1 And Jehovah hath looked after Sarah as He hath said, and Jehovah doth to Sarah as He hath spoken;
2 and Sarah conceiveth, and beareth a son to Abraham, to his old age, at the appointed time that God hath spoken of with him;
3 and Abraham calleth the name of his son who is born to him, whom Sarah hath born to him -- Isaac;
4 and Abraham circumciseth Isaac his son, `being' a son of eight days, as God hath commanded him.
5 And Abraham `is' a son of a hundred years in Isaac his son being born to him,
6 and Sarah saith, `God hath made laughter for me; every one who is hearing laugheth for me.'
7 She saith also, `Who hath said to Abraham, Sarah hath suckled sons, that I have born a son for his old age?'
8 And the lad groweth, and is weaned, and Abraham maketh a great banquet in the day of Isaac's being weaned;
9 and Sarah seeth the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she hath borne to Abraham, mocking,
10 and she saith to Abraham, `Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid hath no possession with my son -- with Isaac.'
11 And the thing is very wrong in the eyes of Abraham, for his son's sake;
12 and God saith unto Abraham, `Let it not be wrong in thine eyes because of the youth, and because of thy handmaid: all that Sarah saith unto thee -- hearken to her voice, for in Isaac is a seed called to thee.
13 As to the son of the handmaid also, for a nation I set him, because he `is' thy seed.'
14 And Abraham riseth early in the morning, and taketh bread, and a bottle of water, and giveth unto Hagar (placing `it' on her shoulder), also the lad, and sendeth her out; and she goeth on, and goeth astray in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba;
15 and the water is consumed from the bottle, and she placeth the lad under one of the shrubs.
16 And she goeth and sitteth by herself over-against, afar off, about a bow-shot, for she said, `Let me not look on the death of the lad;' and she sitteth over-against, and lifteth up her voice, and weepeth.
17 And God heareth the voice of the youth; and the messenger of God calleth unto Hagar from the heavens, and saith to her, `What to thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath hearkened unto the voice of the youth where he `is';
18 rise, lift up the youth, and lay hold on him with thy hand, for for a great nation I set him.'
19 And God openeth her eyes, and she seeth a well of water, and she goeth and filleth the bottle `with' water, and causeth the youth to drink;
20 and God is with the youth, and he groweth, and dwelleth in the wilderness, and is an archer;
21 and he dwelleth in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother taketh for him a wife from the land of Egypt.
22 And it cometh to pass at that time that Abimelech speaketh -- Phichol also, head of his host -- unto Abraham, saying, `God `is' with thee in all that thou art doing;
23 and now, swear to me by God here: thou dost not lie to me, or to my continuator, or to my successor; according to the kindness which I have done with thee thou dost with me, and with the land in which thou hast sojourned.'
24 And Abraham saith, `I -- I do swear.'
25 And Abraham reasoned with Abimelech concerning the matter of a well of water which Abimelech's servants have taken violently away,
26 and Abimelech saith, `I have not known who hath done this thing, and even thou didst not declare to me, and I also, I have not heard save to-day.'
27 And Abraham taketh sheep and oxen, and giveth to Abimelech, and they make, both of them, a covenant;
28 and Abraham setteth seven Lambs of the flock by themselves.
29 And Abimelech saith unto Abraham, `What `are' they -- these seven lambs which thou hast set by themselves?'
30 And he saith, `For -- the seven lambs thou dost accept from my hand, so that it becometh a witness for me that I have digged this well;'
31 therefore hath he called that place `Beer-Sheba,' for there have both of them sworn.
32 And they make a covenant in Beer-Sheba, and Abimelech riseth -- Phichol also, head of his host -- and they turn back unto the land of the Philistines;
33 and `Abraham' planteth a tamarask in Beer-Sheba, and preacheth there in the name of Jehovah, God age-during;
34 and Abraham sojourneth in the land of the Philistines many days.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 21
Commentary on Genesis 21 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 21
Ge 21:1-13. Birth of Isaac.
1. the Lord visited Sarah—The language of the historian seems designedly chosen to magnify the power of God as well as His faithfulness to His promise. It was God's grace that brought about that event, as well as the raising of spiritual children to Abraham, of which the birth of this son was typical [Calvin].
3, 4. Abraham called the name of his son … Isaac … and circumcised—God was acknowledged in the name which, by divine command, was given for a memorial (compare Ge 17:19), and also in the dedication of the child by administering the seal of the covenant (compare Ge 17:10-12).
8. the child grew, and was weaned—children are suckled longer in the East than in the Occident—boys usually for two or three years.
Abraham made a great feast, &c.—In Eastern countries this is always a season of domestic festivity, and the newly weaned child is formally brought, in presence of the assembled relatives and friends, to partake of some simple viands. Isaac, attired in the symbolic robe, the badge of birthright, was then admitted heir of the tribe [Rosenmuller].
9. Sarah saw the son of Hagar … mocking—Ishmael was aware of the great change in his prospects, and under the impulse of irritated or resentful feelings, in which he was probably joined by his mother, treated the young heir with derision and probably some violence (Ga 4:29).
10. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman—Nothing but the expulsion of both could now preserve harmony in the household. Abraham's perplexity was relieved by an announcement of the divine will, which in everything, however painful to flesh and blood, all who fear God and are walking in His ways will, like him, promptly obey. This story, as the apostle tells us, in "an allegory" [Ga 4:24], and the "persecution" by the son of the Egyptian was the commencement of the four hundred years' affliction of Abraham's seed by the Egyptians.
12. in all that Sarah hath said—it is called the Scripture (Ga 4:30).
13. also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation—Thus Providence overruled a family brawl to give rise to two great and extraordinary peoples.
Ge 21:14-21. Expulsion of Ishmael.
14. Abraham rose up early, &c.—early, that the wanderers might reach an asylum before noon. Bread includes all sorts of victuals—bottle, a leathern vessel, formed of the entire skin of a lamb or kid sewed up, with the legs for handles, usually carried over the shoulder. Ishmael was a lad of seventeen years, and it is quite customary for Arab chiefs to send out their sons at such an age to do for themselves: often with nothing but a few days' provisions in a bag.
wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba—in the southern border of Palestine, but out of the common direction, a wide extending desert, where they lost their way.
15. the water was spent, &c.—Ishmael sank exhausted from fatigue and thirst—his mother laid his head under one of the bushes to smell the damp while she herself, unable to witness his distress, sat down at a little distance in hopeless sorrow.
19. God opened her eyes—Had she forgotten the promise (Ge 16:11)? Whether she looked to God or not, He regarded her and directed her to a fountain close beside her, but probably hid amid brushwood, by the waters of which her almost expiring son was revived.
20, 21. God was with the lad, &c.—Paran (that is, Arabia), where his posterity has ever dwelt (compare Ge 16:12; also Isa 48:19; 1Pe 1:25).
his mother took him a wife—On a father's death, the mother looks out for a wife for her son, however young; and as Ishmael was now virtually deprived of his father, his mother set about forming a marriage connection for him, it would seem, among her relatives.
Ge 21:22-34. Covenant.
22. Abimelech and Phichol—Here a proof of the promise (Ge 12:2) being fulfilled, in a native prince wishing to form a solemn league with Abraham. The proposal was reasonable, and agreed to [Ge 21:24].
25-31. And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well—Wells were of great importance to a pastoral chief and on the successful operation of sinking a new one, the owner was solemnly informed in person. If, however, they were allowed to get out of repair, the restorer acquired a right to them. In unoccupied lands the possession of wells gave a right of property in the land, and dread of this had caused the offense for which Abraham reproved Abimelech. Some describe four, others five, wells in Beer-sheba.
33. Abraham planted a grove—Hebrew, "of tamarisks," in which sacrificial worship was offered, as in a roofless temple.
34. Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land—a picture of pastoral and an emblem of Christian life.