the Second Week after Easter
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New King James Version
Genesis 21:6
Bible Study Resources
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- CondensedParallel Translations
Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me."
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; all who hear will laugh for me."
And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.
Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."
Sarah said, "God has made me laugh; all who hear [about our good news] will laugh with me."
Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."
Then Sarah said, God hath made me to reioyce: all that heare will reioyce with me.
And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."
and Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Now everyone will laugh with me.
Sarah said, "God has given me good reason to laugh; now everyone who hears about it will laugh with me."
And Sarah said, God has made me laugh: all that hear will laugh with me.
Sarah said, "God has made me happy, and everyone who hears about this will be happy with me.
And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me."
And Sarah said, God has made me to rejoice today exceedingly; everyone that hears the news will rejoice with me.
Sarah said, "God has brought me joy and laughter. Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me."
Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
And Sarah said, God has made laughter for me; all who hear will laugh with me.
And Sara sayde: God hath prepared a ioye for me, for who so euer heareth of it, wyll reioyse with me.
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh; every one that heareth will laugh with me.
And Sarah said, God has given me cause for laughing, and everyone who has news of it will be laughing with me.
But Sara sayde: God hath made me to reioyce, so that all that heare, wyll ioy with me.
And Sarah said: 'God hath made laughter for me; every one that heareth will laugh on account of me.'
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that heare, will laugh with me.
And Sarrha said, The Lord has made laughter for me, for whoever shall hear shall rejoice with me.
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh; every one that heareth will laugh with me.
Then Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me."
And Sare seide, The Lord made leiyynge to me, and who euer schal here schal leiye with me.
and Sarah saith, `God hath made laughter for me; every one who is hearing laugheth for me.'
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, [so that] all that hear will laugh with me.
Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me."
And Sarah declared, "God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me.
And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. All who hear will laugh with me."
Now Sarah said, "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."
And Sarah said, A laughing, hath God made for me, - Everyone that heareth will laugh with me.
And Sara said: God hath made a laughter for me: whosoever shall hear of it will laugh with me.
And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me."
And Sarah said, God has made me laugh. Every one that hears will laugh with me.
Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
God: Genesis 17:17, Genesis 18:12-15, 1 Samuel 1:26-28, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Psalms 113:9, Psalms 126:2, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 49:21, Isaiah 54:1, Luke 1:46-55, John 16:21, John 16:22, Galatians 4:27, Galatians 4:28, Hebrews 11:11
to laugh: Sarah most likely remembered the circumstance mentioned in Genesis 18:12, and also the name Isaac, which implies laughter.
will laugh: Luke 1:14, Luke 1:58, Romans 12:15
Reciprocal: Genesis 17:19 - Sarah Genesis 21:3 - General Job 8:21 - he fill Proverbs 13:12 - when Ecclesiastes 3:4 - a time to laugh Jeremiah 20:15 - A man Luke 6:21 - ye shall laugh
Cross-References
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.
And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.
He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do.
So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.
And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
He grants the barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
"Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh,.... This she said on occasion of the name of her son Isaac, which name her husband had given him by divine direction, and to which she assented. This doubtless brought to her mind her former laughing, when she first heard that she should have a son, which was in a way of diffidence and distrust; but now God having given her a son, laid a foundation for laughter of another kind, for real, solid, joy and thankfulness:
[so that] all that hear will laugh with me; not laugh at her, and deride her, as Piscator interprets it; but congratulate her, and rejoice with her on this occasion, as on a like one the neighbours of Elisabeth did with her, Luke 1:58.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- The Birth of Isaac
7. ××× mıÌleÌl âspeak,â an ancient and therefore solemn and poetical word.
14. ××ת cheÌmet âbottle,â akin to ××× chaÌmaÌh, âsurround, enclose,â and ××Ö¼× chuÌm âblack. ××ר ש×××¢ beeÌr-shebaâ, Beer-shebaâ, âwell of seven.â
22. פ××× pıÌykol, Pikhol, âmouth or spokesman of all.â
23. × ×× nıÌyn âoffspring, kin;â related: âsprout, flourish.â × ×× neked âprogeny,â perhaps âacquaintance,â cognate with × ×× ngd, âbe beforeâ (the eyes) and × ×§× nqd, âmark.â
33. ×ש×× 'eÌshel âgrove;â αÌÌÏÎ¿Ï Ïα aroura, Septuagint.; ××××× 'ıÌylaÌbaÌh, âa tree,â Onkelos.
This chapter records the birth of Isaac with other concomitant circumstances. This is the beginning of the fulfillment of the second part of the covenant with Abraham - that concerning the seed. This precedes, we observe, his possession of even a foot-breadth of the soil, and is long antecedent to the entrance of his descendants as conquerors into the land of promise.
Genesis 21:1-8
Isaac is born according to promise, and grows to be weaned. âThe Lord had visited Sarah.â It is possible that this event may have occurred before the patriarchal pair arrived in Gerar. To visit, is to draw near to a person for the purpose of either chastising or conferring a favor. The Lord had been faithful to his gracious promise to Sarah. âHe did as he had spoken.â The object of the visit was accomplished. In due time she bears a son, whom Abraham, in accordance with the divine command, calls Isaac, and circumcises on the eighth day. Abraham was now a hundred years old, and therefore Isaac was born thirty years after the call. Sarah expressed her grateful wonder in two somewhat poetic strains. The first, consisting of two sentences, turns on the word laugh. This is no longer the laugh of delight mingled with doubt, but that of wonder and joy at the power of the Lord overcoming the impotence of the aged mother. The second strain of three sentences turns upon the object of this admiring joy. The event that nobody ever expected to hear announced to Abraham, has nevertheless taken place; âfor I have borne him a son in his old age.â The time of weaning, the second step of the child to individual existence, at length arrives, and the household of Abraham make merry, as was wont, on the festive occasion. The infant was usually weaned in the second or third year 1 Samuel 1:22-24; 2 Chronicles 31:16. The child seems to have remained for the first five years under the special care of the mother Leviticus 27:6. The son then came under the management of the father.
Genesis 21:9-21
The dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael. âThe son of Hagar ... laughing.â The birth of Isaac has made a great change in the position of Ishmael, now at the age of at least fifteen years. He was not now, as formerly, the chief object of attention, and some bitterness of feeling may have arisen on this account. His laugh was therefore the laugh of derision. Rightly was the child of promise named Isaac, the one at whom all laugh with various feelings of incredulity, wonder, gladness, and scorn. Sarah cannot brook the insolence of Ishmael, and demands his dismissal. This was painful to Abraham. Nevertheless, God enjoins it as reasonable, on the ground that in Isaac was his seed to be called. This means not only that Isaac was to be called his seed, but in Isaac as the progenitor was included the seed of Abraham in the highest and utmost sense of the phrase. From him the holy seed was to spring that was to be the agent in eventually bringing the whole race again under the covenant of Noah, in that higher form which it assumes in the New Testament. Abraham is comforted in this separation with a renewal of the promise concerning Ishmael Genesis 17:20.
He proceeds with all singleness of heart and denial of self to dismiss the mother and the son. This separation from the family of Abraham was, no doubt, distressing to the feelings of the parties concerned. But it involved no material hardship to those who departed, and conferred certain real advantages. Hagar obtained her freedom. Ishmael, though called a lad, was at an age when it is not unusual in the East to marry and provide for oneself. And their departure did not imply their exclusion from the privileges of communion with God, as they might still be under the covenant with Abraham, since Ishmael had been circumcised, and, at all events, were under the broader covenant of Noah. It was only their own voluntary rejection of God and his mercy, whether before or after their departure, that could cut them off from the promise of eternal life. It seems likely that Hagar and Ishmael had so behaved as to deserve their dismissal from the sacred home. âA bottle of water.â
This was probably a kid-skin bottle, as Hagar could not have carried a goat-skin. Its contents were precious in the wilderness, but soon exhausted. âAnd the lad.â He took the lad and gave him to Hagar. The bread and water-skin were on her shoulder; the lad she held by the hand. âIn the wilderness of Beer-sheba.â It is possible that the departure of Hagar occurred after the league with Abimelek and the naming of Beer-sheba, though coming in here naturally as the sequel of the birth and weaning of Isaac. The wilderness in Scripture is simply the land not profitable for cultivation, though fit for pasture to a greater or less extent. The wilderness of Beer-sheba is that part of the wilderness which was adjacent to Beer-sheba, where probably at this time Abraham was residing. âLaid the lad.â Ishmael was now, no doubt, thoroughly humbled as well as wearied, and therefore passive under his motherâs guidance. She led him to a sheltering bush, and caused him to lie down in its shade, resigning herself to despair. The artless description here is deeply affecting.
Genesis 21:17-21
The fortunes of Ishmael. God cares for the wanderers. He hears the voice of the lad, whose sufferings from thirst are greater than those of the mother. An angel is sent, who addresses Hagar in the simple words of encouragement and direction. âHold thy hand upon him.â Lay thy hand firmly upon him. The former promise Genesis 16:10 is renewed to her. God also opened her eyes that she saw a well of water, from which the bottle is replenished, and she and the lad are recruited for their further journey. It is unnecessary to determine how far this opening of the eyes was miraculous. It may refer to the cheering of her mind and the sharpening of her attention. In Scripture the natural and supernatural are not always set over against each other as with us. All events are alike ascribed to an ever-watchful Providence, whether they flow from the ordinary laws of nature or some higher law of the divine will. âGod was with the lad.â Ishmael may have been cured of his childish spleen. It is possible also his father did not forget him, but sent him a stock of cattle with which to begin the pastoral life on his account. âHe became an archer.â He grew an archer, or multiplied into a tribe of archers. Paran Genesis 14:6 lay south of Palestine, and therefore on the way to Egypt, out of which his mother took him a wife. The Ishmaelites, therefore, both root and branch, were descended on the motherâs side from the Egyptians.
Genesis 21:22-34
According to the common law of Hebrew narrative, this event took place before some of the circumstances recorded in the previous passage; probably not long after the birth of Isaac. Abimelek, accompanied by Phikol, his commander-in-chief, proposes to form a league with Abraham. The reason assigned for this is that God was with him in all that he did. Various circumstances concurred to produce this conviction in Abimelek. The never-to-be-forgotten appearance of God to himself in a dream interposing on behalf of Abraham, the birth of Isaac, and the consequent certainty of his having an heir, and the growing retinue and affluence of one who, some ten years before, could lead out a trained band of three hundred and eighteen men-at-arms, were amply sufficient to prove that God was the source of his strength. Such a man is formidable as a foe, but serviceable as an ally. It is the part of sound policy, therefore, to approach him and endeavor to prevail upon him to swear by God not to deal falsely with him or his. âKin and kith.â We have adopted these words to represent the conversational alliterative phrase of the original. They correspond tolerably well with the ÏÏεÌÏμα sperma and οÌÌνομα onoma, âseedâ and âname,â of the Septuagint. Abraham frankly consents to this oath. This is evidently a personal covenant, referring to existing circumstances. A similar confederacy had been already formed with Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. Abraham was disposed to such alliances, as they contributed to peaceful neighborhood. He was not in a condition to make a national covenant, though it is a fact that the Philistines were scarcely ever wholly subjugated by his descendants.
Genesis 21:25-26
Abraham takes occasion to remonstrate with Abimelek about a well which his people had seized. Wells were extremely valuable in Palestine, on account of the long absence of rain between the latter or vernal rain ending in March, and the early or autumnal rain beginning in November. The digging of a well was therefore a matter of the greatest moment, and often gave a certain title to the adjacent fields. Hence, the many disputes about wells, as the neighboring Emirs or chieftains were jealous of rights so acquired, and often sought to enter by the strong hand on the labors of patient industry. Hence, Abraham lays more stress on a public attestation that he has dug, and is therefore the owner of this well, than on all the rest of the treaty. Seven is the number of sanctity, and therefore of obligation. This number is accordingly figured in some part of the form of confederation; in the present case, in the seven ewe-lambs which Abraham tenders, and Abimelek, in token of consent, accepts at his hand. The name of the well is remarkable as an instance of the various meanings attached to nearly the same sound. Even in Hebrew it means the well of seven, or the well of the oath, as the roots of seven, and of the verb meaning to swear, have the same radical letters. Bir es-Seba means âthe well of seven or of the lion.â
Genesis 21:32-34
Returned unto the land of the Philistines. - Beer-sheba was on the borders of the land of the Philistines. Going therefore to Gerar, they returned into that land. In the transactions with Hagar and with Abimelek, the name God is employed, because the relation of the Supreme Being with these parties is more general or less intimate than with the heir of promise. The same name, however, is used in reference to Abraham and Sarah, who stand in a twofold relation to him as the Eternal Potentate, and the Author of being and blessing. Hence, the chapter begins and ends with Yahweh, the proper name of God in communion with man. âEshel is a field under tillageâ in the Septuagint, and a tree in Onkelos. It is therefore well translated a grove in the King James Version, though it is rendered âthe tamariskâ by many. The planting of a grove implies that Abraham now felt he had a resting-place in the land, in consequence of his treaty with Abimelek. He calls upon the name of the Lord with the significant surname of the God of perpetuity, the eternal, unchangeable God. This marks him as the âsure and ableâ performer of his promise, as the everlasting vindicator of the faith of treaties, and as the infallible source of the believerâs rest and peace. Accordingly, Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 21:6. God hath made me to laugh — Sarah alludes here to the circumstance mentioned Genesis 18:12; and as she seems to use the word to laugh in this place, not in the sense of being incredulous but to express such pleasure or happiness as almost suspends the reasoning faculty for a time, it justifies the observation on the above-named verse. See a similar case in Luke 24:41, where the disciples were so overcome with the good news of our Lord's resurrection, that it is said, They believed not for joy.
