Genesis 21:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.”

NIV: I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.'

NASB: And of the son of the slave woman I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.'

CSB: and I will also make a nation of the slave's son because he is your offspring."

NLT: But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.'

KJV: And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

NKJV: Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.”

Abraham was greatly displeased at the idea of casting his firstborn son Ishmael out of his family and household. God told Abraham to do it anyway, just as Sarah had said. Abraham's name must pass to Isaac, not Ishmael. But God's intent is not to abandon these two to death or poverty.

Here, God reassures Abraham once more that He will make a nation of Hagar. She and Ishmael would be provided for and become established. It's the same promise God had previously made both to Hagar (Genesis 16:10) and to Abraham (Genesis 17:20).

Why would God do this for Ishmael? He was Abraham's son, and God had promised to bless Abraham in every way. This included blessing all those related to Abraham. Even though Ishmael was the result of Abraham and Sarah trying to scheme towards their own desires, God still faithfully keeps His promises. Ishmael will not be punished or treated unfairly on account of his parents' dispute.

Genesis 21:8–21 describes the painful departure of Hagar and Ishmael from Abraham's life. Now that Isaac is born, Sarah furiously demands that Abraham cast them out. He is greatly displeased, but is told by God that Ishmael will be protected and blessed. So Abraham obeys the Lord and sends them into the wilderness. God steps in and saves the mother and child. He renews his promise to make Ishmael a great nation in his own right. Ishmael grows up in the wilderness, eventually marrying an Egyptian woman.

The Lord did as He had promised. Sarah, now 90 years old, gives birth to Isaac, the long-awaited child. Her joy sours, though, over a fear that Isaac might have to share an inheritance with Ishmael. In obedience to the Lord, who promises to safeguard Ishmael, Abraham sends him and his mother, Hagar, into the wilderness. God rescues them and renews His promise to make Ishmael a great nation in his own right. Meanwhile, Abimelech, king of Gerar, approaches Abraham to make a permanent treaty between them and their descendants. The agreement includes Abraham's possession of a well, at a place which will become known as Beersheba.

In the prior chapter, Abraham managed to get Sarah back from Abimelech, following his own deception and God's intervention. Here, Abraham and Sarah finally conceive a natural child. Isaac, the long-awaited child of the promise, is born. In obedience to God, Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away. Abimelech approaches Abraham to make a treaty, giving Abraham a permanent home in a place that becomes known as Beersheba. In the following chapter, God will test Abraham's faith and obedience, in one of Scripture's ultimate examples of trust.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/3/2024 1:38:21 AM