Genesis 17:21

Summary

God declares that his covenant will be established specifically with Isaac, the son Sarah is yet to bear to Abraham, and specifies the appointed time: the following year. The verse marks a distinction between the covenant made with Isaac and matters concerning Ishmael discussed in the preceding verses.

Key words

• beriti ("my covenant", H1285) — construct noun with 1st person suffix; fronted before the verb, placing emphasis on "my covenant" as the object under discussion, rather than following normal verb-first word order.
• aqim ("I will establish", H6965I) — hiphil (causative) imperfect, 1st person; the causative stem indicates the subject actively brings the covenant into effect, not merely maintains it.
• 'et (H0854, preposition "with") — distinct from the direct object marker 'et (H0853) used earlier in the same verse; the same consonantal form serves two different grammatical functions in this single sentence.
• teled ("she will bear", H3205) — qal imperfect, 3rd feminine singular, introduced by the relative particle 'asher ("whom", H0834A), forming a relative clause identifying Isaac.
• ha'acheret ("the following", H0312) — feminine singular adjective agreeing with shanah ("year", H8141), modified further by lamo'ed hazeh ("at this appointed time") to specify the temporal setting.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the direct object 'et-beriti ("my covenant") placed before the verb aqim ("I will establish"), a fronting that highlights the covenant itself as the topic, likely in contrast to what has been said previously about Ishmael. The verb aqim is hiphil, marking the establishing as a caused, intentional action performed by the speaker.

The clause continues with the preposition 'et ("with") plus Yitzchak ("Isaac", H3327), specifying the covenant partner. This preposition is spelled identically to the object marker used earlier in the verse (H0853 vs. H0854), though the two carry different grammatical functions — one marks a direct object, the other indicates accompaniment ("with").

The relative clause 'asher teled lekha Sarah ("whom Sarah will bear to you") uses the qal imperfect teled, describing a future birth. The temporal phrase that follows layers two time expressions: lamo'ed hazeh ("at this appointed time") and bashanah ha'acheret ("in the following year"), both anchoring the covenant's establishment to a specific future occasion tied to Isaac's birth.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the Hebrew preposition 'et ("with") as πρὸς ("toward/with"), and the Vulgate uses ad ("to/toward"), both conveying the same relational sense as the Hebrew preposition H0854. The relative clause is rendered consistently across LXX (ὄν τέξεταί σοι Σάρρα), Vulgate (quem pariet tibi Sara), and modern translations, showing no structural divergence in this section.