Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
Parallel translations
- WEB Abram fell on his face. God talked with him, saying,
- KJV And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
- NKJV Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
- NASB Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
- NLT At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him,
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
Abram fell facedown as God continued speaking. His posture shows reverent submission before the Almighty.
Overview
Overwhelmed by God's presence and word, Abram prostrates himself in worship and humility. This response of awe befits the encounter with El Shaddai. Abram's reverent submission models the proper human posture before God's gracious self-revelation, receiving His covenant not as a negotiator but as a worshiper.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 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?”
- Judg 13:20When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground.
- 1 Kgs 18:39When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
- Num 16:45“Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown.
- Rev 1:17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,
- Matt 17:6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.
- Josh 5:14“Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.” Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?”
- Exod 3:6Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
- Ezek 3:23So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD was present there, like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell facedown.
- Dan 10:9I heard the sound of his words, and as I listened, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.
- Ezek 1:28The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.
- Lev 9:23–24Moses and Aaron then entered the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.
- Num 16:22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”
- Dan 8:17–18As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
- Num 14:5Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel.
- Ezek 9:8While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD, when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem, will You destroy the entire remnant of Israel?”
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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 17:3 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
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