Genesis 21:15

Genesis 21:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
• New International Version (NIV)When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.

Context of Genesis 21:15

13But I will also make a nation of the slave woman’s son, because he is your offspring.” 14Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. 16Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.

Genesis 21:15 word by word

וַיִּכְל֥וּ הַמַּ֖יִם מִן־הַחֵ֑מֶת וַתַּשְׁלֵ֣ךְ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד תַּ֖חַת אַחַ֥ד הַשִּׂיחִֽם׃Read the interlinear

• When the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• inמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• the skinחֵ֫מֶתchêmeth · bottleH2573
• was goneכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: expendH3615
• she leftשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• the boyיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
• underתַּחַתtachath · underneath: underH8478
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• of the bushesשִׂיחַώîyach · bushH7880

Cross-references for Genesis 21:15

• Genesis 21:14Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
• Exodus 15:22Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water.
• Exodus 17:1Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
• 2 Kings 3:9So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out, and after they had traveled a roundabout route for seven days, they had no water for their army or for their animals.
• Psalms 63:1O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
• Isaiah 44:12The blacksmith takes a tool and labors over the coals; he fashions an idol with hammers and forges it with his strong arms. Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength; he fails to drink water and grows faint.
• Jeremiah 14:3The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.

Commentaries on Genesis 21:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15And she cast the child - הילד את ותשלך vattashlech eth haiyeled, and she sent the lad under one of the shrubs, viz., to screen him from the intensity of the heat. Here Ishmael appears to be utterly helpless, and this circumstance seems farther to confirm the opinion that he was now in a state of infancy; but the preceding observations do this supposition entirely away, and his present helplessness will be easily accounted for on this ground: Young persons…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-34Verses 1-34 - The Birth of Isaac 7. מלל mı̂lēl “speak,” an ancient and therefore solemn and poetical word. 14. חמת chêmet “bottle,” akin to חמה chāmâh “surround, enclose,” and הוּם chûm “black. באר שׁבע beêr -sheba‛ Beer-sheba, “well of seven.” 22. פיכל pı̂ykol Pikhol, “mouth or spokesman of all.” 23. נין nı̂yn “offspring, kin;” related: “sprout, flourish.” נכד neked “progeny,” perhaps “acquaintance,” cognate with נגד ngd “be before” (the eyes) and…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-21Verses 14-21 If Hagar and Ishmael had behaved well in Abraham's family, they might have continued there; but they were justly punished. By abusing privileges, we forfeit them. Those who know not when they are well off, will be made to know the worth of mercies by the want of them. They were brought to distress in the wilderness. It is not said that the provisions were spent, or that Abraham sent them away without money. But the water was spent; and having…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-21God rescued Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness and promised them a future (compare 16:7–14). This passage is like chapter 16, but there are key differences. God saves Hagar and Ishmael, but there is no special naming. God repeats the promise to Hagar, but she is not told to return to Sarah. These repeated themes show God's plan for Hagar and Ishmael. As Joseph later explained to Pharaoh, a repeated event confirms God's plan (41:32). God did not leave…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. the water was spent, &c.--Ishmael sank exhausted from fatigue and thirst--his mother laid his head under one of the bushes to smell the damp while she herself, unable to witness his distress, sat down at a little distance in hopeless sorrow.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 21:15

• Beer-Sheba
• Children
• Despondency
• Ishmael
• Parents
• Polygamy
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Bottle
• Call
• Cast
• Everlasting
• Falsely
• Grievous
• Ishmael
• Lift
• Mean
• Visit

Commentaries on Genesis 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings