Genesis 21

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:14

And Abraham rose up early in the morning ,.... It was in the night the Lord spoke to him, and bid him hearken to the voice of Sarah; and, as soon as it was morning, he arose, and was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; for, though the thing he was directed to was disagreeable to flesh and blood, and contrary to his natural affection, yet, it being the will of God, he readily complied with it: and took bread and a bottle of water ; a loaf of bread very probably, and a leathern or... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:15

And the water was spent in the bottle ,.... It was all drank up by them, being thirsty, having wandered about some time in a wilderness, where they could not replenish their bottle: the Jewish writers say F5 Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. (c. 30.) Targ. Jon. in loc. that when Hagar came into the wilderness, she began to wander after the idols of the house of Pharaoh her father, and immediately the water ceased from the bottle, or was drank up by Ishmael, being seized with a burning fever: ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:16

And she went and sat her down over against him , a good way off ,.... Not being able to bear the sight of her child in his agonies, and, as she apprehended, ready to expire, she went from the place where she had laid him, and sat down under one of the shrubs or trees to shade herself, right over against that where her child was, though at some distance, which is next expressed: as it were a bowshot ; about as far off from him as an arrow can be shot, or is usually shot out of a bow;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:17

And God heard the voice of the lad ,.... By which it appears that he cried also; but whether it was in prayer to God, or through the distress and misery he was in, is not certain; and, be it which it will, his cries came up into the ears of the Lord, and he had compassion on him, and supplied his wants, and delivered him out of his miserable condition: and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven ; not a created angel, but the eternal one, the Son of God, the Angel of the covenant,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:18

Arise, lift up the lad ,.... She had set herself down at some distance, and now she is bid to rise up and go to the place where she had left her son, and raise aim up from the ground, on which he lay along: and hold him in thine hand : or take hold on him with thine hand, and hold him up with it, he being so weak that he could not sit up without being supported: for I will make him a great nation : which is a renewal of a promise before made both to her and to Abraham, Genesis 16:10... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:19

And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water ,.... Which she saw not before; not that she was really blind and had her eyes opened, or her sight restored, but they might be holden or restrained by the providence of God, that she should not see it before; or, through inattention and distraction of mind, might not observe it; or her eyes might be swelled with weeping and crying, that she saw it not; though it is not improbable that this well was not in being before, but was immediately... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:20

And God was with the lad ,.... To confirm his health, to provide for him the necessaries of life, to protect him from danger in the wilderness where he was, and to prosper and succeed him in temporal things; all which is owing to the providential goodness of God: and he grew ; increased in bodily stature, and arrived to manhood; or, "he became great", in riches and in substance, as Ben Melech interprets it: and dwelt in the wilderness ; of Beersheba, where he now was, or of Paran... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:21

And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran ,.... So called from Paran, a city in Arabia Petraea; it reached from the wilderness of Shur to Mount Sinai: the account Adrichomius F17 Theatrum Terrae, S. p. 116. gives of it is this; Paran or"Pharan is a wilderness, very large, desolate, impassable, and without water, containing, from Mount Sinai to Kadeshbarnea, a journey of eleven days; its land can neither be ploughed nor sown, is wholly dry, barren, and uncultivated; uninhabitable to men,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:22

And it came to pass at that time ,.... Not when Ishmael was grown up and married, but when Isaac was weaned and Ishmael was expelled: that Abimelech, and Phichol, the chief captain of his host, spake unto Abraham ; Abimelech was king of Gerar, the same that is spoken of in the preceding chapter, and Phichol was the general of his army; these two great personages came together and paid Abraham a visit, and had some conversation with him, who was still in Gerar, or however in some part of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:23

Now therefore swear unto me here by God ,.... By the true and living God, by whom only an oath is to be taken, who was Abraham's God, and whom Abimelech seems to have known and to have been a worshipper of; and therefore moves for an oath to be taken by him, which he knew would be sacred and binding to Abraham, could he prevail upon him to swear: that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son ; perhaps he had heard that God had promised to give the whole... read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:14

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:16

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:19

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:20

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:21

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:22

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:23

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