Gênesis 21

ARC · Chapter 21/50

1E o Senhor visitou a Sarah, como tinha dito; e fez o Senhor a Sarah como tinha fallado.

2E concebeu Sarah, e pariu a Abrahão um filho na sua velhice, ao tempo determinado, que Deus lhe tinha dito.

3E chamou Abrahão o nome de seu filho que lhe nascera, que Sarah lhe parira, Isaac.

4E Abrahão circumcidou o seu filho Isaac, quando era da edade de oito dias, como Deus lhe tinha ordenado.

5E era Abrahão da edade de cem annos, quando lhe nasceu Isaac seu filho.

6E disse Sarah: Deus me tem feito riso: todo aquelle que o ouvir, se rirá commigo.

7Disse mais: Quem diria a Abrahão que Sarah daria de mamar a filhos? porque pari-lhe um filho na sua velhice.

8E cresceu o menino, e foi desmamado; então Abrahão fez um grande banquete no dia em que Isaac foi desmamado.

9E viu Sarah que zombava o filho de Hagar a Egypcia, o qual tinha parido a Abrahão.

10E disse a Abrahão: Deita fóra esta serva e o seu filho; porque o filho d'esta serva não herdará com meu filho, com Isaac.

11E pareceu esta palavra mui má aos olhos de Abrahão, por causa de seu filho.

12Porém Deus disse a Abrahão: Não te pareça mal aos teus olhos ácerca do moço, e ácerca da tua serva; em tudo o que Sarah te diz, ouve a sua voz; porque em Isaac será chamada a tua semente

13Mas tambem do filho d'esta serva farei uma nação, porquanto é tua semente.

14Então se levantou Abrahão pela manhã de madrugada, e tomou pão, e um odre d'agua, e os deu a Hagar, pondo-os sobre o seu hombro; tambem lhe deu o menino, e despediu-a; e ella foi-se, andando errante no deserto de Berseba.

15E consumida a agua do odre, lançou o menino debaixo de uma das arvores.

16E foi-se, e assentou-se em frente, afastando-se a distancia d'um tiro d'arco; porque dizia: Que não veja morrer o menino. E assentou-se em frente, e levantou a sua voz, e chorou.

17E ouviu Deus a voz do menino, e bradou o anjo de Deus a Hagar desde os céus, e disse-lhe: Que tens, Hagar? não temas, porque Deus ouviu a voz do moço desde o logar onde está.

18Ergue-te, levanta o moço, e pega-lhe pela mão, porque d'elle farei uma grande nação.

19E abriu-lhe Deus os olhos, e viu um poço d'agua: e foi-se, e encheu o odre d'agua, e deu de beber ao moço.

20E era Deus com o moço, que cresceu; e habitou no deserto, e foi frecheiro.

21E habitou no deserto de Paran; e sua mãe tomou-lhe mulher da terra do Egypto.

22E aconteceu n'aquelle mesmo tempo que Abimelech, com Phichol, principe do seu exercito, fallou com Abrahão, dizendo: Deus é comtigo em tudo o que fazes;

23Agora pois, jura-me aqui por Deus que me não mentirás a mim, nem a meu filho, nem a meu neto: segundo a beneficencia que te fiz, me farás a mim, e á terra onde peregrinaste.

24E disse Abrahão: Eu jurarei.

25Abrahão, porém, reprehendeu a Abimelech por causa de um poço d'agua, que os servos de Abimelech haviam tomado por força.

26Então disse Abimelech: Eu não sei quem fez isto; e tambem tu m'o não fizeste saber, nem eu o ouvi senão hoje.

27E tomou Abrahão ovelhas e vaccas, e deu-as a Abimelech; e fizeram ambos concerto.

28Poz Abrahão, porém, á parte sete cordeiras do rebanho.

29E Abimelech disse a Abrahão: Para que estão aqui estas sete cordeiras, que pozeste á parte?

30E disse: Tomarás estas sete cordeiras de minha mão, para que sejam em testemunho que eu cavei este poço.

31Por isso se chamou aquelle logar Berseba, porquanto ambos juraram ali.

32Assim fizeram concerto em Berseba. Depois se levantou Abimelech e Phichol, principe do seu exercito, e tornaram-se para a terra dos philisteus.

33E plantou um bosque em Berseba, e invocou lá o nome do Senhor, Deus eterno.

34E peregrinou Abrahão na terra dos philisteus muitos dias.

📖 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 21:5Marks Abraham’s age at Isaac’s birth, 100—twenty-five years after the first promise of descendants, back in chapter 12.
  6. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 21:24Abraham agrees to take the oath Abimelech requests, agreeing to maintain a relationship of loyalty between the two families.
  25. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 21:26Abimelech says he’s surprised by the complaint, claiming he knew nothing about the well until that moment.
  27. Gênesis 21:27Abraham seals the agreement by giving sheep and cattle to Abimelech, and the two formally establish the covenant between their families.
  28. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 21:29Abimelech asks the reason for the seven ewe lambs set apart, opening the way for Abraham to explain their purpose.
  30. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 21:31The name of the place, Beersheba, holds this double meaning of the oath made there between Abraham and Abimelech.
  32. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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. Gênesis 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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