Acts 7:8

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

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.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ διαθήκην περιτομῆς: καὶ οὕτως ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰσαάκ, καὶ περιέτεμεν αὐτὸν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ὀγδόῃ· καὶ ὁ Ἰσαὰκ τὸν Ἰακώβ· καὶ ὁ Ἰακὼβ τοὺς δώδεκα πατριάρχας.

Transliteration

And edōken autō diathēkēn peritomēs: and houtōs egennēsen ton Isaak, kai perietemen auton tē hēmera tē ogdoē; and ho Isaak ton Iakōb; and ho Iakōb tous dōdeka patriarchas.

Grammar Details

• *edōken*: aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular - he gave
• *autō*: dative masculine singular pronoun - to him
• *diathēkēn*: accusative feminine singular - covenant
• *peritomēs*: genitive feminine singular - of circumcision
• *houtōs*: adverb - thus/in this manner
• *egennēsen*: aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular - he begat/became father of
• *ton Isaak*: accusative masculine singular - Isaac
• *kai*: conjunction - and
• *perietemen*: aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular - he circumcised
• *auton*: accusative masculine singular pronoun - him
• *tē hēmera tē ogdoē*: dative feminine singular + dative feminine singular ordinal - on the eighth day
• *ho Isaak*: nominative masculine singular - Isaac [begat]
• *ton Iakōb*: accusative masculine singular - Jacob
• *ho Iakōb*: nominative masculine singular - Jacob [begat]
• *tous dōdeka patriarchas*: accusative masculine plural numeral + accusative masculine plural - the twelve patriarchs

Word Meanings

• *diathēkēn*: covenant/testament/contract
• *peritomēs*: of circumcision/circumcision covenant
• *egennēsen*: begat/became father of/fathered
• *perietemen*: circumcised/performed circumcision on
• *hēmera tē ogdoē*: eighth day/eighth day after birth
• *patriarchas*: patriarchs/forefathers/tribal leaders

Referenced Verses

• Gen 17:9-9 : 9 Then God said to Abraham,“As for you, you must keep the covenantal requirement I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder of the covenant between me and you. 12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 13 They must indeed be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant will be visible in your flesh as a permanent reminder. 14 Any uncircumcised male who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off from his people– he has failed to carry out my requirement.”
• Gen 35:23-26 : 23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
• Acts 2:29 : 29 “Brothers, I can speak confidently to you about our forefather David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
• Gen 35:16 : 16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, Rachel went into labor– and her labor was hard.
• Gen 35:18 : 18 With her dying breath, she named him Ben Oni. But his father called him Benjamin instead.
• Rom 4:10 : 10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised!
• Rom 9:9-9 : 9 For this is what the promise declared:“About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.” 10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac– 11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad(so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling)– 12 it was said to her,“The older will serve the younger,” 13 just as it is written:“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
• Gal 3:15 : 15 Inheritance Comes from Promises and not Law Brothers and sisters, I offer an example from everyday life: When a covenant has been ratified, even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it.
• Gal 3:17 : 17 What I am saying is this: The law that came four hundred thirty years later does not cancel a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to invalidate the promise.
• Heb 7:4 : 4 But see how great he must be, if Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of his plunder.
• Exod 1:1-4 : 1 ¶ Blessing during Bondage in Egypt These are the names of the sons of Israel who entered Egypt– each man with his household entered with Jacob: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
• 1 Chr 1:34 : 34 Isaac’s Descendants Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac:Esau and Israel.
• 1 Chr 2:1-2 : 1 Israel’s Descendants These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar and Zebulun; 2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin; Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
• Matt 1:2 : 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
• John 7:22 : 22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision(not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child on the Sabbath.
• Gen 21:1-4 : 1 The Birth of Isaac The LORD visited Sarah just as he had said he would and did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 So Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 3 Abraham named his son– whom Sarah bore to him– Isaac. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do.
• Gen 25:21-26 : 21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 But the children struggled inside her, and she said,“Why is this happening to me?” So she asked the LORD, 23 and the LORD said to her,“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from within you. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” 24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out reddish all over, like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau. 26 When his brother came out with his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
• Gen 29:31-30:24 : 31 The Family of Jacob When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to become pregnant while Rachel remained childless. 32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said,“The LORD has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. Surely my husband will love me now.” 33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said,“Because the LORD heard that I was unloved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said,“Now this time my husband will show me affection, because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said,“This time I will praise the LORD.”That is why she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. 1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob,“Give me children or I’ll die!” 2 Jacob became furious with Rachel and exclaimed,“Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 3 She replied,“Here is my servant Bilhah! Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I can have a family through her.” 4 So Rachel gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and gave Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said,“God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer and given me a son.” That is why she named him Dan. 7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 8 Then Rachel said,“I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” So she named him Naphtali. 9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 11 Leah said,“How fortunate!” So she named him Gad. 12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 13 Leah said,“How happy I am, for women will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 14 At the time of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah,“Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But Leah replied,“Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?”“All right,” Rachel said,“he may go to bed with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said,“You must sleep with me because I have paid for your services with my son’s mandrakes.” So he went to bed with her that night. 17 God paid attention to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 18 Then Leah said,“God has granted me a reward because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” So she named him Issachar. 19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 20 Then Leah said,“God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 22 Then God took note of Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said,“God has taken away my shame.” 24 She named him Joseph, saying,“May the LORD give me yet another son.”