Bereshis 21
21
1And Hashem visited Sarah as He had said, and Hashem did unto Sarah just as He had spoken.
2For Sarah conceived, and bore Avraham ben in his old age, at the mo'ed (set time) of which Elohim had given promise unto him.
3And Avraham called the shem of bno that was born unto him, whom Sarah bore to him, Yitzchak.
4And Avraham circumcised bno Yitzchak at age shemonat yamim, as Elohim had commanded him.
5And Avraham was a hundred years old, when bno Yitzchak was born unto him.
6And she said, Elohim hath brought me tzechok (laughter), so that all that hear yitzchak (will laugh) with me.
7And she said, Who would have said unto Avraham, that Sarah should nurse banim? for I have borne him ben in his old age.
8And the yeled grew, and was weaned; and Avraham made a mishteh gadol the same day that Yitzchak was weaned.
9And Sarah saw the ben of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Avraham, metzachek (mocking, scoffing).
10Therefore she said unto Avraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her ben: for the ben of this bondwoman shall not be heir with beni (my son), even with Yitzchak.
11And the thing was very grievous in the eyes of Avraham because of bno.
12And Elohim said unto Avraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the na'ar, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, shema (pay heed) unto her voice; for in Yitzchak shall thy zera be called.
13And also of the ben haamah will I make a nation, because he is thy zera.
14And Avraham rose up early in the boker, and took lechem, and a skin of mayim, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the yeled, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the midbar of Be'er-Sheva.
15And the mayim in the skin was done, and she cast the yeled under one of the bushes.
16And she went off, and sat down about a bowshot away: for she thought, Let me not see the mot hayeled. And she sat there nearby, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
17And Elohim heard the voice of the na'ar; and the Malach Elohim called to Hagar out of Shomayim, and said unto her, Mah lach, Hagar? fear not; for Elohim hath heard the voice of the na'ar where he is.
18Arise, lift up the na'ar, and hold him in thine yad; for I will make him a goy gadol.
19And Elohim opened her eyes, and she saw a be'er of mayim; and she went, and filled the skin with mayim, and gave the na'ar drink.
20And Elohim was with the na'ar; and he grew, and dwelt in the midbar, and became a roveh keshet (an archer).
21And he dwelt in the midbar of Paran: and his em got him an isha out of Eretz Mitzrayim.
22And it came to pass at that time, that Avimelech and Phichol the sar tz'va of his spoke unto Avraham, saying, Elohim is with thee in all that thou doest:
23Now therefore swear unto me here before Elohim that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my child, nor with my descendant: but according to the chesed that I have showed thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the eretz wherein thou hast sojourned.
24And Avraham said, I will swear.
25And Avraham reproved Avimelech because of a be'er hamayim, which Avimelechʼs avadim had violently seized.
26And Avimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today.
27And Avraham took tzon and oxen, and gave them unto Avimelech; and both of them made a brit.
28And Avraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the tzon by themselves.
29And Avimelech said unto Avraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set apart by themselves?
30And he said, For these sheva ewe lambs shalt thou accept of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have dug this well.
31Therefore he called that place Be'er-Sheva; because there they swore an oath both of them.
32Thus they made a brit at Be'er-Sheva: then Avimelech rose up, and Phichol the sar tzeva of his, and they returned into eretz Pelishtim.
33And Avraham planted an eshel (tamarisk tree) in Be'er-Sheva, and called there on the Shem of Hashem El Olam.
34And Avraham sojourned in eretz Pelishtim yamim rabbim.
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Bereshis 21: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Genesis 21
21
Birth of Isaac.#The long-awaited birth of Isaac parallels the birth of Ishmael in chap. 16, precipitating a rivalry and expulsion as in that chapter. Though this chapter is unified, the focus of vv. 1–7 is exclusively on Sarah and Isaac, and the focus of vv. 8–21 is exclusively on Hagar and Ishmael. The promise of a son to the barren Sarah and elderly Abraham has been central to the previous chapters and now that promise comes true with the birth of Isaac. The other great promise, that of land, will be resolved, at least in an anticipatory way, in Abraham’s purchase of the cave at Machpelah in chap. 23. The parallel births of the two boys has influenced the Lucan birth narratives of John the Baptist and Jesus (Lk 1–2). 1The Lord took note of Sarah as he had said he would; the Lord did for her as he had promised.#Gn 17:19; 18:10. 2Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated.#Gal 4:23; Heb 11:11. 3Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him.#Mt 1:2; Lk 3:34. 4When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded.#Gn 17:10–14; Acts 7:8. 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6Sarah then said, “God has given me cause to laugh,#Laugh: for the third time (cf. 17:17 and 18:12) there is laughter, playing on the similarity in Hebrew between the pronunciation of the name Isaac and words associated with laughter. and all who hear of it will laugh with me.#Gn 17:17. 7Who would ever have told Abraham,” she added, “that Sarah would nurse children! Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” 8The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great banquet on the day of the child’s weaning.
9Sarah noticed the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham playing with her son Isaac; 10so she demanded of Abraham: “Drive out that slave and her son! No son of that slave is going to share the inheritance with my son Isaac!”#Jgs 11:2; Gal 4:30. 11Abraham was greatly distressed because it concerned a son of his.#A son of his: Abraham is the father of both boys, but Sarah is the mother only of Isaac. Abraham is very concerned that Ishmael have a sufficient inheritance. 12But God said to Abraham: Do not be distressed about the boy or about your slave woman. Obey Sarah, no matter what she asks of you; for it is through Isaac that descendants will bear your name.#Rom 9:7; Heb 11:18. 13As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also,#I will make a nation of him also: Ishmael’s descendants are named in 25:12–18. since he too is your offspring.
14Early the next morning Abraham got some bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. Then, placing the child on her back,#Placing the child on her back: a reading based on an emendation of the traditional Hebrew text. In the traditional Hebrew text, Abraham put the bread and the waterskin on Hagar’s back, while her son apparently walked beside her. In this way the traditional Hebrew text harmonizes the data of the Priestly source, in which Ishmael would have been at least fourteen years old when Isaac was born; compare 16:16 with 21:5; cf. 17:25. But in the present Elohist (?) story, Ishmael is obviously a little boy, not much older than Isaac; cf. vv. 15, 18. he sent her away. As she roamed aimlessly in the wilderness of Beer-sheba, 15the water in the skin was used up. So she put the child down under one of the bushes, 16and then went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away; for she said to herself, “I cannot watch the child die.” As she sat opposite him, she wept aloud. 17God heard the boy’s voice, and God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven: “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not fear; God has heard the boy’s voice in this plight of his.#Gn 16:7. 18Get up, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand; for I will make of him a great nation.” 19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and then let the boy drink.
20God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert bowman. 21He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
The Covenant at Beer-sheba. 22#Of the two related promises of progeny and land, that of progeny has been fulfilled in the previous chapter. Now the claim on the land begins to be solidified by Abimelech’s recognition of Abraham’s claim on the well at Beer-sheba; it will be furthered by Abraham’s purchase of the cave at Machpelah in chap. 23. Two levels of editing are visible in the story: (1) vv. 22–24, 27, 32, the general covenant with Abimelech; (2) vv. 25–26, 28–30, 31, Abraham’s claim on the well. Both versions play on the root of the Hebrew word sheba‘, which means “seven” and “swear,” and the place name Beer-sheba. At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham: “God is with you in everything you do. 23So now, swear to me by God at this place#This place: Beer-sheba (v. 31). Abimelech had come from Gerar (20:2), about thirty miles west of Beer-sheba. that you will not deal falsely with me or with my progeny and posterity, but will act as loyally toward me and the land in which you reside as I have acted toward you.” 24Abraham replied, “I so swear.”
25Abraham, however, reproached Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized by force. 26“I have no idea who did that,” Abimelech replied. “In fact, you never told me about it, nor did I ever hear of it until now.”
27Then Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech and the two made a covenant. 28Abraham also set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock, 29and Abimelech asked him, “What is the purpose of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30Abraham answered, “The seven ewe lambs you shall accept from me that you may be my witness that I dug this well.” 31This is why the place is called Beer-sheba; the two of them took an oath there. 32When they had thus made the covenant in Beer-sheba, Abimelech, along with Phicol, the commander of his army, left to return to the land of the Philistines.#Philistines: one of the Sea Peoples, who migrated from Mycenaean Greece around 1200 B.C. and settled on the coastland of Canaan, becoming a principal rival of Israel. Non-biblical texts do not use the term “Philistine” before ca. 1200 B.C.; it is probable that this usage and those in chap. 26 are anachronistic, perhaps applying a later ethnic term for an earlier, less-known one.
33Abraham planted a tamarisk at Beer-sheba, and there he invoked by name the Lord, God the Eternal.#God the Eternal: in Hebrew, ’el ‘olam, perhaps the name of the deity of the pre-Israelite sanctuary at Beer-sheba, but used by Abraham as a title of God; cf. Is 40:28. 34Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
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