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James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 21:25-27

"And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. And Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and they two made a covenant."This free exchange of the principal figures in the narrative resulted in a happy resolution of potential difficulty. A water well on the edge of the desert was the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 21:22-34

13. Abimelech’s treaty with Abraham 21:22-34"This scene occurs at the same time as the events of Scene 6 [Genesis 21:1-21] but focuses on different characters and tensions. This second conflict with Abimelech creates a bracket around the Isaac birth narrative. Whereas the first conflict, Scene 5 (Genesis 20:1-18), concerned jeopardy of the seed, the second conflict, Scene 7 (Genesis 21:22-34), concerns jeopardy of the land (i.e., well rights)." [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 298.] God’s blessing of... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 21:1-34

Birth of Isaac. Dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael. Covenant between Abraham and Abimelech8. Weaned] in his second or third year, as is usual among Orientals.9. Ishmael had no doubt been regarded as Abraham’s heir until the birth of Isaac. The change in his prospects may account for his conduct, which St. Paul uses to illustrate the persecution of the Christians by the Jews (Galatians 4:29). Proud of their natural descent as children of Abraham, the Jews scorned the idea that God could regard... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Genesis 21:1-34

Sarah the Steadfast Genesis 21:0 What is that quality in the mind of Sarah which lies below all other qualities, and which subsists when others change? It may be expressed in one word steadfastness. The abiding secret of this woman's greatness is her own abidingness. I. Sarah in the romantic stage. When the scene first opens in the married life of Abraham and Sarah, they are having an experience which their romance had not bargained for the poverty of the land. For a married pair I can imagine... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:1-34

ISHMAEL AND ISAACGenesis 21:1-34; Genesis 22:1-24Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. Which things are an allegory.- Galatians 4:22."Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son." Genesis 22:10IN the birth of Isaac, Abraham at length sees the long-delayed fulfilment of the promise. But his trials are by no means over. He has himself introduced into his family the seeds of discord and disturbance, and speedily the fruit is borne. Ishmael,... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Genesis 21:1-34

CHAPTER 21 Isaac and Ishmael and the Covenant with Abimelech 1. Isaac’s birth (Genesis 22:1-3 ) 2. His circumcision (Genesis 22:4-8 ) 3. Ishmael mocking (Genesis 22:9 ) 4. Sarah’s demand (Genesis 22:10-11 ) 5. God speaks to Abraham (Genesis 22:12-13 ) 6. Hagar and Ishmael cast out (Genesis 22:14-16 ) 7. The intervention of God (Genesis 22:17-21 ) 8. The covenant with Abimelech (Gen. 22:22-34) Isaac, the promised seed, was born at the set time as God had spoken. As there was a set... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 21:1-34

THE PROMISE FULFILLED IN ISAAC Now the grace of God bears its most important fruit in the history of Abraham. Sarah, at the unlikely age of 90 years, gives birth to Isaac, at the time God Himself had appointed (v.2). Though faith (that of Abraham) had waited long, till he was 100 years of age, yet grace (as seen in Sarah) eventually bore the fruit that God had promised. This pictures the fact that believers throughout the Old Testament had waited through centuries before the grace of God is... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Genesis 21:9-34

ISAAC ’S BIRTH , SARAH ’S DEATH THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON (CHAP. 21) There is little requiring explanation in this chapter, but Genesis 21:9-13 should not be passed without a look at Galatians 4:21-31 . Christians are the spiritual seed of Abraham, and those who would supplement faith in Christ by the works of the law are the children of the bond-woman, who have no place with the children of the promise. God, however, is not unmindful of Hagar and Ishmael, nor of His promise to Abraham... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Genesis 21:1-34

Ishmael Gen 21:14 The first feeling we have in reading the story of Hagar and Ishmael is that they were both most cruelly used. If you were to read this story in the newspapers, as an incident happening in our own time, you would strongly condemn both Abraham and Sarah his wife. Hagar and Ishmael were cast forth out of the house of Abraham. Hagar received from Abraham "bread and a bottle of water," and she and her child "departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba." They were sent... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Genesis 21:17-33

And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.... read more

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