Structure Of Genesis 17

Genesis 17 is chiastically organized, with internal chiasms spinning out of it. The overall chiasm is:

A. Abe 99, v 1a

B. Yahweh appears, v 1b

C. El Shaddai: establish covenant, v 2

D. Abram falls on face, v 3a

E. God speaks: changes Abe’s name, vv 3b-8

F. Circumcision, vv 9-14

E’. God speaks: changes Sarai’s name, vv 15-16

D’. Abraham falls on face and laughs, v 17

C’. God: covenant with Isaac, promises to Ishmael, vv 18-21

B’. God ascended from Abe, v 22

A’. Abe circumcises, 99 years old, vv 22-27

Following John Breck, we can read the center of this chiasm helically:

C/C’: El Shaddai gives covenant —> what’s more, He cuts covenant with Isaac

D/D’: Abram falls on his face —> what’s more, Abraham falls on his face and laughs

E/E’: God changes Abram’s name—> what’s more, he changes Sarai’s name

F: the covenant, the worshipful laughter, the renaming all circle around the sign of the covenant, and explicate that sign. To be cut in the flesh is to be brought into covenant; to be cut in the flesh is to join in the laughter of Abraham; to be cut in the flesh is to receive a princely name.

Within the overall chiasm are other smaller chiasms. Verses 3-8 fall out in a double chiasm:

A. My covenant with you, v 4a

B. father of multitude of nations, v 4b

C. name change, v 5

B’. multitude of nations, v 6

A’. covenant with you, v 7a

B’’. and with seed throughout generations; everlasting covenant, v 7b

C’. to be God to you and seed, v 7c

B’’’.give seed land of Canaan; everlasting possession, v 8a

A’’. I will be their God, v 9

The corresponding sections link up the covenant with the promise to be God to Abraham’s seed, link up the seed with the multitude of nations (i.e., not a single nation, though a single seed!), link up the promise to be God to Abraham with Abraham’s name change.

Verses 9-14 work this way:

A. keep covenant throughout generations, v 9

B. this is covenant with you and seed, v 10a

C. males circumcised; v 10b

D. sign of covenant, v 11b

C’. every male eight days old, v 12a

B’. born, bought: circumcised, vv 12b-13

A’. uncircumcised: broken covenant, v 14

Again, we can use Breck’s helical structure to explicate the passage:

A/A’: Keep my covenant —> what’s more, the uncircumcised have broken covenant

B/B’: my covenant with you and seed —> what’s more, the seed includes servants born in the house or bought

C/C’: all males circumcised —> what’s more, they must be circumcised on the eighth day