21
1.And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 17:21; 18:10, 14; Heb. 11:11, 12
(Compare Gen 17:21, 18:10, 14). The God I serve is a true and faithful God. There is nothing that He can’t do. He promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son, and He is true to His word. As we read in Gen 17:21 God told Abraham that Sarah would have a son at the same time one year later. So by this we know that at least one year has gone by (give or take), since the Lord visited with Abraham and Sarah. There are certain similarities between Isaac and our Lord Jesus Christ. I will point out these similarities as we read on in the book of Genesis. Isaac’s birth, just as the birth of Jesus were both miraculous births. With Sarah being well beyond her prime of bearing children; By all we know today in the world of science the birth of Isaac was impossible, but there is nothing that God can’t do. All the science in the world cannot explain away the births of both Isaac, and Jesus Christ. God and only God has the power to make all things possible. For it was His will that Sarah was able to have a son at 90 years of age. It was also the Lords purpose for Mary, The mother of Jesus Christ who was a virgin, conceived our Lord (having never known a man). By all rights she should not have been able to conceive, but God Himself planted the Seed in Her and she gave birth to the only begotten of God the Father. As stated by God Himself to Abraham, “Is anything too hard for Jehovah?”
3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him- whom Sarah bore to him-Isaac.
4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
Abraham did all that God had commanded him. He named his son Isaac as God had told him:
Gen 17:19 And God said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed. And you shall call his name Isaac. And I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Abraham kept the covenant that he made with the Lord and circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old (Gen 17:10-13)
5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Abraham did all that God had commanded him. He named his son Isaac as God had told him (Gen 17:19), Abraham kept the covenant that he made with the Lord and circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old.
6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 17:17-19; 18:12-15
(Compare Gen 18:12, 17:19).
Isaac: (H3327), יצחק: yitschâq; BDB Definition: Isaac = “he laughs”
1) son of Abraham by Sarah his wife and father of Jacob and Esau
7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have born him a son in his old age.” 18: 11-12
this is merely a facetious statement by Sarah. She knew that it was God who said to Abraham that Sarah would have a son in a year from now.
8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.
After Isaac ceased from being breast fed by Sarah Abraham through together a big celebration. By most accounts this would put Isaac somewhere between 2-4 years old as was the customs of that time and culture.
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she she had borne to Abraham, Scoffing.
10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 25:6; Gal. 4:30
11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
During this feast for Isaac, his half brother Ishmael was making fun of him and Sarah witnessed this happening. Undoubtedly this reminded Sarah of how she was treated by Hagar, when she conceived Ishmael through Abraham (Gen 16:5), Sarah reacted as any mother would have in the same circumstance in wanting to protect her son. Sarah might have been reminded of Gods covenant with Abraham, at which time Sarah’s name was changed from Sarai to Sarah; In that it would be through Isaac that God’s blessings would be passed on to. In my opinion this relationship with Hagar and Sarah had been festering ever since Hagar conceived Ishmael. This discontent between the two had to have an effect on Ishmael while he was growing up. His mother probably had been telling him for years that since he was the firstborn of Abraham then he is the rightful heir to him. So when Ishmael saw all this fuss being made over Isaac he started to have the same discontentment towards Isaac as his mother had towards Sarah. Sarah was not going to have any more of this nonsense and decided it was time for her to put her foot down. I could almost hear Sarah remind Abraham at some point in this conversation of how she had been a faithful and obedient wife to him when they were in Egypt, and the land of Gerar. How she was willing to lie for him at the expense of her own life and dignity. Even still, Ishmael was his son, and it weighed heavily on him what Sarah was demanding Abraham do with Ishmael.
◊12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.
13 “Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.” 16:10; 17:20, 25:12-18
I believe Abraham did not immediately give in to Sarah’s demands. The way I understand verse twelve is that Abraham went to God for help. I can only imagine the pain and uneasiness he must have been going through. He was at a point in life where he knew God was the only true answer to his problem. There was nothing he could do on his own to resolve this issue (2 Co 12:9), Abraham was at his weakest he had ever been. He loved Sarah, and Ishmael dearly, Abraham knew that he had to turn to God for help, and in this action God’s power was being made perfect in him. We have all been there in one way or another. It’s times like these that we humbly come to God for help. In Abraham case God talked directly with him and told him what he must do. It probably wasn’t what he wanted to hear from God because he still had to cast out Ishmael, knowing that he would never see his son again. However God assured Abraham that He would bless Ishmael, and in this blessing he gives but a Glimpse into Abraham eyes of the future of these nations. In Gen. 25 we see what becomes of Ishmael and his descendants (Compare Gen 25:12-16).
14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 16:12; 25:6
It appears hear that verses eight thru thirteen take place in the course of one day: first the day begins with Abraham holding a feast in celebration of the weaning of Isaac. During this feast Isaac is scoffed at by Ishmael (his half brother), Sarah sees this scoffing and demands that Abraham cast Ishmael out from their presence. Then in evening Abraham goes to God to ask for his help in regards to Ishmael. Here we are now early in the morning on the very next day, and we see that Abraham is ready to send Ishmael and Hagar out from among him. Verse fourteen is very telling about Abraham’s maturity in his faith with God. We read hear that Abraham gives Ishmael and Hagar some bread and one flask (if you will), of water. This is enough provisions for two people for maybe a couple days. God promised Abraham that He would make a nation from the seed of Ishmael because he is of Abraham’s seed. Abraham trust in God that He will take care of Ishmael and therefore finds it necessary to only give Ishmael and Hagar a couple days rations. Hagar and Ishmael journey southeast from Gerar to the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.
16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bow shot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.
17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of of the lad where he is. 22:11; Ex. 3:7
18 “Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 16:10; 18:20
In our weakness He is made strong. At our darkest hour God will hear our cries. Hagar has given up all hope, forgetting that approximately 15 years earlier she was in the same predicament, and an angel of the Lord answered her, and promised her that God would multiply her seed exceedingly. The Angel even told her of the fate of Ishmael (Gen 16:7-14), but now, in her distress, Hagar has forgotten all that the angel of the Lord Jehovah had revealed to her, but God has not forsaken her or Ishmael. Gods word is true and He cannot lie. We can all be rest assured of all Gods promises. Just as Abraham saw the promise afar off, yet never receiving this promise he believed in God and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Rom 4:3), in this instance we see that it is the prayers of Ishmael that God hears. Where Hagar had given up all hope, Ishmael cries out to God in his darkest hour and God answers his call. The Angel of the Lord calls out to Hagar and tells her that God has heard the cries of Ishmael. Again the angel of the Lord reassures Hagar that God has not forsaken her or her son, and he tells Hagar to go to the lad, for God will make a great nation of him. Hagar was at her weakest moment ever, and her son who was just a bow shot away, with his dying breath, in his darkest hour, calls on the Lord Jehovah for help and The Lord God is made strong.
19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.
20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21 He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
The scriptures do not say one way or the other if this well is the same well that Hagar named Beerlahairoi when an angel of the Lord first appeared to her when she was fleeing Sarai, but when we look at the verses side by side as to their location we can see that they are definitely in the same proximity (Gen 16:7-8, 13-14)
Compare these verses with Gen. 21: 14, 19-21
If we read Genesis 16:7 closely we see that the angel of the Lord found Hagar by a fountain that was on the way to Shur (not in the wilderness of Shur itself), Now if we look at a map of the area we see that the wilderness of Shur is in the eastern most part of what we call today the Sanai peninsula. During this time frame Abraham was dwelling in the land of Canaan (in the plains Mamre), Gen 16:3 Gen 18:1. Again if we look at a map of the location of Mamre we see that it is north of Beersheba And could have have been passed thru by Hagar on the way to Shur. Anyone who looks at my files can go to my folder on bible maps to see this for themselves, or you can Google these locations for yourself.
The wilderness of Puran where Ishmael grew up and dwelt in lies between the wilderness of Shur, and Beersheba, which is again in the proximity of beerlahairoi where an angel of the lord first appeared to Hagar.
22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do. 20:14; 26:28; Is. 8:3
23 “Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.” Josh. 2:12, 13
24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”
The phrase “And it came to pass at that time,” according to Adam Clarke’s commentary, is referring back to Gen 20:14-15
I am inclined to agree with Mr. Clarke’s assumption:
At that time – This may either refer to the transactions recorded in the preceding chapter, or to the time of Ishmael’s marriage, but most probably to the former.
This was during the time that King Abimelech had just returned Sarah to Abraham after he took her for himself when Abraham first came to the land of Gerar. The reason I tend to agree with Mr. Clarke is because of what I read in verse’s 29-31 in this chapter. plus we see Genesis 20:14 being referenced to in verse 22 above. I must remind the reader that it is not I who references all these chapters and verses following certain verses. I am just copying word for word the NKJV bible. This is makes sense when we look at Gen. 21:14. We see here that Hagar wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. Abraham would have to had named the land Beersheba before Hagar could have wandered in the land called by that name. The reader could then read Genesis 21 and place verses 22-34 at the beginning of chapter 21 up to verse 21, leaving verse 21 that last verse of chapter 21. I must again remind the reader that this is my opinion on how we can read chapter 21 as far as a chronological order of these verses. I must also say that after I placed verses 22-34 ahead of verse 1-21 I contacted my pastor to make sure that I wasn’t going against God’s word when he warns us not to take from or add to His book (Rev 22:18-19), this could be said to be true for the Bible in its entirety. My pastor said that number one as long as I am stating that this is just my opinion, and number two that I am not taken away or adding any words to this chapter just looking at it from a certain perspective. By commenting on this chapter in this manner would be okay. That being said here is the way the verses could be read, in my opinion:
Gen 21:22 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:
Gen 21:23 Now therefore swear 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.
Gen 21:24 And Abraham said, I will swear.
Gen 21:25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.
Gen 21:26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
Gen 21:27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
Gen 21:28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
Gen 21:29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
Gen 21:30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
Gen 21:31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
Gen 21:32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
Gen 21:33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
Gen 21:34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.
Gen 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
Gen 21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
Gen 21:3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
Gen 21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
Gen 21:5 And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
Gen 21:6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
Gen 21:7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
Gen 21:8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
Gen 21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
Gen 21:10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
Gen 21:11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
◊Gen 21:12 And God said unto Abraham, 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 unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Gen 21:13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
Gen 21:14 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: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Gen 21:15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
Gen 21:16 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.
Gen 21:17 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.
Gen 21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
Gen 21:19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
Gen 21:20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
Gen 21:21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
So Abraham swears to king Abimelech that he will do right by the king, and his descendants. Does Abraham swear by God or does he just swear? Verse 24 seem to be a bit sketchy on this point.
25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.
26 and Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.”
Then Abraham points out to the king that he(Abraham), has not been treated fairly by him (Abimelech), because some of the kings people have seized a well that was dug by Abraham. So the king tells Abraham that he was not aware of the situation.
27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 20:14
Here again we see Gen. 20:14 being referenced in this verse. To me this strengthens Adam Clarke’s and my belief that this was done before Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael out from amongst him and Sarah. As I have gone through in great detail back in Gen. 15:11 in regards to covenants made between two parties it is merely a binding agreement between two or more parties. This agreement between Abraham and Abimelech is an agreement to wit they will show kindness to one another, and treat each other fairly, and that this covenant will be passed down from generation to generation. The sheep and oxen that Abraham gives to king Abimelech could be a show of appreciation for all that the king has shown to him. Also because of what we read in Gen. 15 in regards to the covenant that God made with Abraham, Abraham, and Abimelech may have cut the carcasses of some of the animals and passed through them as a symbol of the fate of him who would break this covenant. This is merely an assumption on my part because we are not told that this is in fact what they did.
28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?”
30 And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.” 31:48, 52
Besides the sheep and oxen Abraham gave to Abimelech Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from amongst the sheep, the female sheep are referred to as ewes. These seven ewe lambs were separated from amongst the sheep as a special oath between the two parties which was to be a witness (testimony), between Abraham and Abimelech that Abraham did in fact dig these wells and therefore were rightfully his. I must point out the number of ewe lambs Abraham set apart (seven), this number seven is a sign of perfection, and completeness in the scriptures. Water is life
And back then it was very important to the lively-hood of peoples and nations. In my opinion I believe that the reason Abraham made this distinction from the rest of the covenant is that without the rights to these wells Abraham and his people could not have survived. I hope I can explain this the way I have come to understand it in my own mind: you see without the wells the survival of his people would not be sustainable, so the other parts of the covenant would be irrelevant. Since we know that the number seven is a sign of perfection and completeness, then we can ascertain that these seven ewe lambs symbolizes the covenant between Abraham and Abimelech perfect and complete between them. Lets look at the strongs definition of Beersheba so as to help the reader understand the meaning
Beersheba: (H884): בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע: be’êr sheba‛
be-ayr’ sheh’-bah
From H875 and H7651 (in the sense of H7650); well of an oath; Beer Sheba, a place in Palestine: – Beer-shebah.
beer(H875): בְּאֵר: be’êr : be-ayr’; From H874; a pit; especially a well: – pit, well.
Sheba: (H7651) שֶׁבַע : sheba‛ shib‛âh ; sheh’-bah, shib-aw’
From H7650; a primitive cardinal number; seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times.
bah: (H7650) שָׁבַע: shâba‛
shaw-bah’
A primitive root; properly to be complete, but used only as a denominative from H7651; to seven oneself, that is, swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times)
31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. 21:14; 26:33
As I explained early on; every name given in the bible has significance in and of itself, which is why I have given the BDB definition, which is the Hebrew definition of words. As we can see how the name Beersheba reflects what happened there and why it was given this name by Abraham. We can also see by the BDB definition that the location of this well is in the southern edge of modern day Israel.
32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. v. 27
We see here that this covenant between Abraham and Abimelech was not made in Gerar, which is in the land of the Philistines.
33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. 4:26; 12:8
The word Tamarisk tree used here is translated from the Hebrew word grove as we see when we read this verse in the KJV+ bible which uses the strongs concordance. With this being the case we could conclude that it wasn’t just one tree Abraham planted but a cluster of trees. In my opinion Abraham might have planted these trees here so that when people would come to draw water from the well they would have a comfortable shady place to rest from the sun. The wilderness that the well, or wells are located are just that a wilderness lacking vegetation or shade trees in many areas.
34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.
So Abraham lived in the land of the Philistines for a long time. In my mind, many days could mean to be many years. The land of the Philistines during this time consisted of the area west of Jerusalem along the coastline from southern Israel to the north close to modern day Syria.