Gênesis 17
Jerome · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Gênesis 17:4
(Chapter 17—Verse 3 and following) And the Lord spoke to him, saying: Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. It should be noted that wherever we read Testament in Greek, in the Hebrew language it is the word covenant or pact, that is, Berith (). — Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Gênesis 17:5
(Chapter 17, Verse 5) And your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of many nations. The Hebrews say that God, from his name, which is the Tetragrammaton among them, added the letter He to Abraham and Sarah: for he was first called Abram (), which means lofty father, and later he was called Abraham (), which means father of many: for what follows nations is not part of the name, but is understood. It is not surprising, therefore, that when it seems that the letter Α has been added among the Greeks and us: we have called it the Hebrew letter He added; for the language of that tongue is to write with He (ה), but to read with A (א): just as, on the contrary, the letter A is often pronounced as He. — Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Gênesis 17:5
Verse 7. "And the overseer of the eunuchs imposed names upon them, calling Daniel Belteshazzar (Balthasar), and Hananiah Shadrach, and Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego." It was not only the overseer or master of the eunuchs (as others have rendered it, the "chief-eunuch") who changed the names of saints, but also Pharaoh called Joseph in Egypt Somtonphanec (Genesis 41:45), for neither of them wished them to have Jewish names in the land of captivity. Wherefore the prophet says in the Psalm: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Psalm 137:4). Furthermore the Lord Himself changes names benignly, and on the basis of events imposes names of special significance, so as to call Abram Abraham (Genesis 17:5), and Sarai Sarah (Genesis 17:15). Also in the Gospel, the former Simon received the name of Peter (Mark 3:16), and the sons of Zebedee are called "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17) - which is not boanerges, as most people suppose, but is more correctly read benereem. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ONE
Gênesis 17:15
(Verse 15) And God said to Abraham: You shall not call your wife Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah. Those who think that the first Sarah was written with one 'R' and then another 'R' was added to it are mistaken. And because 'R' is the hundredth number among the Greeks, they suspect many silly things about her name: when in fact, whatever way they want to understand the composite word, it should have a Hebrew, not Greek, origin, since the name itself is Hebrew. However, no one calling someone in another language takes the etymology of the word from the other language. Therefore, Sarai () was first called by Sin, Res, Iod: with Iod removed, that is, the I element, the letter He was added, which is read as A: and she was called Sara (). However, the reason for the change of name is that she was previously called 'my princess', the mother of the household of only one. For it follows: I will give you a son from her, and I will bless him, and he will be among the nations, and the kings of the peoples will come from him. And notably, not as we read in Greek: God said to Abraham. Your wife Sarai shall not be called by her name Sarai: in Hebrew it is said: you shall not call her name Sarai, that is, you shall not say to her, you are my princess: for she shall be the princess of all nations. Some suspect, mistakenly, that before she was called leprous, and afterwards princess: since leprosy is called Sarath in our language, which seems to have some similarity; but in Hebrew it is completely different. For it is written with Sade, and Res, and Ain, and Thau: which differs greatly from the previous three letters, that is, Sin, Res, and He, with which Sara is written, it is clear. — Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Gênesis 17:15
Verse 7. "And the overseer of the eunuchs imposed names upon them, calling Daniel Belteshazzar (Balthasar), and Hananiah Shadrach, and Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego." It was not only the overseer or master of the eunuchs (as others have rendered it, the "chief-eunuch") who changed the names of saints, but also Pharaoh called Joseph in Egypt Somtonphanec (Genesis 41:45), for neither of them wished them to have Jewish names in the land of captivity. Wherefore the prophet says in the Psalm: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Psalm 137:4). Furthermore the Lord Himself changes names benignly, and on the basis of events imposes names of special significance, so as to call Abram Abraham (Genesis 17:5), and Sarai Sarah (Genesis 17:15). Also in the Gospel, the former Simon received the name of Peter (Mark 3:16), and the sons of Zebedee are called "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17) - which is not boanerges, as most people suppose, but is more correctly read benereem. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ONE
Gênesis 17:17
(Verse 17.) And Abraham fell upon his face and laughed. And he said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And after a little while: And thou shalt call his name Isaac. Different opinions, but there is one etymology why he is called Isaac. For Isaac is interpreted as laughter. Others say that Sarah laughed, therefore he was called laughter, which is false. Others indeed say that Abraham laughed, which we also approve. After Ishmael was born, Isaac was born, and then we read about Abraham and Sarah laughing. However, it should be known that in the Old Testament, four people were called by their names before they were born, without any disguise: Ishmael, Isaac, Solomon, and Josiah. Read the Scriptures. — Hebrew Questions on Genesis