Genesis 17:19–21

17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac.48 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual49 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you.50 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants.51 He will become the father of twelve princes;52 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.”

48	tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
49	tn Or “as an eternal.”
50	sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
51	tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
52	tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111–17.