CHAPTER XXI _Isaac is born according to the promise_, 1-3; _and is circumcised when eight days old_, 4. _Abraham's age, and Sarah's exultation at the birth of their son_, 5-7. _Isaac is weaned_, 8. _Ishmael mocking on the occasion, Sarah requires that both he and his_ _mother Hagar shall be di... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:3. _ISAAC._] See the reason and interpretation of this name in _Clarke's note on "_Genesis 17:7_"_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:4. _AND ABRAHAM CIRCUMCISED HIS SON_] Genesis 17:10, Genesis 17:10, c.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:6. _GOD HATH MADE ME TO LAUGH_] Sarah alludes here to the circumstance mentioned Genesis 18:12; and as she seems to use the word _to laugh_ in this place, not in the sense of being _incredulous_ but to express such _pleasure_ or _happiness_ as almost _suspends_ the reasoning faculty... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:8. _THE CHILD GREW AND WAS WEANED_] [-----Anglo-Saxon-----]. _Anglo-Saxon_ VERSION. _Now the child waxed and became weaned_. We have the verb _to wean_ from the Anglo-Saxon [A.S.] _awendan_, to _convert, transfer, turn from one thing to another_, which is the exact import of the He... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:9. _MOCKING._] What was implied in this mocking is not known. St. Paul, Galatians 4:29, calls it _persecuting_; but it is likely he meant no more than some species of _ridicule_ used by Ishmael on the occasion, and probably with respect to the age of Sarah at Isaac's birth, and her... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:10. _CAST OUT THIS BONDWOMAN AND HER SON_] Both Sarah and Abraham have been accused of cruelty in this transaction, because every word reads harsh to us. Cast out; גרש _garash_ signifies not only to _thrust out, drive away_, and _expel_, but also to divorce; (see Leviticus 21:7); an... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:12. _IN ISAAC SHALL THY SEED BE CALLED._] Here God shows the propriety of attending to the counsel of Sarah; and lest Abraham, in whose eyes the thing was grievous, should feel distressed on the occasion, God renews his promises to Ishmael and his posterity.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:14. _TOOK BREAD, AND A BOTTLE_] By the word _bread_ we are to understand the food or provisions which were necessary for her and Ishmael, till they should come to the place of their destination; which, no doubt, Abraham particularly pointed out. The _bottle_, which was made of skin... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:15. _AND SHE CAST THE CHILD_] ותשלך את הילד _vattashlech eth_ _haiyeled_, and she sent the lad under one of the shrubs, viz., to screen him from the intensity of the heat. Here Ishmael appears to be utterly helpless, and this circumstance seems farther to confirm the opinion that he... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:19. _GOD OPENED HER EYES_] These words appear to me to mean no more than that God directed her to a well, which probably was at no great distance from the place in which she then was; and therefore she is commanded, Genesis 21:18, to _support the lad_, literally, to _make her hand s... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:20. _BECAME AN ARCHER._] And by his skill in this art, under the continual superintendence of the Divine Providence, (for _God was with the lad_,) he was undoubtedly enabled to procure a sufficient supply for his own wants and those of his parent.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:21. _HE DWELT IN THE WILDERNESS OF PARAN_] This is generally allowed to have been a part of the desert belonging to Arabia Petraea, in the vicinity of Mount Sinai; and this seems to be its uniform meaning in the sacred writings.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:22. _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. _GOD IS WITH THEE_] מימרא דיי _melmera daiya_, _the_ WORD of Jehovah; see before, Genesis 15:1. That the Chaldee p... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:23. _NOW THEREFORE SWEAR UNTO ME_] The oath on such occasions probably meant no more than the mutual promise of both the parties, when they slew an animal, poured out the blood as a sacrifice to God, and then passed between the pieces. See this ceremony, Genesis 15:18, and on Genesi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:25. _ABRAHAM REPROVED ABIMELECH_] Wells were of great consequence in those hot countries, and especially where the flocks were numerous, because the water was scarce, and digging to find it was accompanied with much expense of time and labour.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:26. _I WOT NOT WHO HATH DONE THIS THING_] The servants of Abimelech had committed these depredations on Abraham without any authority from their master, who appears to have been a very amiable man, possessing the fear of God, and ever regulating the whole of his conduct by the princ... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:27. _TOOK SHEEP AND OXEN_] Some think that these were the sacrifices which were offered on the occasion, and which Abraham furnished at his own cost, and, in order to do Abimelech the greater honour, gave them to him to offer before the Lord.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:28. _SEVEN EWE LAMBS_] These were either given as a _present_, or they were intended as the _price_ of the well; and being accepted by Abimelech, they served as a _witness_ that he had acknowledged Abraham's right to the _well_ in question.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:31. _HE CALLED THAT PLACE BEER-SHEBA_] באר שבע _Beer-shaba_, literally, the well of swearing or of the oath, because they both sware there-mutually confirmed the covenant.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 21:33. _ABRAHAM PLANTED A GROVE_] The original word אשל _eshel_ has been variously translated a _grove_, a _plantation_, an _orchard_, a _cultivated field_, and an _oak_. From this word, says Mr. Parkhurst, may be derived the name of the famous _asylum_, opened by Romulus _between two... [ Continue Reading ]