Genesis 17:18
in Genesis 17And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abraham said unto God, Oh that Ishmael might live before thee!
KJV
And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
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This verse in Genesis 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseO that Ishmael might live before thee! - Abraham, finding that the covenant was to be established in another branch of his family, felt solicitous for his son Ishmael, whom he considered as necessarily excluded; on which God delivers that most remarkable prophecy which follows in Gen 17:20, and which contains an answer to the prayer and wish of Abraham: And as for Ishmael I have heard thee; so that the object of Abraham’s prayer was, that his son Ishmael might be the head of a prosperous and potent people.
This site's exposition
Then he laughed and said to himself
on Genesis 17:17-18
Abraham laughed and no rebuke follows; the Hebrew verb behind the laugh, tsachaq, becomes the boy's name, Isaac. Clarke reads it as joy and points to Paul's word in Romans 4 that Abraham was strengthened in faith. His next words ask God to let Ishmael live under His blessing.
This site's exposition
O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!
Adam Clarke reads the prayer as a father's fear that Ishmael had been shut out, and he finds its answer in verse 20. Matthew Henry reads live under Your blessing as a request that the boy be kept in covenant with God. The prayer is heard.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The great thing we should desire of God for our children is that they may live before him, that is, that they may be kept in covenant with him, and may have grace to walk before him in their uprightness. Spiritual blessings are the best blessings, and those for which we should be most earnest with God, both for ourselves and others.
And Abraham said unto God,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
O that Ishmael might live before thee--natural solicitude of a parent. But God's thoughts are not as man's thoughts [Isa 55:8]. The blessings of the covenant are reserved for Isaac, but common blessings were abundantly promised to Ishmael; and though the visible Church did not descend from his family, yet personally he might, and it is to be hoped did, enjoy its benefits.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֖ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| ל֥וּ | lu | if | H3863 → | 22 times |
| יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל | yishmael | Ishmael | H3458 → | 48 times |
| יִחְיֶ֥ה | yichyeh | he will live | H2421 → | 282 times |
| לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַבְרָהָ֖םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
ל֥וּif
luH3863 →22 times
יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אלIshmael
yishmaelH3458 →48 times
יִחְיֶ֥הhe will live
yichyehH2421 →282 times
לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 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
Jeremiah 32:39I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 11:19–20
And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,
- Acts 4:32
The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned.
- Ezekiel 11:19–20
Through
Acts 2:39This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- Romans 8:30
And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
- Genesis 17:7–8
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
- Joel 2:32
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by…
- Isaiah 44:3
Through
Psalms 4:6Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 80:19
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
- Numbers 6:26
may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’
- Psalms 80:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies17
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsIshmaelAbraham's son by Hagar — blessed and made a great nation, but not the covenant heir; Paul's figure of the flesh (Gal 4:21–31).
- 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; 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.