Genesis 21:12-32

12 and God said to him, Be it not seen sharp to thee on the child, and on thine handmaid; all things which Sarah saith to thee, hear thou her voice, for in Isaac (the) seed shall be called to thee; (but God said to him, Do not thou fret over the boy and the slave-girl; hear thou all the things which Sarah saith to thee, for thy promised descendants shall come through Isaac;)
13 but also I shall make the son of the handmaid into a great folk, for he is thy seed. (but I shall also make the son of the slave-girl into a great nation, for he is also thy descendant.)
14 And so Abraham rose early, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and put it on Hagar's shoulder, and he betook (to) her the child , and let go her; and when she had gone, she went out of the way in the wilderness of Beersheba. (And so Abraham rose up early, and took some bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, and put it on her shoulder, and he gave the boy to her, and sent her away; and when she had gone out a ways, she went off the way into the wilderness of Beersheba.)
15 And when the water in the bottle was ended, she cast away the child under a tree that was there; (And when there was no more water in the bottle, she pushed the boy away under a tree that was there;)
16 and she went away, and she sat (down) even against (him), as far as a bow may cast; for she said, I shall not see the child dying (I shall not watch my own child die!); and she sat (over) against (him), and raised [up] her voice, and wept.
17 Forsooth the Lord heard the voice of the child, and the angel of the Lord called Hagar from heaven, and said, What doest thou, Hagar? do not thou dread, for God hath heard the voice of the child, from the place wherein he is. (And the Lord heard the boy crying, and the angel of the Lord called to Hagar from heaven, and said, What doest thou, Hagar? do not thou fear, for God hath heard your boy crying from where he is.)
18 Rise thou, and take the child, and hold his hand; for I shall make him into a great folk. (Rise thou up, and have the boy stand up, and take his hand; for I shall make him into a great nation.)
19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and she went, and filled the bottle, and she gave drink to the child (and she gave her boy a drink);
20 and (God) was with him, and he increased, and dwelled in wilderness (and lived in the wilderness), and he was made a young man (who was) an archer,
21 and dwelled in the desert of Paran; and his mother took to him a wife of the land of Egypt. (and he lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother found him a wife from the land of Egypt.)
22 In the same time, Abimelech, and Phicol, prince of his host (Now at that time, Abimelech, with Phicol, the ruler of his army), said to Abraham, God is with thee in all things that thou doest;
23 therefore swear thou by God that thou harm not me, and mine heirs, and my kindred; but by the mercy which I did to thee, do thou to me, and to the land in which thou livedest (as) a comeling. (and so swear thou by God that thou shalt not harm me, nor my heirs, nor my family; but that thou shalt do the same mercy to me, and to the land in which thou livedest as a newcomer, which I have shown to thee.)
24 And Abraham said, I shall swear (I swear).
25 And he blamed Abimelech for the well of water, which his servants took away by violence. (But then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water, which his servants had taken away from him by force.)
26 And Abimelech answered, I wist not who did this thing, but also thou showedest not to me, and I heard not (of it) except today. (And Abimelech answered, I do not know who did this thing, and thou hast not told me about it, and I have not heard about it until today.)
27 And so Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave to Abimelech, and both smote together a bond of peace. (And Abraham took some sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech, and they made a covenant together.)
28 And (then) Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock asides half.
29 And Abimelech said to him, What will these seven ewe lambs (mean) to themselves, which thou madest stand asides half? (And Abimelech said to him, What mean ye with these seven ewe lambs, which thou hast made to stand aside?)
30 And he said, Thou shalt take of mine hand seven ewe lambs, that those be into witnessing to me, for I digged this well. (And he said, Take thou these seven ewe lambs from me, and by accepting them, thou agreeth that I have dug this well.)
31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba, (that is, The Well of the Oath ,) for ever either swore there;
32 and they made bond of peace for the well of an oath. Forsooth Abimelech rose, and Phicol, the prince of his chivalry, and they turned again into the land of Palestines. (and so they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech, and Phicol, the ruler of his cavalry, arose, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.)

Genesis 21:12-32 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 21

This chapter gives an account of the conception, birth, circumcision, and weaning of Isaac, Ge 21:1-8; of the mocking of Ishmael, and of the casting out of him and his mother from Abraham's house, at the request of Sarah, which, though grievous to Abraham, he complied with at the direction of God, Ge 21:9-13; of the provision Abraham made for their departure, and of the supply they met with in the wilderness from God, where Ishmael was brought up, and where he married, Ge 21:14-21; and of a covenant between Abraham and Abimelech, king of Gerar, Ge 21:22-32; and of Abraham's planting a grove, and calling on the name of the Lord, Ge 21:33; and the chapter is closed with this observation, that Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days, Ge 21:34.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.