Genesis 17:15
in Genesis 17Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai, for her name is to be Sarah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
KJV
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
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This verse in Genesis 17
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 15) And God said to Abraham: You shall not call your wife Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah. Those who think that the first Sarah was written with one 'R' and then another 'R' was added to it are mistaken. And because 'R' is the hundredth number among the Greeks, they suspect many silly things about her name: when in fact, whatever way they want to understand the composite word, it should have a Hebrew, not Greek, origin, since the name itself is Hebrew.
This site's exposition
do not call her Sarai
on Genesis 17:15-16
Sarah is renamed in the same conversation as her husband. God will bless her, and the same promise of nations and kings goes to her, though Genesis stated her barrenness at 11:30 before any promise was made. She is ninety years old when God calls her the mother of nations.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Verse 7. "And the overseer of the eunuchs imposed names upon them, calling Daniel Belteshazzar (Balthasar), and Hananiah Shadrach, and Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego." It was not only the overseer or master of the eunuchs (as others have rendered it, the "chief-eunuch") who changed the names of saints, but also Pharaoh called Joseph in Egypt Somtonphanec (Genesis 41:45), for neither of them wished them to have Jewish names in the land of captivity. Wherefore the prophet says in the Psalm: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Psalm 137:4). Furthermore the Lord Himself changes names benignly, and on the basis of events imposes names of special significance, so as to call Abram Abraham (Genesis 17:5), and Sarai Sarah (Genesis 17:15). Also in the Gospel, the former Simon received the name of Peter (Mark 3:16), and the sons of Zebedee are called "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17) - which is not boanerges, as most people suppose, but is more correctly read benereem.
The Medieval Church2 voices
And the Lord said to Abraham: "You shall not call your wife Sarai, but Sarah, and I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her, whom I will bless, and he will become nations, and kings of peoples shall come from …
[God] said, "And you shall not call your wife Sarai but Sarah," that is, "You shall not call her 'my ruler' but 'ruler.'
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Sarai signifies my princess, as if her honour were confined to one family only. Sarah signifies a princess --namely, of multitudes, or signifying that from her should come the Messiah the prince, even the prince of the kings of the earth.
And God said unto Abraham,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah - See note on Gen 17:5.
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
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֔ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| שָׂרַ֣י | sarai | Sarai | H8297 → | 17 times |
| אִשְׁתְּךָ֔ | ʾishtekha | wife your | H802 → | 781 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִקְרָ֥א | tikra' | you will call | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁמָ֖הּ | shemah | name her | H8034 → | 864 times |
| שָׂרָ֑י | sarai | Sarai | H8297 → | 17 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָׂרָ֖ה | sarah | [is] Sarah | H8283 → | 38 times |
| שְׁמָֽהּ׃ | shemah | name her | H8034 → | 864 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֱלֹהִים֙God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַבְרָהָ֔םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
שָׂרַ֣יSarai
saraiH8297 →17 times
אִשְׁתְּךָ֔wife your
ʾishtekhaH802 →781 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִקְרָ֥אyou will call
tikra'H7121 →733 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁמָ֖הּname her
shemahH8034 →864 times
שָׂרָ֑יSarai
saraiH8297 →17 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שָׂרָ֖ה[is] Sarah
sarahH8283 →38 times
שְׁמָֽהּ׃name her
shemahH8034 →864 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 32:28Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
it leads to
- Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 35:10
And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel.
- Isaiah 62:2–4
Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
- Hosea 12:3–5
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God.
- Genesis 27:33–36
Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will…
- Revelation 2:17
Through
Genesis 17:5No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
it leads to
- Matthew 1:21–23
She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
- Nehemiah 9:7
You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
- Romans 4:17
As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead…
- Matthew 1:21–23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsSarahAbraham's wife — barren, then bearing Isaac by promise “past age” through faith; Paul's allegory of the covenant of promise (Gal 4…
- PersonPatriarchsAbrahamCalled out of Ur, the father of all who believe, justified by faith, and the friend of God through whose seed all nations are bles…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1.11; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ONE; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.