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
Finally, a Baby for Sarah
1The Lord came back to visit Sarah as he said he would, and he kept his promise to her. 2At exactly the time God said it would happen, Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. 3Abraham named his son Isaac.#21:3 Isaac This name means “he laughs” or “he is happy.” 4Abraham did what God commanded and circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old.
5Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. 6Sarah said, “God has made me happy, and everyone who hears about this will be happy with me. 7No one thought that I, Sarah, would be able to have Abraham’s child. But I have given Abraham a son, even though he is old.”
Trouble at Home
8Isaac continued to grow, and soon he was old enough to begin eating solid food. So Abraham gave a big party. 9Sarah saw Hagar’s son playing. (Hagar was the Egyptian slave woman who gave birth to Abraham’s first son.) 10Sarah said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. Send them away! When we die, our son Isaac will get everything we have. I don’t want that slave woman’s son sharing these things with my son Isaac!”
11This upset Abraham very much. He was worried about his son Ishmael. 12But God said to Abraham, “Don’t worry about the boy and the slave woman. Do what Sarah wants. Your descendants will be those who come through Isaac. 13But I will also bless the son of your slave woman. He is your son, so I will make a great nation from his family also.”
14Early the next morning Abraham took some food and water and gave them to Hagar. She carried them and left with her boy. She left that place and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.
15After some time, when all their drinking water was gone, Hagar put her son under a bush. 16Then she walked a short distance away and sat down. She thought her son would die because there was no water. She did not want to watch him die. She sat there and began to cry.
17God heard the boy crying, and God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven. He said, “What is wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the boy crying there. 18Go help the boy. Hold his hand and lead him. I will make him the father of many people.”
19Then God allowed Hagar to see a well of water. So she went to the well and filled her bag with water. Then she gave water to the boy to drink.
20God continued to be with the boy while he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert and became a hunter. He learned to shoot a bow very well. 21His mother found a wife for him in Egypt. They continued to live in the Paran desert.
Abraham’s Bargain With Abimelech
22Then Abimelech and Phicol spoke with Abraham. Phicol was the commander of Abimelech’s army. They said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23So make a promise to me here before God. Promise that you will be fair with me and with my children. Promise that you will be kind to me and this country where you have lived. Promise that you will be as kind to me as I have been to you.”
24And Abraham said, “I promise to treat you the same way you have treated me.” 25Then Abraham complained to Abimelech because Abimelech’s servants had captured a well of water.
26But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who did this. You never told me about this before today!”
27So Abraham and Abimelech made an agreement. Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle as proof of the agreement. 28Abraham also put seven#21:28 seven The Hebrew word for “seven” is like the Hebrew word for “oath” or “promise,” and it is like the last part of the name Beersheba. The seven animals were proof of this promise. female lambs in front of Abimelech.
29Abimelech asked Abraham, “Why did you put these seven female lambs by themselves?”
30Abraham answered, “When you accept these lambs from me, it will be proof that I dug this well.”
31So after that, the well was called Beersheba.#21:31 Beersheba This name means “well of the oath.” Abraham gave the well this name because it was the place where they made a promise to each other.
32So Abraham and Abimelech made an agreement at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, his military commander, went back to the country of the Philistines.
33Abraham planted a special tree at Beersheba and prayed to the Lord, the God who lives forever. 34And Abraham lived as a stranger for a long time in the country of the Philistines.
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