Read Genesis 17:1-27 at Bible Gateway.
the teaching tools of scripture
Hebrew paragraph divisions:
Gen 17:1-14 {s} Circumcision, sign of the covenant, given
Gen 17:15-27 {p} Promise given of seed through Sarah (Isaac)
Elohiym + El Shaddai from the ancient Hebrew pictographs
Strong themes of the parashah:
Gen 14:1-17:27 {sx4+p} Abraham’s heir will be the promised seed (Isaac), not the seed of his father’s house (Lot), not the seed of his house (Eliezer of Damascus), not the seed of his flesh (Ishmael)
gen 14:1-17:27 strong theme chiastic structure
Gen 17:1-27 chiastic structure:
1a) Gen 17:1-14 {s} The covenant reaffirmed and circumcision, the sign of the covenant, given;
1b) Gen 17:15-16, The covenant will go through Sarah and her son;
1c) Gen 17:17-18, Abraham pleads for Ishmael;
central axis) Gen 17:19, “But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him;”
2c) Gen 17:20, The blessing upon Ishmael;
2b) Gen 17:21, But the covenant will be established through Isaac, the son of Sarah;
2a) Gen 17:22-27 {p} The circumcision of Abraham and his household.
Theme of the parashah:
God’s covenant reaffirmed and will be established through promise (Isaac) and not flesh (Ishmael)
Finding Messiah in Torah:
The emphasis in this parashah is that Ishmael, the son of the flesh, will NOT be the heir of the covenant, but Isaac, the son of the promise, will be the heir of the covenant. Abraham is the father, Isaac is the son. Isaac is a type of Messiah, the Son of the Father, who was conceived miraculously, and who is a type of the Promised Seed of Gen 3:15.
Additional readings for this Torah portion:
For further study off site:
The Names of God in the Old Testament
The Names of God in Judaism
Covenant – Jewish Encyclopaedia
Circumcision: Covenant Sign and Seal (good historical info; his conclusions are his own)
Isaac and Ishmael
Leave a Reply