Bible Strands
Genesis 18:10
Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Abraham immediately after Abraham confirms Sarah’s location, while Sarah secretly listens from the tent entrance.
The words — The Hebrew שׁוֹב (Shov) and אָשׁוּב ('a.Shuv) both carry the root sense of "to return," with שׁוֹב functioning as an emphatic "certainly" and אָשׁוּב as the first-person future "I will return." כְּעֵת חַיָּה (ke'et chayyah) literally means "at the time of life," pinning the promise to a specific future moment.
The thread — The text states the LORD will return at a set time for Sarah to bear a son, which Genesis 17:21 previously frames as the covenant line and Genesis 21:2 records as fulfilled when Sarah conceives in her old age. Paul later cites this pattern in Romans 9:8 to distinguish children of promise from children of the flesh.
Why it lands — The passage records a divine declaration that precedes and overrides the biological reality noted in the surrounding context. It requires the reader to align expectation with the stated timeline rather than the visible circumstances.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
Cross-references
- Genesis 21:2 So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised.
- Genesis 17:21 But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
- Romans 9:8 So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.
- Genesis 17:16 And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”
- Genesis 17:19 But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
- 2 Kings 4:16 And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”
- Genesis 16:10 Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
- Genesis 18:13 And the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really bear a child when I am old?’
- Genesis 22:15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time,
- Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.