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Text -- Genesis 21:1-32 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
The Birth of Isaac
21:1 The Lord visited Sarah just as he had said he would and did for Sarah what he had promised .
21:2 So Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him.
21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him– Isaac .
21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old , Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do.
21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.)
21:6 Sarah said , “God has made me laugh . Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”
21:7 She went on to say , “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children ? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age !”
21:8 The child grew and was weaned . Abraham prepared a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned .
21:9 But Sarah noticed the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking .
21:10 So she said to Abraham , “Banish that slave woman and her son , for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac !”
21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son .
21:12 But God said to Abraham , “Do not be upset about the boy or your slave wife . Do all that Sarah is telling you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted .
21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation , for he is your descendant too.”
21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar . He put them on her shoulders , gave her the child , and sent her away . So she went wandering aimlessly through the wilderness of Beer Sheba .
21:15 When the water in the skin was gone , she shoved the child under one of the shrubs .
21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot away ; for she thought , “I refuse to watch the child die .” So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably.
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice . The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, Hagar ? Don’t be afraid , for God has heard the boy’s voice right where he is crying.
21:18 Get up ! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand , for I will make him into a great nation .”
21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water . She went over and filled the skin with water , and then gave the boy a drink .
21:20 God was with the boy as he grew . He lived in the wilderness and became an archer .
21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran . His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt .
21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol , the commander of his army , said to Abraham , “God is with you in all that you do .
21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name that you will not deceive me, my children , or my descendants . Show me , and the land where you are staying , the same loyalty that I have shown you.”
21:24 Abraham said , “I swear to do this.”
21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint against Abimelech concerning a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized .
21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing ,” Abimelech replied . “Moreover , you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today .”
21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech . The two of them made a treaty .
21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves .
21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham , “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart ?”
21:30 He replied , “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof that I dug this well .”
21:31 That is why he named that place Beer Sheba , because the two of them swore an oath there .
21:32 So they made a treaty at Beer Sheba . Then Abimelech and Phicol , the commander of his army , returned to the land of the Philistines .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Ishmael |
HAGAR |
Abraham |
Abimelech |
ALLIANCE |
Isaac |
Covenant |
PHILISTINES |
Women |
Rulers |
Alliances |
GERAR |
Children |
Beer-sheba |
Sarah |
Afflictions and Adversities |
Polygamy |
ISHMAELITES |
Contracts |
PALESTINE, 1 |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Gen 21:1; Gen 21:1; Gen 21:1; Gen 21:2; Gen 21:3; Gen 21:4; Gen 21:4; Gen 21:5; Gen 21:6; Gen 21:6; Gen 21:6; Gen 21:7; Gen 21:7; Gen 21:8; Gen 21:8; Gen 21:9; Gen 21:9; Gen 21:9; Gen 21:10; Gen 21:11; Gen 21:12; Gen 21:12; Gen 21:12; Gen 21:12; Gen 21:14; Gen 21:14; Gen 21:14; Gen 21:14; Gen 21:14; Gen 21:15; Gen 21:16; Gen 21:16; Gen 21:16; Gen 21:16; Gen 21:17; Gen 21:17; Gen 21:17; Gen 21:19; Gen 21:21; Gen 21:21; Gen 21:22; Gen 21:23; Gen 21:23; Gen 21:23; Gen 21:23; Gen 21:23; Gen 21:23; Gen 21:24; Gen 21:25; Gen 21:25; Gen 21:25; Gen 21:26; Gen 21:27; Gen 21:29; Gen 21:30; Gen 21:30; Gen 21:31; Gen 21:31; Gen 21:31; Gen 21:32; Gen 21:32; Gen 21:32
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NET Notes: Gen 21:3 Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second w...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:4 Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the Lord by both naming (Gen 17:19) and circumcising Isaac (...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:5 The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:6 Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְח...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:8 Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it wa...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:9 Mocking. Here Sarah interprets Ishmael’s actions as being sinister. Ishmael probably did not take the younger child seriously and Sarah saw this...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:10 Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating ...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:11 Heb “and the word was very wrong in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.” The verb רָעַע (ra’a...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:12 Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clea...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:14 Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this regi...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:15 Heb “threw,” but the child, who was now thirteen years old, would not have been carried, let alone thrown under a bush. The exaggerated la...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:16 Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rathe...
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NET Notes: Gen 21:17 Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.
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NET Notes: Gen 21:19 Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Gen 21:22 God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.
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NET Notes: Gen 21:23 Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”
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NET Notes: Gen 21:24 Heb “I swear.” No object is specified in the Hebrew text, but the content of the oath requested by Abimelech is the implied object.
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NET Notes: Gen 21:25 The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.
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NET Notes: Gen 21:30 This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for ...
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