Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
Genesis 18:10 (NIV)
Most english Bibles apply an idiomatic expression to transate Genesis 18:10 to come up with the phrase “I will surely return to you about this time next year.”
However, the Hebrew words are actually more interesting than that.
First, whenever you see the word “surely” or “certainly” in the English, you should know that the ancient Hebrew way of expressing emphasis was to say the word in question twice: שׁוֹב אָשׁוּב. This is “shuv, ashuv.” Or “return, I will return.”
“I will REALLY return.”
Next, we have the word אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙. “Elekha,” which means “to you,” so a normal read would be “I will surely return to you (in the future).”
But the rabbis say this can also convey the sense of “I will surely bring you (into the future).”
The idea the rabbis present is that God is making TWO promises here, and it’s tied to how old Abraham is. He’s 99 years old, remember? Verse 11 emphasizes this.
Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
Genesis 18:11 (NIV)
Who knows if Abraham will be alive when the son is born? There’s nothing to say he couldn’t die first.
So God isn’t just saying “I’ll be back next year.” He is also saying “You’ll be around next year, because I’m bringing you forward into it.”
Promise #1: A son will be turn to you and Sarah.
Promise #2: You’ll be alive to enjoy it when it happens.
The words that follow help seal this understanding. God doesn’t actually say “… about this time next year.”
God says כָּעֵת חַיָּה. ka’et chayah. “… at the time of life.”
While this can signify the time of birth, it also points to Abraham being alive when it happens.