Abram becomes Abraham
1 When Abram was ninety- nine years old, Yahweh ap peared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk in my presence and be without blame!
2 I will make a covenant between myself and you, and I will multiply your race.”
3 Abram fell face down and God said to him,
4 “This is my covenant with you: you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
5 No longer will you be called Abram, but Abraham, because I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.
6 I will make you more and more famous; I will multiply your descendants; nations shall spring from you, kings shall be among your descendants.
7 And I will establish a covenant, an everlasting cov enant between myself and you and your descendants after you; from now on I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you, for generations to come.
8 I will give to you and your descendants after you the land you are living in, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession and I will be the God of your race.”
The circumcision
9 God said to Abraham, “For your part, you shall keep my co venant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation.
10 This is my covenant with you, that you will keep, you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be cir cumcised;
11 you shall circumcise your foreskin and that will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.
12 When he is eight days old, every male among you will be circumcised, generation after generation;
13 those born in your household or bought from a foreigner to be slaves. Whether born in your household or bought to be slaves, they must be circumcised. So my cove nant will be written in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.
14 Any un circumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people for having broken my covenant.”
15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai, your wife, no longer are you to call her Sarai, but Sarah.
16 I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her and from her will come nations; kings and peoples shall come from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell face down, and he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? And can Sarah who is ninety have a child?”
18 And Abraham said to God, “If only you would accept Ishmael as yours!”
19 But God said, “Not at all! It is Sarah, your wife, who will give birth to your son and you will name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him and his descendants after him forever.
20 As for Ishmael, I heard you. I will bless him and make him fruitful, and I will multiply his race. He shall be the father of twelve princes and I will make of him a great nation.
21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, the child Sarah will have this time next year.”
22 When he had finished speaking with Abra ham, God went away from him.
23 Abraham then took Ishmael, his son, as well as all those born in his house and all those he had bought to be slaves, all the males in the household of Abra ham, and circumcised their foreskins that same day as God had told him.
24 Abra ham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
25 and his son, Ishmael, was thirteen.
26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised that same day.
27 And every male in his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
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Comments Genesis, Chapter 17
• 17.1 Abram means venerated father, and Abraham: father of a multitude. In changing the name of his servant, God enables him to begin a new life and to really become what his new name expresses. Jesus will proceed in the same way with the first leader of his church (John 1:42).
• 9. Circumcision, cutting of the skin called “fore skin” of the male organ, was an ancient custom of Oriental people. It was one of those “initiation rites” which, among some people, mark the passage of an adolescent into adult society. Circumcision was a religious rite intended to ensure fertility.
Circumcision took on a new meaning for Israel: it was considered the distinct sign of their belonging to the chosen people. A foreigner could enter the religious community of Israel only by being circumcised.
My covenant will be written in your flesh. A married woman wears the ring her husband puts on her finger. Something similar happens to people who enter into a community: they need a symbol of their membership in the community. Similarly, every male descendant of Abraham must have an indelible sign of his belonging to the chosen race; this sign is circumcision.
Yet, the prophets teach that the circumcision of the flesh is worth nothing without the circumcision “of the heart,” which means getting rid of one’s vices. The external rite is worthless if one does not live what the sign expresses. See Jer 9:24; Dt 10:16; Gal 5:4; Phil 3:3; Rom 2:25.
For Christians “being circumcised or not” is ir relevant: Acts 11:3-15; 1 Cor 7:18; Gal 6:15. This particular obligation, as well as obligations regarding the Sabbath, abstention from pork, the temple sacrifices and rituals were only valid until the coming of Christ and only for the Jewish people: Col 2:11 and 2:16-22.
Why do so many people who are indifferent about their faith baptize their children? Why do they come to receive ashes?