Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Genesis 21

Introduction

1  Isaac is born, and circumcised.
6  Sarah's joy.
8  Isaac is weaned.
9  Hagar and Ishmael are cast forth.
15  Hagar in distress.
17  The angel relieves and comforts her.
23  Abimelech's covenant with Abraham at Beer-sheba.
Verse 1

And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
visited
50:24, Exodus 3:16, 4:31, 20:5, Ruth 1:6, 1 Samuel 2:21, Psalms 106:4, Luke 1:68, 19:44, Romans 4:17-20
Sarah as
17:19, 18:10,14, Psalms 12:6, Matthew 24:35, Galatians 4:23,28, Titus 1:2
Verse 2

For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
conceived
2 Kings 4:16,17, Luke 1:24,25,36, Acts 7:8, Galatians 4:22, Hebrews 11:11
at the set
17:19,21, 18:10,14, Romans 9:9
Verse 3

And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
6,12, 17:19, 22:2, Joshua 24:3, Matthew 1:2, Acts 7:8, Romans 9:7, Hebrews 11:18
Verse 4

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
17:10-12, Exodus 12:48, Leviticus 12:3, Deuteronomy 12:32, Luke 1:6,59, 2:21, John 7:22,23, Acts 7:8
Verse 5

And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
17:1,17, Romans 4:19
Verse 6

And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
God
17:17, 18:12-15, 1 Samuel 1:26-28, 2:1-10, Psalms 113:9, 126:2, Isaiah 49:15,21, Isaiah 54:1, Luke 1:46-55, John 16:21,22, Galatians 4:27,28, Hebrews 11:11
to laugh
Sarah most likely remembered the circumstance mentioned in ch. 18:12; and also the name Isaac, which implies laughter.
will laugh
Luke 1:14,58, Romans 12:15
Verse 7

And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
Who
Numbers 23:23, Deuteronomy 4:32-34, Psalms 86:8,10, Isaiah 49:21, 66:8, Ephesians 3:10, 2 Thessalonians 1:10
for I
18:11,12
Verse 8

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
A. M. 2111. B.C. 1893. and was
1 Samuel 1:22, Psalms 131:2, Hosea 1:8
feast
19:3, 26:30, 29:22, 40:20, Judges 14:10,12, 1 Samuel 25:36, 2 Samuel 3:20, 1 Kings 3:15, Esther 1:3
Verse 9

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
Sarah
16:3-6,15, 17:20
Egyptian
16:1,15
mocking
2 Kings 2:23,24, 2 Chronicles 30:10, 36:16, Nehemiah 4:1-5, Job 30:1, Psalms 22:6, 42:10, Psalms 44:13,14, Proverbs 20:11, Lamentations 1:7, Galatians 4:22,29, Hebrews 11:36
Verse 10

Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
Cast out
The word rendered "cast out," signifies also to divorce. See Le 21:7. In this latter sense, it may be understood here.
25:6,19, 17:19,21, 20:11, 22:10, 36:6,7, Matthew 8:11,12, 22:13, John 8:35, Galatians 4:22-31, 1 John 2:19
heir
John 8:35, Galatians 3:18, 4:7, 1 Peter 1:4, 1 John 2:19
Verse 11

And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
because
17:18, 22:1,2, 2 Samuel 18:33, Matthew 10:37, Hebrews 12:11
Verse 12

And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
hearken
1 Samuel 8:7,9, Isaiah 46:10
in Isaac
17:19,21, Romans 9:7,8, Hebrews 11:18
Verse 13

And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
18, 16:10, 17:20, 25:12-18
Verse 14

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
A. M. 2112. B.C. 1892. rose up
19:27, 22:3, 24:54, 26:31, Psalms 119:60, Proverbs 27:14, Ecclesiastes 9:10
took
25:6, 36:6,7
child
Or, youth, (see ver. 12, 20,) as Ishmael was now 16 or 17 years of age.
sent
John 8:35
wandered
16:7, 37:15, Psalms 107:4, Isaiah 16:8, Galatians 4:23-25
Beer-sheba
So called when Moses wrote; but not before Abraham's covenant with Abimelech, ver. 31. Such instances of the figure prolepsis are not infrequent in the Pentateuch.
33, 22:19, 26:33, 46:1, 1 Kings 19:3
Verse 15

And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
the water
14, Exodus 15:22-25, 17:1-3, 2 Kings 3:9, Psalms 63:1, Isaiah 44:12, Jeremiah 14:3
and she cast the child
Or, "and she sent the lad," to screen him from the intensity of the heat.
Verse 16

And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
Let
44:34, 1 Kings 3:26, Esther 8:6, Isaiah 49:15, Zechariah 12:10, Luke 15:20
lift
27:38, 29:11, Judges 2:4, Ruth 1:9, 1 Samuel 24:16, 30:4
Verse 17

And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
heard
16:11, Exodus 3:7, 22:23,27, 2 Kings 13:4,23, Psalms 50:15, 65:2, 91:15, Matthew 15:32
the angel
16:9,11
What
Judges 18:23, 1 Samuel 11:5, Isaiah 22:1
fear
15:1, 46:3, Exodus 14:13, Psalms 107:4-6, Isaiah 41:10,13,14, 43:1,2, Mark 5:36
Verse 18

Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
I will
13, 16:10, 17:20, 25:12-18, 1 Chronicles 1:29-31
Verse 19

And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
Numbers 22:31, 2 Kings 6:17-20, Isaiah 35:5,6, Luke 24:16-31
Verse 20

And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
God
17:20, 28:15, 39:2,3,21, Judges 6:12, 13:24,25, Luke 1:80, 2:40
an archer
10:9, 16:12, 25:27, 27:3, 49:23,24
Verse 21

And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
in the
Numbers 10:12, 12:16, 13:3,26, 1 Samuel 25:1
a wife
24:3,4, 26:34,35, 27:46, 28:1,2, Judges 14:2, 1 Corinthians 7:38
Verse 22

And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
A. M. 2118. B.C. 1886. Abimelech
20:2, 26:26
God
20:17, 26:28, 28:15, 30:27, 39:2,3, Joshua 3:7, 2 Chronicles 1:1, Isaiah 8:10, 45:14, Zechariah 8:23, Matthew 1:23, Romans 8:31, 1 Corinthians 14:25, Hebrews 13:5, Revelation 3:9
Verse 23

Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
swear
14:22,23, 24:3, 26:28, 31:44,53, Deuteronomy 6:13, Joshua 2:12, 1 Samuel 20:13,17,42, 1 Samuel 24:21,22, 30:15, Jeremiah 4:2, 2 Corinthians 1:23, Hebrews 6:16
that thou wilt not deal falsely with me
Heb. if thou shalt lie unto me. I have.
20:14
Verse 24

And Abraham said, I will swear.
14:13, Romans 12:18, Hebrews 6:16
Verse 25

And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
reproved
26:15-22, 29:8, Exodus 2:15-17, Judges 1:15, Proverbs 17:10, 25:9, 27:5, Matthew 18:15
because
Wells of water were of great consequence in those hot countries, especially where the flocks were numerous; because water was scarce, and digging to find it was attended with the expense of much time and labour.
servants
13:7, 26:15-22, Exodus 2:16,17
Verse 26

And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
I wot
"Wot," though used for the present, is the past tense of the almost obsolete word "to wit," from the Saxon witan, to know.
13:7, 2 Kings 5:20-24
Verse 27

And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
took
14:22,23, Proverbs 17:8, 18:16,24, 21:14, Isaiah 32:8
made
26:28-31, 31:44, 1 Samuel 18:3, Ezekiel 17:13, Romans 1:31, Galatians 3:15
Verse 29

And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
33:8, Exodus 12:26, 1 Samuel 15:14
Verse 30

And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
a witness
31:44-48,52, Joshua 22:27,28, 24:27
Verse 31

Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
called
26:33
Beer-sheba
i.e., The well of the oath, or the well of the seven: alluding to the seven ewe lambs. The verb rendered "to swear" is derived from the word translated seven.
14, 26:23, Joshua 15:28, Judges 20:1, 2 Samuel 17:11, 1 Kings 4:25
Verse 32

Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
27, 14:13, 31:53, 1 Samuel 18:3
the Philistines
10:14, 26:8,14, Exodus 13:17, Judges 13:1
Verse 33

And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
grove
or, tree.
Amos 8:14; The original word {eshel,} has been variously translated a grove, a plantation, an orchard, a cultivated field, and an oak; but it may denote a kind of tamarisk, as it is rendered by Gesenius, the same with the Arabic {athl.}
Beer-sheba
Deuteronomy 16:21, Judges 3:7
called
4:26, 12:8, 26:23,25,33
on the name
Dr. Shuckford justly contends, that the expression rendered, "he called on the name," signifies "he invoked in the name."
everlasting
Deuteronomy 33:27, Psalms 90:2, Isaiah 40:28, 57:15, Jeremiah 10:10, Romans 1:20, 16:26, 1 Timothy 1:17
Verse 34

And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.
20:1, 1 Chronicles 29:15, Psalms 39:12, Hebrews 11:9,13, 1 Peter 2:11

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