And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
- BSB And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!”
- NKJV And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
- NASB And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!”
- NLT So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abraham asked that Ishmael might live under God's blessing. He sought God's favor for the son he already had.
Overview
Out of fatherly love, Abraham pleads for Ishmael, perhaps struggling to grasp the promise of a new son. His prayer shows tender concern, yet God will redirect the covenant to Isaac while still blessing Ishmael. The exchange reveals both Abraham's affection and God's sovereign freedom to fulfill His promise in His own way.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Acts 2:39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
- Ps 4:6There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
- Ps 41:12And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
- Isa 59:2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
- Gen 4:12When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
- Jer 32:39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
- Gen 4:14Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 17:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.