Internet Verse Search Commentaries Word Analysis ITL - draft

Genesis 21:9

NETBible	But Sarah noticed¹ the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking.²
NIV © biblegateway Gen 21:9	But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,
NASB © biblegateway Gen 21:9	Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.
NLT © biblegateway Gen 21:9	But Sarah saw Ishmael––the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar––making fun of Isaac.
MSG © biblegateway Gen 21:9	One day Sarah saw the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, poking fun at her son Isaac.
BBE © SABDAweb Gen 21:9	And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian playing with Isaac.
NRSV © bibleoremus Gen 21:9	But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac.
NKJV © biblegateway Gen 21:9	And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.
[+] More English


KJV	And Sarah <08283> saw <07200> (8799) the son <01121> of Hagar <01904> the Egyptian <04713>_, which she had born <03205> (8804) unto Abraham <085>_, mocking <06711> (8764)_.
NASB © biblegateway Gen 21:9	Now Sarah <08283> saw <07200> the son <01121> of Hagar <01904> the Egyptian <04713> , whom <0834> she had borne <03205> to Abraham <085> , mocking <06711> .
LXXM	idousa <3708> V-AAPNS de <1161> PRT sarra {N-PRI} ton <3588> T-ASM uion <5207> N-ASM agar <28> N-PRI thv <3588> T-GSF aiguptiav {A-GSF} ov <3739> R-NSM egeneto <1096> V-AMI-3S tw <3588> T-DSM abraam <11> N-PRI paizonta <3815> V-PAPAS meta <3326> PREP isaak <2464> N-PRI tou <3588> T-GSM uiou <5207> N-GSM authv <846> D-GSF
NET [draft] ITL	But Sarah <08283> noticed <07200> the son <01121> of Hagar <01904> the Egyptian <04713> – the son whom <0834> Hagar had borne <03205> to Abraham <085> – mocking <06711> .
HEBREW	qxum <06711> Mhrbal <085> hdly <03205> rsa <0834> tyrumh <04713> rgh <01904> Nb <01121> ta <0853> hrv <08283> artw (21:9) <07200>

NETBible

But Sarah noticed¹ the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking.²

NET Notes

¹tn Heb “saw.”

²tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.

²sn Mocking. Here Sarah interprets Ishmael’s actions as being sinister. Ishmael probably did not take the younger child seriously and Sarah saw this as a threat to Isaac. Paul in Gal 4:29 says that Ishmael persecuted Isaac. He uses a Greek word that can mean “to put to flight; to chase away; to pursue” and may be drawing on a rabbinic interpretation of the passage. In Paul’s analogical application of the passage, he points out that once the promised child Isaac (symbolizing Christ as the fulfillment of God’s promise) has come, there is no room left for the slave woman and her son (who symbolize the Mosaic law).