Genesis 18:10
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the TIME OF LIFE, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
Let us observe the antecedent texts which is also known as the pretext, to know what happened before this statement was made.
Genesis 18:1-2
18 Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
The Lord appeared to Abraham while he was sitting at the door of his tent and when Abraham looked up, he saw three men.
The word ‘appeared’ as used here was translated from the Hebrew word ‘ראה’ (râ’âh) which means ‘to show oneself’.
God did not come in His real form. The scripture expressly states that no man has seen God at any time.
John 1:18
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
The word ‘see’ as used here was translated from the Greek word ‘ὁράω’ (horaō) which means ‘to behold’, ‘to discern clearly’, ‘to stare at’.
Let us check through the Bible to see some instances where this word was used.
Luke 1:22
22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had SEEN a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.
This is after an angel, Gabriel, appeared to Zacharias, Elizabeth’s husband and told him that he and his wife would bear a son, even at their old age. Then, Zacharias became mute because he did not believe the words of the angel.
The word ‘seen’ as used here is the same one used by John in John 1:18
Luke 16:23
23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and SAW Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Here, Jesus told the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The word ‘saw’ as used here is the same one John uses in John 1:18.
John 20:29
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have SEEN Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Here, Jesus was speaking to Thomas, who was absent when the Lord appeared to the other disciples. He did not believe that the other disciples saw the risen Christ. He said that he would not believe until he sees the nail prints in Jesus’ hands and even put his fingers into the prints. Jesus appeared to him and his disciples and Thomas saw him. Jesus spoke these words to Thomas after Thomas had seen him.
The word ‘seen’ as used here is the same word John used earlier in John 1:18
Back to Genesis 18:1-2
18 Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
Since, we have seen that no one ever saw God, this would mean that Abraham did not see the true form of God. God appeared to him in the form of man. He paid his respect to the men he saw by bowing down on the ground to them.
Genesis 18:3-4
3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
Abraham was being very hospitable to his guests because he knew that they were from God.
Genesis 18:5-6
5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”
He told his wife, Sarah to prepare food for the men after they had told him to do what he wanted to do, which is to bring them food.
Genesis 18:7-8
7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
Abraham also hurriedly took a calf from the herd and prepared it for his guests with butter and milk and he set the food before them and the men ate what he had brought for them.
Genesis 18:9
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.”
The men asked Abraham about his wife Sarah, and Abraham told them that she was in the tent.
Genesis 18:10
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
The phrase ‘according to the time’ as used here was translated from the Hebrew word ‘עת’ (‛êth) which means ‘season’.
The phrase ‘of life’ as used here was translated from the Hebrew word ‘חי’ (chay) which means ‘living’.
The phrase ‘time of life’ should however not be taken literally. The phrase was used as a figure of speech here. The figure of speech used here is known as ‘euphemism’.
According to the Livio Android Dictionary, euphemism refers to the use of a word or phrase to replace another with one that is considered less offensive, blunt or vulgar than the word or phrase which it replaces. An example of euphemism is the phrase ‘passed on’. To ‘pass on’ means ‘to die’. Instead of using the word ‘die’, ‘pass on’ could be used instead, to avoid being too direct.
This euphemism translated as ‘time of life’ appeared four times in the Hebrew bible (old testament). The first time the phrase appeared in the Bible was in Genesis 18:10. Here are the other times the euphemism was used;
Genesis 18:14
14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the TIME OF LIFE, and Sarah shall have a son.”
2 Kings 4:16
16 Then he said, “ABOUT THIS TIME NEXT YEAR you shall embrace a son.”
And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!”
Here, Elisha a prophet spoke to the Shunammite woman, who had no child and told her that she would bear a son.
2 Kings 4:17
17 But the woman conceived, and bore a son WHEN THE APPOINTED TIME HAD COME, of which Elisha had told her.
Just as Elisha said, the woman was pregnant with child and she delivered a boy.
The words capitalized in 2 Kings 4:16 is the same phrase ‘time of life’ used in Genesis 18:10 & 14. The words capitalized in 2 Kings 4:17 is the same phrase ‘time of life’ used in Genesis 18:10 & 14.
The King James Version has 2 Kings 4:16 as this:
“And he said, About this season, according to the TIME OF LIFE, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.”
Let us see how the American King James Version puts the same verse too.
“And he said, About this season, according to the TIME OF LIFE, you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.”
Webster’s Bible Translation has it as this:
“And he said, About this season, according to the TIME OF LIFE, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid.”
Here is the same verse in Young’s Literal Translation.
“And he saith, ‘At this season, according to the TIME OF LIFE, thou art embracing a son;’ and she saith, ‘Nay, my lord, O man of God, do not lie unto thy maid-servant.’”
The Jewish tradition holds the view that the term ‘time of life’ refers to ‘a year’, that is, the next year from the time such phrase is used. The Jews also added that the season was the Passover. The reason for this is the apparent impropriety in interpreting this as “nine months” from the time of the visit by the three men.
The King James Version (KJV) translators, who usually translate according to the Jewish classical interpretations, apparently felt uncomfortable rendering this particular classical interpretation and possibly equally uncomfortable with the implications of the more straightforward interpretation and therefore punted, provided a literal translation – which makes no sense as an English expression, but is faithful to the Hebrew word-for-word.
Many Bible scholars have made attempts to interpret the term ‘time of life’. One of them, Dr. Shelly Goldberg of Bar Ilan University, a modern scholar, interpret this phrase as referring to ‘the term of pregnancy – nine months’ and dismisses the suggestion of impropriety as the prudishness of later generations. This “time of life”, is the time when the child is born and becomes “alive”.
Before establishing what the ‘time of life’ is, let us observe a few things.
Genesis 17:15-16
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
Here, God changed the name of Abraham’s wife from Sarai to Sarah, and told Abraham that she would bear a son. He also told Abraham of how He would bless Sarah.
Genesis 17:17
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
Abraham found it ridiculous that he and his wife would bear a child because of his old age. Abraham was A HUNDRED YEARS OLD! Sarah, his wife was NINETY YEARS OLD.
This was before God appeared to Abraham in the form of a man.
Genesis 21:5
5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
It was recorded that when Isaac was born, Abraham was ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD!
Abraham was still a hundred years old even after the birth of his son Isaac. This would mean that his wife conceived and bore Isaac the same year that God appeared to him in human form. It means that the term ‘time of life’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘this time next year’ or ‘one full year’.
Let us examine Genesis 18:10 again.
Genesis 18:10
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the TIME OF LIFE, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
The ‘time of life’ as used here would therefore mean ‘a particular period of time’. In context, this period of time would be the time or period of child conception. The text itself shows this!
Let us check through the succedent text.
Genesis 18:11-13
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’
Sarah had passed the age of conception! This means that naturally, she could not have gotten pregnant, because she was ninety! This was why Sarah laughed within herself! Returning to Sarah according to ‘THE TIME OF LIFE’ would mean that Sarah would bear a child regardless of her age. It would mean that she would conceive and bear a child as if she had not passed the age of childbearing.
Conception according to the Livio Android Dictionary is ‘the fertilization of an ovum by a sperm to form a zygote.’ It means ‘to become pregnant’. The period of conception is nine full months and not one year. This is why Abraham still retained his age, and was still a hundred years old!
This was how this phrase was used in 2 Kings 4:16
2 Kings 4:16
“And he said, About this season, according to the TIME OF LIFE, you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.” (The American King James Version).
Elisha told the same thing to the Shunammite woman! He used it just as it was used in Genesis 18:10 and 14.
Genesis 18:14
14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the TIME OF LIFE, and Sarah shall have a son.”
We can safely replace the term ‘time of life’ with the phrase ‘after nine months.’ The ‘time of life’ here is a particular period of time which is the period of conception till birth!
© Josh Banks Ministries. 2020.
