Ch. 21

1–7.  The Birth of Isaac. (J and P.)

8–21.  The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael. (E.)

22–34.  The Covenant between Abraham and Abimelech at Beer-sheba. (E and J.)

The greater part of this chapter is from E. But Genesis 21:1 a, 2a, and 7 are probably from J; and Genesis 21:1 b, 2b–5 from P; Genesis 21:6 is E.

1. visited] Cf. 1 Samuel 2:21; Luke 1:68. The word is used for the dealings of God, sometimes, as here, in blessing, and sometimes in punishment.

The two clauses of this verse are identical in meaning: the first probably refers to Genesis 18:10-14 (J): the second to Genesis 17:16; Genesis 17:21 (P). If the second clause is from P, the substitution of “Jehovah” for “God” is probably either editorial, or a transcriptional error.

2. in his old age] Cf. Genesis 21:7, Genesis 18:11, Genesis 24:36, Genesis 37:3, Genesis 44:20 (al+l from J); meaning literally “to his old age.”

at the set time] Cf. Genesis 17:21 (P).

It is to this verse that allusion is made in Hebrews 11:11, “by faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed, when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised.”

3. And Abraham called, &c.] For the name Isaac, see note on Genesis 17:19. The father, in the P narrative, gives the name: see Genesis 16:15.

4. circumcised] Abraham fulfilled the command of Genesis 17:10 (P). That Isaac, the son of the promise, was circumcised on the 8th day is particularly mentioned by St Stephen, Acts 7:8.

The mention of circumcision in this verse, the naming in Genesis 21:3, and Abraham’s age in Genesis 21:5, are characteristic of P’s style.

6. God hath made me to laugh] R.V. marg. prepared laughter for me. Once more in connexion with the birth of Isaac the thought of laughter recurs: see Genesis 17:17 (P), Genesis 18:12-15 (J). This time we have the tradition preserved by E. It is not clear that the two clauses of this verse mean the same thing. According to R.V. text, the first clause refers the laughter to Sarah’s own happiness and exultation: the second clause refers it to the merry reception of the unexpected news by those who would laugh incredulously. According to R.V. marg., the latter meaning attaches also to the first clause; and both clauses, meaning the same thing, are explained by Genesis 21:7. The R.V. text is perhaps to be preferred. It preserves two traditional explanations of the laughter associated with Isaac’s birth. Certainly the laughter of Sarah’s personal happiness seems to be the point of St Paul’s quotation from Isaiah 54:1, “rejoice thou barren that bearest not,” in a passage where the Apostle is allegorizing this chapter (Galatians 4:22-31).

with me] Better, at me. The preposition “with” is hardly correct, though it is supported by the LXX συγχαρεῖται, Lat. corridebit mihi. The original represents Sarah as the object of the laughter; and amusement, not derision, as its cause.

8. was weaned] Weaning was often, in the East, deferred until as late as the child’s third or fourth year; see 1 Samuel 1:24. It is still regarded as the occasion for a family rejoicing.

8–21 (E). The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael

A narrative from E which forms a parallel to that in chap. 16. (J).

9. mocking] Better, as R.V. marg., playing. The original is the same verb, in the intensive mood, which is rendered “laugh,” e.g. in Genesis 21:6. There is no need to introduce the meaning of “mockery,” which would require an object. The verb used absolutely, and rendered, as in the marg., gives a suitable sense. The LXX and Latin so render it, adding words of explanation: παίζοντα μετὰ Ἰσαὰκ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτῆς, ludentem cum Isaac filio suo, as if Sarah, watching Ishmael playing with her own child, had been seized with a sudden fit of passionate jealousy. Ishmael was the elder, but he was the son of her handmaid; and in Sarah’s eyes it was unfitting that Ishmael should even play with or near her own child.

The Rabbinic interpretations of this word were productive of strange speculations. St Paul refers to one of them, which understood the word to denote “teasing” and “persecution”; hence Galatians 4:29. Other more fantastic attempts at exegesis connected this verse with Ishmael’s sins of idolatry, of impurity, and even of attempts to take his brother’s life.

10. “Hebrew custom provided for the recognition of the children of the maid-servant (Genesis 30:3), and Ishmael according to the Elohist (Genesis 21:10) was coheir with Isaac” (Stanley Cook, p. 140).

11. And the thing was very grievous] Lit. “was very evil,” or “ill.” Abraham was displeased, because he loved his son. Sarah’s suggestion, however, was in accord with the prevalent harsh treatment of slaves. Abraham raises no objection on the grounds of common humanity, honour, or reason, to the proposal to expel Ishmael and Hagar.

12. And God said] It is revealed to Abraham by night (Genesis 21:14), that compliance with Sarah’s demand will be overruled to fulfil the destiny of Hagar’s child. The Israelite tradition, according to the comparatively low moral standard of its time, especially in connexion with the conditions of slave concubinage and its domestic results, attributed to the voice of God a command that in our ears sounds unfeeling and cruel.

in Isaac shall thy seed be called] Lit. “in Isaac shall seed be called to thee.” LXX ἐν Ἰσαὰκ κληθήσεταί σοι σπέρμα, which is quoted in Romans 9:7 and Hebrews 11:18. The meaning is that in Isaac and in his descendants Abraham will have those who will be called by his name.

Isaac is to be the father of the “children of promise.” He stands, therefore, in the allegory (Galatians 4:27-28), in contrast with him “that was born after the flesh” (i.e. Ishmael). Isaac stands for those “born after the spirit.”

13. a nation] Cf. Genesis 16:10, Genesis 17:20. The LXX and the Sam. read “a great nation.”

14. a bottle of water] or, better, “a skin of water.” LXX ἀσκός. The vessel for carrying water in the East is generally the skin of a goat. The recollection of this will explain passages like Matthew 9:17. Its shape made it easy to carry or to hang up. Cf. Psalm 119:83.

and the child] These words imply that Hagar carried the child, as well as the skin of water, upon her shoulder. So the LXX καὶ ἐπέθηκεν ἐπὶ τὸν ὦμον αὐτῆς καὶ τὸ παιδίον. Lat., avoiding the difficulty, “tradiditque puerum.”

According to P (cf. Genesis 16:16, Genesis 21:5), Ishmael would be a boy of over fourteen years of age. According to E, Ishmael is still a child (cf. Genesis 21:15-17).

the wilderness of Beer-sheba] i.e. the high plateau at the extreme south of Palestine. The country is hilly and bare.

Beer-sheba the sanctuary of the south—the modern Bir-es-Seba. See, for the meaning of its name, Genesis 21:29-34, Genesis 26:33.

15. cast the child] This expression taken with the mention of the child in Genesis 21:14; Genesis 21:18 (“hold him in thine hand”), 20 (“and he grew”) implies that Ishmael is regarded in this story as a little boy, who could be carried by his mother.

under one of the shrubs] We should probably understand by this word the low scrub such as grows in the desert, like the broom, under which Elijah rested, 1 Kings 19:4. The word used occurs also in Genesis 2:5 in a general sense; see note.

16. as it were a bowshot] LXX ὡσεὶ τόξου βολήν, Lat. quantum potest arcus jacere.

The child’s strength had given out before the mother’s. She could not bring herself to watch her child die of thirst, and she could not leave him. She remained within hearing.

and lift up her voice and wept] The LXX probably preserves the right rendering “And the child lifted up its voice and wept,” ἀναβοῆσαν δὲ τὸ παιδίον ἔκλαυσεν.

17. God heard the voice of the lad] The voice God heard was that of the lad. He had pity on the anguish, and gave ear to the cry, of the child. Once more we have a play upon the name of Ishmael with its meaning of “God heareth.” Cf. Genesis 16:11.

the angel of God] A different manifestation to Hagar from that in chap. Genesis 16:7. “The angel” (cf. Genesis 28:12, Genesis 31:11, Genesis 32:2) speaks “from heaven” (Genesis 22:11 E). God protects the handmaid and her child no less than the Chosen Family.

18. a great nation] Cf. Genesis 21:13 and Genesis 16:10.

19. opened her eyes] What she had not seen before, Hagar suddenly received power to see. Cf. Numbers 22:31; 2 Kings 6:17; Luke 24:16; Luke 24:31. LXX φρέαρ ὕδατος ζῶντος, “a spring of living water,” in the desert.

20. God was with the lad] Cf. 22, Genesis 26:3, Genesis 39:2.

became an archer] R.V. marg. rightly, became, as he grew up, an archer. Lat. factusque est juvenis Sagittarius. His descendants were famous in later times for their skill in the use of the bow (cf. Isaiah 21:17). Cf. Jetur the son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:15), the reputed ancestor of the Ituraeans.

21. the wilderness of Paran] Mentioned in Numbers 10:12; Numbers 12:16; Numbers 13:3. It seems to have been the wild mountainous country south and east of Kadesh, and west of Edom, the modern et-Tih.

out of the land of Egypt] Hagar herself was an Egyptian, cf. Genesis 16:1. For the parent taking a wife for the son, cf. Genesis 24:3; Genesis 34:4; Genesis 38:6; Jdg 14:2. The preliminary steps for a marriage are taken by the parents of the parties; here, in the absence of the father, the mother selects the bride.

22–34 (E, J). The Covenant between Abraham and Abimelech at Beer-sheba

22. Abimelech] This passage seems to be a continuation of chap. 20.

Phicol the captain of his host] For this title, cf. 1 Samuel 14:50; 2 Samuel 2:8 (where it is applied to Abner); Genesis 24:2 (to Joab). It shews that Abimelech was a petty king of some importance.

Here and in Genesis 21:32, the LXX inserts another name and title between Abimelech and Phicol, Ὀχοζὰθ ὁ νυμφαγωγὸς αὐτοῦ, “Ahuzzath his friend.” This name occurs with that of Phicol again in Genesis 26:26.

God is with thee] Cf. 20, Genesis 26:28. Abimelech has had reason to discern the meaning of the description of Abraham, in Genesis 20:7, as “a prophet.”

23. here] The reference is to the name of Beer-sheba and its popular etymology from the Hebrew word “to swear.” Abraham’s departure from Gerar is not recorded, but was doubtless included in the E narrative which is only fragmentarily preserved.

my son, &c.] R.V. marg. my offspring, nor with my posterity. The words which are not usual are found together in Job 18:19; Isaiah 14:22; LXX μηδὲ τὸ σπέρμα μου μηδέ τὸ ὄνομά μου, Lat. posteris stirpique meae. The original phrase is alliterative, like our “neither kith nor kin.”

the kindness] Referring to the gifts to Abraham in Genesis 20:14, and the free welcome extended to Abraham in Genesis 20:15. Abimelech is desirous to seal these friendly relations by a definite compact. There is an abrupt transition, in Genesis 21:25-26, to occasions of friction.

25. Abraham reproved] Disputes about wells are some of the most common causes of strife among the Bedouin tribes. Abraham’s complaint is that his servants had dug wells; that Abimelech’s servants had taken violent possession of them; that there had been no redress. The occasion of the treaty favoured a settlement of the dispute.

The verbs in Genesis 21:25-26 are best rendered as frequentatives = “as often as Abraham complained to Abimelech, Abimelech used to reply he was entirely ignorant.” Gesen. Hebr. Gr. § 112 rr.

27. And Abraham took sheep, &c.] Abraham makes a gift, according to the custom, at the conclusion of a treaty (cf. 1 Kings 15:19) and as a pledge of his good faith. He also acknowledges his need of protection from the king.

made a covenant] Cf. Genesis 15:18, Genesis 26:31.

28. seven ewe lambs] The seven lambs which Abraham here sets apart are to be handed over to Abimelech, if he acknowledges Abraham as the possessor of the well, and ratifies the compact with an oath. The number “seven” (sheba‘) is one of the explanations of the name “Beer-sheba.”

30. that it may be a witness] Abimelech’s question and Abraham’s answer are probably the technical terms of the usual transaction. The transfer of the seven lambs having taken place, it was a “witness” to the fact that Abraham was acknowledged by Abimelech to have digged the well. There is no mention of document or writing in the compact.

31. Beer-sheba] LXX φρέαρ ὁρκισμοῦ: the derivation here given is “because there they sware both of them.” The word in Heb. “they sware” (nishb‘u) is the reflexive form of the verb shaba‘. This derivation of Beer-sheba, as “the well of swearing,” is clearly not a complete explanation of the word. The correct derivation—“the well of seven”—is probably hinted at in Abraham’s pledge of the seven lambs. At Beer sheba, there were also “seven” wells, which can even now be identified. But there is a close connexion between the Heb. word “seven,” and the Heb. word “to swear”; and if, as seems probable, the Heb. nishba‘ “to swear” meant originally “to bind oneself by staking, or pledging, seven things,” we can see that the well of “seven” and the well of “swearing” were practically identical in significance.

Beer-sheba stood on the southernmost boundary of Palestine, at the edge of the desert, about 50 miles S.W. of Jerusalem. In later days it was famous as a sacred place of pilgrimage, Amos 5:5; Amos 8:14.

32. returned into the land of the Philistines] The reference to the Philistines is an anachronism. It is doubtful whether the Philistines occupied S. E. Palestine before the reign of Raamses III (1202–1172 b.c.). See Genesis 26:1.

33. a tamarisk tree] The tamarix syriaca. The Heb. word êshel puzzled the versions; LXX ἄρουραν, Lat. nemus. Tradition probably connected a famous tamarisk, close to the seven sacred springs, with the site of the sanctuary of Beer-sheba; cf. Genesis 26:23-25. See, also, for “tamarisk tree,” 1 Samuel 22:6; 1 Samuel 31:13.

the Everlasting God] Heb. El-Ôlâm. See notes on Genesis 14:18, Genesis 17:1. “The God of Ages,” the name which Abraham here identifies in thought and worship with Jehovah. God does not change, though the defective knowledge of Him in early ages makes way in later time for the fuller Revelation to the Chosen Family.