.התהלך לפני, an invitation to perform the rite of circumcision, as a result of which his body would become more “perfect.”

והיה תמים, “as a result of which you will become perfect.”

ויפול אברם על פניו, “Avram prostrated himself” from joy over this welcome message [that finally he qualified for performing this commandment. Ed.]

ולא יקרא עוד את שמך אברם, “henceforth your name will no longer be called Avram;” anyone still referring to Avraham as Avram will be violating a positive commandment. (Talmud, B’rachot 13)[The underlying reason for this may be that by depriving him of his full name, the caller implies that he was still partially a gentile. This is loosely translated by me for the words לפי שנתלוה עמו גיות, used by the author. Ed.] Nechemyah 9,7 where reference to this name change is made, is no contradiction to what is stated in the Talmud, as it also records what has been written here. The Talmud refers to the difference from Yaakov who was given the additional name Israel, without the name Yaakov having been erased. Seeing that he had been a descendant of Avraham and Yitzchok, the name Yaakov never had a connotation of something connected to paganism which had to be erased. Already Yitzchok’s name never required to be changed.

והיה שמך אברהם, “henceforth your name will always be: Avraham.” It is an ancient custom to change someone’s name as a sign that he had received a promotion. We find this with Sarah, Yaakov, Joshua, as well as with Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah. (Daniel 1,7)

ונמלתם, “you shall circumcise yourselves;” all those who had not been circumcised on the eighth day after birth.

והיה לאות ברית, “it will be the enduring symbol of the covenant.” The act of circumcision will make you known as my servants.

המול ימול, “the first word refers to the removal of the foreskin, the second to the removal of the thin membrane covering the head of the penis below it, known as פריעה

שרי, כי שרה שמה, Sarai, (“my princess) for Sarah, “princess,” of many nations, is her name. Rabbi Yoshua ben Korach, commenting on the name changes of both Avraham and Sarah, points out that there was no change in the total numerical value of the letters in their combined names, seeing that G-d had reduced the value of the letter 10=י, by substituting the letter 5=ה, in Sarah’s name, but had added the letter 5=ה to Avraham’s name.

ויאמר בלבו, “He said to himself:” the expression ויאמר בלבו, as in Genesis 27,41 about Esau, or in Esther 6,6 where it is used about Haman, is typical for wicked people; on the other hand, when a similar expression is used in connection with righteous people the formulation is: ויאמר על לבו, as in Samuel I 27,1 in connection with David, or in Daniel 1,8 in connection with Daniel. The reason for this change in formulation is that the righteous are allowed to carry out their plans, i.e. what is in their hearts, as they are in charge of their hearts, whereas the wicked only think that they will be able to carry out their plans. The reason that in connection with Avraham the former formulation is used, is because the reader of these words is apt to think that even Avraham doubted G-d’s promise.

והקימותי את בריתי אתו, “I will maintain My covenant (the promise contained therein) with him.” G-d means that Yitzchok will be the first person to be circumcised on the eighth day of his life.

ולישמעאל שמעתיך, “and concerning Yishmael, I have heard your request, etc.” I am going to bless him, but I will not include him in My covenant with you which I will maintain with Yitzchok, the covenant that I concluded with you between the “pieces” as detailed in chapter 15. In the interpretation of the [covenant of] circumcision, the covenant is mentioned 13 times to teach you it symbolizes a man who is 13 years old and had not had circumcision in his youth, and he intentionally does not circumcises himself - he is liable for extirpation.

למועד הזו לשנה האחרת "at this season next year;" Rav Huna said in the name of Rav Idi: that year was a leap year [in which an additional month of Adar was added before Nisan], meaning "מועד" and "מועד" was one year apart from each other, and he calls it "next year" because of the additional month it has in it.

וישמעאל בנו בן שלש עשרה שנה וגו , “and Ishmael his son who was 13 years old at the time, etc;” the details provided in this verse are meant to teach us that Avraham as well as his son were circumcised on the same day. We derive this from the expression: בעצם היום הזה, as elsewhere the Torah had told us that Avraham had been ninety nine and the Torah records that Avraham was eighty six years old on the day when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, and that he was ninety nine years old when he circumcised himself. The only possible reason why the Torah had to be so precise about both data was to teach us that just as Avraham had not delayed with carrying out G-d’s commandment, so also Ishmael submitted to the same commandment without delay.

את בשר ערלתו, the flesh of his foreskin; according to Rashi, Ishmael, although still a child, had to proceed and perform the circumcision on himself. He adds that this was more painful for him than for his father, whose member had become softened through frequent use in sleeping with his wife. The additional word את, used by the Torah when describing Ishmael’s circumcision, is supposed to draw our attention to this distinction. According to the Talmud in Yevamot 72, even though the additional commandment for Jews to also remove the membrane mentioned earlier had not yet been given, Avraham understood that it would be given in the future, and he performed the circumcision precisely as we do nowadays. According to our sages in Yuma 28, Avraham even performed the rites known as eyruv tavshilim, preparing some food for the Sabbath following a festival when the festival occurred on the Friday, so that cooking on the festival would not look as if one had used the festival as merely a day to prepare for the Sabbath.

בעצם היום הזה, on the very same daywhen G-d had issued the command;

נמול אברהם, the day which later on would correspond in our calendar to the Day of Atonement was the day when Avraham performed the circumcision on himself. (Compare Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 29). If Avraham had divinedthe laws of the Torah through use of his intelligence, why had he not performed such an important commandment much earlier? It may have been in order not to discourage potential proselytes in the future. If people contemplating conversion to Judaism would have thought that the very first step in such a conversion was to be the painful rite of circumcision, they might have developed second thoughts. As to the question of why G-d had delayed the commandment until after He had concluded the covenant between the pieces with him, the reason was so that when he would sire Yitzchok, this son would have been the son of a fully fledged Jew already before developing in Sarah’s womb.

וכל אנשי ביתו, “and all the males of his household;” where the previous verse had spoken only of Avraham, this one speaks of all the members of his household. This included slaves purchased by him, not born to members of his household, as well as anyone belonging to Yishmael.

נמולו אתו, it does not say: מלו אתו, which would have implied that they were circumcised against their will, but they were all willing participants in this procedure.