Genesis 17: 1 8, 15 19, 21 22 God’s Promise To Abraham And Sarah

Target year level: Year Two, Year Seven, Year Nine

Scripture text

World behind the text

It is difficult to say with any certainty who wrote this text which appears in Genesis as part of the story of the people of Israel. Since the 18th century, biblical scholarship has recognised four traditions that have contributed to the creation of the Torah.

The four traditions are:

1. The Yahwistic Tradition: is so called because from the beginning it calls God Yahweh and is denoted by the letter J (from the German, Jahwist). This tradition appears to have come from around the time of King Solomon, about 950 BCE.

2. The Elohistic Tradition: is so called because it calls God Elohim and is denoted by the letter E. Seems to have come from the northern kingdom around 750 BCE.

3. The Deuteronomistic Tradition: denoted by the letter D is most obvious in the book of Deuteronomy.

4. The Priestly Tradition: is denoted by the letter P and came into existence during the Babylonian Exile in the years 587-538 BCE. During the exile, the priests played a crucial role in keeping the faith of the Israelites alive and this continued after the return from exile.

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary tells us that the story of Abraham and Sarah is introduced into the book of Genesis from the Priestly Tradition. This would indicate to modern readers that it was written in to the Genesis story after the return from the Babylonian exile and its importance lies in the part of the covenant with Abraham that God would give him land and many descendants.

There is no doubt that there was a strong oral tradition present for the ancient people of Israel. Beside their written scriptures, there were also many stories handed down from generation to generation about the great heroes of the past who had built their nation. Eventually these oral stories found their way into the written form. This may have taken a number of centuries and was probably underway by the time the Israelites were returning from their exile in Babylon.

Michael Fallon msc states, “A major problem facing the returning exiles is that those who had not gone into exile resented their return. The returning exiles wanted to reclaim their land – land that others had occupied in their absence thinking that they would never come back. The returning exiles identified closely with Moses and the people who had escaped from Egypt. Those who had stayed in the land identified with Abraham. A key reason for composing the Pentateuch was to form a united people. It was imperative that both groups come to see that the God who revealed Himself to Moses is the ‘God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’.” Fallon, Genesis p101 (pdf)

Fallon also goes on to say that the writers of the Priestly tradition were concerned with the preservation of their ancient traditions whilst at the same time, they wanted to ensure that their contemporaries remained faithful to God so that they could avoid the mistakes of the past. Here it is important to point out a key understanding that the ancient Israelites believed God intervened in history. If they strayed from their belief and became unfaithful God would punish the whole nation. With the memory of the recent exile to Babylon fresh in their minds, the priests felt that it was very important to bring the people back to a real understanding of their covenant with God.

The story of the patriarchs begins with Abraham and it focuses on the concept of ‘Covenant’. So, the story should be read as a retelling of a significant moment in the building of the nation of Israel. It is not an historical account but rather an allegorical story of how the people of Israel were chosen by God.

World of the text

Code Breaker:

The key word in the beginning of this story is ‘covenant’. According to the Concise Bible Encyclopaedia, the covenant was part of God’s creative process. Covenants or treaties were common in the ancient world. They were a kind of contract that formalised an alliance between partners. They were not necessarily equal partnerships, but called for commitment and responsibility from both sides. The Old Testament develops this concept when it speaks of the relationship between God and his people as a covenant.

The covenant between God and Israel is similar to contemporary treaties between imperial powers and vassal states. These treaties followed a common pattern: they set out the history of the agreement, laid down rules the vassal must keep, formulated arrangements to keep the covenant document safe and to give periodic public readings, explained the benefits or protection that would be provided, and described the punishment for breaking the rules.

In Israel, the covenant is established by God alone; God sets the terms. It is seen as a relationship between God and Israel. The so-called covenant formula ‘You/they will be my people and I will be your/their God’ is repeated in different forms many times, and lies at the heart of Israel’s understanding of her life and faith.

However, the covenant was not forced upon Israel without her consent. She had the freedom to accept and confirm the relationship. The obligations of the covenant were not arbitrary; they summarised what it meant to be holy, and explained how Israel should behave if she were to enter this relationship with a holy God.

There are three main features of the Abrahamic Covenant:

The promise of land. God called Abram from Ur of the Chaldees to a land that He would give him.
The promise of descendants. God promised Abraham that He would make a great nation out of him. Abraham, who was very old and childless, was promised many descendants.
The promise of blessing and redemption. God promised to bless Abraham and the families of the earth through him.

‘Covenant’ as a theme is not only found in the book of Genesis but runs throughout the Old Testament. There are actually five covenants mentioned in the Old Testament, each building on the understandings of the previous ones.

The Noahic covenant: this was made between God and the whole of creation. It was an unconditional covenant which required no human obligations; God promised never again to use a flood to destroy the earth.
The Abrahamic covenant: this was made between God and Abraham. The obligations on Abraham and his family are not spelt out in detail, but they were called upon to remain in relationship with, and be obedient to, God.
The Mosaic, or Sinaitic covenant: this is the major covenant with Israel. Moses acts as a go-between when it was set up between God and Israel on Mount Sinai. The obligations of the people are quite clear through the Ten Commandments which show Israel exactly how to act to remain in relationship with God.
The Davidic covenant: this was made between God and David. God made special promises to David about his descendants. The writers of the New Testament pick up on this theme when they place Jesus as a descendant of David.
The new covenant: the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel speak of a new relationship, in which God’s law will be written on people’s hearts and they will know and follow God.

Meaning Maker:

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary is very useful for helping you understand the text.

Online searches will also reveal a plethora of sites giving commentaries and homilies about the significance of the promise made to Abraham: e.g.

Abraham and the Covenant

Text analyst

The Abraham-Sarah stories are a collection of stories and notices of diverse origins. The story begins and ends with genealogical notices about the families of Sarah and of Abraham.

Gen 17:1-8 This contains the call of Abram and God’s promise to give him many descendants and the land of Canaan. This call leads Abram to abandon his old life and begin the migration from Ur to Canaan.

Gen 17:15-19 This section contains God’s instruction to Abraham to call his wife Sarah instead of Sarai. God promises to bless her and give her a son.

Gen 17: 21-22 God promises to fulfil the covenant through the son, Isaac, that Sarah will bear in one year’s time.

Text user

The story of Abraham has been written in such a way as to present him as a model for those who are obedient to the Torah. It was meant to inspire the Israelites to learn from the great people of the past. One of the significant parts of the narrative is the change of names to signify the covenant.

It could lead to an analysis of the name we were given at baptism as a sign that we are now part of the New Covenant.

World in front of the text

One aspect that would make this story easier to understand is a map of Abraham’s journey from Ur to the promised land. A timeline of historical events related to this journey would also help the students to gain an understanding of the story.

As a modern reader of the text we are all familiar with the concept of ‘family’. This is the story of a family with plenty of conflicts and students bring with them many types of family and an understanding of conflict. It is also a story about how Abraham came to know God. He had to learn to place his trust in God, as did Sarah. When they stopped trusting God and tried to take matters into their own hands that was when things started to go wrong. So when we are using this text with young students it would be possible for them to role play the story and show how God kept his promise with the birth of Isaac.

Students should discuss the types of agreements they make and the actions and responsibilities that are expected of each party. They should examine how God called them at baptism to be part of his chosen people. Ask the students to write their agreement with God. What does God expect of them? How much do they trust him to deliver on his promises?

Make connections between the covenant with Abraham and the actions of Jesus, particularly when examining concepts of reconciliation and forgiveness. The actions of Jesus, like those of Abraham, teach us that love, forgiveness and reconciliation are possible if we place our trust in God.