17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 5 and circumcised them 6 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do.
1 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
2 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
3 tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
4 tn Or “an eternal.”
5 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
6 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
7 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.
8 tn Heb “from my hand you exacted it.” The imperfect verbal form again indicates that this was a customary or typical action. The words “for every missing animal” are supplied in the translation for clarity; the following clause in Hebrew, “stolen by day or stolen by night,” probably means “stolen by wild beasts” and refers to the same animals “torn by wild beasts” in the previous clause, although it may refer to animals stolen by people. The translation used here, “missing,” is ambiguous enough to cover either eventuality.