Genesis 17:18

Genesis 17:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
• New International Version (NIV)And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"
• New Living Translation (NLT)So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”

Context of Genesis 17:18

16And 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.” 17Then 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?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” 19Then 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. 20And 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.

Genesis 17:18 word by word

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֖ם אֶל־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים ל֥וּ יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל יִחְיֶ֥ה לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Abrahamאַבְרָהָם'abrâhâm · AbrahamH85
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• O thatלוּlû' lû' lû · ifH3863
• Ishmaelיִשְׁמָעֵאלyishmâ‛ê'l · IshmaelH3458
• might liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
• before theeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440

Cross-references for Genesis 17:18

• Jeremiah 32:39then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.
• Acts 2:39For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
• Genesis 4:12When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”
• Psalms 4:6There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
• Psalms 41:12As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.
• Isaiah 59:2But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

Commentaries on Genesis 17:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18O that Ishmael might live before thee! - Abraham, finding that the covenant was to be established in another branch of his family, felt solicitous for his son Ishmael, whom he considered as necessarily excluded; on which God delivers that most remarkable prophecy which follows in Genesis 17:20, and which contains an answer to the prayer and wish of Abraham: And as for Ishmael I have heard thee; so that the object of Abraham's prayer was, that his son…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-27Verses 1-27 - The Sealing of the Covenant 1. שׁדי shaday Shaddai, “Irresistible, able to destroy, and by inference to make, Almighty.” שׁדד shādad “be strong, destroy.” This name is found six times in Genesis, and thirty-one times in Job. 5. אברהם 'abrâhām Abraham, from אברם 'abrām “high-father,” and הם hām the radical part of המין hāmôn a “multitude,” is obtained by a euphonic abbreviation אברהם 'abrâhām “father of a multitude.” The root רהם rhm…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-22Verses 15-22 Here is the promise made to Abraham of a son by Sarai, in whom the promise made to him should be fulfilled. The assurance of this promise was the change of Sarai's name into Sarah. Sarai signifies my princess, as if her honour were confined to one family only; Sarah signifies a princess. The more favours God confers upon us, the more low we should be in our own eyes. Abraham showed great joy; he laughed, it was a laughter of delight, not of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-18he laughed (Hebrew yitskhaq): This was because the promise seemed unbelievable. He thought his family line would continue through Ishmael. But Abraham and Sarah would have their own son.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. O that Ishmael might live before thee--natural solicitude of a parent. But God's thoughts are not as man's thoughts [Is 55:8].Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 17:18

• Abraham
• Barrenness
• Children
• Covenant
• Isaac
• Ishmael
• Parents
• Sarah

In the dictionaries

• Abraham
• God
• Ishmael
• Covenant
• Establish
• Everlasting
• Prayer
• Works, Covenant of
• Agrarian Laws
• Atonement, Day of

Commentaries on Genesis 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings