Genesis 21
21
The Birth of Isaac
1The Lord #1 Sam. 2:21 visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah #ch. 17:19; 18:10, 14as he had promised. 2And Sarah #Heb. 11:11; [Gal. 4:22] conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age #ch. 17:21at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, #ch. 17:19Isaac.#21:3 Isaac means he laughs 4And Abraham #Acts 7:8 circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, #ch. 17:10, 12as God had commanded him. 5#ch. 17:1, 17; Rom. 4:19Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6And Sarah said, #[Isa. 54:1; Gal. 4:27]“God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? #ch. 18:11, 12Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
God Protects Hagar and Ishmael
8And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9But Sarah #ch. 16:1, 15 saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, #[Gal. 4:29]laughing.#21:9 Possibly laughing in mockery 10So she said to Abraham, #Cited Gal. 4:30“Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for #Cited Rom. 9:7; Heb. 11:18through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13And I will make #ver. 18; ch. 16:10; 17:20a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of #ver. 31Beersheba.
15When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19Then #Num. 22:31; 2 Kgs. 6:17, 18, 20; [Luke 24:16, 31]God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness #ch. 16:12and became an expert with the bow. 21He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
A Treaty with Abimelech
22At that time #ch. 20:2; [ch. 26:1, 26] Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, #[ch. 26:28]“God is with you in all that you do. 23Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but #ch. 20:14as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24And Abraham said, “I will swear.”
25When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants #[ch. 26:15, 18, 20-22]had seized, 26Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men #ch. 26:31made a covenant. 28Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this#21:30 Or you may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31Therefore #ch. 26:33that place was called Beersheba,#21:31 Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath because there both of them swore an oath. 32So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and #ch. 4:26; 12:8 called there on the name of the Lord, #Isa. 40:28; [Ps. 90:2]the Everlasting God. 34And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.
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Genesis 21: ESV
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