THE WORD OF ELOHIM
GENESIS
When Abram was ninety nine years old, Yehovah appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am El Shadday. Walk in My ways and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make you exceedingly numerous."
Abram threw himself on his face and Elohim spoke to him further, "As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations. And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be Elohim to you and to your offspring to come. I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Kenaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be Elohim."
Elohim further said to Abraham, "As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the homeborn slave and the one bought from an outsider who is not of your offspring, they must be circumcised, homeborn and purchased alike. Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact. And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant."
And Elohim said to Abraham, "As for your wife Saray, you shall not call her Saray, but her name shall be Sarah. I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her." Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to himself, "Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old or can Sarah bear a child at ninety? And Abraham said to Elohim, "O that Yishmael might live by Your favor?" Elohim said, "Nevertheless Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Yischaq and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring to come. As for Yishmael, I have heeded you. I hereby bless him, I will make him fertile and exceedingly numerous. He shall be the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. But My covenant I will maintain with Yischaq, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year." And when He was done speaking with him, Elohim was gone from Abraham.
Then Abraham took his son Yishmael and all his homeborn slaves and all those he had bought, every male in Abraham's household, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that very day, as Elohim had spoken to him. Abraham was ninety nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, and his son Yishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. Thus Abraham and his son Yishmael were circumcised on that very day; and all his household, his homeborn slaves and those that had been bought from outsiders were circumcised with him.
Chapter 17