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Genesis 21

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The Birth and Naming of Isaac 1–8

1
And Jehovah visited Sarah as he had said, and Jehovah did unto Sarah as he had spoken. ​
2
And Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. ​
3
And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. ​
4
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. ​
5
And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh; every one that heareth will laugh with me. ​
7
And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should give children suck? for I have borne him a son in his old age.
8
And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ​

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away 9–21

9
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. ​
10
Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son: for the son of this handmaid shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. ​
11
And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight on account of his son.
12
And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy handmaid; in all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. ​
13
And also of the son of the handmaid will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. ​
14
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. ​
15
And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
16
And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not look upon the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
17
And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. ​
18
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand; for I will make him a great nation. ​
19
And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. ​
20
And God was with the lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer. ​
21
And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

The Covenant at Beersheba 22–34

22
And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: ​
23
now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. ​
24
And Abraham said, I will swear.
25
And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. ​
26
And Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to-day.
27
And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and they two made a covenant. ​
28
And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
29
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
30
And he said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. ​
31
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them. ​
32
So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
33
And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Jehovah, the Everlasting God. ​
34
And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Genesis 21

Verse 1

visited Sarah — Paqad, to visit and attend to, is the verb of Joseph's last word, 'God will surely visit you' (Gen 50:24), and of the LORD's care for Hannah (1 Sam 2:21). 'Said' (amar) and 'spoken' (dabar) are matched by the LORD's 'did' (asah): the promise of chapter 18, 'Is any thing too hard for the LORD?' (18:14), is carried out.

Verse 2

the set time — Mo'ed, an appointed time, the word of 18:14, 'At the time appointed I will return unto thee'. The son comes 'in his old age' (zaqun), at the very time God named; Abraham was a hundred years old (21:5). Faith is the means in Heb 11:11: Sara 'received strength to conceive seed… because she judged him faithful who had promised'.

Verse 3

Isaac — Yitschaq, from tsachaq, to laugh. Abraham laughed at the promise (17:17) and Sarah within herself (18:12), and God gave the name before the birth: 'thou shalt call his name Isaac' (17:19). Abraham now gives it. Paul rests the promise on him: 'In Isaac shall thy seed be called' (Rom 9:7).

Verse 4

eight days old — This is the command of 17:12, 'he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you', repeated in Lev 12:3. 'Circumcised' is mul, to cut short. Abraham does it 'as God had commanded' (tsavah), and the eighth day is kept for Christ: 'when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child' (Luke 2:21).

Verse 6

God hath made me to laugh — Tsechoq, laughter, from the root of Isaac's name. Sarah's laugh in 18:12 was 'within herself', and now it is God's gift, shared with 'all that hear'; Elisabeth's neighbours likewise 'rejoiced with her' (Luke 1:58). Paul takes up the promise to the barren: 'Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not' (Gal 4:27; Isa 54:1).

Verse 8

weaned — Gamal, to deal with in full, and so to wean a child. Hannah stays home 'until the child be weaned' (1 Sam 1:22), and Ps 131:2 has 'a child that is weaned of his mother'. The 'great feast' is a mishteh, a feast with drinking, the word of Lot's feast (Gen 19:3) and Laban's (Gen 29:22), held 'the same day' he was weaned.

Verse 9

mocking — Tsachaq, to laugh, here in scorn: the same root as Isaac's name, and as 'mock' in Gen 39:14, 'to mock us'. Hagar was the Egyptian handmaid of 16:1. Paul reads the scene as persecution: 'he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now' (Gal 4:29).

Verse 10

Cast out — Garash, to drive out; 'bondwoman' is amah, a female servant; 'heir' is yarash, one who takes possession. Paul quotes Sarah's words as Scripture: 'Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman' (Gal 4:30). Christ says the servant 'abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever' (John 8:35).

Verse 12

in Isaac shall thy seed be called — 'Grievous' here is the verb of v.11, yara', to be evil in one's sight: Abraham's distress is answered by God's word. 'Called' (qara) is named: the line takes its name through Isaac. Rom 9:8 reads it so, 'the children of the promise are counted for the seed', and Heb 11:18 repeats it.

Verse 13

will I make a nation — Goy, a nation, given 'because he is thy seed' (zera). It repeats the word to Hagar, 'I will multiply thy seed exceedingly' (16:10), and to Abraham, 'I will make him a great nation' (17:20). Ishmael's line is counted in 25:12–16: 'twelve princes according to their nations'.

Verse 14

rose up early — Shakam, the word for Abraham's early start in 22:3 as well. The wilderness had received Hagar before: the angel 'found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness' (16:7). 'Wandered' is ta'ah, the verb of Ps 107:4, 'They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way'; the 'bottle' is a chemeth, a skin, as in vv.15, 19.

Verse 17

God heard the voice of the lad — 'Heard' is shama', the verb that explains the name Ishmael: 'because the LORD hath heard thy affliction' (16:11). The angel of God calls 'out of heaven', as the angel of the LORD does to Abraham in 22:11. 'Fear not' is the LORD's word to his own, 'Fear thou not; for I am with thee' (Isa 41:10), and he who 'heard their cry' (Ex 3:7) hears here.

Verse 18

lift up the lad — Nasa, to lift, and chazaq, to take firm hold: 'hold him in thine hand' is to grasp him. 'A great nation' is the goy gadol of 17:20 and, of Abraham himself, of 12:2, 'I will make of thee a great nation'. The promise of v.13 is now spoken to Hagar herself.

Verse 19

God opened her eyes — Paqach, to open the senses. 'The LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel' (Num 22:31), and Elisha prays 'LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see' (2 Kings 6:17). The sight is given first; then she goes, fills the skin and gives the lad drink. Isa 35:5 promises the same: 'the eyes of the blind shall be opened'.

Verse 20

God was with the lad — These are the words said of Joseph, 'the LORD was with Joseph' (Gen 39:21), and promised to Jacob, 'I am with thee' (28:15). 'Archer' is qashshat, a bowman, a word found only here. He 'dwelt in the wilderness', as 16:12 foretold: 'he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man'.

Verse 22

God is with thee — Abimelech was king of Gerar (20:2). He and Phichol, 'the chief captain of his host', come to Isaac in the same way in 26:26, and say 'We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee' (26:28). The nations around him see in Abraham's life the LORD's own presence, in 'all that thou doest'.

Verse 23

swear unto me here by God — Shaba, to swear, an oath by God, not to 'deal falsely' (shaqar, to cheat). 'Son' and 'son's son' are nin and neked, the pair of Job 18:19 and Isa 14:22. The 'kindness' is chesed; Rahab asks it the same way, 'swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness' (Josh 2:12).

Verse 25

reproved Abimelech — Yakach, to set right, to argue a case, as in Matt 18:15, 'tell him his fault between thee and him alone'. 'Violently taken away' is gazal, to seize. The well is one Abraham dug (v.30). The quarrel returns under Isaac, when 'all the wells which his father's servants had digged' were stopped (26:15).

Verse 27

made a covenant — The verb is karat, to cut, the word of 'the LORD made a covenant with Abram' (15:18) and of Jonathan and David (1 Sam 18:3). Abraham gives sheep and oxen (tson, baqar), and the two of them (shenayim) make it, so sealing the oath asked for in v.23.

Verse 30

seven ewe lambs — Kibsah, a ewe lamb; sheba is seven. They are to be 'a witness' (edah, testimony) that Abraham 'digged this well' (chaphar). So Laban says of a heap, 'This heap is a witness between me and thee this day' (Gen 31:48), and Joshua of a stone, 'this stone shall be a witness unto us' (Josh 24:27).

Verse 31

Beersheba — Be'er Sheba. 'Sware' is shaba, the verb of the oath, formed from sheba, seven, so the name holds both the oath and the seven lambs of v.30. Isaac names a well Shebah in 26:33, and the town marks the southern limit: 'from Dan even to Beersheba' (2 Sam 17:11).

Verse 33

called there on the name of the LORD — 'Then began men to call upon the name of the LORD' (Gen 4:26); Abraham had done so at Bethel (12:8). The tree is an eshel, a tamarisk, the word translated 'tree' in 1 Sam 22:6. El Olam, 'the everlasting God', is the title: 'from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God' (Ps 90:2); 'the everlasting God, the LORD' (Isa 40:28).