B'resheet (Gen) 21
21
1Adonai remembered Sarah as he had said, and Adonai did for Sarah what he had promised. 2Sarah conceived and bore Avraham a son in his old age, at the very time God had said to him. 3Avraham called his son, born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Yitz’chak. 4Avraham circumcised his son Yitz’chak when he was eight days old, as God had ordered him to do.
(v) 5Avraham was one hundred years old when his son Yitz’chak [laughter] was born to him. 6Sarah said, “God has given me good reason to laugh; now everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.” 7And she said, “Who would have said to Avraham that Sarah would nurse children? Nevertheless, I have borne him a son in his old age!”
8The child grew and was weaned, and Avraham gave a great banquet on the day that Yitz’chak was weaned. 9But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom Hagar had borne to Avraham, making fun of Yitz’chak; 10so Sarah said to Avraham, “Throw this slave-girl out! And her son! I will not have this slave-girl’s son as your heir along with my son Yitz’chak!”
11Avraham became very distressed over this matter of his son. 12But God said to Avraham, “Don’t be distressed because of the boy and your slave-girl. Listen to everything Sarah says to you, because it is your descendants through Yitz’chak who will be counted. 13But I will also make a nation from the son of the slave-girl, since he is descended from you.”
14Avraham got up early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child; then he sent her away. After leaving, she wandered in the desert around Be’er-Sheva. 15When the water in the skin was gone, she left the child under a bush, 16and went and sat down, looking the other way, about a bow-shot’s distance from him; because she said, “I can’t bear to watch my child die.” So she sat there, looking the other way, crying out and weeping. 17God heard the boy’s voice, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong with you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, because God has heard the voice of the boy in his present situation. 18Get up, lift the boy up, and hold him tightly in your hand, because I am going to make him a great nation.” 19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went, filled the skin with water and gave the boy water to drink.
20God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21He lived in the Pa’ran Desert, and his mother chose a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
(vi) 22At that time Avimelekh and Pikhol the commander of his army spoke to Avraham. They said, “God is with you in everything you do. 23Therefore, swear to me here by God that you will never deal falsely with me or with my son or grandson; but according to the kindness with which I have treated you, you will treat me and the land in which you have lived as a foreigner. 24Avraham said, “I swear it.”
25Now Avraham had complained to Avimelekh about a well which Avimelekh’s servants had seized. 26Avimelekh answered, “I don’t know who has done this. You didn’t tell me, and I heard about it only today.” 27Avraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Avimelekh, and the two of them made a covenant. 28Avraham put seven female lambs from the flock by themselves. 29Avimelekh asked Avraham, “What is the meaning of these seven female lambs you have put by themselves?” 30He answered, “You are to accept these seven female lambs from me as witness that I dug this well.” 31This is why that place was called Be’er-Sheva [well of seven, well of an oath] — because they both swore an oath there. 32When they made the covenant at Be’er-Sheva, Avimelekh departed with Pikhol the commander of his army and returned to the land of the P’lishtim. 33Avraham planted a tamarisk tree in Be’er-Sheva, and there he called on the name of Adonai, the everlasting God. 34Avraham lived for a long time as a foreigner in the land of the P’lishtim.
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B'resheet (Gen) 21: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleGenesis 21
21
The Birth of Isaac
1The Lord came to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised. # Gn 17:16; 18:10; Gl 4:23 2Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him. # Gn 17:21; 18:10,14; Heb 11:11 3Abraham named his son who was born to him — the one Sarah bore to him — Isaac. # Gn 17:19 4When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. # Gn 17:10,12; Ac 7:8 5Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. # Gn 17:1,17; Rm 4:19
6Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.” # Isaac = He laughs; Gn 17:19 # Gn 18:12-15 7She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him # Sam, Tg Jonathan; MT omits him in his old age.”
Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away
8The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9But Sarah saw the son mocking # LXX, Vg add Isaac her son — the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. # Gn 16:1,15; Gl 4:29 10So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac! ” # Gl 4:30
11Now this was a very difficult thing for # Lit was very bad in the eyes of Abraham because of his son. 12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned # Lit Let it not be bad in your eyes about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac. # Rm 9:7; Heb 11:18 13But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son # Gn 16:10; 21:18; 25:12-18 because he is your offspring.”
14Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. # To “send away” a woman = divorce her; Dt 24:1. To “send away” a slave = free her; Dt 15:13. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. 16Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die! ” So as she sat nearby, she # LXX reads the boy wept loudly. # Jr 6:26; Am 8:10
17God heard the voice of the boy, and the # Or an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. 18Get up, help the boy up, and support him, for I will make him a great nation.” 19Then God opened her eyes, # Nm 22:31; 2Kg 6:17-18,20; Lk 24:16,31 and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech
22At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army, # Gn 20:2; 26:1,26 said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. # Gn 26:28 23Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a foreign resident.”
24And Abraham said, “I swear it.” 25But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech’s servants had seized. # Gn 26:15,18,20-22
26Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.”
27Abraham took sheep and cattle # A covenant or treaty was regularly ratified by animal sacrifice (Gn 8:20–9:9; 15:9-17; Ex 24:8) and often involved an exchange of gifts (1Kg 15:19; Hs 12:1). The animals here could serve both purposes. and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. # Gn 26:31 28Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock. 29And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs? ”
30He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand so that this act # Lit that it will serve as my witness that I dug this well.” 31Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba # = Well of the Oath, or Seven Wells # Gn 26:33 because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. 32After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.
33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God. # Ps 45:6; 48:14; 90:2; 93:2; Is 40:28; Jr 10:10; Rm 16:26; Heb 13:8 34And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days.
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