Genesis 17:3
in Genesis 17Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
KJV
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
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This verse in Genesis 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAbram fell face down. We read that in the earlier places of sacred history, holy men invoked the Lord, offered him sacrifices of praise, and lived innocently in his sight, but none had fallen face down before the Lord before Abram.
This site's exposition
Abram fell facedown
on Genesis 17:3-5
Abram fell facedown while God was still speaking. Bede notes that no one earlier in Genesis is recorded doing this. Abram becomes Abraham by one added Hebrew letter, and Sarai is renamed the same way in verse 15. The name states what God has made him, a father of many nations.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Abram fell on his face,....
(3.) Those that would receive comfort from God must set themselves to give glory to God and to worship at his footstool. The general scope and summary of the covenant laid down as the foundation on which all the rest was built; it is no other than the covenant of grace still made with all believers in Jesus Christ,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Abram fell on his face--the attitude of profoundest reverence assumed by Eastern people. It consists in the prostrate body resting on the hands and knees, with the face bent till the forehead touches the ground. It is an expression of conscious humility and profound reverence.
And Abram fell on his face - The eastern method of prostration was thus: the person first went down on his knees, and then lowered his head to his knees, and touched the earth with his forehead. A very painful posture, but significative of great humiliation and reverence.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּפֹּ֥ל | vaiyipol | and he fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| אַבְרָ֖ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פָּנָ֑יו | panav | face his | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אִתּ֛וֹ | ʾito | with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
וַיִּפֹּ֥לand he fell
vaiyipolH5307 →435 times
אַבְרָ֖םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פָּנָ֑יוface his
panavH6440 →2123 times
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
אִתּ֛וֹwith him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 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
Joshua 5:14“Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.” Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?”
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:4
Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples.
- Revelation 19:10–14
So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus.…
- Isaiah 55:4
Through
Judges 13:20When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground.
it leads to
- Leviticus 9:24
Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell…
- Leviticus 9:24
Through
Genesis 17:17Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?”
it leads to
- Genesis 21:6
Then Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me.”
- Genesis 18:12
So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
- Romans 4:19–20
Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb.
- John 8:56
Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”
- Genesis 21:6
Through
Matthew 17:6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.
it leads to
- Judges 13:20
When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 13:20
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 (Hexaemeron); Bede, Commentary on Genesis; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.