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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 17:4-6

The promise here is introduced with solemnity: ?As for me,? says the great God, ?behold, behold and admire it, behold and be assured of it, my covenant is with thee;? as before (Gen. 17:2), I will make my covenant. Note, The covenant of grace is a covenant of God's own making; this he glories in (as for me), and so may we. Now here, I. It is promised to Abraham that he should be a father of many nations; that is, 1. That his seed after the flesh should be very numerous, both in Isaac and... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 17:7-14

Here is, I. The continuance of the covenant, intimated in three things:?1. It is established; not to be altered nor revoked. It is fixed, it is ratified, it is made as firm as the divine power and truth can make it. 2. It is entailed; it is a covenant, not with Abraham only (then it would die with him), but with his seed after him, not only his seed after the flesh, but his spiritual seed. 3. It is everlasting in the evangelical sense and meaning of it. The covenant of grace is everlasting. It... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 17:15-22

Here is, I. The promise made to Abraham of a son by Sarai, that son in whom the promise made to him should be fulfilled, that he should be the father of many nations; for she also shall be a mother of nations, and kings of people shall be of her, Gen. 17:16. Note, 1. God reveals the purposes of his good-will to his people by degrees. God had told Abraham long before that he should have a son, but never till now that he should have a son by Sarai. 2. The blessing of the Lord makes fruitful, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 17:6

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful ,.... In children, for he had not only a son by Sarai, from whom sprung a numerous offspring, but he had six sons by Keturah, who became the heads of large nations: and I will make nations of thee ; as the nations of Israel and Judah, of the Midianites and Edomites, of the Arabs, Saracens, and Turks: and kings shall come out of thee ; as the twelve princes of Ishmael, the kings of Edom and Midian, of the Arabs, Saracens, and Turks, and of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 17:7

And I will establish my covenant between me and thee ,.... Not only renew it, but confirm it by the following token of circumcision: and thy seed after thee, in their generation ; such blessings in it as belonged to his natural seed, as such he confirmed to them, to be enjoyed by them in successive ages; and such as belonged to his spiritual seed, to them also, as they should be raised up in future times in one place and another: for an everlasting covenant ; to his natural seed, as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 17:8

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee ,.... To him in right, and to them in possession, and for an inheritance: the land wherein thou art a stranger ; or "the land of sojournings" or "pilgrimages" F12 ארץ מגריך "terram peregrinationum tuarum", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.; , which were many; for he often removed from place to place, and sometimes sojourned in one place, and sometimes in another: all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; this... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 17:9

And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant therefore ,.... Observe the sign or token of it, circumcision, in the manner after related: thou, and thy seed after thee, in their generations ; in successive ages until the Messiah come, the end of the law for righteousness. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 17:10

This is my covenant ,.... The token of it, for the promise itself was given before, which is more properly the covenant; circumcision is so called in an improper sense, being only the sign of it: which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee ; which was to be observed by Abraham, and the males in his house then with him, as Ishmael, and those that were born in his house, or bought with his money, and by his posterity in succeeding ages, and it is what follows: ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 17:11

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin ,.... Or "the foreskin of your flesh" F21 את בשר ערלתכם "praeputium carnis vestrae", Drusius, Piscator. ; by an hypallage F22 According to E. W. Bullinger, "hypallage" "relates to an interchange of construction whereby an adjective or other word, which `logically' belongs to one connection, is grammatically united with another, so that what is said or attributed to one things ought to be said or attributed to another". ,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 17:12

And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you ,.... A son or infant of eight days old; it might not be circumcised before, but for some reasons might be deferred longer. The reasons why this rite was ordered to be performed in infancy, according to Maimonides F4 Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 49. p. 506. , were, because if it had been deferred to riper age it might have been neglected, and never performed; and because at such an age the pain is not so sensibly felt, by... read more

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