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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 21:1-8

Few under the Old Testament were brought into the world with such expectation as Isaac was, not for the sake of any great person eminence at which he was to arrive, but because he was to be, in this very thing, a type of Christ, that seed which the holy God had so long promised and holy men so long expected. In this account of the first days of Isaac we may observe, I. The fulfilling of God's promise in the conception and birth of Isaac, Gen. 21:1, 2. Note, God's providences look best and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:1

And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said ,.... To Abraham, Genesis 17:16 ; in a way of mercy and kindness, by fulfilling his promise, giving strength to conceive and bear a child; see 1 Samuel 2:21 , and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken ; which intends the same thing in different words; and the repetition is made to cause attention to God's fulfilment of his promise, who is always faithful to his word, even in things very difficult and seemingly impossible, as in the present... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:2

For Sarah conceived ,.... This explains what is meant by the Lord's visiting her, and doing to her according to his word, see Hebrews 11:11 , and bare Abraham a son in his old age ; which circumstance is remarked, that the favour might appear the greater, and the more wonderful; or, "unto", or "for his old age" F14 לזקניו "pro senectute ejus", Vatablus; "senectuti ejus", Junius & Tremellius. , for the comfort of him in his old age, who having lived so many years under the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 21:1

The Lord visited Sarah - That is, God fulfilled his promise to Sarah by giving her, at the advanced age of ninety, power to conceive and bring forth a son. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 21:1

Verse 1 1.And the Lord visited Sarah. In this chapters not only is the nativity of Isaac related, but because, in his very birth, God has set before us a lively picture of his Church, Moses also gives a particular account of this matter. And first, he says that God visited Sarah, as he had promised. Because all offspring, flows from the kindness of God, as it is in the psalm, ‘The fruit of the womb is the gift of God;’ (Psalms 127:3;) therefore the Lord is said, not without reason, to visit... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 21:2

Verse 2 2.She bare Abraham a son. This is said according to the accustomed manner of speaking; because the woman is neither the head of a family, nor brings forth properly for herself, but for her husband. What follows, however, is more worthy of notice, In his old age, at the set time, which God had predicted: for the old age of Abraham does, not a little, illustrate the glory of the miracle. And now Moses, for the third time, recalls us to the word of God, that the constancy of his truth may... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 21:1

And the Lord —Jehovah ; not because the verse is Jehovistic (Knobel, Bleek, et alii ) , but because the promise naturally falls to be implemented by him who gave it ( vide Genesis 18:10 )— visited —remembered with love (Onkelos), ἐπισκέψατο ( LXX .; cf. Genesis 1:24 ; Exodus 4:31 ; 1 Samuel 2:21 ; Isaiah 23:17 ); though it sometimes means to approach in judgment ( vide Exodus 20:5 ; Exodus 32:34 ). Alleged to be peculiar to the Jehovist (the term used by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 21:1-8

The son of promise, or a young child's biography. I. THE BIRTH OF ISAAC 1. A surprising phenomenon . "Who would have said that Sarah should have suckled sons?" " Motherhood at ninety was certainly unusual, especially when conjoined with paternity at a hundred. In a world presided over by a personal Deity there must always be room for surprises. 2. A miraculous production . That the conception and birth of Isaac were due to Divine interposition—that in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 21:1-8

Birth, circumcision and weaning of Isaac. Here, is— I. THE FAITIIFULNESS OF JEHOVAH . "As he had spoken. At the set time." "God hath made me to laugh." II. THE FAITH OF HIS SERVANT , which was evidenced in waiting, hoping, naming the son born unto him, obeying the commandment. III. THE GIFT of God was THE REVELATION of God: his love, his power, his purpose, his patience. IV. Taken TYPICALLY , the foreshadowing of the miraculous conception, the kingdom of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 21:2

For Sarah conceived ,—through faith receiving strength from God for that purpose ( Hebrews 11:11 ); the fruit of the womb, in every instance God's handiwork ( Isaiah 44:2 ), being in her case a special gift of grace and product of Divine power— and bare— the usual construction ( Genesis 29:32 ; Genesis 30:5 ) is here somewhat modified by the Jehovist (Kalisch); but the clause may be compared with Genesis 30:22 , Genesis 30:23 , commonly assigned to the Elohlst— Abraham ... read more

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