Genesis 17:14-16

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 17:14 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
2. Genesis 17:14 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.sn The meaning of “cut off” has been discussed at great length. An entire tractate in the Mishnah is devoted to this subject (tractate Keritot). Being ostracized from the community is involved at the least, but it is not certain whether this refers to the death penalty.
3. Genesis 17:14 tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (b^erit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
4. Genesis 17:15 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
5. 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.
6. Genesis 17:16 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
7. Genesis 17:16 tn Heb “peoples.”