Genesis 21:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 21:12
And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
said
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.mer
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Abraham
אַבְרָהָ֗ם'av.ra.Ham
H85
Abraham · proper noun, a man's name
grievous
יָרַעyâraʻ
H3415
properly
sight
בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙be.'ei.Nei.kha
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
lad
הַנַּ֣עַרha.Na.'ar
H5288
(concretely) a boy (as active) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
bondwoman
אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ'a.ma.Te.kha
H519
a maidservant or female slave · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Sarah
שָׂרָ֖הsa.Rah
H8283
Sarah · proper noun, a woman's name
said
תֹּאמַ֥רto.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
hearken
שְׁמַ֣עshe.Ma'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
voice
בְּקֹלָ֑הּbe.ko.Lah
H6963
a voice or sound · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
Isaac
בְיִצְחָ֔קve.yitz.Chak
H3327
Jitschak (or Isaac) · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
seed
זָֽרַעZa.ra'
H2233
seed · noun, common masculine singular absolute
called
יִקָּרֵ֥אyi.ka.Re'
H7121
to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, niphal imperfect, 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 11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Romans 9:7-8 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Genesis 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for…
1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but the…
1 Samuel 8:9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over t…
Genesis 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
Isaiah 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do…
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…
in all that Sarah hath said--it is called the Scripture (Gal 4:30).
Adam Clarke on 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.
John Gill on Genesis 21:12
And God said unto Abraham,.... Either by an articulate voice, or by an impulse on his mind, suggesting to him what he should do, being no doubt in great perplexity how to conduct between his wife and his son, but God determines the case for him, and makes him easy:
let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of the bondwoman: that is, let not the motion displease thee, which Sarah has made, to turn out the bondwoman and her son; let not thine affection to the one and to the other hinder compliance with it; do not look upon it as an ill thing, or as an hard thing; it is but what is right and proper to be done, and leave the bondwoman and her son to me; I will take car…
Don't object, he says, to what is said to you by her; instead, "whatever Sarah says to you, heed her." Accept everything she now says to you about Ishmael and Hagar, and pay close attention. Don't be ready to distress the woman who in all this period has given evidence of such great affection for you on more than one occasion so as to save you from death by surrendering herself for your welfare and proving the occasion of your wonderful prosperity. On the first occasion she caused you to leave Egypt with all that wealth, and later she was responsible for your being accorded remarkable esteem by Abimelech. So don't allow yourself to follow a course of action contrary to what is advised by her; nor in fact will things turn out otherwise. You see, your descendants will be called after Isaac, the child born of her, and he will be your successor. "But this son of the maidservant I shall cause to become numerous; I shall make him grow into a mighty nation since he is your offspring." So do what is said to you by her, and pay attention to her words.Consider now, I ask you, how great was the peace and harmony that all at once began to reign over their life together, God's goodness strengthening their relationship. "He arose early next morning," the text goes on, remember, "took bread and a bag of water, and gave them to Hagar; he then set the child on her shoulders and sent her off." Notice once again, I ask you, the good man's utterly correct attitude in giving evidence in every way of his godly purpose. I mean, when he heard Sarah's words, "Send away the maidservant and her son," it struck him as severe, since he was kindly disposed toward Ishmael. But when the Lord gave him orders, he immediately carried them out and gave no further thought to his natural affections. In other words, he said to himself, When it is he that commands, let all feelings take no further part; after all, the one who commands is the Lord of nature. "So the maidservant took the bread and the bag of water," the text says, "and went off with her son."
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
Abraham — Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named (Gen. 11:27) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises. Till the age of seventy, Abram sojourned among his kindred…
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;…
Predestination — This word is properly used only with reference to God’s plan or purpose of salvation. The Greek word rendered “predestinate” is found only in these six passages, Acts 4:28; Rom. 8:29, 30; 1 Cor. 2:7;…
Concubinage · .Concubines might be dismissed — .Concubines might be dismissed
Cruelty · .Of Sarah to Hagar — .Of Sarah to Hagar
Election · Exemplified: Isaac — Exemplified: Isaac
Ishmael · .Promised to be the father of a nation — .Promised to be the father of a nation
Man · Woman formed to be a help for — Woman formed to be a help for
Predestination · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Prophecies Respecting Christ · As the seed of Isaac — As the seed of Isaac
Sarah · .Her jealousy of Hagar
John Calvin on Genesis 21:12-13
In all that Sarah hath said unto thee. I have just said that although God used the ministry of Sarah in so great a matter, it was yet possible that she might fail in her method of acting. He now commands Abraham to hearken unto his wife, not because he approves her disposition, but because he will have the work, of which he is Himself the Author, accomplished. And he thus shows that his designs are not to be subjected to any common rule, especially when the salvation of the Church is concerned. For he purposely inverts the accustomed order of nature, in order that he may prove himself to be the Author and the Perfecter of Isaac's vocation. But because I have before declared, that this histor…
Expulsion of Ishmael. - The weaning of the child, which was celebrated with a feast, furnished the outward occasion for this. Sarah saw Ishmael mocking, making ridicule on the occasion. "Isaac, the object of holy laughter, was made the butt of unholy wit or profane sport. He did not laugh (צחק), but he made fun (מצחק). The little helpless Isaac a father of nations! Unbelief, envy, pride of carnal superiority, were the causes of his conduct. Because he did not understand the sentiment, 'Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?' it seemed to him absurd to link so great a thing to one so small" (Hengstenberg). Paul calls this the persecution of him that was after the Spirit by him that was begot…
Abraham was upset by Sarah’s demand to oust Hagar and Ishmael. God told him to comply, assuring Abraham that Ishmael would also have a future as Abraham’s offspring.
Rashi on Genesis 21:12
שמע בקולה HEARKEN UNTO HER VOICE — we may infer that Abraham was inferior to Sarah in respect of prophecy (Exodus Rabbah 1:1).
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).
