44 | Genesis 21:1
The Birth of Isaac
Now the Lord was gra cious to Sar ah as he
21 had said, and the Lord did for Sar ah what he had prom ised. 2 Sar ah be came preg nant and bore a son to Abra ham in his old age, at the very time God had prom ised him. 3 Abra ham gave the name Isaac a to the son Sar ah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abra ham cir cumcised him, as God com mand ed him. 5 Abra ham was a hun dred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6
Sar ah said,“ God has brought me laugh ter, and ev ery one who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she add ed,“ Who would have said to Abra ham that Sar ah would nurse chil dren? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away
8
The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abra ham held a great feast. 9 But Sar ah saw that the son whom Ha gar the Egyp tian had borne to Abra ham was mock ing, 10 and she said to Abra ham,“ Get rid of that slave wom an and her son, for that wom an’ s son will nev er share in the in her i tance with my son Isaac.”
11
The mat ter dis tressed Abra ham great ly because it con cerned his son. 12 But God said to him,“ Do not be so dis tressed about the boy and your slave wom an. Lis ten to what ev er Sar ah tells you, be cause it is through Isaac that your off spring b will be reck oned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a na tion also, be cause he is your off spring.”
14
Ear ly the next morn ing Abra ham took some food and a skin of wa ter and gave them to Ha gar.
He set them on her shoul ders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wan dered in the Des ert of Be er she ba.
15
When the wa ter in the skin was gone, she put the boy un der one of the bush es. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bow shot away, for she thought,“ I can not watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she c be gan to sob.
17
God heard the boy cry ing, and the an gel of God called to Ha gar from heav en and said to her,“ What is the mat ter, Ha gar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy cry ing as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great na tion.”
19
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of wa ter. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
20
God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the des ert and be came an ar cher. 21 While he was liv ing in the Des ert of Pa ran, his moth er got a wife for him from Egypt.
The Treaty at Beersheba
22
At that time Abim e lek and Phi col the command er of his forc es said to Abra ham,“ God is with you in ev ery thing you do. 23 Now swear to me here be fore God that you will not deal false ly with me or my chil dren or my de scen dants. Show to me and the coun try where you now re side as a for eign er the same kind ness I have shown to you.”
24
Abra ham said,“ I swear it.”
25
Then Abra ham com plained to Abim e lek
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a
3 Isaac means he laughs.
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b
12 Or seed
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c
16 Hebrew;
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Septuagint the child |
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21:1 – 7 Just as God promised in Ge 17:16 – 21 and 18:10 – 14, Sarah conceives and bears a son. Abraham names him Isaac and circumcises him as God instructs( 17:10 – 14).
21:3 Isaac See 17:19 and note. 21:5 a hundred years old Twenty-five years have passed since God promised Abraham that he would make him a great nation( 12:2; compare 12:4). 21:6 laughter This is a wordplay on Isaac’ s name. See 17:17 and note.
21:8 – 21 After the birth of Isaac, Sarah asks Abraham to banish Hagar and Ishmael, Abraham’ s son with Hagar( v. 10). Abraham is reluctant, but God tells him that he will also make Ishmael a nation( vv. 11 – 13; compare 17:20). After Hagar and Ishmael leave, God provides for them and repeats to Hagar his promise to make Ishmael a great nation( vv. 15 – 21).
21:8 weaned The age that a child was weaned varied within ancient Near Eastern cultures. 21:9 son whom Hagar See 16:1 – 16 and note; note on 16:1. 21:11 distressed Abraham greatly Abraham is troubled by Sarah’ s demand that Hagar and Ishmael be driven away, which means he recognized Ishmael as his legal son( 16:15; 17:23,25; 25:9,12). Contemporaneous ancient Near Eastern law codes( such as Hammurabi’ s Code) presume inheritance rights on behalf of a son accepted by the father. However, the ancient laws of Lipit-Ishtar contain a clause to the effect that if a slave woman and her children are granted freedom by the male owner who fathered those children, the children forfeit their share in his estate. This seems to be Sarah’ s intent in having Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away— to forfeit Ishmael’ s rights. 21:17 angel of God called The interchange of God( who hears in this verse) and the Angel of God( who then speaks) shows a blurring of the distinction between the two— this is because the angel is speaking on behalf of God or is God in a form.
21:22 – 34 This section continues the narrative about Abraham’ s relationship with the king of Gerar— Gerar is where Abraham is staying( see 20:1 – 18 and note). Abraham and the king make a covenant to deal honestly with each other( vv. 23 – 24). Abraham then confronts the king about his servants seizing a well( vv. 25 – 26). The two men then make a covenant agreeing that the well belongs to Abraham( vv. 27 – 32).
21:22 Abimelek See 20:2 and note. 21:24 I swear Promises were frequently formalized in the ancient Near East by oath-taking.