Abraham was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Parallel translations
- KJV And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, 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 4:11He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they might be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might also be accounted to them.
- Gen 12:4So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
- Gen 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless.
- Gen 17:17Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?”
- Rom 4:19–20Without being weakened in faith, he didn’t consider his own body, already having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and 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.