Génesis 21

VBL · Chapter 21/50

1Y el Señor vino a ayudar a Sara, tal como se lo había prometido. El Señor cumplió la promesa que le había hecho a Sara.

2Sara quedó embarazada y tuvo un hijo de Abraham cuando ya era viejo, en el tiempo exacto, como Dios lo había dicho.

3Abraham llamó a su hijo Isaac.

4Y lo circuncidó a los ocho días de nacido, según el mandato de Dios.

5Y Abraham tenía 100 años cuando nació Isaac.

6Sara entonces declaró: “Dios me ha hecho reír, y todos los que escuchen acerca de esto se reirán conmigo”.

7Además dijo: “¿Habría podido alguien decirle a Abraham que Sara tendría que dar de mamar a un hijo suyo? ¡Y ahora he tenido un hijo de Abraham aún su vejez!”

8Y el bebé creció, y el día que fue destetado Abraham hizo una gran fiesta.

9Pero Sara se dio cuenta de que Ismael, el hijo que la esclava egipcia Agar había tenido para Abraham, se burlaba de Isaac.

10Entonces Sara fue donde Abraham y le dijo: “Tienes que deshacerte de esa mujer esclava y de su hijo! ¡Un hijo de esa esclava no será coheredero con mi hijo Isaac!”

11Abraham se sintió muy triste porque Ismael era su hijo también.

12Pero Dios le dijo a Abraham: “No te sientas mal en cuanto al hijo de la mujer esclava. Haz lo que Sara te pide, porque tu descendencia será contada a través de Isaac.

13Así que no te preocupes, porque yo también convertiré al hijo de la esclava en una gran nación, porque él también es tu hijo”.

14A la mañana siguiente, Abraham se levantó temprano. Empacó alimentos y un odre con agua para Agar, y puso todo esto en sus hombros. Entonces los despidió. Ella se fue y anduvo errante por el desierto de Beerseba.

15Cuando se le acabó el agua, dejó al niño en medio de unos arbustos.

16Entonces se fue y se sentó a cierta distancia, a unos cientos de yardas de distancia, pues pensaba: “¡No podré soportar ver a mi hijo morir!” Y al sentarse, reventó en llanto.

17Dios escuchó el llanto del niño, y el ángel de Dios llamó a Agar desde el cielo y le preguntó: “¿Qué ocurre, Agar? ¡No tengas miedo! Dios ha escuchado el llanto del niño desde donde está.

18Levántate, ve a ayudar a tu hijo y consuélalo, porque yo lo convertiré en una gran nación”.

19Entonces Dios abrió sus ojos y ella pudo ver un pozo que estaba cerca. Así que fue y llenó su odre de agua y le dio de beber al niño.

20Dios bendijo a Ismael y él creció, viviendo en el desierto. Se convirtió en un arquero con una gran habilidad.

21Vivió en el desierto de Parán. Su madre le eligió una esposa de la tierra de Egipto.

22En aquél mismo tiempo, Abimelec y Ficol, jefe de su ejército, vinieron a ver a Abraham. Y Abimelec le dijo: “Dios te bendice en todo lo que haces”.

23Y continuó: “Así que júrame aquí y hora que no me traicionarás, ni a mis hijos, ni a mis descendientes. Del mismo modo que te he demostrado mi lealtad, haz lo mismo conmigo y con mi nación, en la cual vives”.

24“Así lo juro”, respondió Abraham.

25Entonces Abraham planteó ante Abimelec un problema relacionado con un pozo del que los siervos de Abimelec se habían apoderado a la fuerza.

26“No sé quién hizo esto, y no lo habías mencionado antes. Nunca había oído acerca de esto hasta hoy”, respondió Abimelec.

27Entonces Abraham le dio a Abimelec algunas de sus ovejas y ganado, y los dos hicieron un pacto.

28Abraham también apartó siete corderas del rebaño.

29“¿Qué significan esas siete corderas que has apartado del rebaño?” le preguntó Abimelec.

30“Te doy estas siete corderas como compensación por tu reconocimiento de que yo cavé este pozo”, respondió Abraham.

31Por eso llamaron ese lugar Beerseba, porque ahí los dos juraron e hicieron un pacto.

32Después de haber hecho el pacto en Beerseba, Abimelec y Ficol – el comandante de su ejército –, se fueron y llegaron a la tierra de los filisteos.

33Abraham plantó un árbol de tamarisco en Beerseba y allí adoró al Señor, al Dios eterno.

34Y Abraham vivió en el país de los filisteos por muchos años.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Sarah finally gives birth to Isaac, just as promised; because of conflict between the sons, Hagar and Ishmael are sent away, but God cares for them in the desert; Abraham makes a covenant of peace with Abimelech at Beersheba.

Explanation

This chapter is the long-awaited fulfillment of the promise: 25 years after God's initial call (Genesis 12), Isaac is born, and his very name ('he laughs') celebrates the joy and surprise of this long-delayed blessing. The expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael, though painful, is permitted by God, who reaffirms his special care for them, saving their lives in the desert and promising to make Ishmael into a great nation as well — showing that God's grace reaches even those who fall outside the main line of the promise. The chapter ends with Abraham establishing a lasting peace treaty with Abimelech at Beersheba, reinforcing his reputation as a man of integrity favored by God among the neighboring peoples. The central lesson is that God's promises are fulfilled at the right time, even when they seem delayed to human eyes.

Fun facts

  • The name of the well 'Beersheba' can mean either 'well of the oath' or 'well of the seven,' a direct reference to the seven ewe lambs Abraham set apart as a witness of the covenant with Abimelech (v. 28-31).
  • The apostle Paul uses the rivalry between Ishmael (son of the slave woman) and Isaac (son of the promise) in Galatians 4 as an allegory between living by the law and living by grace, showing how this family story gained a broader spiritual meaning in the New Testament.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Génesis 21:1After so many promises and delays, the text marks the fulfillment: the LORD does exactly what He had promised Sarah, without further delay.
  2. Génesis 21:2Sarah becomes pregnant and has a son in her old age, at the exact time God had determined—the promise that seemed impossible in the earlier chapters is finally fulfilled.
  3. Génesis 21:3Abraham names the son Isaac, meaning “he laughs”—the same name already announced by God, carrying his parents’ laughter of disbelief from chapters 17 and 18.
  4. Génesis 21:4Abraham circumcises Isaac at eight days old, following to the letter the rule God had established in chapter 17 for every male descendant.
  5. Génesis 21:5Marks Abraham’s age at Isaac’s birth, 100—twenty-five years after the first promise of descendants, back in chapter 12.
  6. Génesis 21:6Sarah says, “God hath made me to laugh”: the son’s name, Isaac, means exactly that, “he laughs,” in Hebrew. It’s a play on words that runs through the whole story: Sarah laughed in disbelief when she heard she would have a son in her old age, and now she laughs with joy for the same reason. The boy’s name preserves that joke forever.
  7. Génesis 21:7Sarah reflects on how unlikely the situation seemed: no one would have said that she, so old, would still nurse a son—reinforcing the astonishment behind the name Isaac.
  8. Génesis 21:8The text jumps ahead to Isaac’s weaning, marked by a great feast—an important event at the time, since children were nursed much longer than they are today.
  9. Génesis 21:9Sarah sees Hagar’s son mocking Isaac during the feast—this behavior is the spark for the request she makes in the next verse.
  10. Génesis 21:10Sarah asks Abraham to cast out “this bondwoman and her son,” afraid that Ishmael would share the inheritance with Isaac. At the time, the son a patriarch had with his wife’s slave really could claim a share of the estate—Sarah’s concern wasn’t pettiness, it was a real legal issue. Only after God promises Ishmael a separate future does Abraham agree to send them away.
  11. Génesis 21:11Abraham is deeply troubled by Sarah’s request, because he still cared for Ishmael as his son, even knowing the main promise would continue through Isaac.
  12. Génesis 21:12God steps in and tells Abraham not to worry, confirming that Sarah’s decision is right: it is through Isaac that the promised line will continue.
  13. Génesis 21:13Even while confirming that the main promise continues through Isaac, God guarantees that He will also make a nation out of Ishmael, because he too is Abraham’s son.
  14. Génesis 21:14Abraham sends Hagar off with nothing but “bread, and a bottle of water” on her shoulder, the bare minimum given to someone traveling on foot through the desert. Shortly afterward the water runs out and she comes to think her son will die of thirst—the text shows that this simple provision barely lasted.
  15. Génesis 21:15The water Hagar was carrying runs out, and she leaves the boy under a bush, not knowing what else to do about his thirst.
  16. Génesis 21:16Hagar moves away so as not to watch her son die, and weeps at a distance—the despair of a mother who believes she has no way out left.
  17. Génesis 21:17God hears the boy’s crying, and an angel appears to Hagar telling her not to be afraid, because God had already heard his suffering—the same kind of intervention she had already experienced in chapter 16.
  18. Génesis 21:18The angel instructs Hagar to get up and hold her son by the hand, repeating the promise that Ishmael will become a great nation.
  19. Génesis 21:19God opens Hagar’s eyes to a well she hadn’t seen before—the provision arrives right when there seemed to be no solution left.
  20. Génesis 21:20Sums up Ishmael’s growth in the wilderness, noting that he became a skilled archer—the same kind of independent life already described by the angel in chapter 16.
  21. Génesis 21:21Ishmael settles in the wilderness of Paran, and it is his own mother, Hagar, who chooses an Egyptian wife for him—echoing Hagar’s own Egyptian origin.
  22. Génesis 21:22Abimelech seeks out Abraham, publicly acknowledging that God was with him in everything—a recognition that leads to the formal agreement told through the rest of the chapter.
  23. Génesis 21:23Abimelech asks Abraham for an oath sworn “by God,” asking for loyalty to himself, his son, and his grandson. Written contracts like today’s didn’t exist: swearing by God’s name was the official agreement, breakable only at the risk of divine punishment—which is why kings and patriarchs swore with such formality before closing any deal.
  24. Génesis 21:24Abraham agrees to take the oath Abimelech requests, agreeing to maintain a relationship of loyalty between the two families.
  25. Génesis 21:25Before closing the agreement, Abraham takes the chance to complain about a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized by force—a practical conflict that needs to be settled along with the oath.
  26. Génesis 21:26Abimelech says he’s surprised by the complaint, claiming he knew nothing about the well until that moment.
  27. Génesis 21:27Abraham seals the agreement by giving sheep and cattle to Abimelech, and the two formally establish the covenant between their families.
  28. Génesis 21:28Abraham sets seven ewe lambs apart from the rest of the flock given to Abimelech—a gesture that will take on special meaning explained in the verses that follow.
  29. Génesis 21:29Abimelech asks the reason for the seven ewe lambs set apart, opening the way for Abraham to explain their purpose.
  30. Génesis 21:30The “seven ewe lambs” Abraham sets apart aren’t payment for the well, but a living receipt: by accepting them, Abimelech publicly acknowledges that the well was dug by Abraham. It’s this gesture that gives the place its name right afterward, Beersheba, which in Hebrew sounds like both “well of the oath” and “well of the seven.”
  31. Génesis 21:31The name of the place, Beersheba, holds this double meaning of the oath made there between Abraham and Abimelech.
  32. Génesis 21:32With the agreement concluded, Abimelech and the commander of his army return to the land of the Philistines, ending the meeting in peace.
  33. Génesis 21:33Abraham plants a tree in Beersheba and worships the LORD there under a new title, “the everlasting God”—marking the place as a site of lasting worship.
  34. Génesis 21:34Closes the chapter with Abraham living for a long time in the land of the Philistines, at peace after the agreement with Abimelech.

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