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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Genesis 21 Pulpit Commentary</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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not because the verse is Jehovistic (Knobel, Bleek, <span class="accented">et alii</span>), but because the promise naturally falls to be implemented by him who gave it (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/18-10.htm">Genesis 18:10</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">visited</span> - remembered with love (Onkelos), <span class="greek">ἐπισκέψατο</span> (LXX.; cf. <a href="/genesis/50-24.htm">Genesis 50:24</a>; <a href="/exodus/4-31.htm">Exodus 4:31</a>; <a href="/1_samuel/2-21.htm">1 Samuel 2:21</a>; <a href="/isaiah/23-17.htm">Isaiah 23:17</a>); though it sometimes means to approach in judgment (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/exodus/20-5.htm">Exodus 20:5</a>; <a href="/exodus/32-34.htm">Exodus 32:34</a>). Alleged to be peculiar to the Jehovist (the term used by the Elohist being <span class="hebrew">זָכַר</span>: <a href="/genesis/8-1.htm">Genesis 8:1</a>; <a href="/genesis/19-29.htm">Genesis 19:29</a>; <a href="/genesis/30-20.htm">Genesis 30:20</a>), the word occurs in <a href="/genesis/1-24.htm">Genesis 1:24</a>, which Tuch and Bleek ascribe to the Elohist - <span class="cmt_word">Sarah as he had said</span> (<a href="/genesis/17-21.htm">Genesis 17:21</a>; <a href="/genesis/18-10.htm">Genesis 18:10, 14</a>), - God's word of promise being ever the rule of his performance (cf. <a href="/exodus/12-25.htm">Exodus 12:25</a>; <a href="/luke/1-72.htm">Luke 1:72</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken</span> - <span class="accented">i.e.</span> implemented his promise; the proof of which is next given (cf. <a href="/numbers/23-19.htm">Numbers 23:19</a>; <a href="/hebrews/6-18.htm">Hebrews 6:18</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-2.htm">Genesis 21:2</a></div><div class="verse">For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 2.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">For Sarah conceived</span>, - through faith receiving strength from God for that purpose (<a href="/hebrews/11-11.htm">Hebrews 11:11</a>); the fruit of the womb, in every instance God's handiwork (<a href="/isaiah/44-2.htm">Isaiah 44:2</a>), being in her case a special gift of grace and product of Divine power - <span class="cmt_word">and bare -</span> the usual construction (<a href="/genesis/29-32.htm">Genesis 29:32</a>; <a href="/genesis/30-5.htm">Genesis 30:5</a>) is here somewhat modified by the Jehovist (Kalisch); but the clause may be compared with <a href="/genesis/30-22.htm">Genesis 30:22, 23</a>, commonly assigned to the Elohlst - <span class="cmt_word">Abraham</span> (literally, to <span class="accented">Abraham<span class="cmt_word"></span>) a son in his old age,</span> - literally, <span class="accented">to his old age</span>; <span class="greek">εἰς τὸ γῆρας</span> (LXX.) - <span class="cmt_word">at the set time</span> (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/17-21.htm">Genesis 17:21</a>; <a href="/genesis/18-10.htm">Genesis 18:10, 14</a>) <span class="cmt_word">of which God had spoken to him.</span> God's word gave Abraham strength to beget, Sarah to conceive, and Isaac to come forth. Three times repeated in two verses, the clause points to the supernatural character of Isaac's birth. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-3.htm">Genesis 21:3</a></div><div class="verse">And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 3.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham called the name of his son</span> - the naming of a child by its father is, according to partitionists, a peculiarity of the Elohist as distinguished from the Jehovist, who assigns that function to the mother; but <span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/16-15.htm">Genesis 16:15</a> - <span class="cmt_word">that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him</span> (the latter clause being added to distinguish him from Hagar's child), Isaac - <span class="cmt_word">laughter; the name appointed for him by God before his birth</span> (<a href="/genesis/17-19.htm">Genesis 17:19</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-4.htm">Genesis 21:4</a></div><div class="verse">And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham circumcised</span> (<span class="accented">vide</span> on Genesis 17:11, and note at the end of that chapter) <span class="cmt_word">his son Isaac being eight days old</span> (literally, <span class="accented">a son of eight days</span>)<span class="accented">, <span class="cmt_word"></span>as</span> (not only because, but in the manner in which) <span class="cmt_word">God had commanded him.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-5.htm">Genesis 21:5</a></div><div class="verse">And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 5.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham was an hundred years old</span> (cf. <a href="/genesis/17-1.htm">Genesis 17:1, 17</a>), <span class="cmt_word">when his son Isaac was born unto him</span>. Literally, <span class="accented">at the time of bearing to him</span> (<span class="greek">ἐν τῷ τεκεῖν</span>) <span class="accented">Isaac</span> (<span class="accented">vide</span> Gesenius, 'Gram.,' § 143). Thus Abraham had waited twenty-five years for the fulfillment of the promise - a remarkable instance of faith and patience (<a href="/romans/4-20.htm">Romans 4:20</a>), as Isaac's birth was a signal display of Divine power (<a href="/romans/4-17.htm">Romans 4:17</a>; <a href="/hebrews/11-12.htm">Hebrews 11:12</a>). Whether Isaac was born at Gerar or at Beersheba cannot with certitude be inferred. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-6.htm">Genesis 21:6</a></div><div class="verse">And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, <i>so that</i> all that hear will laugh with me.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Sarah said,</span> - the spiritual elevation of her soul being indicated by the poetical form of her speech. Differing from Mary s magnificat in having been uttered after, and not before, the birth of the promised seed, the anthem of Sarah was obviously designed as a prelude to that loftier song of the Virgin (cf. <a href="/luke/1-46.htm">Luke 1:46</a>). It consists of two sentences, the first containing two, and the second three lines - <span class="cmt_word">God hath made me to laugh.</span> Or, retaining the order of the Hebrew, <span class="accented">To laugh hath made me Elohim</span>; the emphatic position of <span class="hebrew">צְחֹק</span>, containing an allusion to the name Isaac, probably indicating that Sarah's laughter was of a different character now from what it had previously been (<a href="/genesis/18-12.htm">Genesis 18:12</a>); and her ascription of it to Elohim intimating that him whom she formerly mistook for a traveler she now recognized to be Divine ('Speaker's Commentary'). <span class="cmt_word">So that</span> <span class="cmt_word">all that hear me will laugh with me.</span> Not, will laugh at me, <span class="accented">deridebit me</span> (Peele), a sense the words will bear (Rosenmüller, 'Speaker's Commentary'), though in the instances adduced (<a href="/job/5-22.htm">Job 5:22</a>; <a href="/job/39-7.htm">Job 39:7, 18, 22</a>) <span class="hebrew">צָחַק לְ</span> rather conveys the idea of despising difficulties (Kalisch); but, will laugh with me, <span class="greek">συγχαρεῖταί μου</span>, <span class="accented">congaudebit mihi</span> (LXX., Vulgate, Targums, Calvin, Dathe, Keil). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-7.htm">Genesis 21:7</a></div><div class="verse">And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born <i>him</i> a son in his old age.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 7.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham</span>, - <span class="hebrew">מִלֶּל</span>, the poetic word for <span class="hebrew">דּבֵּר</span>, is introduced by <span class="hebrew">מִי</span> in order to express astonishment; the meaning being that what had happened was altogether out of the ordinary course of nature, was, in fact, God's work alone (Vatablus, Calvin, Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch, 'Speaker's Commentary'). Less happy are <span class="greek">τίς ἀναγγελεῖ τῳ Ἀβραὰμ</span> (LXX.); <span class="accented">quis auditurum crederet Abraham quod</span> (Vulgate); <span class="accented">quam fidelis est ille qui dixit Abrahamo</span> (Onkelos) - <span class="cmt_word">that Sarah should have given children suck?</span> Literally, <span class="accented">Sarah suckleth sons</span>. "Many of the greatest saints in Holy Scripture, and even our Lord himself, were nursed by their own mothers" (Wordsworth). <span class="cmt_word">For I have born him a son in his old age.</span> Literally, <span class="accented">I have born a son to his old</span> age. The LXX. incorrectly render <span class="greek">ἐν τῶ γήρᾳ μου</span>. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-8.htm">Genesis 21:8</a></div><div class="verse">And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the <i>same</i> day that Isaac was weaned.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 8.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And the child grew</span>, - <span class="greek">καὶ ἠυξήθη</span> <span class="greek">τὸ παιδίον</span> (LXX.): imitated by Luke concerning Christ: <span class="greek">τὸ παιδίον ηὔξανε</span> (<a href="/luke/2-40.htm">Luke 2:40</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">and was weaned</span>. The verb <span class="accented">gamal</span> originally signifies to do good to any one, to do completely; hence to finish, or make completely ready, as an infant; hence to wean, since either at that time the period of infancy is regarded as complete, or the child s independent existence is then fully reached. The time of weaning is commonly believed to have been at the end of the second or third year (cf. <a href="/1_samuel/1-22.htm">1 Samuel 1:22-24</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/31-16.htm">2 Chronicles 31:16</a>; 2 Macc. 7:27; Josephus, 'Ant.,' 2:09, 6). <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.</span> Literally, <span class="accented">in the day of the weaning of Isaac</span>; probably, therefore, when Isaac was three years old and Ishmael seventeen. "It is still customary in the East to have a festive gathering at the time a child is weaned. Among the Hindoos, when the time for weaning has come, the event is accompanied with feasting and religious ceremonies, during which rice is formally presented to the child" ('Bible Manners and Customs,' by Rev. J. A. Freeman, M.A., ' Homiletical Quarterly,' vol. 1. p. 78; cf. Roberts' 'Oriental Illustrations,' p. 24). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> CHAPTER 21:9-14 </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-9.htm">Genesis 21:9</a></div><div class="verse">And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 9.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Sarah saw</span> - at the feast already mentioned (Knobel, Keil); probably also on different occasions since the birth of Isaac - <span class="cmt_word">the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking</span>. <span class="greek">Παίζοντα μετὰ Ισαὰκ τοῦ υἰοῦ αὐτης</span> (LXX.), <span class="accented">ludentem cum Isaaco filio sue</span> (Vulgate), playing like a child (Aben Ezra, Knobel, Tuch, Ilgen), playing and dancing gracefully (Gesenius); but the stronger sense of the word, implying mockery, scoffing, irritating and deriding laughter (Kimchi, Vatablus, Grotius, Calvin, Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch, 'Speaker's Commentary,' Murphy), besides being admissible (cf. <a href="/genesis/19-14.htm">Genesis 19:14</a>; <a href="/genesis/26-8.htm">Genesis 26:8</a>; <a href="/genesis/39-14.htm">Genesis 39:14, 17</a>; <a href="/exodus/32-6.htm">Exodus 32:6</a>), seems involved in the Piel form of the participle <span class="hebrew">מְצַחֵק</span> (Kurtz), and is demanded by <a href="/galatians/4-29.htm">Galatians 4:29</a>. That Ishmael ridiculed the banquet on the occasion of Isaac's weaning (Malvenda), quarreled with him about the heirship (Fagins, Piseator), and perhaps made sport of him as a father of nations (Hengstenberg), though plausible conjectures, are not stated in the text. Ainsworth dates from this event the 400 years of Israel's oppression (<span class="accented">vide Genesis</span> 15:13). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-10.htm">Genesis 21:10</a></div><div class="verse">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, <i>even</i> with Isaac.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 10.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Wherefore she said</span> - though with an admixture of sinful feelings, non <span class="accented">dubito arcane Spiritus instinctu gubernatam fuisse ejus linguam et mentem</span> (Calvin); <span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/galatians/4-30.htm">Galatians 4:30</a> - <span class="cmt_word">unto Abraham, Cast out</span> - by some kind of legal act (as divorce: cf. <a href="/leviticus/21-7.htm">Leviticus 21:7, 14</a>; <a href="/leviticus/22-13.htm">Leviticus 22:13</a>; <a href="/isaiah/57-20.htm">Isaiah 57:20</a>), which should insure the disinheriting of Ishmael (Bush); though probably- this is to import later Mosaic legislation rote the records of primitive tunes - <span class="cmt_word">this bondwoman</span> - a term ill befitting Sarah, who had given Hagar to her husband as a wife (<a href="/genesis/16-3.htm">Genesis 16:3</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">and her son</span> (who was Abraham's offspring, though not the promised seed; a consideration which should have mitigated Sarah's anger): <span class="cmt_word">for the son of this bondwoman</span> (a repetition evincing the bitter ness of her contempt and the intensity of her choler) <span class="cmt_word">shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.</span> Notwithstanding the assurance (<a href="/genesis/17-21.htm">Genesis 17:21</a>) that the covenant was made with Isaac, Sarah was apprehensive lest Ishmael should contrive to disinherit him; an act of unbelief into which she was manifestly betrayed by her maternal fears and womanly jealousy. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-11.htm">Genesis 21:11</a></div><div class="verse">And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 11.</span> <span class="cmt_word">- And the thing</span> (literally, the word, <span class="accented">i.e.</span> Sarah's proposal) <span class="cmt_word">was very grievous</span> (literally, <span class="accented">evil exceedingly</span>; for the contrary phrase <span class="accented">vide Genesis</span> 20:15) <span class="cmt_word">in Abraham's sight</span> (literally, <span class="accented">in the eyes of</span> Abraham) <span class="cmt_word">because of his son</span> - who, besides being bound to him by the ties of natural affection, had for years been regarded as the Heaven-appointed heir of the promise (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/17-18.htm">Genesis 17:18</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-12.htm">Genesis 21:12</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And God said unto Abraham</span>, - probably in a dream, or night vision (<span class="accented">vide</span> Ver. 14) - <span class="cmt_word">Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman</span>; - who was never recognized by God as Abraham's wife (cf. <a href="/genesis/16-8.htm">Genesis 16:8</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice.</span> Though Sarah's counsel was approved by God, it does not follow that her conduct was. On a former occasion Abraham's hearkening unto Sarah's voice had led to sin (<a href="/genesis/16-2.htm">Genesis 16:2</a>); this time it would lie exactly in the line of duty. For in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Literally, <span class="accented">in Isaac shall seed</span> (<span class="accented">i.e.</span> posterity) <span class="accented">be called to thee</span>; meaning neither, "<span class="accented">by</span> Isaac shall thy seed be called, or named" (Hofmann, Kalisch, Ainsworth), nor, "in Isaac shall thy seed be called into existence" (Dreschler); but, "in Isaac shall there be posterity to thee which shall pass as such," <span class="accented">i.e.</span> be called or recognized as such (Keil); or, more simply, "in Isaac," <span class="accented">i.e.</span> in the line of Isaac, "shall be called to thee a seed," <span class="accented">i.e.</span> a seed <span class="accented">par excellence</span>, the seed already promised (Bleek, Delitzsch, Rosenmüller, Alford, Murphy). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-13.htm">Genesis 21:13</a></div><div class="verse">And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he <i>is</i> thy seed.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 13.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And also of the son of the bond-woman will I make a nation.</span> Literally, <span class="accented">to nation I will set or put him</span>; a promise already given (<a href="/genesis/17-20.htm">Genesis 17:20</a>), but here repeated to render Ishmael's dismissal easier. <span class="cmt_word">Because he is thy seed</span>. "Thy son according to the flesh, though not after the promise, as Isaac was" (Ainsworth); a proof that men may sometimes receive mercies for their fathers' sakes. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-14.htm">Genesis 21:14</a></div><div class="verse">And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave <i>it</i> unto Hagar, putting <i>it</i> on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 14.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham rose up early in the morning</span>, - hastening to put in force the Divine instructions (cf. <a href="/genesis/19-27.htm">Genesis 19:27</a>; <a href="/genesis/22-8.htm">Genesis 22:8</a>, Abraham; <a href="/genesis/20-8.htm">Genesis 20:8</a>, Abimelech; <a href="/genesis/28-18.htm">Genesis 28:18</a>, Jacob) - <span class="cmt_word">and took bread, and a bottle of water,</span> - the bottle, from a root signifying to enclose (Furst); <span class="greek">ἀσκόν</span> (LXX.), was composed of skin, the material of which the earliest carrying vessels were constructed (cf. <a href="/joshua/9-4.htm">Joshua 9:4, 13</a>; <a href="/judges/4-19.htm">Judges 4:19</a>; <a href="/1_samuel/16-20.htm">1 Samuel 16:20</a>; <a href="/matthew/9-17.htm">Matthew 9:17</a>). "The monuments of Egypt, the sculptures of Mesopotamia, and the relics of Herculaneum and Pompeii afford ample opportunities to learn the shape and use of every variety of bottles, often surprising us both by their elegance and costliness" (Kalisch) - <span class="cmt_word">and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder</span>, - the usual place for carrying such vessels among Oriental women. According to Herodotus (2. 35), Egyptian women carried burdens on their shoulders, Egyptian men upon their heads - <span class="cmt_word">and the child</span>, - not placing the child, now a youth of over seventeen years, upon her shoulder (LXX., Schumann, Bohlen); <span class="cmt_word">but giving him, along with the bottle</span> (Havernick, Kalisch, A Lapide, Ainsworth), or, as well as the bread (Keil, Murphy), to Hagar, not to be carried as a burden, but led as a companion - <span class="cmt_word">and sent her away</span> - divorced her by the command of God (A Lapide); but as Hagar was never recognized by God as Abraham's wife, her sending away was not a case of divorce (Wordsworth) - and she departed (from Beersheba, whither Abraham had by this time removed, and where, in all probability, Isaac had been born), and wandered - i.e. lost her way (cf. <a href="/genesis/37-15.htm">Genesis 37:15</a>) - in the wilderness (the uncultivated waste between Palestine and Egypt) of Beersheba - introduced here by anticipation, unless the incident in Vers. 22-33 had previously taken place (<span class="accented">vide</span> on Ver. 31). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> CHAPTER 21:15-21 </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-15.htm">Genesis 21:15</a></div><div class="verse">And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 15.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And the water was spent in</span> (literally, <span class="accented">from</span>) <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>the bottle</span>, - so that the wanderers became exhausted, and were in danger of fainting through thirst - <span class="cmt_word">and she cast the child</span> - a translation which certainly conveys an erroneous impression, first of Ishmael, who was not an infant, but a grown lad (<span class="accented">vide</span> supra, Ver. 14), and secondly of Ishmael's mother, whom it represents as acting with violence, if not with inhumanity; whereas the sense probably is that, having, as long as her rapidly diminishing strength permitted, supported her fainting son, she at length suddenly, through feebleness, released his nerveless hand as he fell, and in despair, finding herself unable to give him further assistance, left him, as she believed, to die where he had flung himself in his intolerable anguish - <span class="cmt_word">under one of the shrubs</span>. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-16.htm">Genesis 21:16</a></div><div class="verse">And she went, and sat her down over against <i>him</i> 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 <i>him</i>, and lift up her voice, and wept.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 16.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And she went, and sat her down</span> - <span class="hebrew">וַתֵּשֶׁב לָהּ</span>, the pronoun being added to the verb, as an ethical dative, to indicate that the action was of special importance to her, meaning, "she, for herself, or for her part, sat down" (<span class="accented">vide</span> Ewald's 'Hebrews Synt. ,' § 315, a.; and Glass, 'Phil Tract.,' 1. 3. tr. 2. c. 6; and cf. <a href="/genesis/12-1.htm">Genesis 12:1</a>; <a href="/genesis/22-5.htm">Genesis 22:5</a>) - over against him a good way off. The hiph. inf. of <span class="hebrew">רָחַק</span>, to go far away, to recede from any one, is here used adverbially, as in <a href="/joshua/3-16.htm">Joshua 3:16</a> (Gesenius, Furst, Kalisch), though by others it is understood as explaining the action of the previous verbs, and as equivalent to a gerund in <span class="accented">do</span>, or a participle, <span class="accented">elon</span>-<span class="accented">gando se</span> (Rosenmüller), or simply" removing to a distance" (Ewald; <span class="accented">vide</span> 'Hebrews Synt., § 280 a.). <span class="cmt_word">As it were a bowshot</span>. Literally, <span class="accented">as those who draw the bow, i.e.</span> as far off as archers are accustomed to place the target (Keil). The sense is correctly given by the LXX.: <span class="greek">μακρόθεν ὡσεὶ τόξου βολήν</span>. <span class="cmt_word">For she said, Let me not see</span> - <span class="accented">i.e.</span> look upon with anguish (cf. <a href="/numbers/11-15.htm">Numbers 11:15</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">the death of the child</span> - <span class="greek">τοῦ παιδίου μου</span> (LXX.). <span class="cmt_word">And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept</span>. The verbs, being feminine, indicate that it is Hagar's grief which is here described, and that the rendering, "and the child lifted up his voice and wept" (LXX.), is incorrect; although the next verse may suggest that Ishmael, like his mother, was also dissolved in tears. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-17.htm">Genesis 21:17</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>is</i>.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 17.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And God</span> <span class="accented">- Elohim</span>; Hagar and Ishmael having now been removed from the care and superintendence of the covenant God to the guidance and providence of God the ruler of all nations (Keil) - <span class="cmt_word">heard the voice of the lad</span>; - praying (Inglis), or weeping, <span class="accented">ut supra</span> - <span class="cmt_word">and the angel of God</span> - <span class="accented">Maleach Elohim</span>; not <span class="accented">Maleach Jehovah</span>, as in <a href="/genesis/16-7.htm">Genesis 16:7-13</a>, for the reason above specified (Hengstenberg, Quarry) - <span class="cmt_word">called to Hagar out of heaven</span>, - it may be inferred there was no external appearance or <span class="accented">theophaneia</span>, such as was vouchsafed to her when wandering in the wilderness of Shut (<a href="/genesis/16-7.htm">Genesis 16:7</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">and said unto her, What aileth thee</span> (literally, <span class="accented">What to</span> thee?) <span class="cmt_word">Hagar? fear not;</span> - so the word of Jehovah addressed Abram (<a href="/genesis/15-1.htm">Genesis 15:1</a>), Isaac (<a href="/genesis/26-4.htm">Genesis 26:4</a>), Daniel (<a href="/daniel/10-12.htm">Daniel 10:12</a>), and John (<a href="/revelation/1-17.htm">Revelation 1:17</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">for God hath heard the voice of the lad</span> - <span class="accented">i.e.</span> the voice (perhaps the mute cry) of the lad's misery, and in that also the audible sob of Hagar's weeping. It is net said that either Ishmael or his mother prayed to God in their distress. Hence the Divine interposition on their behalf <span class="accented">non</span> <span class="accented">quid</span> <span class="accented">a se peterent, sed quid servo suo Abrahae de Ismaele pollicitus foret, respexit</span> (Calvin) - <span class="cmt_word">where he is</span> - an ellipsis for from, or in, the place where he is; <span class="greek">ἐκ τοῦ τόπου οὑ ἐστιν</span> (LXX.); <span class="accented">ex loco ubi est</span> (Calvin); meaning either "in his helpless condition" (Keil), or out in the desolate wilderness, as contrasted with the house of Abraham (Calvin). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-18.htm">Genesis 21:18</a></div><div class="verse">Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 18.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand</span>. Literally, <span class="accented">bind fast ray hand to him, i.e.</span> give him thy support now, and take cars of him till he reaches manhood. Cf. God's promise to Israel (<a href="/isaiah/42-6.htm">Isaiah 42:6</a>). <span class="cmt_word">For I will make him</span> (literally, <span class="accented">to</span>) <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>a great nation</span> (<span class="accented">vide</span> Ver. 13; and cf. <a href="/genesis/16-10.htm">Genesis 16:10</a>; <a href="/genesis/17-20.htm">Genesis 17:20</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-19.htm">Genesis 21:19</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 19.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And God opened her eyes</span>. Not necessarily by miraculous operation; perhaps simply by providentially guiding her search for water, after the administered consolation had revived her spirit and roused her energies. And she saw a well of water, <span class="hebrew">בְּאֵר מַיִם</span>, as distinguished from <span class="hebrew">בּור</span>, a pit or cistern, meant a fountain or spring of living water (cf. <a href="/genesis/24-11.htm">Genesis 24:11, 20</a>; <a href="/genesis/26-19.htm">Genesis 26:19, 20, 21</a>). It had not been previously observed by Hagar, either because of her mental agitation (<span class="accented">dolors quasi caeca</span>. Rosenmüller), or because, as was customary, the mouth of the well was covered - <span class="cmt_word">and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink</span> - which was certainly the first of the youth s necessities, being needful to the preservation of his life and the reviving of his spirits. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-20.htm">Genesis 21:20</a></div><div class="verse">And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verses 20, 21.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And God was with the lad</span>. Not simply in the ordinary sense in which he is with all men (<a href="/psalms/139-3.htm">Psalm 139:3-9</a>; <a href="/acts/17-27.htm">Acts 17:27, 28</a>); not, certainly, in the spiritual sense in which he had promised to be with Isaac (<a href="/genesis/17-21.htm">Genesis 17:21</a>), and in which he is with believers (<a href="/genesis/26-24.htm">Genesis 26:24</a>; <a href="/isaiah/41-10.htm">Isaiah 41:10</a>; <a href="/matthew/28-20.htm">Matthew 28:20</a>); but in the particular sense of exercising towards him a special providence, with a view to implementing the promise made concerning him to Abraham and Hagar. <span class="cmt_word">And he grew</span> (literally, <span class="accented">became great, i.e.</span> progressed towards manhood), <span class="cmt_word">and dwelt in the wilderness</span> (<span class="accented">i.e.</span> led a roving and unsettled life), <span class="cmt_word">and became an archer</span>. Literally, <span class="accented">and he was</span> <span class="hebrew">׃ך׃ך רֹבֶה קַשָּׁת</span> deriving <span class="hebrew">רֹבֶה</span> from <span class="hebrew">רָבַה</span>, to grow great or multiply, either <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(1)</span> when he grew up, an archer, or man using the bow (Gesenius, Keil); <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(2)</span> growing an archer, or acquiring skill as a bowman (Kalisch, Wordsworth); or <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(3)</span> growing, or multiplying into, a tribe of archers (Murphy). With the first of these substantially agree the renderings <span class="greek">καὶ ἀγένετο</span> <span class="greek">τοξότης</span> (LXX), and <span class="accented">factus est juvenis sagittarius</span> (Vulgate). Others, connecting <span class="hebrew">רֹבֶה</span> with <span class="hebrew">רָבַכ</span>, in the sense of to cast arrows (cf. <a href="/genesis/49-23.htm">Genesis 49:23</a>), read, <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(1)</span> "and he was a shooter of arrows from the bow" (Jarchi, Kimchi, Rosenmüller), though in this case <span class="hebrew">קֶשֶׁת</span> would have to be read for <span class="hebrew">קַשָּׁת</span> (Furst); <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(2)</span> a marksman, archer, <span class="accented">i.e.</span> a marksman skilled in using the bow (Ewald, <span class="accented">vide</span> ' Hebrews Synt.,' § 287). Baumgarten translates, a hero (or great one), an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: - the desert of <span class="accented">El-</span>Tih, on the south of Canaan (cf. <a href="/genesis/14-6.htm">Genesis 14:6</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt</span> (cf. <a href="/genesis/24-4.htm">Genesis 24:4, 55</a>; <a href="/exodus/21-10.htm">Exodus 21:10</a>). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> CHAPTER 21:22-34 </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-21.htm">Genesis 21:21</a></div><div class="verse">And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.</div><div class="comm"></div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-22.htm">Genesis 21:22</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God <i>is</i> with thee in all that thou doest:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 22.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And it came to pass at that time</span>, - possibly in immediate sequence to the incident of the preceding chapter, but, "according to the common law of Hebrew narrative, probably not long after the birth of Isaac." (Murphy) - <span class="cmt_word">that Abimelech</span> - the king of Gerar (<a href="/genesis/20-2.htm">Genesis 20:2</a>; <a href="/genesis/26-1.htm">Genesis 26:1, 16</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">and Phi-chol</span> - if the name be Shemitic, "mouth of all," <span class="accented">i.e.</span> spokesman of all (Murphy), ruler of all (Gesenius); or "<span class="accented">the</span> distinguished" (Furst); believed to have been a titular designation of the Philistine monarch's grand vizier or prime minister (Lange, 'Speaker's Commentary'), who was also - <span class="cmt_word">the chief captain of his host</span> (<span class="accented">i.e.</span> the commander-in-chief of his forces) <span class="cmt_word">spake unto Abraham</span> (having come from Gerar for the purpose), <span class="cmt_word">saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest</span> - a conviction derived from his former acquaintance with the patriarch (<a href="/genesis/20.htm">Genesis 20</a>.), his knowledge of Isaac s birth, and his general observation of the patriarch's prosperity. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-23.htm">Genesis 21:23</a></div><div class="verse">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: <i>but</i> according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 23.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Now therefore swear unto me here by God</span> - the verb to swear is derived from the Hebrew numeral seven, inasmuch as the septennary number was sacred, and oaths were confirmed either by seven sacrifices (<a href="/genesis/21-28.htm">Genesis 21:28</a>) or by seven witnesses and pledges - <span class="cmt_word">that thou wilt not deal falsely with me</span>, - literally, <span class="accented">if thou shalt lie unto me</span>; a common form of oath in Hebrew, in which the other member of the sentence is for emphasis left unexpressed (cf. <a href="/ruth/1-17.htm">Ruth 1:17</a>, and <span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/14-23.htm">Genesis 14:23</a>). As a prince, Abimelech was afraid of Abraham's growing power; as a good man, he insures the safety of himself and his dominions not by resorting to war, but by forming an amicable treaty with his neighbor - <span class="cmt_word">nor with my son, nor with my son's son</span>: - <span class="greek">σπέρμα καὶ ὅνομα</span> (LXX.); <span class="accented">posteri et stirps</span> (Vulgate); offspring and progeny (Kalisch); kith and kin (Murphy) - <span class="cmt_word">but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee</span> (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/20-15.htm">Genesis 20:15</a>), <span class="cmt_word">thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned</span> - the land being put for the people (cf. <a href="/numbers/14-13.htm">Numbers 14:13</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-24.htm">Genesis 21:24</a></div><div class="verse">And Abraham said, I will swear.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 24.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham said, I will swear.</span> Only before concluding the agreement there was a matter of a more personal character that required settlement. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-25.htm">Genesis 21:25</a></div><div class="verse">And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 25.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham reproved</span> (literally, <span class="accented">reasoned with</span>, and proved to the satisfaction of) <span class="cmt_word">Abimelech</span> (who was, until informed, entirely unacquainted with the action of his servants) <span class="cmt_word">because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.</span> The greatest possible injury of a material kind that could be done to a nomads chief was the all faction of his water supplies. Hence "the ownership of wells m Palestine was as jealously guarded as the possession of a mine in our own" (Inglis). Contests for wells "<span class="accented">are</span> now very common all over the country, but more especially in the southern deserts" (Thomson, 'Land and Book,' p. 559). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-26.htm">Genesis 21:26</a></div><div class="verse">And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I <i>of it</i>, but to day.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 26.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abimelech said, I wet not who hath done this thing</span>. There is no reason to question the sincerity of the Philistine monarch in disclaiming all knowledge of the act of robbery committed by his servants. <span class="cmt_word">Neither didst thou toll me, neither yet heard I of it, but today.</span> The prince rather complains that Abraham had done him an injustice. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-27.htm">Genesis 21:27</a></div><div class="verse">And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 27.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech As the usual covenant presents</span> (cf. <a href="/1_kings/15-19.htm">1 Kings 15:19</a>; <a href="/isaiah/30-6.htm">Isaiah 30:6</a>; <a href="/isaiah/39-1.htm">Isaiah 39:1</a>). <span class="cmt_word">And both of them made a covenant</span>. As already Mature, Aner, and Eshcol had formed a league with the patriarch (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/14-13.htm">Genesis 14:13</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-28.htm">Genesis 21:28</a></div><div class="verse">And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verses 28-30.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves</span> (designing by another covenant to secure himself against future invasion of Isis rights). <span class="cmt_word">And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me,</span> - that this peculiar kind of oath never occurs again in Old Testament history is no proof of the mythical character of the narrative (Bohlen); on the contrary, "that the custom existed in primitive Hebrew times is shown by the word <span class="hebrew">נִשְׁבַּע</span>, which had early passed into the language, and which would be inexplicable without the existence of such a custom" (Havernick) - <span class="cmt_word">that I have digged this well.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-29.htm">Genesis 21:29</a></div><div class="verse">And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What <i>mean</i> these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?</div><div class="comm"></div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-30.htm">Genesis 21:30</a></div><div class="verse">And he said, For <i>these</i> seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.</div><div class="comm"></div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-31.htm">Genesis 21:31</a></div><div class="verse">Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 31.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Wherefore he called that place Beersheba</span>. <span class="accented">I.e.</span> "the well of the oath," <span class="greek">φρέαρ ὁρκισμοῦ</span> (LXX., Gesenius, Furst, Rosenmüller), or the well of the seven (Keil), rather than the seven wells (Lange); discovered by Robinson in <span class="accented">Bir-es-seba, in</span> the Wady-es-seba, twelve miles to the south of Hebron, with two deep wells of excellent water. "The great well has an internal diameter at the mouth of twelve feet six inches, or a circumference of nearly forty feet. The shaft is formed of excellent masonry to a great depth until it reaches the rock, and at this juncture a spring trickles perpetually. Around the mouth of the well is a circular course of masonry, topped by a circular parapet of about a foot high; and at a distance of ten or twelve feet are stone troughs placed in a concentric circle with the well, the sides of which have deep indentions made by the wear of ropes on the upper edges The second well, about 200 yards farther south, is not more than five feet in diameter, but is formed of equally good masonry, and furnishes equally good water" (<span class="accented">vide</span> 'Byeways in Palestine,' by James Finn, M.R.A.S., p. 190). <span class="cmt_word">Because there they aware both of them.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-32.htm">Genesis 21:32</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><div class="comm"></div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-33.htm">Genesis 21:33</a></div><div class="verse">And <i>Abraham</i> planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 33.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham planted</span> - as a sign of his peaceful occupation of the soil (Calvin); as a memorial of the transaction about the well ('Speaker's Commentary'); or simply as a shade for his tent (Rosenmüller); scarcely as an oratory (Bush, Kalisch) - <span class="cmt_word">a grove</span> - the <span class="hebrew">אֵשֶׁל</span> - wood, plantation (Targum, Vulgate, Samaritan, Kimchi); a field, <span class="greek">ἄρουραν</span> (LXX.) - was probably the <span class="accented">Tamarix Africanae</span> (Gesenius, Furst, Delitzsch, Rosenmüller, Kalisch), which, besides being common in Egypt and Petraea, is mid to have been found growing near the ancient Beersheba - <span class="cmt_word">in Beersheba, and called there</span> (not beneath the tree or in the grove, but in the place) on <span class="cmt_word">the name of the Lord</span>, - Jehovah (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/12-8.htm">Genesis 12:8</a>; <a href="/genesis/13-4.htm">Genesis 13:4</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">the everlasting God</span> - literally, <span class="accented">the God of eternity</span> (LXX., Vulgate, Onkelos); not in contrast to heathen deities, who are born and die (Clericus), but "as the everlasting Vindicator of the faith of treaties, and as the infallible Source of the believer's rest and peace" (Murphy). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/21-34.htm">Genesis 21:34</a></div><div class="verse">And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 34.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.</span> The apparent contradiction between the statement of this verse and that of Ver. 32 may be removed by supposing either, <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(1)</span> that as the land of the Philistines had no fixed boundary toward the desert, Beersheba may at this time have been claimed for the kingdom of Gerar (Keil); or, <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(2)</span> that as Beersheba was situated on the confines of the Philistines' territory, Abraham must frequently have sojourned in their country while pasturing his flocks (Rosenmüller). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> </div></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. 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