English Standard Version
Genesis 21:9
9But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.
Genesis 21:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
- New International Version (NIV)But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac.
Context of Genesis 21:9
7And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." 8And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. 10So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac." 11And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.
Read all of Genesis 21Genesis 21:9 word by word
וַתֵּ֨רֶא שָׂרָ֜ה אֶֽת־בֶּן־הָגָ֧ר הַמִּצְרִ֛ית אֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָ֥ה לְאַבְרָהָ֖ם מְצַחֵֽק׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 21:9
- Genesis 16:3So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.
- Genesis 17:20As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.
- Genesis 16:1Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.
- 2 Kings 2:23He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!"
- 2 Chronicles 30:10So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.
- Nehemiah 4:1Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.
- Job 30:1"But now they laugh at me, men who are younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
- Psalms 22:6But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
- Psalms 42:10As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your God?"
- Psalms 44:13You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.
- Proverbs 20:11Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.
- Lamentations 1:7Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, her foes gloated over her; they mocked at her downfall.
- Galatians 4:22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.
- Hebrews 11:36Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
Commentaries on Genesis 21:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Mocking - What was implied in this mocking is not known. St. Paul, Galatians 4:29, calls it persecuting; but it is likely he meant no more than some species of ridicule used by Ishmael on the occasion, and probably with respect to the age of Sarah at Isaac's birth, and her previous barrenness. Jonathan ben Uzziel and the Jerusalem Targum represent Ishmael as performing some idolatrous rite on the occasion, and that this had given the offense to Sarah…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. 9-13Verses 9-13 Let us not overlook the manner in which this family matter instructs us not to rest in outward privileges, or in our own doings. And let us seek the blessings of the new covenant by faith in its Divine Surety. Ishmael's conduct was persecution, being done in profane contempt of the covenant and promise, and with malice against Isaac. God takes notice of what children say and do in their play; and will reckon with them, if they say or do amiss…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9The feast for Isaac’s weaning probably happened when he was three. Ishmael was around 17 years old at that time (16:16). Sarah saw Ishmael mocking her son, Isaac. The verb metsakheq (“mocking”) is related to the word for “laughter.” This theme (21:6) becomes negative because of Ishmael’s mocking.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Sarah saw the son of Hagar ... mocking--Ishmael was aware of the great change in his prospects, and under the impulse of irritated or resentful feelings, in which he was probably joined by his mother, treated the young heir with derision and probably some violence (Ga 4:29).Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 21:9
In the dictionaries
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
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