New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Genesis 21
1
The Lord was gracious to Sarah, just as he had said he would be. He did for Sarah what he had promised to do.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 18:10
Genesis 17:19
Matthew 24:35
Galatians 4:23
Titus 1:2
Galatians 4:28
Genesis 17:16
References Lord
Psalm 12:6
Genesis 18:14
1 Samuel 2:21
2
Sarah became pregnant. She had a son by Abraham when he was old. He was born at the exact time God had promised him.
Reference
Parallel theme
Hebrews 11:11
Genesis 18:14
Genesis 18:10
Luke 1:36
Genesis 17:21
Romans 9:9
References Abraham
Galatians 4:22
Acts 7:8
References God
Genesis 17:19
4
When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. He did it exactly as God had commanded him.
Reference
References Abraham
Acts 7:8
6
Sarah said, "God has given laughter to me. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."
Reference
7
She continued, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? But I've had a son by him when he is old."
Reference
8
Isaac grew. The time came for his mother to stop nursing him. On that day Abraham had a big dinner prepared.
Reference
9
But Sarah saw Ishmael making fun of Isaac. Ishmael was the son Hagar had by Abraham. Hagar was Sarah's servant from Egypt.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 16:15
Galatians 4:29
Psalm 42:10
Psalm 22:6
Proverbs 20:11
Lamentations 1:7
2 Chronicles 30:10
2 Chronicles 36:16
References Abraham
Galatians 4:22
References Egypt
Genesis 16:1
10
Sarah said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman. Get rid of her son. The slave woman's son will never have a share of the family's property with my son Isaac."
Reference
Parallel theme
John 8:35
1 John 2:19
Matthew 22:13
Galatians 4:7
1 Peter 1:4
Genesis 17:21
Genesis 17:19
References Abraham
Genesis 25:19
Galatians 3:18
Genesis 20:11
12
But God said to him, "Do not be so upset about the boy and your servant Hagar. Listen to what Sarah tells you, because your family line will continue through Isaac.
Reference
13
I will make the son of your servant into a nation also. I will do it because he is your child."
Reference
14
Early the next morning Abraham got some food and a bottle of water. The bottle was made out of animal skin. He gave the food and water to Hagar. He placed them on her shoulders. Then he sent her away with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.
Reference
📍 Beersheba
Parallel theme
Psalm 107:4
Psalm 119:60
Proverbs 27:14
Ecclesiastes 9:10
John 8:35
Genesis 26:31
Genesis 16:7
Genesis 21:31
1 Kings 19:3
References Abraham
Genesis 25:6
15
When the water in the bottle was gone, she put the boy under a bush.
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.
Reference
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.
Reference
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.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 22:31
20
God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and learned to shoot with a bow.
Reference
21
While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got him a wife from Egypt.
📍 Paran
22
At that time Abimelech and Phicol spoke to Abraham. Phicol was the commander of Abimelech's army. They said, "God is with you in everything you do.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Genesis 26:26
Genesis 26:28
Joshua 3:7
Hebrews 13:5
Revelation 3:9
References Abraham
Genesis 20:2
References God
Isaiah 8:10
Romans 8:31
1 Corinthians 14:25
Isaiah 45:14
23
Now make a promise to me here while God is watching. Take an oath that you will treat me fairly. Promise that you will treat my children and their children the same way. "I've been kind to you. Now you be kind to me. And be kind to the country where you are living as an outsider."
Reference
24
Abraham said, "I promise with an oath that I'll do it."
25
Then Abraham objected to Abimelech about what Abimelech's servants had done. They had taken over a well of water.
26
But Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this. You didn't tell me. Today is the first time I heard about it."
27
So Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and cattle. The two men made a peace treaty.
28
Then Abraham took out seven female lambs from his flock.
29
Abimelech asked Abraham, "What's the meaning of these seven female lambs? Why have you taken them out and put them by themselves?"
30
Abraham replied, "Accept the seven lambs from me. They will be a witness that I dug this well."
Reference
Witness
Genesis 31:52
31
That place was named Beersheba. That's because there the two men made a promise with an oath.
Reference
📍 Beersheba
32
After the peace treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech went back to the land of the Philistines. His army commander Phicol went with him.
📍 Beersheba
33
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. There he worshiped the Lord, the God who lives forever.
Reference
📍 Beersheba
Eternal Life
Isaiah 40:28
1 Timothy 1:17
Psalm 90:2
Jeremiah 10:10
Romans 16:26
Deuteronomy 33:27
References Lord
Genesis 12:8
Genesis 4:26
34
Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
Chapter Summary
Genesis chapter twenty-one finally brings the promised son and with him a set of tensions that will change Abraham's household for good.
The chapter begins with a simple statement that was a long time coming; the Lord indeed was gracious to Sarah as he said, and so he did for her as he promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time God promised. Abraham named him Isaac, just as God had told him in chapter seventeen, and when he was eight days old Abraham circumcised him, as God had told him to.
Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born. Sarah herself said that God had granted her what was believed impossible: she had laughed, and those who heard of it would have laughed with her; who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age. Such a passage is a joyous one, a well earned respite after what has been a long and trying passage of scripture.
The child grew, and a feast was prepared on the day of Isaac's weaning. But again the tensions simmering beneath the surface of Abraham's household rise to meet him. Sarah saw Ishmael son of Hagar mocking, and she went to Abraham, demanding that Hagar and Ishmael go; Ishmael will not inherit with Isaac, she said, and the passage says that this distressed Abraham greatly, concerning his son.
But God spoke to Abraham, and told him not to be distressed over the boy, nor what Sarah said. But listen to Sarah, said God, for through Isaac your offspring will be accounted. And God tells Abraham that He will bless Ishmael also, for he is Abraham's son, and will make them a numerous nation. So in the morning Abraham brought Hagar some food and a skin of water, and sent her away, with Ishmael. It is a touching passage, the sight of Abraham sending away his son; but with God's blessing upon him, Hagar wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water ran out, she laid Ishmael underneath a bush, and went to look afar, too far to see him die, but she cried.
God heard the boy's cry, and the angel of God called Hagar to him from heaven, asking her what distress she had. He said not to be afraid, for God had heard the boy crying where he was. God told Hagar to look up, and she saw a well of water, which God had prepared for her. She filled young Ishmael's skin with water; the text says that God was with the boy as he grew up, and he became an archer. As he grew up, his mother obtained him a wife from Egypt, as Hagar also had been from Egypt.
The tale turns towards a different topic; the chapter moves to Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, and his meeting with Abraham. He comes with the commander of his forces, and says to Abraham some curious words: God is with you in all that you do. He asks Abraham to swear to him that he will deal falsely by him neither him, nor his posterity. He says that he had heard that God had dealt bountifully with Abraham. And Abraham swore to him.
But Abraham made a complaint to Abimelech, saying that his servants had taken the well of water which Abraham's servants had dug. Abimelech said he knew nothing of it until now. And so they struck a covenant between themselves, and Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and cattle to mark this covenant. He also set aside seven ewe lambs, telling Abimelech that he would take them to bear witness that Abraham dug that well. And so the place was called Beersheba, from the word for oath, or because of the seven lambs.
And with this business concluded, Abimelech and his commander returned to the land of the Philistines, and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there upon the name of the Lord, the eternal God. And Abraham remained in the land of the Philistines for a long while.
What makes the chapter such a rewarding one to read is that it is full of both joy and sorrow and both are deserving of our sympathy. The birth of Isaac is truly a cause for rejoicing, as his name and Sarah's laughter are both included in the verse. But the exile of Ishmael and Hagar are a source of sorrow for us; the problems of Abraham's household are not solved, but instead continue, and even though God heard Hagar and Ishmael's distress and provided for them, they are still in a desert, and will remain so until they reach Canaan. And even in Ishmael's exile there are hints of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham; he will be the father of a nation, and will make them numerous. And so with the tensions between Ishmael and Isaac resolved, and a covenant made to Abimelech concerning the wells, Abraham found himself settling into a new home, among the Philistines, but with God's promise to him remaining true, if bittersweet.
The chapter begins with a simple statement that was a long time coming; the Lord indeed was gracious to Sarah as he said, and so he did for her as he promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time God promised. Abraham named him Isaac, just as God had told him in chapter seventeen, and when he was eight days old Abraham circumcised him, as God had told him to.
Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born. Sarah herself said that God had granted her what was believed impossible: she had laughed, and those who heard of it would have laughed with her; who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age. Such a passage is a joyous one, a well earned respite after what has been a long and trying passage of scripture.
The child grew, and a feast was prepared on the day of Isaac's weaning. But again the tensions simmering beneath the surface of Abraham's household rise to meet him. Sarah saw Ishmael son of Hagar mocking, and she went to Abraham, demanding that Hagar and Ishmael go; Ishmael will not inherit with Isaac, she said, and the passage says that this distressed Abraham greatly, concerning his son.
But God spoke to Abraham, and told him not to be distressed over the boy, nor what Sarah said. But listen to Sarah, said God, for through Isaac your offspring will be accounted. And God tells Abraham that He will bless Ishmael also, for he is Abraham's son, and will make them a numerous nation. So in the morning Abraham brought Hagar some food and a skin of water, and sent her away, with Ishmael. It is a touching passage, the sight of Abraham sending away his son; but with God's blessing upon him, Hagar wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water ran out, she laid Ishmael underneath a bush, and went to look afar, too far to see him die, but she cried.
God heard the boy's cry, and the angel of God called Hagar to him from heaven, asking her what distress she had. He said not to be afraid, for God had heard the boy crying where he was. God told Hagar to look up, and she saw a well of water, which God had prepared for her. She filled young Ishmael's skin with water; the text says that God was with the boy as he grew up, and he became an archer. As he grew up, his mother obtained him a wife from Egypt, as Hagar also had been from Egypt.
The tale turns towards a different topic; the chapter moves to Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, and his meeting with Abraham. He comes with the commander of his forces, and says to Abraham some curious words: God is with you in all that you do. He asks Abraham to swear to him that he will deal falsely by him neither him, nor his posterity. He says that he had heard that God had dealt bountifully with Abraham. And Abraham swore to him.
But Abraham made a complaint to Abimelech, saying that his servants had taken the well of water which Abraham's servants had dug. Abimelech said he knew nothing of it until now. And so they struck a covenant between themselves, and Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and cattle to mark this covenant. He also set aside seven ewe lambs, telling Abimelech that he would take them to bear witness that Abraham dug that well. And so the place was called Beersheba, from the word for oath, or because of the seven lambs.
And with this business concluded, Abimelech and his commander returned to the land of the Philistines, and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there upon the name of the Lord, the eternal God. And Abraham remained in the land of the Philistines for a long while.
What makes the chapter such a rewarding one to read is that it is full of both joy and sorrow and both are deserving of our sympathy. The birth of Isaac is truly a cause for rejoicing, as his name and Sarah's laughter are both included in the verse. But the exile of Ishmael and Hagar are a source of sorrow for us; the problems of Abraham's household are not solved, but instead continue, and even though God heard Hagar and Ishmael's distress and provided for them, they are still in a desert, and will remain so until they reach Canaan. And even in Ishmael's exile there are hints of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham; he will be the father of a nation, and will make them numerous. And so with the tensions between Ishmael and Isaac resolved, and a covenant made to Abimelech concerning the wells, Abraham found himself settling into a new home, among the Philistines, but with God's promise to him remaining true, if bittersweet.