Genesis 17:15-17

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 17:15 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
2. Genesis 17:15 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
3. Genesis 17:16 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
4. Genesis 17:16 tn Heb “peoples.”
5. Genesis 17:17 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
6. Genesis 17:17 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
7. Genesis 17:17 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
8. Genesis 17:17 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
9. Genesis 17:17 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
10. Genesis 17:17 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”