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 .