Genesis 21:11

And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
thing	הַדָּבָ֛ר ha.da.Var	H1697	a word · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
very	מְאֹ֖ד me.'Od	H3966	properly · cardinal number, masculine singular absolute
grievous	יָרַע yâraʻ	H3415	properly
Abraham’s	אַבְרָהָ֑ם 'av.ra.Ham	H85	Abraham · proper noun, a man's name
sight	בְּעֵינֵ֣י be.'ei.Nei	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
because	אוֹדֹ֥ת 'o.Dot	H182	turnings (i.e. occasions) · noun, common feminine plural construct
son	בְּנֽוֹ be.No	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousnes…
Genesis 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Genesis 22:1-2 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 Samuel 18:33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 21:9-13

The casting out of Ishmael is here considered of, and resolved on. I. Ishmael himself gave the occasion by some affronts he gave to Isaac his little brother, some think on the day that Abraham made the feast for joy that Isaac was safely weaned, which the Jews say was not till he was three years old, others say five. Sarah herself was an eye-witness of the abuse: she saw the son of the Egyptian mocking (Gen 21:9), mocking Isaac, no doubt, for it is said, with reference to this (Gal 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 400 years' affliction of the seed of Abraham…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 21:10

Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman--Nothing but the expulsion of both could now preserve harmony in the household. Abraham's perplexity was relieved by an announcement of the divine will, which in everything, however painful to flesh and blood, all who fear God and are walking in His ways will, like him, promptly obey. This story, as the apostle tells us, in "an allegory" [Gal 4:24], and the "persecution" by the son of the Egyptian was the commencement of the four hundred years' affliction of Abraham's seed by the Egyptians.

Adam Clarke on 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 Lev 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 inh…

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The Church Fathers

For her part, however, Sarah was not guilty of acting unreasonably; she acted even quite logically, so logically that even God agreed with the words she spoke. The patriarch, being affectionate and well disposed toward Ishmael, did not take kindly to her remarks. "This remark about his son … struck Abraham as severe." It was not, you see, that he took much interest in Hagar; rather, he was well disposed toward his son for the reason that he was then still in his youth. Consider in this case, however … the extraordinary considerateness of the loving God: when he saw Sarah apparently having a human problem in being distressed by the parity of esteem of the children and Abraham not taking kindly to the expulsion of Ishmael and the maidservant. (After all, even if in his great restraint he did not take issue with Sarah, it still struck him as severe, that is, harsh, repugnant, and oppressive.) At that point, in fidelity to his characteristic loving kindness and wishing to strengthen the bonds of harmony between them, the Lord said to Abraham, "Don't let the remark about the child and the maidservant strike you as severe. Whatever Sarah says to you, heed her."
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 46.3

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Hagar — Flight, or, according to others, stranger, an Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid (Gen. 16:1; 21:9, 10), whom she gave to Abraham (q.v.) as a secondary wife (16:2). When she was about to become a mother she…
Ishmael — God hears. (1.) Abraham’s eldest son, by Hagar the concubine (Gen. 16:15; 17:23). He was born at Mamre, when Abraham was eighty-six years of age, eleven years after his arrival in Canaan (16:3;…
Concubinage · .Concubines might be dismissed — .Concubines might be dismissed
Cruelty · .Of Sarah to Hagar — .Of Sarah to Hagar
Family · .Of Abraham, on account of Hagar — .Of Abraham, on account of Hagar
Inheritance · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Ishmael · .Sent away by Abraham — .Sent away by Abraham
Man · Woman formed to be a help for — Woman formed to be a help for
Sarah · .Her jealousy of Hagar — .Her jealousy of Hagar

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 21:11

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 21:9-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 21:10

Adam Clarke on Genesis 21:10

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 21:11

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 21:9-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 21:10

Adam Clarke on Genesis 21:10

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 21:11

John Calvin on Genesis 21:11

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 21:8-21

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 21:11-13

Rashi on Genesis 21:11