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Genesis 17:15–27, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Genesis 17:15–27
God Names Sarah and Confirms Isaac
Sarah named, Isaac promised, Ishmael heard
God renames Sarai as Sarah and promises that she will bear a son. Abraham laughs at the ages involved and asks that Ishmael might live before God. God confirms Isaac and the covenant line through him, and still promises Ishmael fruitfulness, twelve princes, and a great nation.
Abraham circumcises himself, Ishmael, and every male that same day. The narrator reports obedience without narrating the consent of enslaved males and minors. Ishmael is blessed, not cursed. Isaac is the named covenant son.
How this should shape us
Bring astonishment and concern for others honestly before God. Do not turn a particular calling into superiority, and do not use this household scene to evade modern consent, medical care, or protection from coercion.
Teach it back
Explain how Genesis 17:15–27 identifies Sarah and Isaac while still blessing Ishmael. Include Abraham's laughter and request, the Isaac wordplay, the set time, the distinction between blessing and covenant line, same-day circumcision, and at least two conclusions the passage does not authorize today.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Best judgment:
How certain? probableBest judgment:
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How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Displayed wording, narrative movement, Sarah and Isaac promise, Ishmael blessing, circumcision report, and canonical connections.
Genesis 17:15–27 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 18:1–15; 21:1–21; 25:12–18; Romans 4; Galatians 4; Hebrews 11
Supports: Sarah name, blessing, nations idiom, laughter-Isaac wordplay, Ishmael-heard wordplay, live-before phrase, covenant contrast, appointed time, and same-day formula.
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 17:15–27
Supports: Sarai-Sarah forms, supplied mother idiom, Abraham's laughter, indeed/nevertheless, Isaac and Ishmael wordplay, princes, appointed time, and departure language.
NET Bible, Genesis 17:15–27 and translator notes
Supports: Final-form placement, covenant line, Sarah and Isaac, and canonical storyline.
Genesis commentary, Abraham narrative discussion of Genesis 17–21
Supports: Genesis 15–18 relationship, final-form narrative tension, promise line, and common Priestly compositional account.
Open Yale Courses RLST 145, Lecture 6, Abraham cycle and covenant discussion
Supports: Literary placement and commentary navigation only.
Genesis, official Cambridge contents and introduction; commentary locator for Genesis 17
Supports: Ishmael, Isaac, circumcision, eighth-day timing, covenant descent, and distinction between sign, blessing, and genealogical covenant membership.
Contesting Conversion, chapter 1, pp. 17–42; official Oxford abstract and metadata
Supports: Sarah's name and blessing, women and covenant, male household sign, and patriarchal power.
The Torah: A Women's Commentary, Genesis 17:15–27
Supports: Modern Jewish covenant and gender reading, household scope, and the tension between inclusion and male bodily sign.
ReformJudaism.org, 'The Making of a Covenant with Men and Women'
Supports: Ancient naming as announced status, Abraham and Sarah renaming, descendants, nations, kings, Ishmael's blessing, Isaac's covenant, and one Priestly compositional reading.
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 49.3, especially the Genesis name-change analysis
Supports: Context-dependent laughter meanings, Abraham's incredulity, Isaac wordplay, and movement toward joyful fulfillment.
In die Skriflig 48.2, sections on the Hebrew laughter roots and Genesis 17–21
Supports: Sarah's renaming and blessing, Abraham's laughter and questions, Ishmael request, Isaac confirmation, and the observation that Sarah is not directly addressed in Genesis 17.
TheTorah.com, 'Sarah, Afraid of Abraham, Denies Laughing,' section 'Abraham Laughs at the Promise of a Son from Sarah'
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, narrative movement, Sarah and Isaac promise, Ishmael blessing, circumcision report, and canonical connections.
Exact location: Genesis 17:15–27 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 18:1–15; 21:1–21; 25:12–18; Romans 4; Galatians 4; Hebrews 11
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Sarah name, blessing, nations idiom, laughter-Isaac wordplay, Ishmael-heard wordplay, live-before phrase, covenant contrast, appointed time, and same-day formula.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 17:15–27
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Sarai-Sarah forms, supplied mother idiom, Abraham's laughter, indeed/nevertheless, Isaac and Ishmael wordplay, princes, appointed time, and departure language.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 17:15–27 and translator notes
Open NET Genesis 17 ↗modern open whole book commentary
Genesis
T. Desmond Alexander
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Final-form placement, covenant line, Sarah and Isaac, and canonical storyline.
Exact location: Genesis commentary, Abraham narrative discussion of Genesis 17–21
Open source ↗modern critical open study guide
Genesis 16 and 22: Abraham and Isaac — Study Guide
Joel S. Baden and Yale Bible Study
Yale Divinity School, 2021 course; page inspected 2026
Supports: Genesis 15–18 relationship, final-form narrative tension, promise line, and common Priestly compositional account.
Exact location: Open Yale Courses RLST 145, Lecture 6, Abraham cycle and covenant discussion
Open source ↗modern scholarly commentary publisher material
Genesis
Bill T. Arnold
Cambridge University Press, 2009
Supports: Literary placement and commentary navigation only.
Exact location: Genesis, official Cambridge contents and introduction; commentary locator for Genesis 17
Open source ↗peer reviewed specialist text critical and covenant study
Ishmael, Isaac, and Covenantal Circumcision in Genesis 17
Matthew Thiessen
Oxford University Press, in Contesting Conversion: Genealogy, Circumcision, and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Christianity, 2011
Supports: Ishmael, Isaac, circumcision, eighth-day timing, covenant descent, and distinction between sign, blessing, and genealogical covenant membership.
Exact location: Contesting Conversion, chapter 1, pp. 17–42; official Oxford abstract and metadata
Open source ↗modern Jewish feminist commentary and text study
The Torah: A Women's Commentary — Genesis 17: Covenant and Circumcision
Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss, editors
URJ Press / Sefaria electronic edition, 2008
Supports: Sarah's name and blessing, women and covenant, male household sign, and patriarchal power.
Exact location: The Torah: A Women's Commentary, Genesis 17:15–27
Open source ↗modern Reform Jewish covenant and gender commentary
The Making of a Covenant with Men and Women
Ellen M. Umansky and Bruce Kadden
Union for Reform Judaism, 2016
Supports: Modern Jewish covenant and gender reading, household scope, and the tension between inclusion and male bodily sign.
Exact location: ReformJudaism.org, 'The Making of a Covenant with Men and Women'
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access ancient naming and compositional study
‘Let your name be …’: The change of the names of Israel’s ancestors in light of the Atra-ḫasīs myth
Nathan Wasserman and Yigal Bloch
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 49.3, 2025
Supports: Ancient naming as announced status, Abraham and Sarah renaming, descendants, nations, kings, Ishmael's blessing, Isaac's covenant, and one Priestly compositional reading.
Exact location: Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 49.3, especially the Genesis name-change analysis
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access Hebrew semantics and literary study
Laughter in the Old Testament: A hotchpotch of humour, mockery and rejoicing?
Hennie A. J. Kruger
In die Skriflig 48.2, 2014
Supports: Context-dependent laughter meanings, Abraham's incredulity, Isaac wordplay, and movement toward joyful fulfillment.
Exact location: In die Skriflig 48.2, sections on the Hebrew laughter roots and Genesis 17–21
Open source ↗current Jewish feminist narrative study
Sarah, Afraid of Abraham, Denies Laughing
Tammi J. Schneider
TheTorah.com, 2021
Supports: Sarah's renaming and blessing, Abraham's laughter and questions, Ishmael request, Isaac confirmation, and the observation that Sarah is not directly addressed in Genesis 17.
Exact location: TheTorah.com, 'Sarah, Afraid of Abraham, Denies Laughing,' section 'Abraham Laughs at the Promise of a Son from Sarah'
Open source ↗