Genesis 17:13
in Genesis 17Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
KJV
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
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This verse in Genesis 17
Commentary
7 notes on this verseGod's covenant is "in the flesh" of the person who "does not fight on the terms of the flesh" and who "always carries about in his body the death of Jesus."
This site's exposition
when he is eight days old
on Genesis 17:12-14
The eighth day is fixed, and Clarke ties it to the law that no calf, lamb or kid was offered to God before it was eight days old. The sign is commanded for every male in the household, the one born there and the one purchased from a foreigner. A man who refuses it is cut off from his people.
This site's exposition
My covenant in your flesh
John Gill notes the doubled Hebrew verb, which makes the rule certain for those born in the household and those purchased alike. Bede reads a covenant in the flesh as a pledge of renewal and immortality for body and soul. The covenant is worn for life.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. By which covenant it is surely signified that I will clothe your flesh and soul together with perpetual renewal and immortality.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), which looked favourably upon the Gentiles, who should in due time be brought into the family of Abraham, by faith. (6.) The religious observance of this institution was required under a very severe penalty,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
He that is born in thine house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised,.... Or "in circumcising shall be circumcised" (l), shall certainly be circumcised; this is repeated to denote the necessity of it, and what care should be taken that this be done, because there was to be no uncircumcised male among them, Gen 17:10; nor any conversation and communion to be had among them, especially in a religious way.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He that is born in thy house - The son of a servant; he that is bought with thy money - a slave on his coming into the family. According to the Jewish writers the father was to circumcise his son; and the master, the servant born in his house, or the slave bought with money. If the father or master neglected to do this, then the magistrates were obliged to see it performed; if the neglect of this ordinance was unknown to the magistrates, then the person himself, when he came of age, was obliged to do it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Here Scripture teaches you that this circumcision must be at the location where the distinction between male and female is evident. Thus the words of Rashi. Our Rabbis have likewise mentioned other reasons. 418 Shabbath 108a. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said: 419 In his commentary to Leviticus:3.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִמּ֧וֹל׀ | himol | definitely <be circumcised> | H4135 → | 37 times |
| יִמּ֛וֹל | yimol | he will be circumcised | H4135 → | 37 times |
| יְלִ֥יד | yelid | [the] one born of | H3211 → | 13 times |
| בֵּֽיתְךָ֖ | beitekha | household your | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וּמִקְנַ֣ת | umiknat | and [the] purchase of | H4736 → | 15 times |
| כַּסְפֶּ֑ךָ | kaspekha | silver your | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וְהָיְתָ֧ה | vehayetah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְרִיתִ֛י | veriti | covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
| בִּבְשַׂרְכֶ֖ם | bivsarkhem | in flesh your | H1320 → | 270 times |
| לִבְרִ֥ית | livrit | to a covenant of | H1285 → | 284 times |
| עוֹלָֽם׃ | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
הִמּ֧וֹל׀definitely <be circumcised>
himolH4135 →37 times
יִמּ֛וֹלhe will be circumcised
yimolH4135 →37 times
יְלִ֥יד[the] one born of
yelidH3211 →13 times
בֵּֽיתְךָ֖household your
beitekhaH1004 →2046 times
וּמִקְנַ֣תand [the] purchase of
umiknatH4736 →15 times
כַּסְפֶּ֑ךָsilver your
kaspekhaH3701 →403 times
וְהָיְתָ֧הand it will be
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
בְרִיתִ֛יcovenant my
veritiH1285 →284 times
בִּבְשַׂרְכֶ֖םin flesh your
bivsarkhemH1320 →270 times
לִבְרִ֥יתto a covenant of
livritH1285 →284 times
עוֹלָֽם׃perpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 14:14And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.
it leads to
- Judges 18:29
They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.
- Genesis 15:3
Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
- Genesis 17:27
And all the men of Abraham’s household—both servants born in his household and those purchased from foreigners—were circumcised with him.
- Ecclesiastes 2:7
I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me,
- Judges 18:29
Through
Exodus 12:44But any slave who has been purchased may eat of it, after you have circumcised him.
it leads to
- Genesis 17:12–13
Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring.
- Genesis 17:12–13
Through
Nehemiah 5:8and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers, that they may be sold back to us!”…
it leads to
- Leviticus 25:47–49
If a foreigner residing among you prospers, but your countryman dwelling near him becomes destitute and sells himself to the foreigner or to a member of his clan,
- Leviticus 25:47–49
Through
Genesis 37:36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
it leads to
- Genesis 40:4
The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he became their personal attendant. After they had been in custody for some time,
- Genesis 37:28
So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
- Genesis 40:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Genesis

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Cyril of Alexandria, CATENA ON GENESIS 3.1027; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
