Then God made a covenant with Abraham. God told him that circumcision would show who the members of the covenant were. Abraham became Isaac’s father. He circumcised Isaac eight days after he was born. Later, Isaac became Jacob’s father. Jacob had 12 sons. They became the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel.

神又赐他割礼的约。于是亚伯拉罕生了以撒，第八日给他行了割礼。以撒生雅各；雅各生十二位先祖。

上帝又赐他割礼的约。于是亚伯拉罕生了以撒，在第八日给他行了割礼；后来以撒生雅各，雅各生十二位先祖。

神又赐他割礼的约。于是亚伯拉罕生了以撒，在第八日给他行了割礼；后来以撒生雅各，雅各生十二位先祖。

上帝又赐下割礼作为祂与亚伯拉罕立约的凭据。亚伯拉罕在以撒出生后的第八天为他行割礼。照样，以撒为他的儿子雅各行了割礼，雅各也为他的儿子——以色列十二位先祖行了割礼。

神也赐他割礼为约。这样，亚伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天就给他行了割礼。后来，以撒生雅各，雅各生了十二位祖先。

神又赐给亚伯拉罕割礼的约。这样，亚伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天给他行了割礼。后来以撒生了雅各，雅各生了十二位先祖。

神又賜他割禮的約。於是亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八日給他行了割禮。以撒生雅各；雅各生十二位先祖。

上帝又賜他割禮的約。於是亞伯拉罕生了以撒，在第八日給他行了割禮；後來以撒生雅各，雅各生十二位先祖。

神又賜他割禮的約。於是亞伯拉罕生了以撒，在第八日給他行了割禮；後來以撒生雅各，雅各生十二位先祖。

上帝又賜下割禮作為祂與亞伯拉罕立約的憑據。亞伯拉罕在以撒出生後的第八天為他行割禮。照樣，以撒為他的兒子雅各行了割禮，雅各也為他的兒子——以色列十二位先祖行了割禮。

神也賜他割禮為約。這樣，亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天就給他行了割禮。後來，以撒生雅各，雅各生了十二位祖先。

上帝給了他割禮的約；這樣，亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天就給他行割禮；以撒生雅各，雅各生了十二位族長。

神又賜給亞伯拉罕割禮的約。這樣，亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天給他行了割禮。後來以撒生了雅各，雅各生了十二位先祖。

予以割禮之約、於是亞伯拉罕生以撒、八日行割、以撒生雅各、雅各生十二祖、

乃予以割禮之約、於是亞伯拉罕生以撒、八日行割禮、以撒生雅各、雅各生我之十二祖、

乃賜以割禮之約、於是亞伯拉罕生以撒、至八日、為之行割禮、以撒生雅各、雅各生我十二祖、

天主又予之以割禮之約；故亞伯漢既生意灑格、第八日即為之行割禮；意灑格之於雅各伯、雅各伯之於十二族祖、亦復如是。

Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

“ God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation.

And so he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs.

Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; Isaac did the same with Jacob, and Jacob with the 12 patriarchs.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so[ Abraham] begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac[ begat] Jacob; and Jacob[ begat] the twelve patriarchs.

Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him when he was eight days old, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

Then God said to Abraham,“ You must keep my covenant. You and your family after you must keep it for all time to come.Here is my covenant that you and your family after you must keep. You and every male among you must be circumcised.That will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.It must be done for all time to come. Every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. That includes those who are born into your own family or outside it. It also includes those bought with money from a stranger.So any male born into your family or bought with your money must be circumcised. My covenant will last forever. Your body will have the mark of my covenant on it.Any male who has not been circumcised will be separated from his people. He has broken my covenant.”

Leah was the mother of Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son. Her other sons were Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.The sons of Rachel’s female servant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.The sons of Leah’s female servant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These were Jacob’s sons. They were born in Paddan Aram.

They moved on from Bethel. Ephrath wasn’t very far away when Rachel began to have a baby. She was having a very hard time of it.

“ Fellow Israelites, you can be sure that King David died. He was buried. His tomb is still here today.

God promised,“ I will return at the appointed time. Sarah will have a son.”( Genesis 18:10, 14)And that’s not all. Rebekah’s children were born at the same time by the same father. He was our father Isaac.Here is what happened. Rebekah’s twins had not even been born. They hadn’t done anything good or bad yet. So they show that God’s purpose is based firmly on his free choice.It was not because of anything they did but because of God’s choice. So Rebekah was told,“ The older son will serve the younger one.”( Genesis 25:23)It is written,“ I chose Jacob instead of Esau.”( Malachi 1:2, 3)

The Lord saw that Jacob didn’t love Leah as much as he loved Rachel. So he let Leah have children. But Rachel wasn’t able to have children.Leah became pregnant. She had a son. She named him Reuben. She said,“ The Lord has seen me suffer. Surely my husband will love me now.”She became pregnant again. She had a son. Then she said,“ The Lord heard that Jacob doesn’t love me very much. That’s why the Lord gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.She became pregnant again. She had a son. Then she said,“ Now at last my husband will value me. I have had three sons by him.” So the boy was named Levi.She became pregnant again. She had a son. Then she said,“ This time I’ll praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children by Jacob. So she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob,“ Give me children, or I’ll die!”Jacob became angry with her. He said,“ Do you think I’m God? He’s the one who has kept you from having children.”Then she said,“ Here’s my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her so that she can have children for me. Then I too can have a family through her.”So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her.And Bilhah became pregnant. She had a son by him.Then Rachel said,“ God has stood up for my rights. He has listened to my prayer and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.Rachel’s servant Bilhah became pregnant again. She had a second son by Jacob.Then Rachel said,“ I’ve had a great struggle with my sister. Now I’ve won.” So she named him Naphtali.Leah saw that she had stopped having children. So she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.Leah’s servant Zilpah had a son by Jacob.Then Leah said,“ What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.Leah’s servant Zilpah had a second son by Jacob.Then Leah said,“ I’m so happy! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.While the wheat harvest was being gathered, Reuben went out into the fields. He found some mandrake plants. He brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah,“ Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”But Leah said to her,“ Isn’t it enough that you took my husband away? Are you going to take my son’s mandrakes too?” Rachel said,“ All right. Jacob can sleep with you tonight if you give me your son’s mandrakes.”Jacob came in from the fields that evening. Leah went out to meet him.“ You have to sleep with me tonight,” she said.“ I’ve traded my son’s mandrakes for that time with you.” So he slept with her that night.God listened to Leah. She became pregnant and had a fifth son by Jacob.Then Leah said,“ God has rewarded me because I gave my female servant to my husband.” So she named the boy Issachar.Leah became pregnant again. She had a sixth son by Jacob.Then Leah said,“ God has given me a priceless gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor. I’ve had six sons by him.” So she named the boy Zebulun.Some time later she had a daughter. She named her Dinah.Then God listened to Rachel. He showed concern for her. He made it possible for her to have children.She became pregnant and had a son. Then she said,“ God has taken away my shame.”She said,“ May the Lord give me another son.” So she named him Joseph.

The Lord was gracious to Sarah, just as he had said he would be. The Lord did for Sarah what he had promised to do.Sarah became pregnant. She had a son by Abraham when he was old. The child was born at the exact time God had promised.Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah had by him.When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. He did it exactly as God had commanded him.

Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel.

Rebekah couldn’t have children. So Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. And the Lord answered his prayer. His wife Rebekah became pregnant.The babies struggled with each other inside her. She said,“ Why is this happening to me?” So she went to ask the Lord what she should do.The Lord said to her,“ Two nations are in your body. Two tribes that are now inside you will be separated. One nation will be stronger than the other. The older son will serve the younger one.”The time came for Rebekah to have her babies. There were twin boys in her body.The first one to come out was red. His whole body was covered with hair. So they named him Esau.Then his brother came out. His hand was holding onto Esau’s heel. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah had them.

When did it happen? Was it after Abraham was circumcised, or before? It was before he was circumcised, not after!

Brothers and sisters, let me give you an example from everyday life. No one can get rid of an official agreement between people. No one can add to it. It can’t be changed after it has been made. It is the same with God’s covenant agreement.

Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.

Think how great Melchizedek was! Even our father Abraham gave him a tenth of what he had captured.

But Rachel was dying. As she took her last breath, she named her son Ben- Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.

Moses gave you circumcision, and so you circumcise a child on the Sabbath day. But circumcision did not really come from Moses. It came from Abraham.

Here are the names of Israel’s children who went to Egypt with Jacob. Each one went with his family.Jacob’s sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

Here are the names of the sons of Israel. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, Asher.

Here is what I mean. The law came 430 years after the promise. But the law does not get rid of God’s covenant and promise. The covenant had already been made by God. So the law does not do away with the promise.