So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
- KJV And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
- ESV Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
- NKJV Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
- NASB Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
- NLT Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 was ninety-nine when he received the sign of circumcision.
Overview
His advanced age underscores that the covenant promise rests on God's power, not human vigor, since the promised son was still future. The detail roots the event in real history and time. It also reminds readers that no one is too old to obey God's call.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Rom 4:11And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
- Gen 12:4So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
- Gen 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
- Gen 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?”
- Rom 4:19–20Without 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.
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 17:24 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.