Genesis · Chapter 21

Verse 1. The Lord visited Sarah] That is, God fulfilled his promise to Sarah by giving her, at the advanced age of ninety, power to conceive and bring forth a son.

Verse 1. The Lord visited Sarah — That is, was present with her in his mercy, power, and faithfulness, to perform his gracious promise of giving her a child.

BIRTH OF ISAAC, 1-8.

“At last the time of fulfilment has arrived. During five and twenty years cheering assurances had brightened the gloom of Abraham’s pilgrimage; he had risen to God by altars and prayers, and God had descended to him by visions and revelations; he had obeyed, with spontaneous faith, and had received signs and pledges; a covenant had sanctified, and miraculous aid had protected his life; land and posterity were promised, blessings guaranteed to his seed and to mankind; the child of faith had been announced both to him and to Sarah; and the realization corresponded strictly with the promises.” — Kalisch.

1. The Lord visited Sarah — The same Lord (Jehovah) who interposed to rescue her from Abimelech. Comp. Genesis 20:18. Visited — Any favour of divine Providence is a gracious visitation; but this was special in being the fulfilling of a promise often repeated. As he had spoken — See Genesis 17:16, 19; 18:10, 14.

V. 2. Sarah conceived-Sarah by faith, received strength to conceive, Hebrews 11:11. God therefore, by promise, gave that strength. Abraham was old, and Sarah old, and both as good as dead, and then the word of God took place.

Verse 2. Sarah conceived — By faith Sarah received strength, (Hebrews 11:11,) to conceive seed, God, according to his promise, giving that strength. Abraham was old, and Sarah old, and both as good as dead, and then the promise took place.

2. At the set time — See Genesis 17:21.

Verse 3. Isaac.] See the reason and interpretation of this name in Clarke’s note on “Genesis 17:7”.

Verse 3-6. Isaac; that is, laughter or holy joy. Luke 6:21. Sarah had once laughed through unbelief; now being ashamed of that, she could sing with Mary, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

3. Isaac — The name means, he shall laugh, or laughter. It was given to commemorate the laughter and excessive joy referred to in verse 6, and in Genesis 17:19; 18:12. Well might there be laughing joy over this heir of promise, through whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed.

V. 4. He circumcised his son-The covenant being established with him, the seal of the covenant was administered to him.

Verse 4. And Abraham circumcised his son] See Clarke’s note on “Genesis 17:10”, &c.

Verse 4. He circumcised his son — The covenant being established with him, the seal of the covenant, according to God’s command, was administered to him.

Verse 3-6. Isaac; that is, laughter or holy joy. Luke 6:21. Sarah had once laughed through unbelief; now being ashamed of that, she could sing with Mary, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

4. Circumcised… as God had commanded — Observe how obedience to every commandment wrought with Abraham’s faith. Thus was that faith made perfect. James 2:22.

Verse 3-6. Isaac; that is, laughter or holy joy. Luke 6:21. Sarah had once laughed through unbelief; now being ashamed of that, she could sing with Mary, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

5. Hundred years old — Hebrews, son of a hundred years. Notable and memorable the fact that the father of the faithful was the son of a hundred years — a century old — when the son was born through whom he was to become “heir of the world.” Romans 4:13.

V. 6. And Sarah said, God has made me to laugh-He hath given me both cause to rejoice, and a heart to rejoice. And it adds to the comfort of any mercy to have our friends rejoice with us in it, See Luke 1:58. They that hear will laugh with me-Others will rejoice in this instance of God’s power and goodness, and be encouraged to trust in him.

Verse 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 for a time, it justifies the observation on the above-named verse. See a similar case in Luke 24:41, where the disciples were so overcome with the good news of our Lord’s resurrection, that it is said, They believed not for joy.

Verse 6. Sarah said, God has made me to laugh — Not through diffidence and irreverence, as my own distrustful heart before made me to laugh; but through excess of holy joy. He hath given me both cause and a heart to rejoice. And it adds to the comfort of any mercy to have our friends rejoice with us in it, Luke 1:58. They that hear will laugh with me — Will rejoice in this instance of God’s power and goodness; and be encouraged to trust in him.

Verse 3-6. Isaac; that is, laughter or holy joy. Luke 6:21. Sarah had once laughed through unbelief; now being ashamed of that, she could sing with Mary, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

6. Sarah said — This is the magnificat of Sarah, and may be compared with Luke 1:46-55. Never before had Sarah felt such thrills of joy, or uttered language of such prophetic fervour. The passage may be put in poetic form as follows:

And Sarah said,

God has made me to laugh;

All who hear will laugh with me.

And she said,

Who would have told to Abraham,

Sons shall be nursed by Sarah.

For I have begotten a son to his old age.

Verse 7. Sarah should have given children suck — She says children, expecting, it seems, that, having received of God new strength, she would have more than one child. Here all mothers are taught their duty, which is to give their children suck if they be able. Not to do this is a sin against the God of nature, which no rank in life, no fortune nor business, can or will excuse.

Ver. 7. Who would have thought that Sarah should have given suck! The Hebrew women with their last child have often given suck three years. Samuel was not weaned till he could attend the tabernacle. In the isles of the Pacific ocean, princes have been suckled by fourteen women, as our missionaries report. The object of those parents is to make the child grow to enormous strength and stature. How much then does Sarah reprove those effeminate courtiers who refuse their milk to their children. A nurse is not a mother.

BIRTH OF ISAAC, 1-8.

“At last the time of fulfilment has arrived. During five and twenty years cheering assurances had brightened the gloom of Abraham’s pilgrimage; he had risen to God by altars and prayers, and God had descended to him by visions and revelations; he had obeyed, with spontaneous faith, and had received signs and pledges; a covenant had sanctified, and miraculous aid had protected his life; land and posterity were promised, blessings guaranteed to his seed and to mankind; the child of faith had been announced both to him and to Sarah; and the realization corresponded strictly with the promises.” — Kalisch.

1. The Lord visited Sarah — The same Lord (Jehovah) who interposed to rescue her from Abimelech. Comp. Genesis 20:18. Visited — Any favour of divine Providence is a gracious visitation; but this was special in being the fulfilling of a promise often repeated. As he had spoken — See Genesis 17:16, 19; 18:10, 14.

Verse 8. The child grew and was weaned] [---AngloSaxon---]. 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 Hebrew word lmg gamal in the text. Hence [A.S.] wenan, to wean, to turn the child from the breast to receive another kind of ailment. And hence, probably, the word WEAN, a young child, which is still in use in the northern parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and which from its etymology seems to signify a child taken from the breast; surely not from the Scotch wee-ane, a little one, much less from the German wenig, little, as Dr. Johnson and others would derive it. At what time children were weaned among the ancients, is a disputed point. St. Jerome says there were two opinions on this subject. Some hold that children were always weaned at five years of age; others, that they were not weaned till they were twelve. From the speech of the mother to her son, 2Mac 7:27, it seems likely that among the Jews they were weaned when three years old: O my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee SUCK THREE YEARS, and nourished thee and brought thee up. And this is farther strengthened by 2 Chronicles 31:16, where Hezekiah, in making provision for the Levites and priests, includes the children from three years old and upwards; which is a presumptive proof that previously to this age they were wholly dependent on the mother for their nourishment. Samuel appears to have been brought to the sanctuary when he was just weaned, and then he was capable of ministering before the Lord, 1 Samuel 1:22-28; and this certainly could not be before he was three years of age. The term among the Mohammedans is fixed by the Koran, chap. 31:14, at two years of age.

8. The child… was weaned — At what age we are not told; perhaps not until he was three years old. Comp. 2 Macc. 7:27; Josephus, Ant., 2; 9, 6; 1 Samuel 1:22, note. A great feast — Such an event would naturally be made an occasion of festive joy.

V. 9. Sarah saw the son of the Egyptian mocking-Mocking Isaac no doubt, for it is sad, with reference to this, Galatians 4:29, that he that was born after the flesh, persecuted him that was born after the spirit. Ishmael is here called the son of the Egyptian, because (as some think) the four hundred years affliction of the seed of Abraham by the Egyptians began now, and was to be dated from hence.

Verse 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 previous barrenness. Jonathan ben Uzziel and the Jerusalem Targum represent Ishmael as performing some idolatrous rite on the occasion, and that this had given the offence to Sarah. Conjectures are as useless as they are endless. Whatever it was, it became the occasion of the expulsion of himself and mother. Several authors are of opinion that the Egyptian bondage of four hundred years, mentioned Genesis 15:13, commenced with this persecution of the righteous seed by the son of an Egyptian woman.

Verse 9. Sarah saw the son of the Egyptian, mocking — Mocking Isaac, no doubt, for it is said, with reference to this, Galatians 4:29, that “he that was born after the flesh, persecuted him that was born after the spirit.”

Ver. 9. Mocking, playing, which sometimes means fighting, 2 Samuel 2:14; or persecuting, with sneers of contempt, as Galatians 4:29. Here the bitter fruits of concubinage were tasted in the patriarch’s house. It was Sarah, when distrusting the promise, that had brought Hagar to Abraham’s bed, as her maid; and some families gave a dotal maid with their daughters to prevent divorce. Now Sarah, feeling as a mother and a wife, requires her to be cast out, and sent home to her own people. One decisive stroke of this kind would prevent a thousand future pains.

EXPULSION OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL, 9-21.

9. Sarah saw — With a mother’s careful eye. Mocking — Some suppose he mocked at the feast held at Isaac’s weaning, and made derision of the contrast between the weak child and the great hopes entertained concerning him. But the Piel form of this word appears everywhere to carry with it the associations of some carnal and lascivious indulgence. Sarah saw Ishmael (qjxm) committing some lewd act, perhaps of self-pollution, and the sight filled her with an indignation and contempt towards him, which led her to insist on banishing from her household both him and his mother. She would not have her Isaac contaminated by such an associate. So, too, the word, as used in Genesis 19:14, denotes that Lot’s son-in-law, to whom all things were impure, could not comprehend Lot’s words of warning, but regarded him as one of the lewd fellows who were out at night indulging in the common practices of Sodom. In Genesis 26:8, it evidently means some carnal intercourse between Isaac and Rebekah, such as was proper only between husband and wife, and the same thought is equally noticeable in the language of Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39:14-17, and the lewd play of the Israelites at the feast of the golden calf. Exodus 32:6. And we may well believe that the sport which Samson was brought out to make before the merry and perhaps half-drunken Philistines (Judges 16:25) was some naked exposure and obscene abuse. These are all the places in which the Piel form of qjx occurs, and there is, therefore, no need of giving it a different sense in any one of these passages.

V. 10. Cast out the bond-woman-This was a type of the rejection of the unbelieving Jews, who, though they were the seed of Abraham, yet, because they submitted not to the gospel-covenant, were unchurched and disfranchised. And that, which above any thing provoked God to cast them off, was, their mocking and persecuting the gospel-church, God’s Isaac, in his infancy.

Verse 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; vrg garash signifies not only to thrust out, drive away, and expel, but also to divorce; (see Leviticus 21:7;) and it is in this latter sense the word should be understood here. The child of Abraham by Hagar might be considered as having a right at least to a part of the inheritance; and as it was sufficiently known to Sarah that God had designed that the succession should be established in the line of Isaac, she wished Abraham to divorce Hagar, or to perform some sort of legal act by which Ishmael might be excluded from all claim on the inheritance.

Verse 10. Cast out the bond-woman — This was a type of the rejection of the unbelieving Jews, who, though they were the seed of Abraham, yet, because they submitted not to the gospel covenant, were unchurched and disfranchised. And that which above any thing provoked God to cast them off, was, their mocking and persecuting the gospel church, God’s Isaac, in its infancy.

10. Cast out — Her old spirit of persecution, now embittered by what she saw in Ishmael, came back with imperious force. Comp. Genesis 16:4-6. “Seeing in Ishmael nothing but the contemptible son of an Egyptian bond-maid — forgetting that he was that offspring of her husband whom she had herself desired — and heedless of the blessings which God had pronounced upon him — she demanded his expulsion, together with that of his detested mother.” — Kalisch.

V. 11. The thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight-it grieved him that Ishmael had given such provocation. And still more that Sarah insisted upon such a punishment.

Verse 11. The thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight — Because of his affection to his son, and God’s promise concerning him. He who, at God’s command, which he was bound to obey, afterward so cheerfully gave up Isaac, was not so ready to part with Ishmael, to gratify the passion of an angry woman. And probably he would have denied her desire, if God had not interposed. It is remarkable that it is not said the thing was grievous because of his wife; probably he hardly considered Hagar as properly his wife: or, at least, had not the affection for her a man ought to have for his wife. Hereby we may learn the excellence of God’s institutions, who appointed only one woman for one man, that each might, under God, have the entire interest in the other’s affections; and we may observe the evil of men’s inventions which brought polygamy into the world, whereby a man’s affections are divided into several and contrary streams. But probably it grieved Abraham that Ishmael had given such provocation, as well as that Sarah insisted on such a punishment.

11. Very grievous — Abraham’s affection for Ishmael was very strong, as may be seen from Genesis 17:18, and the promise of Genesis 17:20; and he was, therefore, not disposed at this time to yield to Sarah’s word.

Verse 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.

Ver. 12. Hearken unto her voice. Here God has plainly decided against polygamy. Hagar was not Abraham’s wife, for in these very words the Lord calls Ishmael the son of a bond-woman: and there is no passage in which God allowed of it. Hence concubinage was a licentious liberty, but too generally assumed by the patriarchs of the earth, and from which the good patriarchs were not wholly free.

12. In Isaac shall thy seed be called — Literally, In Isaac shall there be called to thee a seed. The meaning evidently is, that the promised seed should spring, not from Ishmael but from Isaac. First, the promise came to Adam; then to Noah; then, in select succession, to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David.

V. 13. The casting out of Ishmael was not his ruin. He shall be a nation because he is thy seed-We are not sure that it was his eternal ruin. It is presumption to say, that all these who are left out of the external dispensation of God’s covenant are excluded from all his mercies. Those may be saved who are not thus honoured.

Verse 13. The casting out of Ishmael was not his ruin. He shall be a nation because he is thy seed — We are not sure that it was his eternal ruin. It is presumption to say, that all those who are left out of the external dispensation of God’s covenant are excluded from his spiritual mercies. Those may be saved who are not thus honoured.

EXPULSION OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL, 9-21.

9. Sarah saw — With a mother’s careful eye. Mocking — Some suppose he mocked at the feast held at Isaac’s weaning, and made derision of the contrast between the weak child and the great hopes entertained concerning him. But the Piel form of this word appears everywhere to carry with it the associations of some carnal and lascivious indulgence. Sarah saw Ishmael (qjxm) committing some lewd act, perhaps of self-pollution, and the sight filled her with an indignation and contempt towards him, which led her to insist on banishing from her household both him and his mother. She would not have her Isaac contaminated by such an associate. So, too, the word, as used in Genesis 19:14, denotes that Lot’s son-in-law, to whom all things were impure, could not comprehend Lot’s words of warning, but regarded him as one of the lewd fellows who were out at night indulging in the common practices of Sodom. In Genesis 26:8, it evidently means some carnal intercourse between Isaac and Rebekah, such as was proper only between husband and wife, and the same thought is equally noticeable in the language of Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39:14-17, and the lewd play of the Israelites at the feast of the golden calf. Exodus 32:6. And we may well believe that the sport which Samson was brought out to make before the merry and perhaps half-drunken Philistines (Judges 16:25) was some naked exposure and obscene abuse. These are all the places in which the Piel form of qjx occurs, and there is, therefore, no need of giving it a different sense in any one of these passages.

V. 14. And Abraham rose up early in the morning-We may suppose immediately after he had in the night-visions received orders to do this.

Verse 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, ordinarily a goat’s skin, contained water sufficient to last them till they should come to the next well; which, it is likely, Abraham particularly specified also. This well, it appears, Hagar missed, and therefore wandered about in the wilderness seeking more water, till all she had brought with her was expended. We may therefore safely presume that she and her son were sufficiently provided for their journey, had they not missed their way. Travellers in those countries take only, to the present day, provisions sufficient to carry them to the next village or encampment; and water to supply them till they shall meet with the next well. What adds to the appearance of cruelty in this case is, that our translation seems to represent Ishmael as being a young child; and that Hagar was obliged to carry him, the bread, and the bottle of water on her back or shoulder at the same time. But that Ishmael could not be carried on his mother’s shoulder will be sufficiently evident when his age is considered; Ishmael was born when Abraham was eighty-six years of age, Genesis 16:16; Isaac was born when he was one hundred years of age, Genesis 21:5; hence Ishmael was fourteen years old at the birth of Isaac. Add to this the age of Isaac when he was weaned, which, from Genesis 21:8, (See Clarke’s note “Genesis 21:8”) was probably three, and we shall find that Ishmael was at the time of his leaving Abraham not less than seventeen years old; an age which, in those primitive times, a young man was able to gain his livelihood, either by his bow in the wilderness, or by keeping flocks as Jacob did.

Verse 14. Abraham rose up early in the morning — Immediately, it seems, after he had received orders in the night visions to do this: and took bread and a bottle of water — All necessary provision seems to be here included, of which it is probable they had sufficient to have served them till they had come to Hagar’s friends in Egypt, if they had not lost their way. Ishmael, it is thought, was more than sixteen years of age at this time, yet the provisions were put upon Hagar’s shoulders, as being more inured to labour, and the lad was committed to her care.

Ver. 14. Bread is here put for the whole of provisions. No doubt Abraham, who grieved for Ishmael, sent the mother and the lad (now near twenty years of age) away, properly equipped with presents, that they might go to their own people in Egypt. But poor Hagar through grief delayed till all the water was spent.

14. A bottle of water — A bottle made of skin. “The Arabs, and all that lead a wandering life, keep their water, milk, and other liquors in leathern bottles. These are made of goat-skins. When the animal is killed, they cut off its feet and its head, and they draw it in this manner out of the skin, without opening its belly. In Arabia they are tanned with acacia-bark and the hairy part left outside. If not tanned, a disagreeable taste is imparted to the water. They afterwards sew up the places where the legs were cut off, and the tail, and when it is filled they tie it about the neck.” — SMITH’S Dict. of Bible. Wilderness of Beer-sheba — The name Beer-sheba is, perhaps, used here proleptically. See on ver. 31.

Verse 15. And she cast the child] dlyh ta Ëlvtw 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 was now in a state of infancy; but the preceding observations do this supposition entirely away, and his present helplessness will be easily accounted for on this ground: 1. Young persons can bear much less fatigue than those who are arrived at mature age. 2. They require much more fluid from the greater quantum of heat in their bodies, strongly marked by the impetuosity of the blood; because from them a much larger quantity of the fluids is thrown off by sweat and insensible perspiration, than from grown up or aged persons. 3. Their digestion is much more rapid, and hence they cannot bear hunger and thirst as well as the others. On these grounds Ishmael must be much more exhausted with fatigue than his mother.

15. Cast the child — From this it has been inferred that Ishmael could not have been a youth of over fifteen years. But neither the word lad (r[n) (verse 12) nor child (dly) implies that Ishmael was an infant, nor does the word cast (Ëlv) necessarily imply that she hurled him from her arms. “The boy was young, but he was old enough to give offence to Sarah by mocking. At a time when human life was much longer than it now is, (Ishmael himself died at 137, Genesis 25:17,) fifteen or sixteen would be little removed from childhood. The growing lad would be easily exhausted with the heat and wandering; whilst the hardy habits of the Egyptian handmaid would enable her to endure much greater fatigue. She had hitherto led the boy by the hand; now she left him, fainting and prostrate, under the shelter of a tree.” — Speaker’s Commentary.

16. As it were a bowshot — This is, doubtless, the sense of the peculiar Hebrew expression used here: far off as shooters of the bow; that is, as far off as they can usually shoot an arrow. This whole passage presents us with one of the most graphic and touching of word-pictures.

V. 17. God heard the voice of the lad-We read not of a word be said; but his sighs and groans, cried loud in the ears of the God of mercy. An angel was sent to comfort Hagar, who assures her,

God has heard the voice of the lad where he is-Though he be in the wilderness; for wherever we are, there is a way open heavenwards; therefore

lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand-God’s readiness to help us when we are in trouble must not slacken, but quicken our endeavours to help ourselves. He repeats the promise concerning her son, that he should be a great nation, as a reason why she should bestir herself to help him.

Verses 17-19. God heard the voice of the lad — We read not of a word that he said; but his sighs and groans, though not proceeding from true repentance, but extorted from him by his pressing calamity, cried aloud in the ears of the God of mercy. An angel was sent to comfort Hagar, and assure her that God had heard the voice of the lad. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand — God’s readiness to help us when we are in trouble must not slacken, but quicken our endeavours to help ourselves. He repeats the promise concerning her son, that he should be a great nation, as a reason why she should bestir herself to help him. She saw a well of water — Which, it seems, was near at hand, but had not been observed by her before. Thus she obtained the relief she most wanted.

Ver. 17. God heard—and the Angel of God. Primitive christians urged this passage, and very justly too, against the Arians in favour of the Godhead of Christ, and of the Holy Trinity. The preservation of the patriarchs by the angelic presence of the Lord, fairly marks a sociality or a plurality of persons in the Godhead. See Genesis 18:2.

17. Heard the voice of the lad — From which it appears he wept as well as his mother. Angel of God — Not the angel of Jehovah, who found her before. Genesis 16:7. This was not an appearance, but a voice out of heaven, answering her voice (verse 16) and the voice of the lad. Jehovah’s Angel has many a ministering angel to send at will.

Verses 17-19. God heard the voice of the lad — We read not of a word that he said; but his sighs and groans, though not proceeding from true repentance, but extorted from him by his pressing calamity, cried aloud in the ears of the God of mercy. An angel was sent to comfort Hagar, and assure her that God had heard the voice of the lad. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand — God’s readiness to help us when we are in trouble must not slacken, but quicken our endeavours to help ourselves. He repeats the promise concerning her son, that he should be a great nation, as a reason why she should bestir herself to help him. She saw a well of water — Which, it seems, was near at hand, but had not been observed by her before. Thus she obtained the relief she most wanted.

18. Hold him in thine hand — Hebrews, make fast thy hand in him. She must not cast him off, but go and take hold of his hand again, and take firm hold, confident that the old promise (Genesis 16:10-12) will be kept.

Verse 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 strong in his behalf-namely, that he might reach the well and quench his thirst.

Verses 17-19. God heard the voice of the lad — We read not of a word that he said; but his sighs and groans, though not proceeding from true repentance, but extorted from him by his pressing calamity, cried aloud in the ears of the God of mercy. An angel was sent to comfort Hagar, and assure her that God had heard the voice of the lad. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand — God’s readiness to help us when we are in trouble must not slacken, but quicken our endeavours to help ourselves. He repeats the promise concerning her son, that he should be a great nation, as a reason why she should bestir herself to help him. She saw a well of water — Which, it seems, was near at hand, but had not been observed by her before. Thus she obtained the relief she most wanted.

19. Opened her eyes — Enabling her now to discover what, in weariness and despair, she had failed to notice.

Verse 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.

Verses 20, 21. God was with the lad — This accounts for his preservation and support in that wilderness, in which, had not God been with him in an extraordinary manner, in answer to Abraham’s prayer, in all probability he must have perished.

Ver. 20. God was with the lad. Ishmael was indeed cut off from being Abraham’s heir; but he was not cut off from the blessing of Abraham’s seed, promised to all the families of the earth.

20. God was with the lad — A divine providence watched over and cared for him, although he passed outside the chosen household of Jehovah’s covenant. He grew — There was room for this, for as yet he was but an undeveloped lad. Became an archer — Hebrews, he was growing an archer. He became increasingly a skilful bow-man. His descendants were long after noted for their use of the bow. Isaiah 21:17.

Verse 21. He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran] This is generally allowed to have been a part of the desert belonging to Arabia Petræa, in the vicinity of Mount Sinai; and this seems to be its uniform meaning in the sacred writings.

Verses 20, 21. God was with the lad — This accounts for his preservation and support in that wilderness, in which, had not God been with him in an extraordinary manner, in answer to Abraham’s prayer, in all probability he must have perished.

Ver. 21. His mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. It is a great addition to the calamity of children born like Ishmael, that they cannot be educated in their father’s house. This is a reproach to religion, and a dangerous stroke at public morals.

21. The wilderness of Paran — The great central region of the Sinaitic peninsula, now known as the desert et-Tih. Wife out of… Egypt — His mother’s care followed him up to this point, and chose for him a wife out of her own native land. After this we hear of her no more. This narrative of Ishmael’s expulsion is made the basis of an allegory in Galatians 4:21-26, where see notes. We may also note the following lessons: 1) The mischief of polygamy. 2) The power of jealousy. 3) Bitter passions and wrong conduct springing from a sense of injury or neglect. 4) A doting father’s tenderness in conflict with the plans of God. 5) The wants and woes of the homeless, and of the outcasts. 6) No one is beyond the sight and hearing of God. 7) The beauty and fidelity of a mother’s love. 8) The origin of a nation.

Verse 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] yyd armym melmera daiya, the WORD of Jehovah; see before, Genesis 15:1. That the Chaldee paraphrasts use this term, not for a word spoken, but in the same sense in which St. John uses the logov tou qeou, the WORD of God, {John 1:1}, must be evident to every unprejudiced reader. See Clarke on “Genesis 15:1”.

COVENANT BETWEEN ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH, 22-34.

22. At that time — The time of Ishmael’s expulsion. Phichol, which means mouth of all, is supposed to be, like the name Abimelech, an official title. Here, and at Genesis 26:26, the name is given to the chief captain of his host, a sort of prime officer and minister to the king. God is with thee — This fact had been strikingly manifest to Abimelech in the matters related in chap. 20, and probably other incidents of God’s care for Abraham had been made known to him. He, therefore, desired a closer alliance with him.

Verse 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 Genesis 15:9, 10.

According to the kindness that I have done] The simple claims of justice were alone set up among virtuous people in those ancient times, which constitute the basis of the famous lex talionis, or law of like for like, kind office for kind office, and breach for breach.

23. Not deal falsely — Perhaps Abraham’s duplicity in the matter of Sarah had somewhat to do with inciting Abimelech to seek this oath. He feared his overreaching cunning and sagacity.

COVENANT BETWEEN ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH, 22-34.

22. At that time — The time of Ishmael’s expulsion. Phichol, which means mouth of all, is supposed to be, like the name Abimelech, an official title. Here, and at Genesis 26:26, the name is given to the chief captain of his host, a sort of prime officer and minister to the king. God is with thee — This fact had been strikingly manifest to Abimelech in the matters related in chap. 20, and probably other incidents of God’s care for Abraham had been made known to him. He, therefore, desired a closer alliance with him.

Verse 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.

25. Reproved — The same word used in Genesis 20:16, where it is said that Sarah was reproved by Abimelech. There was an outstanding difficulty which must be settled before Abraham will swear.

Verse 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 principles of righteousness and strict justice.

26. I wot not — Or, I knew not. By this protest Abimelech really reproves Abraham, as if he had been lacking in frankness towards him.

Verse 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.

27. Abraham took sheep — If there has been any lack of frankness on his part he will now make the first gift towards alliance.

Verse 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.

COVENANT BETWEEN ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH, 22-34.

22. At that time — The time of Ishmael’s expulsion. Phichol, which means mouth of all, is supposed to be, like the name Abimelech, an official title. Here, and at Genesis 26:26, the name is given to the chief captain of his host, a sort of prime officer and minister to the king. God is with thee — This fact had been strikingly manifest to Abimelech in the matters related in chap. 20, and probably other incidents of God’s care for Abraham had been made known to him. He, therefore, desired a closer alliance with him.

COVENANT BETWEEN ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH, 22-34.

22. At that time — The time of Ishmael’s expulsion. Phichol, which means mouth of all, is supposed to be, like the name Abimelech, an official title. Here, and at Genesis 26:26, the name is given to the chief captain of his host, a sort of prime officer and minister to the king. God is with thee — This fact had been strikingly manifest to Abimelech in the matters related in chap. 20, and probably other incidents of God’s care for Abraham had been made known to him. He, therefore, desired a closer alliance with him.

30. Seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand — These seem to have been an additional present to bind the treaty at the well. The receiving of this gift would bind Abimelech by a most solemn stipulation. The Hebrew word for swear, in verses 23 and 24, is the verbal form of the word for seven, and in its usual Niphal form ([bvn) means literally, to seven one’s self. This, perhaps, arose from the custom of confirming or sealing an oath by seven offerings or seven witnesses.

V. 31. Beer-sheba-That is, the well of the oath, in remembrance of the covenant that they sware to, that they might be ever mindful of it.

Verse 31. He called that place Beer-sheba] [bv rab Beer-shaba, literally, the well of swearing or of the oath, because they both sware there-mutually confirmed the covenant.

Verse 31. Beer-sheba — That is, the well of the oath, or the well of the seven, (for the word equally signifies either,) alluding to the seven ewe-lambs which Abraham set by themselves and gave to Abimelech. Probably when a covenant was solemnly made and confirmed by an oath, seven lambs or sheep were wont to be offered.

31. Beer-sheba — Which means well of the oath, or, well of the seven, in allusion to the seven lambs by which Abraham here confirmed his covenant with Abimelech. In a broad valley, some twelve hours’ travel south of Hebron, Dr. Robinson discovered two deep wells, still called Bir es-Seba, probably the very same as those dug by the servants of Abraham and Isaac. Compare Genesis 26:32. “These wells are some distance apart; they are circular, and stoned up with solid masonry. The larger one is twelve and a half feet in diameter and forty-four and a half feet deep to the surface of the water, sixteen feet of which, at the bottom, is excavated in the solid rock. The other well lies fifty-five rods W.S.W., and is five feet in diameter and forty-two feet deep. The water in both is pure and sweet, and in great abundance; the finest, indeed, we had found since leaving Sinai.” — ROBINSON, Biblical Researches, vol. i, p. 204. Such wells would be of the first importance to a great shepherd chief.

32. Returned into the land of the Philistines — That is, into its more central part. The limits of the territory claimed by them was probably in that age ill-defined and variable, and their chief cities much farther to the south than the later pentapolis of the Mediterranean plain. Beer-sheba appears, from verse 34, to have been on the border of the Philistine territory, in which the patriarchs long sojourned.

V. 33. And Abraham planted a grove-For a shade to his tent, or perhaps an orchard of fruit trees; and there, though we cannot say he settled, for God would have him while he lived to be a stranger and a pilgrim, yet he sojourned many days.

And called there on the name of the Lord-Probably in the grove he planted, which was his oratory, or house of prayer: he kept up publick worship, to which probably his neighbours resorted, and joined with him. Men should not only retain their goodness wherever they go, but do all they can to propagate it, and make others good.

The everlasting God-Though God had made himself known to Abraham as his God in particular; yet he forgets not to give glory to him as the Lord of all, the everlasting God, who was before all worlds, and will be when time and days shall be no more.

Verse 33. Abraham planted a grove] The original word lva 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 groves of oaks at Rome; (meqorion duoin drumwv, Dionys. Hal., lib. ii. c. 16:) and as Abraham, Genesis 21:33, agreeably, no doubt, to the institutes of the patriarchal religion, planted an oak in Beer-sheba, and called on the name of Jehovah, the everlasting God, (compare Genesis 12:8; 18:1,) so we find that oaks were sacred among the idolaters also. Ye shall be ashamed of the OAKS ye have chosen, says Isaiah, Isaiah 1:29, to the idolatrous Israelites. And in Greece we meet in very early times with the oracle of Jupiter at the oaks of Dodona. Among the Greeks and Romans we have sacra Jovi quercus, the oak sacred to Jupiter, even to a proverb. And in Gaul and Britain we find the highest religious regard paid to the same tree and to its misletoe, under the direction of the Druids, that is, the oak prophets or priests, from the Celtic deru, and Greek druv, an oak. Few are ignorant that the misletoe is indeed a very extraordinary plant, not to be cultivated in the earth, but always growing on some other tree. “The druids,” says Pliny, Nat. Hist., lib. xvii., c. 44, “hold nothing more sacred than the misletoe, and the tree on which it is produced, provided it be the oak. They make choice of groves of oak on this account, nor do they perform any of their sacred rites without the leaves of those trees; so that one may suppose that they are for this reason called, by a Greek etymology, Druids. And whatever misletoe grows on the oak they think is sent from heaven, and is a sign that God himself has chosen that tree. This however is very rarely found, but when discovered is treated with great ceremony. They call it by a name which signifies in their language the curer of all ills; and having duly prepared their feasts and sacrifices under the tree, they bring to it two white bulls, whose horns are then for the first time tied; the priest, dressed in a white robe, ascends the tree, and with a golden pruning hook cuts off the misletoe, which is received into a white sagum or sheet. Then they sacrifice the victims, praying that God would bless his own gift to those on whom he has bestowed it.” It is impossible for a Christian to read this account without thinking of HIM who was the desire of all nations, of the man whose name was the BRANCH, who had indeed no father upon earth, but came down from heaven, was given to heal all our ills, and, after being cut off through the Divine counsel, was wrapped in fine linen and laid in the sepulchre for our sakes. I cannot forbear adding that the misletoe was a sacred emblem to other Celtic nations, as, for instance, to the ancient inhabitants of Italy. The golden branch, of which Virgil speaks so largely in the sixth book of the Æneis, and without which, he says, none could return from the infernal regions, (see line 126,) seems an allusion to the misletoe, as he himself plainly intimates by comparing it to that plant, line 205, &c. See Parkhurst, under the word lva eshel. In the first ages of the world the worship of God was exceedingly simple; there were no temples nor covered edifices of any kind; an altar, sometimes a single stone, sometimes consisting of several, and at other times merely of turf, was all that was necessary; on this the fire was lighted and the sacrifice offered. Any place was equally proper, as they knew that the object of their worship filled the heavens and the earth. In process of time when families increased, and many sacrifices were to be offered, groves or shady places were chosen, where the worshippers might enjoy the protection of the shade, as a considerable time must be employed in offering many sacrifices. These groves became afterwards abused to impure and idolatrous purposes, and were therefore strictly forbidden. See Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 12:3; 16:21.

And called there on the name of the Lord] On this important passage Dr. Shuckford speaks thus: “Our English translation very erroneously renders this place, he called upon the name of Jehovah; but the expression בשם arq kara beshem never signifies to call upon the שםמֵָאנ arq kara shem would signify to invoke or call upon the name, or שם la arq kara el shem would signify to cry unto the name; but בשם arq kara beshem signifies to invoke IN the name, and seems to be used where the true worshippers of God offered their prayers in the name of the true Mediator, or where the idolaters offered their prayers in the name of false ones, 1 Kings 18:26; for as the true worshippers had but one God and one Lord, so the false worshippers had gods many and lords many, 1 Corinthians 8:5. We have several instances of arq kara, and a noun after it, sometimes with and sometimes without the particle la el, and then it signifies to call upon the person there mentioned; thus, hwhy arq kara Yehovah is to call upon the Lord, Psalm 14:4; 17:6; 31:17; 53:4; 118:5, &c.; and hwhy la arq kara el Yehovah imports the same, 1 Samuel 12:17; Jonah 1:6, &c.; but בשם arq kara beshem is either to name BY the name, Genesis 4:17; Numbers 32:42; Psalm 49:11; Isaiah 43:7; or to invoke IN the name, when it is used as an expression of religious worship.” CONNEX. vol. i., p. 293. I believe this to be a just view of the subject, and therefore I admit it without scruple. The everlasting God.] µlw[ la hwhy Yehovah el olam, JEHOVAH, the STRONG GOD, the ETERNAL ONE. This is the first place in Scripture in which µlw[ olam occurs as an attribute of God, and here it is evidently designed to point out his eternal duration; that it can mean no limited time is self-evident, because nothing of this kind can be attributed to God. The Septuagint render the words qeos aiwniov, the ever-existing God; and the Vulgate has Invocavit ibi nomen Do mini, Dei æterni, There he invoked the name of the Lord, the eternal God. The Arabic is nearly the same. From this application of both the Hebrew and Greek words we learn that µlw[ olam and aiwn aion originally signified ETERNAL, or duration without end. µl[ alam signifies he was hidden, concealed, or kept secret; and aiwn, according to Aristotle, (Deuteronomy Cælo, lib. i., chap. 9, and a higher authority need not be sought,) is compounded of aei, always, and wn, being, aiwn estiv, apo tou aei einai. The same author informs us that God was termed Aisa, because he was always existing, legesqai&&&Aisav de, aei ousan. Deuteronomy Mundo, chap. xi., in fine. Hence we see that no words can more forcibly express the grand characteristics of eternity than these. It is that duration which is concealed, hidden, or kept secret from all created beings; which is always existing, still running ON but never running OUT; an interminable, incessant, and immeasurable duration; it is THAT, in the whole of which God alone can be said to exist, and that which the eternal mind can alone comprehend. In all languages words have, in process of time, deviated from their original acceptations, and have become accommodated to particular purposes, and limited to particular meanings. This has happened both to the Hebrew µl[ alam, and the Greek aiwn; they have been both used to express a limited time, but in general a time the limits of which are unknown; and thus a pointed reference to the original ideal meaning is still kept up. Those who bring any of these terms in an accommodated sense to favour a particular doctrine, &c., must depend on the good graces of their opponents for permission to use them in this way. For as the real grammatical meaning of both words is eternal, and all other meanings are only accommodated ones, sound criticism, in all matters of dispute concerning the import of a word or term, must have recourse to the grammatical meaning, and its use among the earliest and most correct writers in the language, and will determine all accommodated meanings by this alone. Now the first and best writers in both these languages apply olam and aiwn to express eternal, in the proper meaning of that word; and this is their proper meaning in the Old and New Testaments when applied to God, his attributes, his operations taken in connection with the ends for which he performs them, for whatsoever he doth, it shall be for ever-לעולם hyhy yihyeh leolam, it shall be for eternity, Ecclesiastes 3:14; forms and appearances of created things may change, but the counsels and purposes of God relative to them are permanent and eternal, and none of them can be frustrated; hence the words, when applied to things which from their nature must have a limited duration, are properly to be understood in this sense, because those things, though temporal in themselves, shadow forth things that are eternal. Thus the Jewish dispensation, which in the whole and in its parts is frequently said to be לעולם leolam, for ever, and which has terminated in the Christian dispensation, has the word properly applied to it, because it typified and introduced that dispensation which is to continue not only while time shall last, but is to have its incessant accumulating consummation throughout eternity. The word is, with the same strict propriety, applied to the duration of the rewards and punishments in a future state. And the argument that pretends to prove (and it is only pretension) that in the future punishment of the wicked “the worm shall die,” and “the fire “shall be quenched,” will apply as forcibly to the state of happy spirits, and as fully prove that a point in eternity shall arrive when the repose of the righteous shall be interrupted, and the glorification of the children of God have an eternal end! See Clarke’s notes on “Genesis 17:7”; “Genesis 17:8”.

1. FAITHFULNESS is one of the attributes of God, and none of his promises can fall. According to the promise to Abraham, Isaac is born; but according to the course of nature it fully appears that both Abraham and Sarah had passed that term of life in which it was possible for them to have children. Isaac is the child of the promise, and the promise is supernatural. Ishmael is born according to the ordinary course of nature, and cannot inherit, because the inheritance is spiritual, and cannot come by natural birth; hence we see that no man can expect to enter into the kingdom of God by birth, education, profession of the true faith, &c., &c. Those alone who are born from above, and are made partakers of the Divine nature, can be admitted into the family of God in heaven, and everlastingly enjoy that glorious inheritance. Reader, art thou born again? Hath God changed thy heart and thy life? If not, canst thou suppose that in thy present state thou canst possibly enter into the paradise of God? I leave thy conscience to answer.

2. The actions of good men may be misrepresented, and their motives suspected, because those motives are not known; and those who are prone to think evil are the last to take any trouble to inform their minds, so that they may judge righteous judgment. Abraham, in the dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael, has been accused of cruelty. Though objections of this kind have been answered already, yet it may not be amiss farther to observe that what he did he did in conformity to a Divine command, and a command so unequivocally given that he could not doubt its Divine origin; and this very command was accompanied with a promise that both the child and his mother should be taken under the Divine protection. And it was so; nor does it appear that they lacked any thing but water, and that only for a short time, after which it was miraculously supplied. God will work a miracle when necessary, and never till then; and at such a time the Divine interposition can be easily ascertained, and man is under no temptation to attribute to second causes what has so evidently flowed from the first. Thus, while he is promoting his creatures’ good, he is securing his own glory; and he brings men into straits and difficulties, that he may have the fuller opportunity to convince his followers of his providential care, and to prove how much he loves them.

3. Did we acknowledge God in all our ways, he would direct our steps. Abimelech, king of Gerar, and Phichol, captain of his host, seeing Abraham a worshipper of the true God, made him swear by the object of his worship that there should be a lasting peace between them and him; for as they saw that God was with Abraham, they well knew that he could not expect the Divine blessing any longer than he walked in integrity before God; they therefore require him to swear by God that he would not deal falsely with them or their posterity. From this very circumstance we may see the original purpose, design, and spirit of an oath, viz., Let God prosper or curse ME in all that I do, as I prove true or false to my engagements! This is still the spirit of all oaths where God is called to witness, whether the form be by the water of the Ganges, the sign of the cross, kissing the Bible, or lifting up the hand to heaven. Hence we may learn that he who falsifies an oath or promise, made in the presence and name of God, thereby forfeits all right and title to the approbation and blessing of his Maker.

But it is highly criminal to make such appeals to God upon trivial occasions. Only the most solemn matters should be thus determined. Legislators who regard the morals of the people should take heed not to multiply oaths in matters of commerce and revenue, if they even use them at all. Who can take the oaths presented by the custom house or excise, and be guiltless? I have seen a person kiss his pen or thumb nail instead of the book, thinking that he avoided the condemnation thereby of the false oath he was then taking!

GENESIS

Verse 33. And Abraham planted a grove — For a shade to his tent, or perhaps an orchard of fruit-trees; and there, though we cannot say he settled, for God would have him while he lived to be a stranger and a pilgrim, yet he sojourned many days. And called there on the name of the Lord — Probably in the grove he planted, which was his oratory, or house of prayer: he kept up public worship, in which, probably, some of his neighbours joined with him. Men should not only retain their goodness wherever they go, but do all they can to propagate it, and make others good. The everlasting God — Though God had made himself known to Abraham as his God in particular, yet he forgets not to give glory to him as the Lord of all, the everlasting God, who was before all worlds, and will be when time and days shall be no more.

Ver. 33. A grove. lva Eshel, or esholt, as the Saxons would pronounce it. Holt is the name of very many villages in Germany and in England, once the inviting abodes of knights and chiefs, surrounded with woods. The country people around York still aspirate a short e in the enunciation of the name of that city, and say Eyork. After the covenant with Abimelech, Abraham considered Beer-sheba, the well of the oath, as his favourite residence for the remaining years of his pilgrimage. It was the nearest point of the promised land to Egypt, where he knew his family must sojourn. Groves and fountains in the torrid zones were therefore the pleasing retreats of true devotion, as well as the haunts of idolatry before the erection of temples; while, on the contrary, the druids preferred raising their Cromlech, or broad tabled altar, on three blocks of stones, on the summit of a craggy mountain, as at Cairne-brae near Redruth, and innumerable other places. But where no such places offered, they chose the best situations which the country afforded.

33. Planted a grove — So the Vulgate. The Sept. has, a field; Chaldee, a garden; Syriac, a tree. But nearly all recent critics understand by lva the tamarisk. The planting of this tree is to be regarded as a religious act, and though the patriarch is still a sojourner, he seems to have felt that Beer-sheba was a sort of permanent resting place. “The planting of this long-lived tree, with its hard wood, and its long, narrow, thickly clustered evergreen leaves, was to be a type of the ever-enduring grace of the faithful covenant God.” — Keil. Called there on the name of the Lord — Compare Genesis 12:8; 13:4; and 4:26; notes.

COVENANT BETWEEN ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH, 22-34.

22. At that time — The time of Ishmael’s expulsion. Phichol, which means mouth of all, is supposed to be, like the name Abimelech, an official title. Here, and at Genesis 26:26, the name is given to the chief captain of his host, a sort of prime officer and minister to the king. God is with thee — This fact had been strikingly manifest to Abimelech in the matters related in chap. 20, and probably other incidents of God’s care for Abraham had been made known to him. He, therefore, desired a closer alliance with him.