Genesis 21
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Genesis 21 records Isaac’s birth and circumcision, the conflict that sends Hagar and Ishmael away, God's promise to Ishmael in the wilderness, and Abraham's covenant with Abimelech at Beersheba.
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Genesis 21:1-8Isaac Is Born
1And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 7And 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. 8And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
The LORD visits Sarah as promised. Isaac is born, circumcised on the eighth day, and named as God commanded. Sarah interprets his name through laughter: what once sounded impossible has become the occasion for joy. The text emphasizes God's action and the fulfillment of a particular promise, not a general guarantee that every longed-for outcome arrives. Isaac is the child named in this promise.
Genesis 21:9-14The Hard Separation
9And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 10Wherefore 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. 11And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12And 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. 13And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. 14And 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.
Sarah sees Ishmael mocking and demands that Hagar and Ishmael be sent away. Abraham is distressed, and God tells him to listen to Sarah while promising that Ishmael will also become a nation. The narrative does not explain every motive or commend the expulsion as a model for family conflict. It holds a covenant distinction together with real grief and the child's continuing dignity. Abraham's distress remains part of the scene.
Genesis 21:15-21God Hears in the Wilderness
15And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: 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. 17And 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. 18Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19And 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. 20And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
When the water is gone, Hagar places the boy at a distance and weeps. The angel says God has heard the boy and tells Hagar to lift him up. God promises that Ishmael will become a great nation, and Hagar sees a well. The scene gives divine attention and provision without explaining every physical detail or promising that every wilderness resolves the same way. Ishmael is not erased from the promise.
Genesis 21:22-34The Covenant at Beersheba
22And 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: 23Now 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. 24And Abraham said, I will swear. 25And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. 26And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day. 27And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. 28And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? 30And 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. 31Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them. 32Thus 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. 33And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. 34And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.
Abimelech recognizes that God is with Abraham and asks for an oath of honest dealing. Abraham raises a dispute about a well, gives seven ewe lambs as witness, and the place is called Beersheba. The chapter closes with an agreement concerning water and with Abraham calling on the everlasting God. It is a public settlement, not a claim that every conflict has already been healed. The well dispute is named rather than hidden.