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The Covenant of Circumcision
9God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you.10Thisis My covenantwithyou and your descendantsafter you,whichyou are to keep:Everymale among youmust be circumcised.11You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.…

Treasury of Scripture

This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

Every.

Genesis 17:11
And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

Genesis 34:15
But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as webe, that every male of you be circumcised;

Exodus 4:25
Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and castit at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husbandart thou to me.

AgreementChildCircumcisedCircumcisionCovenantDescendantsMaleMale-ChildSeedUndergoAgreementChildCircumcisedCircumcisionCovenantDescendantsMaleMale-ChildSeedUndergo1.God renews the covenant with Abram,
5.and changes his name to Abraham, in token of a greater blessing.
9.Circumcision is instituted.
15.Sarai's name is changed to Sarah, and she is blessed.
17.Isaac is promised, and the time of his birth fixed.
23.Abraham and Ishmael are circumcised.

This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you
The term "covenant" is central to the biblical narrative, signifying a solemn agreement between God and His people. InGenesis 17, God reaffirms His covenant with Abraham, which was initially established inGenesis 15. This covenant is not only with Abraham but extends to his descendants, indicating a perpetual promise. The covenant includes the promise of land, numerous descendants, and a special relationship with God. This covenantal relationship is foundational to the identity of Israel as God's chosen people and is later expanded in the New Testament to include all believers through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:29).

which you are to keep
The phrase emphasizes the responsibility of Abraham and his descendants to uphold their part of the covenant. This involves obedience and faithfulness to God's commands. The requirement to "keep" the covenant highlights the conditional aspect of the relationship, where blessings are contingent upon adherence to God's stipulations. This concept of covenantal faithfulness is echoed throughout Scripture, where obedience is seen as a response to God's grace and a demonstration of faith (Deuteronomy 7:9,John 14:15).

Every male among you must be circumcised
Circumcision is introduced as the physical sign of the covenant between God and Abraham's descendants. This practice was not unique to Israel, as it was also observed by other ancient Near Eastern cultures, but it held a distinct theological significance for the Israelites. It symbolized the cutting away of the flesh, representing a commitment to purity and separation unto God. Circumcision served as a constant reminder of the covenant and the identity of the Israelites as God's people. In the New Testament, circumcision becomes a type of spiritual circumcision, where the focus shifts to the circumcision of the heart, symbolizing inner transformation and faith in Christ (Romans 2:29,Colossians 2:11).

1.God (Yahweh)
The initiator of the covenant, establishing a sign of His promise with Abraham and his descendants.

2.Abraham
The patriarch with whom God establishes His covenant, marking a significant moment in the Abrahamic account.

3.Descendants of Abraham
The future generations who are to uphold the covenant through the act of circumcision.

4.Covenant
A solemn agreement between God and Abraham, signifying a lasting relationship and commitment.

5.Circumcision
The physical sign of the covenant, representing obedience and dedication to God.Covenant Relationship
Understand the significance of God's covenant with Abraham as a foundational moment in biblical history, establishing a relationship that extends to all believers.

Obedience and Faith
Recognize that while circumcision was a physical act of obedience, it pointed to a deeper spiritual truth of faith and commitment to God.

Symbolism of Circumcision
Reflect on how circumcision symbolizes the cutting away of sin and the call to live a life set apart for God.

Continuity and Fulfillment
Consider how the Old Testament covenant finds its fulfillment in the New Testament through Jesus Christ, who brings a new covenant of grace.

Spiritual Circumcision
Embrace the concept of spiritual circumcision, where believers are called to remove sin from their lives and live in the newness of life in Christ.1.What is the meaning of Genesis 17:10?

2.How does Genesis 17:10 define the covenant between God and Abraham's descendants?

3.Why is circumcision significant in Genesis 17:10 for Abraham's covenant with God?

4.How does Genesis 17:10 connect to New Testament teachings on spiritual circumcision?

5.What practical steps can Christians take to honor God's covenant in Genesis 17:10?

6.How does Genesis 17:10 influence our understanding of obedience in faith today?

7.Why is circumcision chosen as the sign of the covenant in Genesis 17:10?

8.How does Genesis 17:10 relate to the concept of covenant in the Bible?

9.What is the historical context of circumcision during the time of Genesis 17:10?

10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 17?

11.What does the Bible say about circumcision?

12.What is the significance of circumcision in the Bible?

13.Why would an all-powerful God require the physical sign of circumcision, and does this practice have non-biblical parallels (Genesis 17:10)?

14.What is the significance of Christ's circumcision?This is My covenant

God Himself is speaking, taking the initiative (Genesis 17:1). A covenant is more than a casual promise; it is a binding, oath-sealed relationship. Here, the Lord establishes something permanent, echoing earlier assurances (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:18). Just as inHebrews 6:17-18 God “confirmed it with an oath,” this announcement shows His unwavering commitment. The focus should never drift to the human participants first; it begins with God’s sovereign, gracious declaration: “This is My covenant.”

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with you and your descendants after you

The promise extends beyond Abraham to Isaac, Jacob, and the entire nation that will spring from them (Genesis 26:3-4; 28:13-14). The Lord’s plan spans generations, underscoring that faithfulness today impacts tomorrow’s children (Deuteronomy 7:9). What God puts into place here ultimately blesses “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:3), culminating in Christ, the Seed promised inGalatians 3:16. Every believer today is grafted into this story (Romans 11:17-18).

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which you are to keep

Grace never cancels obedience; it empowers it (Titus 2:11-12). Abraham is saved by faith (Genesis 15:6;Romans 4:3), yet that faith bears fruit in practical submission. “Keep” implies watchfulness and care, the same verb used later for Israel keeping God’s law (Exodus 19:5). God’s covenants carry obligations—never as a means to earn His favor, but as the appropriate response to it (James 2:17).

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Every male among you

No one in Abraham’s household is exempt, whether natural-born or purchased servant (Genesis 17:12-13). God’s covenant family is all-inclusive within its defined boundaries, mirroring how the gospel later invites “everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Leadership responsibility rests on the males of that era, pointing to headship that safeguards and blesses the whole community (Ephesians 5:23).

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must be circumcised

Circumcision becomes the visible, physical sign of belonging (Romans 4:11). On the eighth day a tiny cut marks every son as God’s (Genesis 17:12;Luke 2:21). The act foreshadows deeper truths: a call to “circumcise your hearts” (Deuteronomy 10:16) and, ultimately, the spiritual circumcision made “without hands” in Christ (Colossians 2:11-12). Yet for Abraham and Israel, the command is literal and binding—any refusal means being “cut off” from the people (Genesis 17:14). The sign is serious because the covenant is holy.

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summary

Genesis 17:10 reveals a God-initiated, multi-generational covenant grounded in grace and sealed with a command. Every male in Abraham’s line is literally circumcised, signaling total devotion and setting the stage for the heart-circumcision fulfilled in Christ. Obedience here is not optional; it is the grateful response to God’s steadfast promise—an enduring pattern for all who walk by faith today.

(10)Shall be circumcised.--It is stated by Herodotus (Book ii. 104) that the Egyptians were circumcised, and that the Syrians in Palestine confessed that they learned this practice from the Egyptians. Origen, however, seems to limit circumcision to the priesthood (Epist. ad Rom., ? ii. 13); and the statement of Herodotus is not only very loose, but his date is too far posterior to the time of Abram for us to be able to place implicit confidence in it. If we turn to the evidence of Egyptian monuments and of the mummies, we find proof of the rite having become general in Egypt only in quite recent times. The discussion is, however, merely of archaeological importance; for circumcision was just as appropriate a sign of the covenant if borrowed from institutions already existing as if then used for the first time. It is, moreover, an acknowledged fact that the Bible is always true to the local colouring. Chaldaean influence is predominant in those early portions of Genesis which we owe to Abram, a citizen of Ur of the Chaldees; his life and surroundings subsequently are those of an Arab sheik; while Egyptian influence is strongly marked in the latter part of Genesis, and in the history of the Exodus from that country. In this fact we have a sufficient answer to the theories which would bring down the composition of the Pentateuch to a late period: for the author would certainly have written in accordance with the facts and ideas of his own times. If, however, Abram had seen circumcision in Egypt, when the famine drove him thither, and had learned the significance of the rite, and that the idea of it was connected with moral purity, there was in this even a reason why God should choose it as the outward sign of the sacrament which He was now bestowing upon the patriarch.

The fitness of circumcision to be a sign of entering into a covenant, and especially into one to which children were to be admitted, consisted in its being a representation of a new birth by the putting off of the old man, and the dedication of the new man unto holiness. The flesh was cast away that the spirit might grow strong; and the change of name in Abram and Sarai was typical of this change of condition. They had been born again, and so must again be named. And though women could not indeed be admitted directly into the covenant, yet they shared in its privileges by virtue of their consanguinity to the men, who were as sponsors for them; and thus Sarai changes her name equally with her husband.

Verse 10. -This is my covenant (i.e. the sign of it, as inGenesis 9:12),which ye shall keep (i.e. observe to. do),between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. Literally,circumcise among. (orof)you every male, the inf. abs.הִמּול, when it stands abruptly at the commencement of a sentence, having the force of a command (cf. Ewalds 'Hebrew Syntax,'§ 328; Gesenius, 'Grammar,' § 130).

Parallel Commentaries ...


This
זֹ֣את(zōṯ)
Pronoun - feminine singular
Strong's 2063:Hereby in it, likewise, the one other, same, she, so much, such deed, that,

is My covenant
בְּרִיתִ֞י(bə·rî·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1285:A covenant

with
בֵּינִי֙(bê·nî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 996:An interval, space between

you and your descendants
זַרְעֲךָ֖(zar·‘ă·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 2233:Seed, fruit, plant, sowing-time, posterity

after you,
אַחֲרֶ֑יךָ(’a·ḥă·re·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's 310:The hind or following part

which
אֲשֶׁ֣ר(’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834:Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

you are to keep:
תִּשְׁמְר֗וּ(tiš·mə·rū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 8104:To hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to

Every
כָּל־(kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605:The whole, all, any, every

male among you
זָכָֽר׃(zā·ḵār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2145:Remembered, a male

must be circumcised.
הִמּ֥וֹל(him·mō·wl)
Verb - Nifal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 4135:To cut short, curtail, to blunt, to destroy


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OT Law: Genesis 17:10 This is my covenant which you shall (Gen. Ge Gn)