1. MoseKapitel 21

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The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.

Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the very time God had spoken of.

Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son born to him, the son Sarah bore him.

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Then Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh with me."[^1] [^1]: The name Isaac sounds like the Hebrew word for 'he laughs'.

And she said, "Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.

But Sarah saw the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham mocking,

and she said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son, with Isaac."

This troubled Abraham deeply, because of his son.

But God said to Abraham, "Do not be troubled about the boy and about your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah says to you, for through Isaac your offspring shall be named.

And I will also make a nation of the slave woman's son, because he is your offspring."

So Abraham rose early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, placing them on her shoulder, and he sent her away with the boy. She went off and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes

and went and sat down a good way off, about a bowshot away, for she said, "Let me not watch the boy die." And as she sat there, she lifted up her voice and wept.

God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

Get up, lift the boy and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer.

He settled in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

At that time Abimelech, together with Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.

Now swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity. Show to me and to the land where you have lived as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.

And Abraham said, "I swear it."

Then Abraham confronted Abimelech about the well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized.

Abimelech said, "I do not know who did this. You never told me, and I heard nothing of it until today."

So Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

Abraham also set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock,

and Abimelech asked him, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart?"

He answered, "Accept these seven ewe lambs from my hand as my witness that I dug this well."

That is why the place was called Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.

When they had made the covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army set out and returned to the land of the Philistines.

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.

And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

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Zusammenfassung2

Kapitel 21

Main Theme: God fulfills his promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah, demonstrating his faithfulness toward both Isaac's and Ishmael's descendants.

Content: In their old age, Sarah gives birth to Isaac, and Abraham circumcises him on the eighth day as God commanded. When Sarah sees Hagar's son laughing, she demands that they be sent away; God comforts Abraham and promises to make Ishmael into a great nation as well. In the wilderness, God hears the boy's voice and opens Hagar's eyes so that she sees a well. Abraham makes a covenant with King Abimelech at Be'er-Sheba, plants a tamarisk tree, and calls upon the Lord as El Olam.

Key Words/Images:

Isaac (יִצְחָק): The name means "laughter" and recalls Sarah's joy and God's faithful fulfillment of his promise.
Circumcision: The sign of the covenant between God and Abraham's offspring, performed on the eighth day.
The Well in the Wilderness: A symbol of God's care for Hagar and Ishmael in their distress.
Be'er-Sheba: Means "well of the oath" (from oath/שְׁבֻעָה) or "seven wells" (from the seven lambs), the place where Abraham and Abimelech swore a covenant.

Historischer Kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Genesis 21

People

Isaac (יִצְחָק, Yitschak) is born in this chapter, and his name means "he laughs" – a direct link to Sarah's laughter in Genesis 18:12 and her exclamation in verse 6: "God has made laughter for me." Isaac represents the fulfillment of the covenant promise and becomes the patriarch of the people of Israel.

Hagar and Ishmael stand at the center of the chapter's dramatic conflict. Ishmael (יִשְׁמָעֵאל, "God hears") is now in his teens, around 14 years old based on the chronology (Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born in Genesis 16:16, and 100 when Isaac was born in Genesis 21:5). This chapter marks the beginning of Ishmael's separate lineage, with the promise that he will become a great nation (verses 13, 18).

Abimelech and his army commander Pikol (פִיכֹל) appear as representatives of the kingdom of Gerar. The text calls them Philistines (verses 32, 34), although this likely reflects a later name for the region's population. The name Abimelech ("my father is king") was probably a dynastic title rather than a personal name, similar to "Pharaoh" in Egypt.

Places

Beersheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע) is located in the Negev region, about 70-80 kilometers south-southwest of Jerusalem. The name is explained in the text with a double meaning: both "well of the oath" (from נִשְׁבְּעוּ, nishbe'u, "they swore," verse 31) and "well of seven" (from שֶׁבַע, sheva, "seven," verses 28-30) after the seven lambs. Archaeological excavations at Tel Beersheba have revealed settlement from the Bronze Age, and the site later became an important border town marking the southern boundary of Israel ("from Dan to Beersheba").

Wilderness of Paran (מִדְבַּר פָארָן), where Ishmael settled (verse 21), is the dry highland on the Sinai Peninsula between Canaan and Egypt. This area was inhabited by seminomadic tribes and was known as a caravan region along trade routes.

Events and Customs

The Weaning Feast (verse 8) was a significant event in the ancient Near East. Children were typically breastfed for 2-3 years, and weaning marked a critical transition – the child had survived the most dangerous period of infancy. Large celebrations on such occasions are documented in Mesopotamian texts.

Circumcision on the eighth day (verse 4) follows the command from Genesis 17. This practice distinguished the Israelites from many neighboring peoples (although Egyptians also practiced circumcision, but at a later age).

The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael reflects complex inheritance laws in antiquity. Mesopotamian laws (such as the Laws of Hammurabi and the Laws of Lipit-Ishtar) dealt specifically with the status of children born to slave women. According to certain legal traditions, such children could be recognized as heirs, but Sarah's demand for expulsion – though it seems brutal – was intended to secure Isaac's exclusive right to the inheritance. God's approval of Sarah's request shows that the covenant line was to go exclusively through Isaac.

The Covenant with Abimelech follows a classic ancient pattern: exchange of gifts (small and large livestock), oath-taking, and establishment of witnesses (the seven lambs). Water rights were vital in the dry climate and often a source of conflict between nomads and settled peoples.

Key Terms

פָּקַד (pakad, "to visit/attend to") in verse 1 is a loaded theological word describing God's intervention to fulfill His promises. It involves both "remembering" and "acting on the basis of what one remembers."

מְצַחֵק (metsacheq, "playing/mocking") in verse 9 is related to the name Isaac and creates a wordplay. The exact meaning of the word is debated – it could mean innocent play, mockery, or something more threatening. Regardless of interpretation, Sarah sees it as a threat to Isaac's position.

אֵל עוֹלָם (El Olam, "the Everlasting God") in verse 33 is a divine name that emphasizes God's timeless nature. Abraham uses this name in his worship at Beersheba, and it reflects a growing understanding of God's character through the patriarchal narratives.

אֶשֶׁל (eshel, "tamarisk") which Abraham planted was a tree adapted to the desert climate. Tree planting marked claims on land areas and the establishment of a place of worship – the tamarisk provided shade for worship and the practice of hospitality in the harsh landscape.

Personen7

God1 Pikol2 Abimelech6 Isaac6 Hagar3 Sarah7 Abraham18

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Schlüsselwörter8

Abraham — A central figure in Genesis and father to Isaac, regarded as the patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
Isaac — Son of Abraham and Sarah, an important figure in the Bible and counted among the patriarchs of Judaism.
Sarah — Abraham's wife, mother of Isaac, and a significant female figure in the Bible.
Hagar — Sarah's Egyptian servant, mother of Ishmael, and a central character in the story of Abraham and his descendants.
Ishmael — Son of Abraham and Hagar, considered the ancestor of the Arabs and an important figure in Islamic tradition.
Covenant — An agreement or bond between God and people, often linked to promises and blessings from God.
Well — A source of water, vital for survival and life in desert regions, also symbolizing God's care and provision.
Philistines — A people who lived in the coastal areas southwest of Canaan, frequently in conflict with Israel in biblical history.