Genesis 21

Isaac Is Born

11Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had 2promised. 23So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at 4the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham named his son who was born to him, the son whom Sarah bore to him, 5Isaac. 4Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was 6eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5Now Abraham was 7a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6Sarah said, “God has made 8laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh 9with me.” 7And she said, “10Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son in his old age.”

8And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Sarah Turns against Hagar

9Now Sarah saw 11the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, 12mocking Isaac. 10Therefore she said to Abraham, “13Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be an heir with my son 14Isaac!” 1115The matter 16distressed Abraham greatly because of his son Ishmael. 12But God said to Abraham, “17Do not be distressed because of the boy and your slave woman; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for 18through Isaac 19your descendants shall be named. 13And of 20the son of the slave woman I will make a nation also, because he is your 21descendant.” 14So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a 22skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15When the water in the skin was used up, she 23left the boy under one of the bushes. 16Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “May I not 24see the boy die!” And she sat opposite him, and 25raised her voice and wept. 17God 26heard the boy crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “27What is the matter with you, Hagar? 28Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him by 29the hand, 30for I will make a great nation of him.” 19Then God 31opened her eyes, and she saw 32a well of water; and she went and filled the 33skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20And 34God was with the boy, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 2135He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Covenant with Abimelech

22Now it came about at that time that 36Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “37God is with you in all that you do; 23so now, 38swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my descendants, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have resided.” 24Abraham said, “I swear it.” 25But Abraham 39complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech 40had seized. 26And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it 41until today.”

27So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and 42the two of them made a covenant. 28But Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?” 30He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a 43witness for me, that I dug this well.” 31Therefore he called that place 4445Beersheba, because there the two of them took an oath. 32So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there 46he called on the name of the Lord, the 47Everlasting God. 34And Abraham resided 48in the land of the Philistines for many days.