And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
- BSB So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
- 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 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, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
- Gen 12:4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
- Gen 17:1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
- Gen 17:17Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
- Rom 4:19–20And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness 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.