Genesis 21:18

18 Lift the boy up. Take him by the hand. I will make him into a great nation."

Genesis 21:18 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 21:18

Arise, lift up the lad
She had set herself down at some distance, and now she is bid to rise up and go to the place where she had left her son, and raise aim up from the ground, on which he lay along:

and hold him in thine hand:
or take hold on him with thine hand, and hold him up with it, he being so weak that he could not sit up without being supported:

for I will make him a great nation:
which is a renewal of a promise before made both to her and to Abraham, ( Genesis 16:10 ) ( 17:20 ) ( 21:13 ) ; and by this Hagar is assured that he would recover and live, and become a man and the father of children, who in time would become a great nation; (See Gill on Genesis 16:10), (See Gill on Genesis 17:20), (See Gill on Genesis 21:13), this shows that the Angel of God here speaking is God himself, or a divine Person, since none but he could make him a great nation.

Genesis 21:18 In-Context

16 Then she went off and sat down nearby. She was about as far away as a person can shoot an arrow. She thought, "I can't stand to watch the boy die." As she sat nearby, she began to sob.

17 God heard the boy crying. Then the angel of God called out to Hagar from heaven. He said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.

18 Lift the boy up. Take him by the hand. I will make him into a great nation."

19 Then God opened Hagar's eyes. She saw a well of water. So she went and filled the bottle with water. And she gave the boy a drink.

20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and learned to shoot with a bow.