Genesis 21:8 Commentaar

In this chapter we have, I. Isaac, the child of promise born into Abraham's family (Gen 21:1-8). II. Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman, cast out of it (Gen 21:9-21). III. Abraham's league with his neighbour Abimelech (Gen 21:22-32). IV. His devotion to his God (Gen 21:33).

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 21 This chapter gives an account of the conception, birth, circumcision, and weaning of Isaac, Gen 21:1; 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, Gen 21:9; 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, Gen 21:14; and of a covenant between Abraham and Abimelech, king of Gerar, Gen 21:22; and of Abraham's planting a grove, and calling on the name of the Lord, Gen 21:33; and the chapter is closed with this observation, that Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days, Gen 21:34.

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian,.... That is, Ishmael, who is not expressed by name, but described by being a son of Hagar, a servant of Sarah's, and an Egyptian woman; all which seems to be observed by way of slight, both to Hagar and her son: which she had born unto Abraham; not unto Sarah, as she proposed to herself, when she gave her maid to Abraham, Gen 16:2. This son of Abraham she saw mocking; either at the entertainment made at the weaning of Isaac; or rather at Isaac himself, laughing at his name, and treating him with contempt as his younger brother, and boasting that he was the firstborn, and that the inheritance belonged to him; and threatening what he would do to him, should he hereafter offer to dispute it with him, under pretence of the promise of God that he should be Abraham's heir, and at which promise also he may be supposed to mock: and that this contention was about the inheritance seems plain from the words of Sarah in Gen 21:10; and in it Ishmael might not only rise to high words, but come to blows, and beat his brother; for it is observed the word used sometimes so signifies, Sa2 2:14; wherefore the apostle might truly call it a persecution, Gal 4:29; and as even cruel mockings are, Heb 11:35. As for the various senses the Jewish commentators put upon this, there does not seem to be any foundation for them, as that Ishmael was committing idolatry, and endeavouring to draw his brother into it; or was talking in an indecent and lascivious manner, in order to corrupt his mind; or that he was intending and attempting to take away his life, by shooting an arrow at him, and pretending it was but in jest and in play; See Gill on Gal 4:29.

Isaac, Scripture says, “grew” and became strong; that is, Abraham’s joy grew as he looked not at those things “which are seen but at the things which are not seen.” For Abraham did not rejoice about present things or about the riches of the world and the activities of the age. But do you wish to hear why Abraham rejoiced? Hear the Lord saying to the Jews: “Abraham your father desired to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.” In this way, therefore, “Isaac grew.” That vision of Abraham, in which he saw the day of Christ and the hope which is in Christ, were increasing his joys. And would that you too might be made Isaac and be a joy to your mother the church!

The boy grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day of his weaning. Isaac is nourished with milk when each chosen one, that is, the son of the promise, newly begotten in Christ, receives the first rudiments of faith, and although he cannot yet sufficiently search the most profound secrets of divinity, nevertheless, delighted by the sweetness of celestial rewards, he strives to engage in good works through which, with God's help and generosity, he may deserve to receive greater things, according to what the apostle Peter said: "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up into salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." But Isaac, being weaned and coming to the nourishment of bread, occurs when the chosen ones, with the progress of faith, learn not only to confess Jesus Christ and him crucified but also to add that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And Abraham held a great feast on the day of Isaac's weaning, because it is indeed a great solemnity for the highest teachers of the mind when they see those whom they have nurtured ascend to the summit of wisdom and virtue.

Isaac is born according to the promise, Gen 21:1-3; and is circumcised when eight days old, Gen 21:4. Abraham's age, and Sarah's exultation at the birth of their son, Gen 21:5-7. Isaac is weaned, Gen 21:8. Ishmael mocking on the occasion, Sarah requires that both he and his mother Hagar shall be dismissed, Gen 21:9, Gen 21:10. Abraham, distressed on the account, is ordered by the Lord to comply, Gen 21:11, Gen 21:12. The promise renewed to Ishmael, Gen 21:13. Abraham dismisses Hagar and her son, who go to the wilderness of Beer-sheba, Gen 21:14. They are greatly distressed for want of water, Gen 21:15, Gen 21:16. An angel of God appears to and relieves them, Gen 21:17-19. Ishmael prospers and is married, Gen 21:20, Gen 21:21. Abimelech, and Phichol his chief captain, make a covenant with Abraham, and surrender the well of Beersheba for seven ewe lambs, Gen 21:22-32. Abraham plants a grove, and invokes the name of the everlasting God, Gen 21:33.

The child grew and was weaned - Anglo-Saxon Version. Now the child waxed and became weaned. We have the verb to wean from the Anglo-Saxon awendan, to convert, transfer, turn from one thing to another, which is the exact import of the Hebrew word גמל gamal in the text. Hence wenan, to wean, to turn the child from the breast to receive another kind of ailment. And hence, probably, the word Wean, a young child, which is still in use in the northern parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and which from its etymology seems to signify a child taken from the breast; surely not from the Scotch wee-ane, a little one, much less from the German wenig, little, as Dr. Johnson and others would derive it. At what time children were weaned among the ancients, is a disputed point. St. Jerome says there were two opinions on this subject. Some hold that children were always weaned at five years of age; others, that they were not weaned till they were twelve. From the speech of the mother to her son, 2 Maccabees 7:27, it seems likely that among the Jews they were weaned when three years old: O my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee Suck Three Years, and nourished thee and brought thee up. And this is farther strengthened by Ch2 31:16, where Hezekiah, in making provision for the Levites and priests, includes the children from three years old and upwards; which is a presumptive proof that previously to this age they were wholly dependent on the mother for their nourishment. Samuel appears to have been brought to the sanctuary when he was just weaned, and then he was capable of ministering before the Lord, Sa1 1:22-28; and this certainly could not be before he was three years of age. The term among the Mohammedans is fixed by the Koran, chap. 31:14, at two years of age.

BIRTH OF ISAAC. (Gen 21:1-13) the Lord visited Sarah--The language of the historian seems designedly chosen to magnify the power of God as well as His faithfulness to His promise. It was God's grace that brought about that event, as well as the raising of spiritual children to Abraham, of which the birth of this son was typical [CALVIN].

the child grew, and was weaned--children are suckled longer in the East than in the Occident--boys usually for two or three years. Abraham made a great feast, &c.--In Eastern countries this is always a season of domestic festivity, and the newly weaned child is formally brought, in presence of the assembled relatives and friends, to partake of some simple viands. Isaac, attired in the symbolic robe, the badge of birthright, was then admitted heir of the tribe [ROSENMULLER].

Birth of Isaac. - Jehovah did for Sarah what God had promised in Gen 17:6 (cf. Gen 18:14): she conceived, and at the time appointed bore a son to Abraham, when he was 100 years old. Abraham gave it the name of Jizchak (or Isaac), and circumcised it on the eighth day. The name for the promised son had been selected by God, in connection with Abraham's laughing (Gen 17:17 and Gen 17:19), to indicate the nature of his birth and existence. For as his laughing sprang from the contrast between the idea and the reality; so through a miracle of grace the birth of Isaac gave effect to this contrast between the promise of God and the pledge of its fulfilment on the one hand, and the incapacity of Abraham for begetting children, and of Sarah for bearing them, on the other; and through this name, Isaac was designated as the fruit of omnipotent grace working against and above the forces of nature. Sarah also, who had previously laughed with unbelief at the divine promise (Gen 18:12), found a reason in the now accomplished birth of the promised son for laughing with joyous amazement; so that she exclaimed, with evident allusion to his name, "A laughing hath God prepared for me; every one who hears it will laugh to me" (i.e., will rejoice with me, in amazement at the blessing of God which has come upon me even in my old age), and gave a fitting expression to the joy of her heart, in this inspired tristich (Gen 21:7): "Who would have said unto Abraham: Sarah is giving suck; for I have born a son to his old age." מלּל is the poetic word for דּבּר, and מי before the perfect has the sense of - whoever has said, which we should express as a subjunctive; cf. Kg2 20:9; Psa 11:3, etc.

Expulsion of Ishmael. - The weaning of the child, which was celebrated with a feast, furnished the outward occasion for this. Sarah saw Ishmael mocking, making ridicule on the occasion. "Isaac, the object of holy laughter, was made the butt of unholy wit or profane sport. He did not laugh (צחק), but he made fun (מצחק). The little helpless Isaac a father of nations! Unbelief, envy, pride of carnal superiority, were the causes of his conduct. Because he did not understand the sentiment, 'Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?' it seemed to him absurd to link so great a thing to one so small" (Hengstenberg). Paul calls this the persecution of him that was after the Spirit by him that was begotten after the flesh (Gal 4:29), and discerns in this a prediction of the persecution, which the Church of those who are born after the spirit of faith endures from those who are in bondage to the righteousness of the law. Gen 21:9-13 Sarah therefore asked that the maid and her son might be sent away, saying, the latter "shall not be heir with Isaac." The demand, which apparently proceeded from maternal jealousy, displeased Abraham greatly "because of his son," - partly because in Ishmael he loved his own flesh and blood, and partly on account of the promise received for him (Gen 17:18 and Gen 17:20). But God (Elohim, since there is no appearance mentioned, but the divine will was made known to him inwardly) commanded him to comply with Sarah's demand: "for in Isaac shall seed (posterity) be called to thee." This expression cannot mean "thy descendants will call themselves after Isaac," for in that case, at all events, זרעך would be used; for "in (through) Isaac shall seed be called into existence to thee," for קרא does not mean to call into existence; but, "in the person of Isaac shall there be posterity to thee, which shall pass as such," for נקרא includes existence and the recognition of existence. Though the noun is not defined by any article, the seed intended must be that to which all the promises of God referred, and with which God would establish His covenant (Gen 17:21, cf. Rom 9:7-8; Heb 11:18). To make the dismissal of Ishmael easier to the paternal heart, God repeated to Abraham (Gen 21:13) the promise already given him with regard to this son (Gen 17:20). Gen 21:14-16 The next morning Abraham sent Hagar away with Ishmael. The words, "he took bread and a bottle of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it (שׂם participle, not perfect) upon her shoulder, and the boy, and sent her away," do not state the Abraham gave her Ishmael also to carry. For ואת־היּלד does not depend upon שׂם and ויּתּן because of the copula ו, but upon יקּח, the leading verb of the sentence, although it is separated from it by the parenthesis "putting it upon her shoulder." It does not follow from these words, therefore, that Ishmael is represented as a little child. Nor is this implied in the statement which follows, that Hagar, when wandering about in the desert, "cast the boy under one of the shrubs," because the water in the bottle was gone. For ילד like נער does not mean an infant, but a boy, and also a young man (Gen 4:23); - Ishmael must have been 15 or 16 years old, as he was 14 before Isaac was born (cf. Gen 21:5, and Gen 16:16); - and השׁליך, "to throw," signifies that she suddenly left hold of the boy, when he fell exhausted from thirst, just as in Mat 15:30 ῥίπτειν is used for laying hastily down. Though despairing of his life, the mother took care that at least he should breathe out his life in the shade, and she sat over against him weeping, "in the distance as archers," i.e., according to a concise simile very common in Hebrew, as far off as archers are accustomed to place the target. Her maternal love could not bear to see him die, and yet she would not lose sight of him. Gen 21:17-19 Then God heard the voice (the weeping and crying) of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, "What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the boy, where he is" (באשר for אשׁר בּמקום, Sa2 15:21), i.e., in his helpless condition: "arise, lift up the lad," etc. It was Elohim, not Jehovah, who heard the voice of the boy, and appeared as the angel of Elohim, not of Jehovah (as in Gen 16:7), because, when Ishmael and Hagar had been dismissed from Abraham's house, they were removed from the superintendence and care of the covenant God to the guidance and providence of God the ruler of all nations. God then opened her eyes, and she saw what she had not seen before, a well of water, from which she filled the bottle and gave her son to drink. Gen 21:20-21 Having been miraculously saved from perishing by the angel of God, Ishmael grew up under the protection of God, settled in the wilderness of Paran, and "became as he grew up an archer." Although preceded by יגדּל, the רבה is not tautological; and there is no reason for attributing to it the meaning of "archer," in which sense רבב alone occurs in the one passage Gen 49:23. The desert of Paran is the present large desert of et-Tih, which stretches along the southern border of Canaan, from the western fringe of the Arabah, towards the east to the desert of Shur (Jifar), on the frontier of Egypt, and extends southwards to the promontories of the mountains of Horeb (vid., Num 10:12). On the northern edge of this desert was Beersheba (proleptically so called in Gen 21:14), to which Abraham had removed from Gerar; so that in all probability Hagar and Ishmael were sent away from his abode there, and wandered about in the surrounding desert, till Hagar was afraid that they should perish with thirst. Lastly, in preparation for Gen 25:12-18, it is mentioned in Gen 21:21 that Ishmael married a wife out of Egypt.