Genesis 17:19-21

17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. ¹  I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual ²  covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ³  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ⁴  He will become the father of twelve princes; ⁵  I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.”

Genesis 21:2-5

21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ⁶  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. ⁷  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ⁸  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ⁹  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ¹⁰ 

Genesis 21:12

21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ¹¹  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ¹²  all that Sarah is telling ¹³  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ¹⁴ 

[17:19]  ¹ tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).

[17:19]  ² tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:20]  ³ sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

[17:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ⁵ tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

[21:2]  ⁶ tn Or “she conceived.”

[21:3]  ⁷ tn 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 with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.

[21:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.

[21:4]  ⁹ sn 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 (17:12).

[21:5]  ¹⁰ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).

[21:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

[21:12]  ¹² tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.

[21:12]  ¹³ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.