuzzaṯ ʿôlām) v.8

25. 12:1–3 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out
of your country, from your family and from your
father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I
will make you a great nation; I will bless you and
make your name great; and you shall be a
blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I
will curse him who curses you; and in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed.”
13. How do verses 5-8 relate to God’s initial
covenant with Abram in Genesis 12:1-3?

26. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but
your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you
a father of many nations. 6 I will make you
exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of
you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will
establish My covenant between Me and you and
your descendants after you in their generations,
for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and
your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you
and your descendants after you the land in which
you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an
everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
13. How do verses 5-8 relate to God’s initial
covenant with Abram in Genesis 12:1-3?

27. 12:7 “this land”
13:15 “all the land which
you can see”
15:18 “from the river of
Egypt to the great
river, the river
Euphrates”
17:8 “I shall give to you…the whole land of
Canaan as a permanent holding.”

28. 12:2 “great nation”
13:16 “as the dust of the
earth”
15:5 “as the stars”
16:10 to Hagar “I will multiply thy seed, that shall
not be numbered for multitude”
17:4-6, 15-16 “multitude of nations” & “kings
shall be descended from you”

29. 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and I will
curse him who curses you; and in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed.”
15:13 “your descendants will be strangers in a land
that is not theirs, and will serve them, and
they will afflict them four hundred years.”
17:7 “in order to be your God and your
descendants’ God.”

30. 9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall
keep My covenant, you and your descendants
after you throughout their generations.
14. What was God’s expectation of Abraham
and his descendants? How was it possible
for them to fulfill His expectations?
Jeremiah 31:32–40 “…not according to the covenant that I
made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the
hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant
which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says
the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with
the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will
put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and
I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

31. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep,
between Me and you and your descendants after
you: Every male child among you shall be
circumcised;
15. What was the sign of God’s covenant with
Abraham and his descendants? Why do you
think God chose this sign for His covenant?

32. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between
Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male
child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall
be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall
be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He
who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised,
every male child in your generations, he who is born in
your house or bought with money from any foreigner
who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your
house and he who is bought with your money must be
circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for
an everlasting covenant.
16. Explain the details of who, how, why and
when this sign was to be observed.

33. 1 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the
brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the
custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Therefore,
when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and
dispute with them, they determined that Paul and
Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to
Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.
19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from
among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but that
we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols,
from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from
blood.
17. Are we, as Christians, commanded to
observe this sign? (Acts 15:1-2, 6-20)

34. 9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall
keep My covenant, you and your descendants
after you throughout their generations. 10 This is
My covenant which you shall keep, between Me
and you and your descendants after you: Every
male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and
you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your
foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant
between Me and you.
18. How does Romans 4:13-25 shed
additional insight on Genesis 17:9-10?
“to keep a covenant”
“to break a covenant” (14)
1st Use:

35. Romans 4:16–17 Therefore it is of faith that it
might be according to grace, so that the
promise might be sure to all the seed, not only
to those who are of the law, but also to those
who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the
father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made
you a father of many nations”) in the presence
of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life
to the dead and calls those things which do
not exist as though they did;

36. 19. What is the significance of the 8th day
elsewhere in scripture?
12 He who is eight days old among you shall be
circumcised, every male child in your generations,
he who is born in your house or bought with
money from any foreigner who is not your
descendant.
• Carefully observed throughout scripture: Gen. 21:4;
Lev. 12:3; Lk. 1:59, 2:21; Phil. 3:5
• Significance: 7 days = creation; 8th day beginning of
a new creation

37. 20. Explain medical reasons for circumcision.
• Easier hygiene.
• Decreased risk of urinary tract infections.
• Decreased risk of sexually transmitted
infections.
• Prevention of
penile problems.
• Decreased risk
of penile cancer.

38. Ø Vitamin K for blood-clotting is not formed until
5th – 7th day.
Ø Prothrombin for clotting peaks by the 7th day.
20. Explain the medical reasons for timing of
the sign of the covenant.

39. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that
person shall be cut off from his people; he has
broken My covenant.”
21. What did God tell Abraham should happen
to those who did not observe the sign of
His covenant? Why?
Word play in the Hebrew text which literally reads:
“If the foreskin is not cut off, he shall be cut off.”

40. 15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your
wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah
shall be her name.”
22. Why did God change Sarai’s name to Sarah?
What is the meaning and significance of
these two names?
Ø Sarai ( ‫שׂ‬ָ‫ר‬ַ‫י‬ ) = “my princess”
Ø Sarah ( ‫שׂ‬ָ‫ר‬ָ‫ה‬ ) = “a princess” [verb is also translated
“to strive” or “to struggle” or “rule” cf. Jacob]

41. 15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your
wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah
shall be her name.
23. Why did God refer to Sarah as “your wife”?
Wasn’t that obvious to Abraham?
• God decreed that His Covenant with Abraham would be
fulfilled through Sarah, his wife, and no other woman,
including Hagar.

42. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by
her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother
of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
24. What promise did God make regarding
Sarah?

43. 17 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?” 18 And
Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live
before You!”
25. What was Abraham’s response?

45. 19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear
you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will
establish My covenant with him for an everlasting
covenant, and with his descendants after him.
26. What was God’s response to Abraham?
‫ִי‬‫צ‬ְ‫ח‬ָ‫ק‬ (yiṣ·ḥāq) = “he laughs”

46. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I
have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and
will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget
twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
27. What did God say about Ishmael and his
descendants?

47. 21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom
Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
28. What did God say about Isaac?

48. 23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were
born in his house and all who were bought with his
money, every male among the men of Abraham’s
house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins
that very same day, as God had said to him.
29. How did Abraham respond after his
conversation with God?

49. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old 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.
30. How old were Abraham and Ishmael? Why
is this significant?

50. 31. What part of the Abrahamic Covenant has
never been completely fulfilled?
1. Israel as a nation will possess the totality
of the land promised (Ezekiel 20:33-37,
40-42; 36:1-37) in the future.
2. Israel will repent and receive the
forgiveness of God (Zechariah 12:10-14).
3. Israel as a nation will be converted,
forgiven and restored (Romans 11:25-27).

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