Home / OT / Genesis / Chapter 21
GENESIS
CHAPTER 21
Sarah bears Isaac—He is circumcised—Promises to Abraham preserved through Isaac—Hagar and her son cast out of Abraham’s household—The Lord saves Hagar and Ishmael—Abraham and Abimelech deal honorably with each other.
1 AND the LORD visited [ Blessed. 'the Lord visited' or 'singled out' (GIC Gen. 21:1), or 'showed favour to' (REB Gen. 21:1), or 'remembered'(Kasher, Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, 3:100) ] Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. [ God keeps his word. ]
2  For Sarah conceived, [ Her conception had been just several months following the visit of the three messengers,( See Klinghoffer, Discovery of God, 202; and Kasher, Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, 3:100-104) and had occurred, according to Jewish tradition, on the first day of the New Year, Rosh Hashanah, the day when God remembers all Israel. In synagogues on Rosh Hashanah, the story of God's remembering Sarah is still chanted.(See Klinghoffer, Discovery of God, 202; and Kasher, Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, 3:100-104) ] and bare Abraham a son in his old age, [ Why did the Lord of life, the Creator of all, so arrange it? Why not grant the son of promise to Sarah during those many years when she could have conceived normally, without divine intervention? The answer would become apparent many centuries later when, as Church Father Ambrose observed: "An aged woman who was sterile brought Isaac to birth according to God's promise, so that we may believe that God has power to bring it about that even a virgin may give birth." (Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary, 2:91) ] at the set time of which God had spoken to him. [ As usual God keeps his promises. Even if it takes time and then does not seem possible. The Lord first gave the promise of chosen posterity to Abraham in Haran when he was sixty-two, according to the book of Abraham 2:14) since God's promise to Abraham of a glorious posterity. So thirty-seven years had passed since Abraham and Sarah were given that promise. ]
3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. [ Isaac means laugh, joy. Notes the Midrash, Isaac can also be translated as "law went forth to the world, or a gift was made to the world". Reminder that Sarah laughed(rejoiced) when God told her that she would have a son. ]
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight [ The number eight always points to a new beginning, purification, or the Atonement. It is found in association with temples, ordinances, or other holy themes. To help illustrate this, it helps if we first understand that the symbolism of eight is directly related to the symbolism of seven. In Genesis, we read: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished . . . And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made” (Gen. 2: 1-2). Seven, therefore, in the Hebrew tradition means finished, whole, or complete. What then becomes of the eighth day? The eighth day then becomes the first day of a new period. In other words, not the beginning, but a new beginning. By exploring a few scriptures, we see that this new beginnings represents purification the Atonement of Christ. For example, animals used for sacrifices stayed with the mother seven days, and then were slain on the eigth day. These animals were symbolic of Christ as an eternal sacrifice. Similarly, the priests of Aaron under Moses were to purge seven days, and on the eighth day they could enter the tabernacle, being purified, and make an atoning sacrifice. We learn in Ezekial that “upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord” (Ezekiel 43:26-27). There were also 8 people in the ark with Noah. ] days old, as God had commanded him.
5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, [ Which makes Sarah about 90. ] when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6 ¶ And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, [ JST - "rejoice"] so that all that hear will laugh [ JST - "rejoice" ] with me.
7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? [ That she had the ability to nurse her children at her age. This would have been about as much of a miracle as the birth was. ] for I have born him a son in his old age.
8  And the child grew, [ And just as the angel had predicted, Abraham did teach his son to keep the way of the Lord. The Book of Jasher tells that Abraham taught Isaac "the way of the Lord to know the Lord, and the Lord was with him."( Jasher 22:40, in Noah, Book of Yashar, 62) Or, in the words of President Spencer W. Kimball, "Abraham built a strong spiritual reservoir for his son Isaac, a reservoir that never leaked dry."(Spencer W. Kimball, "The Example of Abraham," Ensign, June 1975, 5) ] and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. [ A few years hence, (Perhaps two years (Tuchman and Rapoport, Passions of the Matriarchs, 56, citing Rashi); perhaps three (Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 81, calling attention to 2 Maccabees 7:27)) to celebrate the weaning of Isaac, Abraham put on what Genesis calls "a great feast" (Gen. 21:8) or "a great banquet" (NJB Gen. 21:8). It was a sumptuous spread, a lavish offering open to all and attended by a great multitude, including, as Jasher reports, "all the great people of the land" who "came to eat and drink and rejoice." (Jasher 21:5, in Noah, Book of Yashar, 57). The festivities that day for young Isaac were a summit of joy for the aged Abraham, who now had two sons whom he loved profoundly and, as Jewish sources say, equally.( See Levner, Legends of Israel, 87; and Bialik and Ravnitzky, Book of Legends, 40) ]
9 ¶ And Sarah saw the son [ Ishmael. So, suddenly, in the midst of the joyous celebration, one brief communication from Sarah turned Abraham's intense joy to intense grief. ] of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. [ More on this in the JST Gen 21:7. It appears as if Hagars son takes up where his mother left off. Remember Hagar mocked Sarah for not being able to have children Gen 16:4; here Ismael is mocking Isaac during this celebration since Ishmael is older, so he is teasing Isaac. Ishmael would have been about 14 since Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born and was 100 when Isaac was born, so they were about 14 years apart. ]
10 Wherefore [ As a result. One Jewish tradition tells a different story: "God looked into Sarah's heart and saw no hatred for Ishmael there," but saw that she was motivated solely by "her passion to nurture Isaac to his full potential."( Tuchman and Rapoport, Passions of the Matriarchs, 62, recounting a tradition repeated Rabbi Abraham, son of the famous Rambam) And not merely motivated, but actually inspired, according to Jewish sages. Her words to Abraham arose not out of impulse or anger, but she was "acting under Divine inspiration," so that, according to the learned Rashi, "Sarah's voice is the voice of prophecy." ( Tuchman and Rapoport, Passions of the Matriarchs, 62, recounting a tradition repeated Rabbi Abraham, son of the famous Rambam) Sarah well knew of God's promises to Abraham, repeated over decades, about the covenant race that would bless the world, and knew that her son, Isaac, was appointed to be their progenitor and was determined to protect him to fulfill his mission. ] she [ Sarah. ] said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman [ Hagar. ] and her son: [ Ishmael. ] for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. [ So Sarah sees the teasing that is going on and tells Abraham that he needs to get rid of Hagar and Ismael. So maybe there is still some taunting by both Hagar and Ismael. Whatever Sarah has had enough and wants to make clear with Abraham who the heir is. Sarah is most likely still not over the fact that Abraham had a child with Hagar, it keeps coming back. ]
11 And the thing was very grievous [ "tormented" It was hard for Abraham to send them away. Remember that Abraham had a hard time letting the Lord destroy the wick people of Sodom, he had a very kind heart so how hard would this have been to him. In fact, Jewish tradition remembers that "of all the trials that Abraham had to undergo" up to that time, "none was so hard to bear as this." ( Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, 1:264) ] in Abraham’s sight because of his son. [ And how does Abraham react? Well, he's upset. I mean, it is his son. You know, he's raised him. It was his only son as far as we know, for a long time. And so he loves Isaac, and Isaac will be his heir, but it's not like he hates Ishmael. ]
12 ¶ And God said unto Abraham, [ But God says, "Don't be worried. I'll take care of Ishmael and the bond woman. Do whatever Sarah wants, because you know, Isaac, don't worry. Isaac will be the one in whom my seed is called." But also of the bond woman, verse 13, will I make a nation because he is thy seed. We often forget that, but it is a point I think ought to be made. That troubled night, as Genesis reports, God told Abraham to implement Sarah's wish (Gen. 21:12-13), but tradition gives a slightly expanded version of the incident: "In that night the Holy One . . . said to him: Abraham! Dost thou not know that Sarah was appointed to thee for a wife from her mother's womb? She is thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.... All that Sarah has spoken she has uttered truthfully,"(Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer 30, in Friedlander, Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, 216) for she "also is a prophetess."(Baring-Gould, Legends of the Patriarchs, 182) ] Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken [ Abraham takes the matter to the Lord and is told he must do whatever his wife says. It's been the same ever since! Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. [ Or through Isaac will the blessing of the covenant be fulfilled. ]
13 And also of the son of the bondwoman [ Ishmael. ] will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. [ The Lord will also provide for fulfillment of some of the promised blessings of the covenant through Ishmael as well. A nation, the nation of Islam? The Arabs. Most of whom are Muslims. And so they are the children of Abraham as well. Not the children of the first born, but they're not without scriptural promises and not without scriptural status. In Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet, so is Isaac. So they venerate both of them. The Arabs have long regarded themselves, and the traditional genealogies make them descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. That's universally accepted in Islamic tradition. ]
14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: [ Sends her on her way out of his camp. Genesis records that Abraham simply arose the next morning and expelled Hagar and Ishmael into the desert, parsimoniously providing them with only a little bread and a bottle of water. ] and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. [ Other Jewish sources insist that the highly abbreviated Genesis account fails to communicate the reality that Abraham provisioned them well with necessities for their journey, including gold and silver, and then actually escorted them on their way. ( Kasher, Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, 3:115, citing several sources including Abrabanel and Sforno) Islamic sources, from the descendants of Ishmael who was being "expelled," unanimously remember that Abraham did in fact accompany Hagar and Ishmael well into the desert. (Islam insists that Abraham led them to the future site of Mecca. Knappert, Islamic Legends, 1:78. See also Asad, Qur'an, 26 n. 102: "According to very ancient Arabian traditions, it was at the site of what later became Mecca that Abraham, in order to placate Sarah, abandoned his Egyptian bondwoman Hagar and their child Ishmael after he had brought them there from Canaan. This is by no means improbable if one bears in mind that for a camel-riding bedouin (and Abraham was certainly one) a journey of twenty or even thirty days has never been anything out of the ordinary. At first glance, the Biblical statement (Genesis xxi, 14) that it was 'in the wilderness of Beersheba' (i.e., in the southernmost tip of Palestine) that Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael would seem to conflict with the Qur'anic account. This seeming contradiction, however, disappears as soon as we remember that to the ancient, town-dwelling Hebrews the term 'wilderness of Beersheba' comprised all the desert regions south of Palestine." While it is certainly possible that they went to the place where Mecca would later arise, the immense distance involved makes this appear remarkable, particularly since both Abraham and Ishmael will travel back and forth several times.) Islamic tradition further describes what transpired when the moment came for Abraham to return. Seeing that Abraham intended to depart, Hagar asked Abraham if God had commanded him to do this. When he answered in the affirmative, this remarkable woman declared her faith in God and God's servant Abraham by courageously stating that she knew that God would take care of them.( Kathir, Stories of the Prophets, 88-89) She was, in the words of a modern Muslim scholar, "willing to do this for God," while for his part, Abraham "is enough of a believer to say, 'I will submerge myself and rely on God."( Azizah Y. Al-Hibri, in Moyers, Genesis, 196, 199) It was yet another irony in the life of Abraham, that although he would have instantly given his life for these loved ones, and he did that for those he barely knew so how great would have been his anguish here? Now he was now forced to leave them behind in the wilderness in obedience to God. He offerred a prayer of faith borne from personal experience, recalling the time when as a young man himself, he had been imprisoned without food and water, but miraculously provided for. Hence "Abraham is only providing them an experience that he himself has already lived through."88 Abraham then expressed his own love for both of his sons: "Praise be to God who has given me Ishmael and Isaac." (Qur'an 14:39, in Cragg, Qur'an, 117) ]
15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she [ Hagar. ] cast the child under one of the shrubs. [ She see's no future for her or him so she puts Ishmael in the shade. ]
16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. [ Can't you just see the mother leaning against a rock, feeling like it is the end for both of them, and she cannot look, she does not want to see the suffering of Ishmael. ]
17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. [ Ishmael is not a baby, he is a young boy. In pain. ]
18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. [ From him came the Arab nations. ]
19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; [ The Lord showed her were she could find water. As a matter of fact this is part of the annual pilgrimage involves what's called, well it's a run between two little hills called Marwa and Safa. And they run between them and they're reenacting the search of Hagar for water for her son, Ishmael, who's about to die in the desert, and then is saved by God. They actually believe that that happened in Mecca, and that Ishmael and Abraham restored the Kaaba, the shrine there in Mecca, the well that sprang up at God's inspiration is the well called Zamzam in Mecca. So that's where they think that happened. But yeah, Islam begins in Arabia in, well with the birth of Muhammad in a way, in 570 AD, then his call in 610 AD when he's 40 years old. He is working as a shepherd, among other things, and as a caravan leader, and he is regarded as a descendant of Ishmael, a proper heir, so he's a legitimate heir to the prophets. They see themselves as continuing the line of prophets. They recognize Abraham, and Isaac, and Ishmael, and Jacob, and Moses, and all of the others as prophets, including Jesus. And then Mohammed is the latest in that line of prophets, but they all come through the prophetic line, which is essentially the biblical line. I hear some Latter Day Saints feel as if they have to choose between the Jews and the Arabs. Well, I'd like to say that the Arabs really conflict, first of all, is much more complex than a lot of people realize. As Latter day Saints, we ought to recognize they are both children of Abraham. And we ought to be trying not to have the one smite the other, but we ought to be hoping for peace between them as Abraham, I presume, is hoping. ] and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. [ JST reads "And he took him a wife out of the land of Egypt." ]
22 ¶ And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: [ In other words "the Lord blesses you no matter what you choose to Abraham, what gives." Abimelech sees and knows that the God of Abraham is powerful and he does not want to challenge him. So he gets Abraham to form an alliance(covenant) that they will work together, Abimelech is then hoping that if he has Abraham on his side then he will have Abraham's God as well. ]
23 Now therefore swear [ Promise me. ] unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. [ The land where they had ened up living which was in King Abimelech's kingdom. ]
24 And Abraham said, I will swear.
25 And Abraham reproved [ Chastized. ] Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. [ Water rights issues. Abimelech's servants just take the well they don't bother to ask who dug it or anything they needed it and took it. ]
26 And Abimelech said, I wot [ Know. ] not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; [ Rather than fight over the well Abraham provides gifts to Abimelech to soothe him over; presenting the thought that they are on the same side and not enemies over the well. ] and both of them made a covenant.
28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. [ Abraham seperates out 7 female lambs from the rest of the flock in order to gather attention. ]
29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? [ So now he has the attention of Abimelech who starts the conversation by asking Abraham why he had seperated the 7 ewes out from the flock. ]
30 And he [ Abraham. ] said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, [ Accept as a gift from me. ] that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. [ So if you accept the gift then you also agree that it was I Abraham that dug the well. So no fight just acknowledgement. ]
31 Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; [ "the well of the oath". ] because there they sware both of them. [ It is where both Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant with each other that the well belonged to Abraham, and the sheep the 7 ewes given as a gift now belonged to Abimelech. ]
32 Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they [ Abimelech and his servants. ] returned into the land of the Philistines. [ Went back home. ]
33 ¶ And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, [ JST "Then Abimelech, and Phicol, the chief captain of his hosts, rose up, and they planted a grove in Beer-sheba. ] and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days. [ So trusted and respected was Abraham that people came to him and asked him to settle their disputes. Unlike most judges, however, he did not stop with merely ascertaining a fair resolution between the parties, but "would not let them go until they had made peace with each other". Abraham's kindness was noised abroad far and wide, and guests seeking every manner of blessing visited him "from the ends of the world"( Culi, Magriso, and Argueti, Torah Anthology, 2:7) ]
[Additional Notes on Ishmael: The Qur'an describes Ishmael as one who was "truthful in promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet. And he enjoined on his people prayer and almsgiving, and was one in whom his Lord was well pleased."( Qur'an 19:54-55, in M. M. Ali, Qur'an, 603) An early Jewish text likewise pays to Ishmael the ultimate compliment of being one of the righteous.( See Mekilta, tractate Pisha, in Lauterbach, Mekilta de Rabbi Ishmael, 1:134-35) As Ishmael's descendants remember, Abraham returned to visit Ishmael many times. On one of those occasions, according to the Qur'an, Abraham enlisted Ishmael's help to build "the Temple," or Ka'ba, a place "to which people might repair again and again, and a sanctuary."( Qur'an 2:125, in Asad, Qur'an, 26) The pattern for this Temple was shown to Abraham, says Islamic tradition, by an angel,(The angel Gabriel. Knappert, Islamic Legends, 1:81. Joseph Smith explained that the angel Gabriel is Noah. Galbraith and Smith, Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 178) while the site itself was divinely designated to Abraham by a cloud or wind. Abraham and Ishmael worked together( See various traditions of the event summarized and discussed in Firestone, Journeys in Holy Lands, 80-93) as described by the Qur'an: Thus did we command Abraham and Ishmael: "Purify My Temple for those who will walk around it, and those who will abide near it in meditation, and those who will bow down and prostrate themselves in prayer." And, lo, Abraham prayed: "O my Sustainer! Make this a land secure and grant its people fruitful sustenance —such of them as believe in God and the Last Day." ... The temple for Ishmael-built, according to Islam, at Mecca-would share a number of similar motifs with the Jewish Temple at Jerusalem.(See Rachel Milstein, "The Evolution of a Visual Motif: The Temple and the Ka'ba," in Arazi, Sadan, and Wasserstein, Compilation and Creation, 23-48, esp. 45-46) But it is the temple at Mecca— the holy Ka'ba-which remains to this day the longing of Muslims worldwide, who are expected at least once in their lifetime to make the sacred pilgrimage in which men don white robes, women cover their heads, Satan is cast out, and all walk seven times the circuit around the Ka'ba —all following the pattern, according to Islam, of that set by Abraham and Ishmael in order to attain purity and prepare for the very presence of God.( See Denny, An Introduction to Islam, 117-23; and Syed Ali Ashraf, "The Inner Meaning of the Islamic Rites: Prayer, Pilgrimage, Fasting, Jihad," in Nasr, Islamic Spirituality, 119-25) The seven circuits recall the seven ages of the temporal earth (D&C 77:7) in the Lord's "one eternal round" (1 Ne. 10:19). Islam further tells that God commanded Abraham to summon all mankind to the Ka'ba; and still today when faithful Muslims go there, they do so in response to Abraham's summons as they arrive at the "famous place of prayer, the Place of Abraham, [which] is situated near the Ka'ba." ( Reuven Firestone, "Abraham," in McAuliffe, Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, 1:7) Three different times the pilgrims raise their hands to heaven and say, "Here I am, Lord." Near the Ka'ba they also see the famous black stone with the footprint, believed to be that of Abraham. In their most sacred of all ceremonies, Muslims literally believe themselves to be following the footsteps of their father Abraham. The seven circuits echo the architectural pattern of the "cosmic city" of the ancient Near East, often constructed with seven circuits or with seven-tiered temple towers made in the "image of the seven cosmic spheres." ( L'Orange, Iconography of Cosmic Kingship, 10) Seven is also, of course, the number of days of creation, as well as the number of millennial periods of the earth's temporal existence-all of which Abraham had seen in vision. And as to the shape of the circle itself, it is the shape of Facsimile 2, representing what Hugh Nibley called "One Eternal Round." Muslim tradition holds that in erecting the Ka'ba Abraham was also laying the foundations of a sacred city. "When Abraham offered the [dedicatory] prayer, there was no town existing near the Ka'ba. There existed only the House of God. So Abraham prayed that in that wildest of wildernesses there might grow up a town, and that that town might become a place of security, affording peace to mankind," for "he wished it to be the abode of the righteous only." ( Holy Qur'an 1:179) If Ishmael must grow to manhood far removed from Abraham, Abraham could not be content without first establishing his son and laying the foundation for a Zion community with a temple at its center. Abraham would return frequently, ( Asad, Qur'an, 26 n. 102) for "he longed for his son Ishmael." ( al-Kisa'i, Tales of the Prophets, 153) Four Gates and a Cosmic City at Beersheba Even Abraham had his detractors, and back in Beersheba, he found that they seized upon this latest episode in his domestic life to criticize him. "If he were a righteous man," they complained, "would he have thrust away his firstborn son?" Years before, while still childless, his critics had charged, "If he were a righteous man, would he not have begotten children?" ( Genesis Rabbah 54:2, in Freedman, Midrash Rabbah, Genesis, 1:476) ]