Genesis 21

Isaac is Born

The Existing One tended to Sarah and kept his promise to her. She became pregnant and gave Abraham a son in his old age at the time God had previously specified. They named him Isaac [which means “he laughs”], and they circumcised him when he was 8 days old just like God had instructed them. When Isaac was born Abraham was 100 year old, and Sarah said,

“God really made me laugh! And everyone who hears about this will laugh about it with me. Who ever would have thought that I’d be nursing a child? Yet here we are, having given birth to a child in our old age.”

The baby grew, and the day he weaned off his mother’s milk, Abraham threw a huge feast. 

Hagar & Ishmael Banished

But Sarah looked at Hagar (the Egyptian who gave birth to Abraham’s other son), and made fun of her. She told Abraham,

“Tell this maid and her son that they are kicked out of the family. I don’t want her son to get Isaac’s inheritance.”

That really pained Abraham because both boys were his sons. But God told Abraham,

“Don’t worry about your maid and her son. Listen to whatever Sarah says, because Isaac is the one your descendants will be associated with. Since the maid’s son is also your offspring, I’ll turn him into an ethnic group too.”

So Abraham got up early the next morning, gave Hagar [which means “flight”] a sack of food and water, and sent her away with their son.

God is with Ishmael

They wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, and when they ran out of water, she put her son down under a plant and went out of earshot saying, 

“Don’t let me see the boy die.”

She sat down, raised her voice, and started sobbing. God heard the boy crying, so one of his representatives said to Hagar from the sky,

“What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be scared, because God hears the boy crying. Stand up, lift the boy up, and hold his hand, because I’m gonna turn him into a significant ethnic group.”

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

God was with the boy, and he grew up to be an archer who lived in the wilderness of Paran [between Sinai and Palestine]. His mother took a girl from Egypt to be his wife. 

Abimelech & Abraham form Alliance

At that time, King Abimelech [of the Philistines] and Phicol, his military commander, told Abraham,

“We noticed that God is with you in everything you do, so please swear to God that you won’t cheat us or our families. Swear that you will treat us and our country with the same kindness that we have treated you.”

Abraham swore to it, but he confronted Abimelech about a well of water that his people had seized. Abimelech responded,

“I didn’t realize that had happened. This is the first time I’m hearing about it.”

Then Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and oxen, and the two of them made an alliance. But Abraham took 7 lambs and separated them from the rest of the flock. Abimelech asked him,

“What’s with the 7 lambs that are separated?”

 Abraham said,

“You can have these 7 lambs to vouch for the fact that I dug this well.”

So he called that place Beersheba [which means “well of the seven-part oath”] since that’s where they formed their alliance. They made their pledges there, and then Abimelech and Phicol went back to the region where the Philistines lived [Philistine means “immigrant”]. Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and called on Jehovah, the Immortal God.

Abraham lived in Philistine territory for a long time.