Isaac is born. Agar and Ismael are cast forth.
Isaac is borne. 4. circumcised, 8. and weaned. 9. Agar and Ismael are put forth of Abrahams house, 15. but after desolation are nourished, and prosper in the desert. 22. King Abimelech and Abraham make a league confirming it with oath.
1And the Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and fulfilled what he had spoken.E il Signore visitò Sara, conforme avea promesso, e adempié la sua parola.AND our Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and fulfilled the things which he spake.Visitavit autem Dominus Saram, sicut promiserat: et implevit quæ locutus est. 2And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her.Ed ella concepì, e partorì un figliuolo nella sua vecchiezza, al tempo predettole da Dio;And she conceaued and bare a sonne in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her.Concepitque et peperit filium in senectute sua, tempore quo prædixerat ei Deus. 3And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sara bore him, Isaac.E Abramo pose il nome d'Isaac al figliuolo partoritogli da Sara:And Abraham called the name of his sonne, which Sara bare him, Isaac:Vocavitque Abraham nomen filii sui, quem genuit ei Sara, Isaac: 4And he circumcised him the eighth day, as God had commanded him,E l'ottavo giorno lo circoncise, conforme Dio gli avea comandato,and he circumcised him the eight day, as God had commanded him,et circumcidit eum octavo die, sicut præceperat ei Deus, 5When he was a hundred years old: for at this age of his father, was Isaac born.Avendo egli cento anni: imperocché di questa età era il padre, quando nacque Isacco.when he was an hundred yeares old: for at this age of his father, was Isaac borne.cum centum esset annorum: hac quippe ætate patris, natus est Isaac. 6And Sara said: God hath made a laughter for me: whosoever shall hear of it will laugh with me.E disse Sara: Dio mi ha dato, onde ridere: e chiunque ne udirà la novella, riderà meco.And Sara said: Laughter God hath made to me: whosoeuer shal heare of it, wil laugh with me.Dixitque Sara: Risum fecit mihi Deus: quicumque audierit, corridebit mihi. 7And again she said: Who would believe that Abraham should hear that Sara gave suck to a son, whom she bore to him in his old age?E soggiunse: Chi avrebbe creduto, dovere Abramo sentirsi dire, che Sara allatterebbe un figliuolo partorito a lui già vecchio?And again she said: Who that shal heare of it would beleue Abraham, that Sara gaue sucke to a sonne, which she bare him now being an old man?Rursumque ait: Quis auditurus crederet Abraham quod Sara lactaret filium, quem peperit et jam seni ? 8And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast on the day of his weaning.Crebbe adunque il bambino, e fu divezzato; e nel giorno, in cui fu divezzato fece Abramo un gran convito.The child therfore grewe, and was weined: and Abraham made a great feast in the day of his weining.Crevit igitur puer, et ablactatus est: fecitque Abraham grande convivium in die ablactationis ejus.
9And when Sara had seen the son of Agar, the Egyptian, playing with Isaac, her son, she said to Abraham:Ma Sara avendo veduto il figliuolo di Agar Egiziana, che scherniva il suo figlio Isacco, disse ad Abramo:And when Sara had senne the sonne of Agar the Aegyptian playing with Isaac her sonne, she said to Abraham:Cumque vidisset Sara filium Agar Ægyptiæ ludentem cum Isaac filio suo, dixit ad Abraham: 10Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.Caccia questa schiava, e il suo figlio: perocché non sarà erede il figlio della schiava col figlio mio Isacco.Cast out this handmaid, and her sonne: for the sonne of the handmaid shal not be heire with my sonne Isaac.Ejice ancillam hanc, et filium ejus: non enim erit hæres filius ancillæ cum filio meo Isaac. 11Abraham took this grievously for his son.Duro parve ad Abramo questo parlare riguardo ad un suo figlio.Abraham tooke this greuously for his sonne:Dure accepit hoc Abraham pro filio suo. 12And God said to him: Let it not seem grievous to thee for the boy, and for thy bondwoman: in all that Sara hath said to thee, hearken to her voice: for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.Il Signore però gli disse: Non sembri a te aspro il far ciò ad un fanciullo, e ad una tua schiava: in tutto quello che dirà a te Sara, ascolta le sue parole: perocché in Isacco sarà la tua discendenza.To whom God said: Let it not seme greuous to thee for the boy, and for thy handmaid: al things that Sara shal say to thee, heare her voice: because in Isaac shal seed de called to thee.Cui dixit Deus: Non tibi videatur asperum super puero, et super ancilla tua: omnia quæ dixerit tibi Sara, audi vocem ejus: quia in Isaac vocabitur tibi semen. 13But I will make the son also of the bondwoman a great nation, because he is thy seed.Ma il figliuolo ancor della schiava farò capo di una nazione grande, perché egli è tua stirpe.But the sonne also of the handmaid I wil make into a great nation, because he is thy seede.Sed et filium ancillæ faciam in gentem magnam, quia semen tuum est. 14So Abraham rose up in the morning, and taking bread and a bottle of water, put it upon her shoulder, and delivered the boy, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Bersabee.Abramo adunque alzatosi la mattina, prese del pane e un otre di acqua, e lo pose a lei sulle spalle, e le diede il fanciullo, e la licenziò. E quella partitasi andò errando per la solitudine di Bersabea.Abraham therfore rose vp in the morning, and taking bread and a bottle of water, put it vpon her shoulder, and deliuered the boy and dismist her. Who went away, and wandred in the wildernesse of Bersabee.Surrexit itaque Abraham mane, et tollens panem et utrem aquæ, imposuit scapulæ ejus, tradiditque puerum, et dimisit eam. Quæ cum abiisset, errabat in solitudine Bersabee.
15And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the boy under one of the trees that were there.Ed essendo venuta meno l'acqua dell'otre, gettò il fanciullo sotto uno degli alberi, che eran ivi.And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the boy vnder one of the trees, that were there.Cumque consumpta esset aqua in utre, abjecit puerum subter unam arborum, quæ ibi erant. 16And she went her way, and sat over against him a great way off, as far as a bow can carry, for she said: I will not see the boy die: and sitting over against, she lifted up her voice and wept.E se n'andò, e si pose a sedere dirimpetto in distanza di un tiro d'arco; imperocché disse: Non vedrò morire il fanciullo: e sedendogli in faccia alzò la sua voce, e pianse.And she went her way, and sate ouer against a great way of as farre as a bowe can cast. for she said: I wil no see the child dying: and sitting ouer against, she lifted vp her voice and wept.Et abiit, seditque e regione procul quantum potest arcus jacere: dixit enim: Non videbo morientem puerum: et sedens contra, levavit vocem suam et flevit. 17And God heard the voice of the boy: and an angel of God called to Agar from heaven, saying: What art thou doing, Agar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the boy, from the place wherein he is.E il Signore esaudì la voce del fanciullo: e l'Angelo di Dio dal cielo chiamò Agar, dicendo: Che fai, o Agar? Non temere: perocché il Signore ha esaudito la voce del fanciullo dal luogo, ov'ei si trova.And God heard the voice of the boy: and an angel of God called Agar from heauen, saying: What doest thou Agar? feare not: for God hath heard the voice of the boy, from the place wherin he is.Exaudivit autem Deus vocem pueri: vocavitque angelus Dei Agar de cælo, dicens: Quid agis Agar ? noli timere: exaudivit enim Deus vocem pueri de loco in quo est. 18Arise, take up the boy, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.Alzati; prendi il fanciullo, e tienlo per la mano, conciossiaché io lo farò capo di una nazione grande.Arise, take vp the boy, and hold his hand: for into a great nation wil I make him.Surge, tolle puerum, et tene manum illius: quia in gentem magnam faciam eum. 19And God opened her eyes: and she saw a well of water, and went and filled the bottle, and gave the boy to drink.E Dio le aperse gli occhi: ed ella vide un pozzo di acqua, e andò ad empier l'otre, e diede da bere al fanciullo.And God opened her eyes: who seing a wel of water, went, and filled the bottle, and gaue the boy to drinke.Aperuitque oculos ejus Deus: quæ videns puteum aquæ, abiit, et implevit utrem, deditque puero bibere.
20And God was with him: and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became a young man, an archer.E (Dio) fu con lui, ed egli crebbe, e abitò nella solitudine, e divenne giovane esperto a tirar d'arco.And God was with him: who grew, and abode in the wildernes, and became a young man archer.Et fuit cum eo: qui crevit, et moratus est in solitudine, factusque est juvenis sagittarius. 21And he dwelt in the wilderness of Pharan, and his mother took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.E abitò nel deserto di Pharan: e sua madre gli diede una moglie Egiziana.And he dwelt in the wildernes of Pharan, and his mother tooke a wife for him out of the land of Aegypt.Habitavitque in deserto Pharan, et accepit illi mater sua uxorem de terra Ægypti. 22At the same time Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army, said to Abraham: God is with thee in all that thou dost.Nello stesso tempo Abimelech, e Phicol capitano del suo esercito disse ad Abramo: Iddio è con te in tutto quello che tu fai.The same time said Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his armie to Abraham: God is with thee in al things which thou doest.Eodem tempore dixit Abimelech, et Phicol princeps exercitus ejus, ad Abraham: Deus tecum est in universis quæ agis. 23Swear therefore by God, that thou wilt not hurt me, nor my posterity, nor my stock: but according to the kindness that I have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and to the land wherein thou hast lived a stranger.Giura adunque per Dio di non far male a me, e a' miei posteri, e alla mia stirpe: ma che, siccome io ho fatto del bene a te, così tu ne farai a me, e a questa terra, in cui se' stato pellegrino.Sweare therfore by God, not to hurt me, and my posteritie, and my stocke: but according to the mercie, that I haue done thee, thou shalt doe to me, and to the land wherin thou hast liued a stranger.Jura ergo per Deum, ne noceas mihi, et posteris meis, stirpique meæ: sed juxta misericordiam, quam feci tibi, facies mihi, et terræ in qua versatus es advena. 24And Abraham said: I will swear.E Abramo disse: Io ne farò giuramento.And Abraham said: I wil sweare.Dixitque Abraham: Ego jurabo. 25And he reproved Abimelech for a well of water, which his servants had taken away by force.E fece delle querele con Abimelech per ragione di un pozzo di acqua, che i servi di lui si erano usurpati per forza.And he rebuked Abimelech for the wel of water, which his seruants had taken away by force.Et increpavit Abimelech propter puteum aquæ quem vi abstulerunt servi ejus.
26And Abimelech answered: I knew not who did this thing: and thou didst not tell me, and I heard not of it till today.E Abimelech rispose: Non ho saputo chi abbia fatta tal cosa: ma né pur tu me ne hai fatto motto, ed io non ne ho sentito parlare se non adesso.And Abimelech answered: I knew not who did this thing: yea and thy selfe didest not tel me, and I heard not of it but to day.Responditque Abimelech: Nescivi quis fecerit hanc rem: sed et tu non indicasti mihi, et ego non audivi præter hodie. 27Then Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech: and both of them made a league.Abramo adunque prese delle pecore e de' bovi, e li diede ad Abimelech: e ambedue fecero alleanza.Abraham therfore tooke sheepe and oxen, and gaue to Abimelech: and both of them made a league.Tulit itaque Abraham oves et boves, et dedit Abimelech: percusseruntque ambo fœdus. 28And Abraham set apart seven ewelambs of the flock.E Abramo pose sette agnelle di branco da parte.And Abraham set seuen ewe lambes of the flocke apart.Et statuit Abraham septem agnas gregis seorsum. 29And Abimelech said to him: What mean these seven ewelambs which thou hast set apart?E dissegli Abimelech: Che vogliono dire queste sette agnelle, che tu fai stare da parte?To whom Abimelech said: What meane these seuen ewe lambes, which thou hast made to stand apart?Cui dixit Abimelech: Quid sibi volunt septem agnæ istæ, quas stare fecisti seorsum ? 30But he said: Thou shalt take seven ewelambs at my hand: that they may be a testimony for me, that I dug this well.Ed egli disse: Sette agnelle riceverai tu dalla mia mano: affinché servano a me di testimonianza, come io ho scavato quel pozzo.But he said: Seuen ewe lambes shalt thou take at my hand: that they may be a testimonie for me, that I digged this wel.At ille: Septem, inquit, agnas accipies de manu mea: ut sint mihi in testimonium, quoniam ego fodi puteum istum. 31Therefore that place was called Bersabee; because there both of them did swear.Per questo fu quel luogo chiamato Bersabee; perché l'uno e l'altro ivi fatto avea giuramento.Therfor was that place called Bersabee: because there both did sweare.Idcirco vocatus est locus ille Bersabee: quia ibi uterque juravit. 32And they made a league for the well of oath.E avean fatto accordo circa il pozzo del giuramento.And they made a league for the wel of oath.Et inierunt fœdus pro puteo juramenti. 33And Abimelech and Phicol, the general of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Palestines. But Abraham planted a grove in Bersabee, and there called upon the name of the Lord God eternal.E se n'andarono Abimelech, e Phicol capitano del suo esercito, e tornarono nella terra de' Palestini. Abramo poi piantò una selva a Bersabee, e ivi invocò il nome del Signore Dio eterno.And Abimelech arose, and Phicol the general of his armie, and they returned to the land of the Palestines. But Abraham planted a groue in Bersabee, and called therupon the name of our Lord God eternal.Surrexit autem Abimelech, et Phicol princeps exercitus ejus, reversique sunt in terram Palæstinorum. Abraham vero plantavit nemus in Bersabee, et invocavit ibi nomen Domini Dei æterni.
34And he was a sojourner in the land of the Palestines many days.E abitò pellegrino nella terra de' Palestini per molto tempo.And he was a seiorner in the land of the Palestines manie dayes.Et fuit colonus terræ Palæstinorum diebus multis.
21:1
Visited, either by the angel, Genesis 18:10, or by enabling her to have what he had promised, at the return of the season.
21:3
Year of the World 2108, Year Before Christ 1896.
Isaac. This word signifies laughter; (Challoner) or "he shall laugh," and be the occasion of joy to many, as St. John the Baptist was, Luke 1:14; and thus Sara seems to explain it, ver. 6.
21:7
Menochius
Gave suck; a certain proof that the child was born of her. (Menochius)
Haydock
His old age, when both the parents were far advanced in years, ver. 2. The mother being ninety at this time, would render the event most surprising. (Haydock)
21:8
Calmet
Weaned. St. Jerome says when he was five years old, though some said twelve. The age of men being prolonged, their infancy continued longer. One of the Machabees suckled her child three years, 2 Machabees 7:27. (2 Paralipomenon 31:16.) (Calmet)
Menochius
Feast. The life of the child being now considered in less danger. From the time of conception till this took place, the husband kept at a distance from his wife. (St. Clement of Alexandria, strom. III.) Samuel's mother made a feast or present when she weaned him, 1 Kings 1:24. (Menochius)
21:9
Haydock
Playing, or persecuting, as St. Paul explains it, Galatians 4:29. The play tended to pervert the morals of the young Isaac, whether we understand this term metsachak, as implying idolatry, or obscene actions, or fighting; in all which senses it is used in Scripture. See Exodus 32:6; Genesis 26:8; 2 Kings 2:14. (Menochius) Ismael was 13 years older than Isaac; and took occasion, perhaps, from the feast, and other signs of preference given by his parents to the latter, to hate and persecute him, which Sara soon perceiving, was forced to have recourse to the expedient apparently so harsh, of driving Ismael and his mother from the house, that they might have an establishment of their own, and not disturb Isaac in the inheritance after the death of Abraham. (Haydock)
In this she was guided by a divine light; (Menochius) and not by any female antipathy, ver. 12. Many of the actions of worldlings, which at first sight may appear innocent, have a natural and fatal tendency to pervert the morals of the just; and therefore, we must keep as much as possible at a distance from their society.
Haydock
With Isaac her son. Hebrew has simply mocking, without mentioning what. But the sequel shews the true meaning; and this addition was found in some Bibles in the days of St. Jerome, as he testifies, and is expressed in the Septuagint. (Haydock)
Du Hamel
Ismael was a figure of the synagogue, which persecuted the Church of Christ in her birth. (Du Hamel)
21:11
For his son. He does not express any concern for Agar. But we cannot doubt but he would feel to part with her also. It was prudent to let both go together: and the mother had perhaps encouraged Ismael, at least by neglecting to punish or to watch over him, and so deserved to share in his affliction.
21:14
Year of the World 2113, Year before Christ 1891.
Haydock
Bread and water. This seems a very slender allowance to be given by a man of Abraham's riches. But he might intend her to go only into the neighbourhood, where he would take care to provide for her. She lost herself in the wilderness, and thus fell into imminent danger of perishing. (Haydock)
This divorce of Agar, and ejection of Ismael, prefigured the reprobation of the Jews.
21:17
Of the boy, who was 17 years old, and wept at the approach of death.
Haydock
Fear not. You are under the protection of God, who will not abandon you, when all human succour fails; nor will he negelct his promises, Genesis 16. (Haydock)
21:20
Wilderness, in Arabia Petrea.
Calmet
An archer, living on plunder. (Calmet)
21:22
Haydock
Abimelech, king of Gerara, who knew that Abraham was a prophet, and a favourite of God, Genesis 20:7. (Haydock)
21:23
Hurt me. Hebrew, "lie unto me, " or revolt and disturb the peace of my people.
21:24
I will swear. The matter was of sufficient importance. Abraham binds himself, but not his posterity, who by God's order fought against the descendants of this king.
21:27
Du Hamel
Gave them; thus rendering good for evil. (Du Hamel)
21:31
Menochius
Bersabee. That is, the well of oath; (Challoner) or "the well of the seven;" meaning the seven ewe-lambs set apart. (Menochius)
Calmet
This precaution of Abraham, in giving seven lambs as a testimony that the well was dug by him, was not without reason. See Genesis 26:15. (Calmet)
21:33
Haydock
A grove: in the midst of which was an altar, dedicated to the Lord God eternal; to testify that he alone was incapable of change. Thither Abraham frequently repaired, to thank God for all his favours. Temples were not probably as yet known in any part of the world. The ancient saints, Abraham, Isaac, Josue, etc., were pleased to shew their respect for God, and their love of retirement, by planting groves, and consecrating altars to the supreme Deity. If this laudable custom was afterwards perverted by the idolaters, and hence forbidden to God's people, we need not wonder. The best things may be abused; and when they become a source of scandal, we must avoid them. (Haydock)
(Josue 29:26[xx. 16?]; Deuteronomy 16:23[21?]; Judges 6:25.)
21:3
Isaac.... This word signifies laughter.
21:31
Bersabee.... That is, the well of oath.
21:3
Abraham & Sara laughed (he admiring, she doubting) at the ioyful promise of a sonne, & therfore he is called Isaac, which signifieth laughter S. Aug li. 16. c. 31. ciuit.
21:12
12. Let it not] It semed so hard, inhumaine, and vniust to cast Agar and Ismael Separation to be made in families, when iust cause requireth. out of the house, that Abraham would not haue done it, onles God had commanded him in this to heare the voice of Sara. But when he knew Gods wil therin, not respecting flesh and bloud, nor disputing further of the lawfulnes of the fact, sent them both away, commending them to Gods protection: and so by this separation the familie was made quiet. It represented also a notable Mysterie of the Synagog of the Iewes & Church of Christ. As S. Augustin Mystical sense li. 15. c. 2. ciuit. doth excellently expound the same, according to S. Paul (Gal. 4.) That Ismaels playing with Isaac was persecution, because it tended to peruert him, shewing it to be a greater iniurie, to delude and deceiue anie, in drawing The true Church doth not persecute but iustly punisheth offenders. Heretikes and other infidels do persecute when either by word, or sword they impugne the truth. them to new and particular companies, then corporally to persecute them: and Epist. 48. &. 50. that the Church, and Catholique Princes punish heretikes for their good, to make them returne to the truth, or finally to cease from seducing others. Ecce libera afflixit ancillam, & non illam vocat persecutionem. Apostolus, ludit seruus cum Tract. 11. in Ioan. domino, & persecutionem vocat. Afflictio ista non vocatur persecutio, & lusi• illa vocatur persecutio. Behold the freewoman afflicted the handmaide, and the Apostle calleth it not persecution, the seruant playeth with the maister, and he calleth it persecution. This affliction is not called persecution, and that play is called persecution. Againe, he sayeth of Sara, Illusionem vidit in illo lusu, animaduertit Tract. 〈◊〉. serui superbiam, displicuit illi, eiecit soras. She saw foule play in that play, she noted the seruants pride, it displeased her, she cast him forth of the dores. S. Hierom also teacheth that the spiritual neuer persecuteth the carnal: but spareth him in 4. Gal. as his rustical brother, knowing that he may in time be profitable.
Concordance See chap. 17. v. 21.
21:31
vvel of oath
21:1
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 4.25
… and, after a while, And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and did unto Sarah as He had spoken, and Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 2.34
… whilst the excess of it, in which abandoned persons indulge, is punished. Indeed, at the very time when God punished the abuse in Sodom with His judgment of fire, He invigorated the generative powers of Abraham and Sarah, which had become impotent through old age.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 76.1
… from these fathers, I say, degenerating, they have remained Jews in flesh, in heart Heathens. For these are Jews, who are out of Abraham, from whom Isaac was born, and out of him Jacob, and out of Jacob the twelve Patriarchs, and out of the twelve Patriarchs the whole people of the Jews.
21:3
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 66.11
… But do you make ready for yourself a monument like Sarah’s on steep and rocky heights. Let the City of Books be near; and when you have destroyed the giants, the sons of Anak, make over your heritage to joy and merriment.
21:5
Tertullian † AD 220 An Answer to the Jews 1
… to God’s Law—is enough to prevent Israel from priding himself on the notion that “the Gentiles are accounted as a little drop of a bucket,” or else as “dust out of a threshing-floor:” although we have God Himself as an adequate engager and faithful promiser, in that He promised to Abraham that “in his seed should be blest all nations of the earth;” and that
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.13
… for it says in the case of things originate, ‘All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be ,’ and, ‘In wisdom hast Thou made them all ;’ but in the case of sons which are generate, ‘To Job there came to be seven sons and three daughters ,’ and, ‘Abraham was an hundred years old when there came to be to him Isaac his son
21:6
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 16.31
… Afterwards she was confirmed in faith by the same angel. From this, then, the boy got his name. For when Isaac was born and called by that name, Sarah showed that her laughter was not that of scornful reproach, but that of joyful praise; for she said, “God hath made me to laugh, so that every one who hears will laugh with me.”
21:8
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.31
… Now, too, every interpretation of a text which is able to build up those who cannot receive greater truths might reasonably be called milk, flowing from the holy ground of the Scriptures, which flows with milk and honey. But he who has been weaned, like Isaac,
21:9
St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 56
… And the matter seemed very grievous in Abraham’s sight, because of his son. But God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the son, and because of the bond-woman. In all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken to her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 11.12
… For after he said these words, “And as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, so also now;” the apostle went on, and showed of what persecution, he was speaking: “But what says the Scripture? Cast out the bond woman and her son: for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 12.4
… The one gave her womb, the other’s will was added: Abraham would not have done what Sarah willed not: therefore was he Sarah’s son rather. But because he was proud to his brother, proud in playing, that is, in mocking him; what said Sarah? “Cast out the bond woman and her son; for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.”
21:10
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Commentary on Galatians 4
Ver. 29, 30 . “But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Howbeit what saith the Scripture? (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 78.8
… For however watchful the discipline of my house may be, I am but a man, and I live among men; and I do not presume to pretend that my house is better than the ark of Noah, in which among eight persons one was found a castaway; or better than the house of Abraham, regarding which it was said, “Cast out the bondwoman and her son;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 17.7
… For these two kinds were at first together, as Abraham still clave to the bond woman, until the barren, made fruitful by the grace of God, cried, “Cast out the bond woman and her son.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Patience 25
… For though it be written, “Cast out the bondmaid and her son, for the son of the bondmaid shall not be heir with my son Isaac:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 1.10
… For it is not without meaning that the apostle says that all these things were done by way of figure. But those who are too proud, and are not joined to their lawful mother, are like Ishmael, of whom it is said, "Cast out this bond-woman and her Son: for the son of the bond-woman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 11.8
… To the Old Testament belong the lovers of temporal things, the lovers of the world: to the New Testament belong the lovers of eternal life. Hence, that Jerusalem on earth was the shadow of the heavenly Jerusalem, the mother of us all, which is in heaven; and these are the apostle’s words.
21:12
Tertullian † AD 220 Five Books in Reply to Marcion 3
Errant on heated plains—’neath glowing star:
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 5.5
… And when, after he had gained his son, he was commanded to offer him up, although he had heard the word, In Isaac shall thy seed be called
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 16
Now when you come to know of what kind the seed of Abraham is, you will see that the promise is given to his seed, and know that the word hath not fallen to the ground. Of what kind, pray, is the seed then? It is no saying of mine, he means, but the Old Testament itself explains itself by saying as follows, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 6
… Wherefore did He permit Abraham and Isaac to live a long time? Because even when he was living he preferred God before him. He said indeed, slay; and he slew him. Why did he bring Sarah to so great an age? Because, even whilst she was living, he listened to God rather than to her. For this reason God said to him, “Hear Sarah thy wife.” (From
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 2 Timothy 8
… And what have I believed? That this is the Life. And if thou seest things happening contrary to thy belief, be not troubled. The same hap pened to Abraham, yet he was not affected at it. He had heard, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 25
I mean this: He had said, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and I will give thee this land.” ( Gen. xii. 1, 7 .) “He gave him none inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on.” ( Acts vii. 5 .) Seest thou how what was done was opposed to the promise? Again He said, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary 22
… yet even there the very management of the household, the education of the children, the wants of the husband, the correction of the servants, cannot fail to call away the mind from the thought of God. “It had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women”: so the Scripture says, and afterwards Abraham received the command,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 16.32
… for God had said to him, when he was unwilling to fulfill his wife’s pleasure by casting out the bond maid and her son, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” No doubt He then goes on to say, “And as for the son of this bond woman, I will make him a great nation, because he is thy seed.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 16.38
… and give to thee the blessing of Abraham thy father, and to thy seed after thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou dwellest, which God gave unto Abraham.” Now we understand here that the seed of Jacob is separated from Isaac’s other seed which came through Esau. For when it is said, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Good of Marriage 31
31. From this obedience that Father, who was not without a wife, was prepared to be without an only son, and that slain by himself. For I shall not without due cause call him an only son, concerning whom he heard the Lord say, “In Isaac shall there be called for thee a seed.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Patience 25
… but the sons of the promise are counted for the seed;”
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Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 18
… For when in the desert she had exposed the infant, because the water had fallen short from the pitcher; and when the lad had cried out, and she had lifted up her weeping and lamentation, “God heard,” says the Scripture, “the voice of the lad from the place where he was.”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 4.25
… Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad from the place where he is. Arise, and take the lad and hold his hand, for I will make him a great nation
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.6
… Well, then, were Hagar’s eyes, the handmaid of Sarah, previously shut, when, with her thirsty and sobbing child, she opened her eyes
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Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 18
… which Angel and God moreover promises to Hagar herself greater consolations, in saying, “Fear not; for I have heard the voice of the lad from the place where he was. Arise, take up the lad, and hold him; for I will make of him a great nation.”
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 21.7
… nor can I say whether he received the priesthood as the reward of virtue, or to be the fountain and life of the Church. For she, like Ishmael,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 2.36
… The same thing is said of Hagar: “Her eyes were opened, and she saw a well.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 1.32
… And this is signified by the opening of the eyes. For their eyes were not closed, either when Adam gave names to the cattle and birds, or when Eve saw the trees to be beautiful and good; but they were made open—that is, attentive—to consider; as it is written of Agar, the handmaid of Sarah, that she opened her eyes and saw a well,
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Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 18
… Whence also He is confirmed to be God, since He is able to do this; because, by way of proving this very point, it is immediately added by the Scripture: “And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of running water; and she went and filled the bottle from the well, and gave to the lad: and God was with the lad.”
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 12.20
… From east, or west, or north, or south? Tell us exactly. And he makes answer most plainly and says, God shall come from Teman (now Teman is by interpretation ‘south’) and the Holy One from Mount Paran
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Pope St Clement I † AD 99 The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians 10
… so shall thy seed be. And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.” On account of his faith and hospitality, a son was given him in his old age; and in the exercise of obedience, he offered him as a sacrifice to God on one of the mountains which He showed him.
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.16
185. So Abraham gained God after he had dug the well.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 69.6
… As wood sweetens Marah so that seventy palm-trees are watered by its streams, so the cross makes the waters of the law lifegiving to the seventy who are Christ’s apostles. It is Abraham and Isaac who dig wells, the Philistines who try to prevent them. Beersheba too, the city of the oath,
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And the Lord visited Sarah, — by giving her conception and the promised offspring. Thus Rupertus. Second, after the conception and birth of Isaac, the angel of God, the vicar of God, visited Sarah in bodily form, to congratulate her on her offspring, according to what he had promised, chapter xviii, saying: I will return to thee at this time, and Sarah shall have a son. The Hebrew paqad properly denotes to inspect something carefully, hence he cared for, visited, had regard for, remembered someone, or a promise.
21:2
In her old age. — "Her," that is his, namely Abraham's, is a Hebraism: for the Hebrew has it thus: Sarah bore to Abraham a son in his old age, or for his old age, which namely would be a consolation and pleasure to the aged Abraham. Add that the Hebrews say offspring is born to the father, not to the mother, because offspring is the heir of the father, and propagates the father's name and family, not the mother's.
21:3
And Abraham called the name of his son, etc., Isaac, — namely because Isaac in Hebrew means the same as laughter. For Isaac was the laughter and joy of the aged Abraham and of barren Sarah, and thus of the whole world; for from him Christ was to be born. Whence in verse 6 Sarah says: God hath made me to laugh; whosoever shall hear of it will laugh with me. Hence allegorically St. Ambrose, in the book On Isaac, chapter 1: Isaac, he says, by the very name signifies a figure and grace. For Isaac in Latin means laughter: and laughter is the mark of joy. But who does not know that he (Christ) is the joy of all, who, having suppressed the fear of dreadful death, or removed sorrow, has become to all the remission of sins? And so that one was named, and this one was prefigured; that one was expressed, and this one was announced.
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When he was a hundred years old. — This refers not to when he commanded, but to when he circumcised. For Isaac was circumcised, as also born, in the hundredth year of Abraham. Note: At this time Terah, the father of Abraham and grandfather of Isaac, was still living in Haran. For Terah begot Abraham in the seventieth year of his age; therefore when Abraham was a hundred years old and begot Isaac, Terah was one hundred and seventy years old; after this Terah lived for thirty-five more years: for he died in the two hundred and fifth year of his age, Genesis xi, 32. Tropologically St. Ambrose, book I On Abraham, chapter vii: If thou shalt be a hundred years old, that is perfect, thou shalt have posterity, the joy of exultation, the inheritance of eternal life: for a hundred is the number of perfection, and Isaac signifies laughter and exultation.
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God hath made me to laugh. — The Chaldean translator renders it: God hath made me joy, all who shall hear will rejoice with me. Sara was a type of the Blessed Mary bearing Christ, who is the desire and joy of the eternal hills, whence she herself sings: My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
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Who would have believed Abraham. — In Hebrew mi millel, who would have said to Abraham? That Sara should give suck. — God with the birth restored milk to Sara by miracle, because he wished her, as it were as a mother, by herself, not by a nurse, to suckle Isaac. Let mothers learn here that they ought by themselves to nourish and suckle their own children: for nature hath imposed this burden upon them. Hence he hath given them breasts and udders, as it were little vessels suited for nourishing offspring. And some indeed think it to be a mortal sin to nourish by a nurse without cause; yet we think it better to say with Navarro in the Enchiridion, cap. xiv, num. 17, that it is only venial: yet by reason of certain circumstances it can be a graver sin. But if it be done with a legitimate cause subsisting, there will be no sin. Those mothers therefore sin, who without just cause and necessity disdain to nourish their children: and those sin still more gravely, who without discrimination entrust them to almost any nurses, often unknown, infirm, etc., from which many evils arise: for besides the fact that sometimes other children are substituted, First, the infant either does not live, or lives more weakly, because it is compelled to suck milk not conformable to its nature; which if it had been nourished from the same body from which it was born, and warmed by the heat of the maternal body, would become robust, and of better wit and disposition. See Pliny, lib. XXVIII, cap. ix, where he writes that maternal milk is most useful and most suited to the nature of offspring. See also in Aulus Gellius, lib. XII Noct. Att. cap. 1, the Oration of Favorinus the Philosopher, in which many inconveniences are enumerated, which arise from such education by the milk of others. That this is most true is evident from the fact that kids, if nourished with the milk of sheep, will have softer hair; and lambs, if with that of goats, will have harder wool; nay, trees, if transplanted from their natural place, from the moisture which the transplanted roots draw, often either change or perish. If therefore the nurses shall be rustic, if wicked, if unchaste, if wrathful, if drunken, if cruel, if perhaps even infected with leprosy or some other disease, such will the offspring generally be. Thus Dido in Virgil reproaches Aeneas as degenerate, as one who was not educated by his mother. Lampridius writes that Titus, the son of the Emperor Vespasian, suffered from poor health throughout his life, because he had been suckled by an infirm nurse; and the same happened to many others. Of Tiberius Caesar also it is reported that he was a great drinker, because his nurse was such. Secondly, from the fact that a son is not suckled by his own mother, it comes to pass that the mother loves the son less, and the son loves the mother less. Hence St. Ambrose, lib. I De Abraham, cap. vii, from the fact that Sara suckled her son, infers: Women are provoked to remember the dignity of their station, and to nourish their own children: for this is the grace of mothers, this is their honour; finally, he says, they are wont to love those more whom the mothers themselves have suckled. Whence we see a greater natural love of parents and children in the common people than in the families of the noble: because almost noble women are accustomed to have their infants suckled by nurses, and often neither see them nor are seen by them before a year or two. Thirdly, St. Basil, homil. 9 Hexam. shows that there is scarcely any kind of animal that entrusts its offspring to another to be nourished, however savage and cruel. We see, he says, that in a large flock of sheep, a lamb leaping from the stalls immediately perceives the voice of its mother, hastens to her, and seeks the proper fountains of milk directly, and the mother among innumerable lambs recognizes her own; wolves, lions, tigers, and other wild beasts so cherish their young, that they almost always have them in their bosom, or at their teats. Birds often have 5, 6, 7 and 8, and more under their wings, and although nature hath not given them milk, nor have they grain, nor other seeds from which to nourish their young, yet they take care to supply them with necessaries; nay, what is more to be admired, so great is in the wild beasts and birds the desire of nourishing and brooding, that sometimes for this office the male and female contend, as is evident in swans and bears, otherwise wild animals, which also form their shapeless cubs by licking. And thus men alone are abandoned by their mothers, and exposed to nurses, I know not what. Let them therefore be ashamed that they are surpassed by brute animals in the duty of charity; and let them imitate the holy women who nourished their sons with their own milk, such as Sarah Isaac, Rebecca Jacob, Anna Samuel, and that noble mother of the seven brothers of the Maccabees, II Maccabees vii, and the Mother of God herself who nourished her Son Christ the Lord. Blessed Augustine also confesses in the book of his Confessions that he drew the honour and veneration of God along with his mother's milk. From all which it follows that a depraved custom, contrary to nature itself, has been brought about (as St. Gregory says in response to the question of Augustine, Bishop of the English, cap. x), that women despise nourishing the sons whom they bear, and entrust them to other women, which appears to have been invented from a cause of incontinence: because while they are unwilling to restrain themselves, they despise nursing those whom they bear.
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He was weaned. — This took place at about the fifth year, as it now happens in the third: especially if the offspring were unique and uniquely beloved; therefore Isaac was five years old when Ishmael vexed and persecuted him. The time of nursing, as still today among many peoples of the East, so also formerly lasted for two or three years. Cf. II Maccabees vii, 28; Josephus, Antiq. lib. II, cap. ix. And he made a great feast in the day of the weaning. — Because it was the custom then, says Cajetan, that the beginning of eating of the firstborn, as if now beginning to live by himself and about to be vital, was celebrated with the common joy of a feast. Secondly, that the guests, and abundantly all around, might see from Sarah's milk that the offspring was true, not substituted, nor fraudulently obtained, says St. Chrysostom. Tropologically St. Augustine and Rupert: Great, they say, is the joy when a man is nourished not with milk, but with the solid food of wisdom and virtue.
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Playing, — mocking, jeering, vexing, indeed persecuting Isaac, as the Apostle explains, Galatians IV, 29. Thus the combat of Joab with Abner is called playing, II Kings II, 14: Let the young men, he says, arise and play, that is, fight; thus dogs play with cats, and cats with mice. The cause why Ishmael mocked and vexed Isaac appears to have been envy of so solemn a feast (which Abraham made at the weaning of Isaac), and of the birthright and the promise of the blessed seed to be born from Isaac: for Ishmael thought these things were due to himself rather, as the firstborn and 12 years older than Isaac. Thus St. Jerome and others. Furthermore, Sarah was justly angry not only at Ishmael, but also at his mother Hagar, because she herself did not restrain the mockery and petulance of her son.
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Cast out the handmaid. — Sarah says this being moved by God, as is gathered from verse 12; for with prudent and foreseeing spirit she feared lest Ishmael, who so quickly vexed her Isaac, should afterwards, with growing hatreds, supplant or oppress him; she wished therefore to separate him and expel him from the house. Thus we see it is much better and more peacefully that offspring of different beds, namely born from the same parent but of another mother, are separated and live apart. Allegorically, Ishmael was cast out and rejected, that is, the Synagogue, because he mocked the son of the free woman, that is, because he mocked Christ the king of liberty, scourged him, crucified him, and with persistent hatred persecuted his household servants, namely the Apostles and Christians.
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And God said to him, — at night in sleep through a vision, as is evident from verse 14. In Isaac shall thy seed be called, — in Isaac and in the descendants of Isaac thy posterity shall be reckoned and called: for the children of Isaac shall be called the children of Abraham, and shall be heirs of the promise which I made to thee, O Abraham; but not the children of Ishmael: for these shall be called not Abramites, but Ishmaelites, Hagarenes and Saracens. Allegorically, in Isaac, that is in Christ the son of Isaac, and in him alone, shall the Christian faithful be called children of Abraham, who is the father of believers, and consequently children of God and heirs of eternal life, Galatians III, 17, 23 and 24.
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He sent her away. — Here Abraham makes a divorce with Hagar by the command of God; whence Hagar and Abraham were not thereafter bound to render the conjugal debt to each other, just as now a spouse is not bound to render the debt to a spouse who is an adulterer, or who is separated by divorce for quarrels or other just causes. Yet there was not made here a dissolution of the marriage between Hagar and Abraham, so that it would be lawful for Hagar to marry another. For Hagar was cast out not from marriage, but only from the house of Abraham by divorce, on account of the quarrels which she had with Sarah, just as an adulteress is cast out. Thus Abulensis. And gave the boy, — not to be carried on his shoulders, but to be led on foot; for Ishmael was already 17 years old, as is evident from what was said in verse 8. Wherefore what we read in the Septuagint: And he placed the little boy upon his shoulder, appears to be corrupted; and so with the words transposed it should be read: "Abraham gave Hagar bread and a skin of water, and placed upon his shoulder, and the boy," supply gave it to him, not upon his shoulder, but to be led in his hand.
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He cast away, — not so much with his arms as with his mind, as if to say He dismissed and abandoned him, fainting from hunger under a tree, as if in despair and soon to die. Thus St. Augustine.
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And he wept — Hagar wept, and the boy Ishmael wept, and God heard him weeping, and had mercy on him. Thus, says St. Chrysostom, homily 46, whenever God wills, even if we are in solitude and in extreme afflictions, and have no hope of salvation, we shall need nothing else, divine grace supplying us with all things. For if we have obtained his grace, no one shall prevail against us, but we shall be more powerful than all. Therefore in straits and desperate matters God is very near, and when invoked comes to our aid at once. For, as the Psalmist says: To thee the poor man is left, thou shalt be a helper to the orphan. Thus God was present to David in the desert, and snatched him, as it were already captured, from the hands of Saul pursuing him, I Kings xxiii and seq.
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Fear not — my coming and brightness, or the death of the boy; for he shall not die.
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And he opened her eyes, — he made her see the nearby fountain, which she had not seen before, troubled and prostrate with grief, as if to say, God bent, directed, and showed Hagar's eyes to the well. Thus, allegorically says Rupertus, God at the end of the world shall show to the Jews fleeing and wandering from the Church the way of truth, and the well of Scripture, and in them the water of life, namely Christ. God, — the angel acting in the place of God. See Canon. 16.
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And he was with him, — supply God, as the Hebrew, Chaldean and Septuagint have it, as if to say, God favored, helped, directed, and advanced Ishmael, in favor of Abraham his father. Therefore it seems fabulous what the Hebrews relate, that Ishmael devoted himself to robbery. And the young man became an archer, — from youth he devoted himself to hunting and shooting wild beasts.
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Do not deal falsely with me, — that you will not deal falsely with me and my descendants; in Hebrew it is im tiscor, which means you will not lie to me, that is, you will not deal with me in evil deceit. Thus Vatablus. Secondly, that you will not deal unjustly with me, that you will not be unjust to me, that you will not oppress me and mine by force: for in Scripture falsehood is called injustice and unrighteousness itself; and he is said to lie who breaks faith, and who is unjust and injurious to his neighbor; for he acts against practical truth, namely against the duty and obligation which he ought to render to another. But according to the mercy which I have shown thee. — It is a Hebraism, as if to say, Just as I have deserved well of you, giving you sheep, oxen, servants, handmaids, and a thousand pieces of silver, cap. xx, vers. 14: so also you shall strive to deserve well of me and mine.
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Beersheba. — Thus the place was named from beer, that is, well, and scebua, that is, oath, because Abraham swore there a covenant and fidelity to Abimelech. Secondly, it was named Beersheba from beer, that is, well, and sceba, that is, seven, as if to say, Well of seven, namely lambs, which Abraham numbered to the king for the well and the surrounding place. This well, therefore, although dug by himself and his men, Abraham possessed not freely, nor by hereditary right, but by title of purchase and exchange. See St. Augustine, Questions LVI. From this well, a city nearby was called Beersheba, which is the last of Judea toward the south, just as Dan is the last toward the north; whence Scripture is accustomed to express the length of Judea through these two boundaries of it, saying: "From Dan to Beersheba." In Beersheba Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dwelt for a long time; whence in Beersheba, as also in Dan, Jeroboam set up his golden calves to be adored by the people. This is a different well from the well of the Living One and Seeing One, as is clear cap. xvi, vers. 14. The Hebrews teach that the Hebrew nisba, that is, I swear, is derived from sceba, that is, seven, because an oath ought not to be taken except for seven, that is, many and grave reasons, equally as arguments and witnesses; for an oath is a sacred thing, in which divine authority and truthfulness are interposed, which therefore ought not to be used rashly or lightly, but with a mind multiply confirmed and certain.
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He planted a grove. — The Septuagint translate, he planted a field; Onkelos, he planted a plantation; Jonathan, who is the author of the Targum of Jerusalem, he planted a garden thick with trees and full of the best fruits. And Jonathan adds that Abraham was accustomed in this garden to receive pilgrims as guests and to refresh them, and to make an agreement for payment, that they should fear and worship the creator of heaven and earth, who had given these things to them; whence from what follows, "And he called there upon the name of the Lord God eternal," it is clear that Abraham also erected an altar there for prayer and sacrifice. This was therefore as it were a hermitage. Hence this grove is called in Hebrew escel, that is, a grove of trees, or a wood planted with trees, silent and pleasant, from the root scala, that is, he was quiet and tranquil: therefore this grove is called escel, from quiet, silence and tranquility: just as the same grove, or place, is called in Hebrew ascera, from felicity and blessedness: for in a quiet and pleasant grove, man seems to himself to be as it were in paradise, happy and blessed. This grove was the oratory and auditory of Abraham, to which he would retire from time to time from cares and business to act with God. Thus Cajetan and Pererius. Escel is a species of tamarisk. The ancient interpreters put the genus for the species, and translated it tree, or grove.
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And he was a colonist, that is, an inhabitant and sojourner, not a native and householder. For in Hebrew it is vaiager, and Abraham sojourned in the land of the Palestines.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
21:13
v. 13 « Sed et filium ancillae faciam tn gentem [magnam], quia semen tuum est ». Cf. 17,20.
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v. 1&6 « Surrezit itaque Abraham mane et, tollens panem et utrem aquae, imposuit scapulae eius, tradiditque puerum et dimisit eam ». Rup., in sensu textus literali avaritiam aliquam odoratus, totus est in sensu spirituali eruendo; dum Cam. notat, tantum dedisse Abraham, quantum Agar commode portare posset, ancilla quippe cum servorum et iumentorum agmine dimitti haud poterat, neque ita dimissam aeque tulisset Sara. Proc. in his patriarchae celebrat fidem : « Deo eos commisit eique eorum curam demandavit ». Hier. primum vertebat parvulum, illudque declarabat esse « Hebraeorum linguae idioma, quod omnis filius ad comparationem parentum infans vocetur et parvulus ». Sed in Vulg. vertebat puerum. Hebr. : tradidit Agar imponens scapulae eius, et puerum. Quod LXX invertit : et puerum imposuit scapulae eius. Eam vero lectionem declarat Dillm. genuinam, alteram natam e redactoris cuiusdam studio h. 1. dicta conformandi alibi statutis de aetate Ismael. Puerum hic concipi parvulum etiam infert ex « abiecit » v. 15 et « crevit » v. 20. Verum Towm verti potest « dimisit », et o3" « factus est magnus ». Ergo non efficitur, B, quisquis tandem ille scriptor fuerit, de aetate Ismaelis dissentire ab A. Apte citat Del. locum omnino parallelum 43, 15 : « sumpserunt pecuniam duplicem in manibus suis, et Beniamin » ; unde non liceat inferre illos viros Beniaminum manibus asportasse. « Quae cum abiisset, errabat àn solitudine Bersabee ». « Facile credimus, Agar regressum meditatam fuisse in Aegyptum; sed errore factum est, ut viam initura propius ad Arabiam accederet aberraretque » (Caím.)..v.
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15 « Cumque consumpta esset aqua in utre, abiecit puerum subter unam arborum, [quae ibi erant] ».
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v. 16 « Et abüt sSeditque e regione procul, quantum potest arcus iacere; dixit enim : Non videbo morientem puerum. Et sedens contra levavit vocem suam et. flevit ». LXX punctabat &bp : levavit vocem suam puer ; sed obsunt verba formae femininae.
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v. 17 « Exaud?ivit autem Deus vocem pueri », sive orantis sive prae dolore clamantis (Vat.). Hebr. proprie non habet exaudivit, sed audivit. Cur autem non dicitur Deus audisse vocem mulieris, de qua v. 16, sed vocem pueri, de qua non facta est mentio? Quia puer erat « semen Abraham » , mulier non erat; quia pueri salutem v. 13 Deus Abrahae promíserat, non mulieris. « nor due angelus Dei Agar de coelo dicens : Quid agis, Agar? » Hebr. : Quid tibi est, Agar? Auditur vox pueri, sed respondetur clamori maftris, per quam salvandus est puer. « Nol? timere * exaudtvit enim Deus vocem pueri, de loco, in quo est ». Clarius etiam exprimitur gratia tribui non intuitu matris Aegyptiae, sed pueri qui semen est Abrahae.
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v. 18 « Surge, tolle puerum et tene manum litus », Hebr. : firma manum tuam 2n eo , firma manu eum sustine; « sollicitus monstratur affectus » (Hier.); « quia ?n gentem magnam faciam eum ».
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v. 19 « Aperuitque oculos eius Deus », quod quandoque fieri quoad rem, quae prius iam adfuerit, sed non fuerit animadversa, docet 3,7. Chrys. suggerit monstrasse viam ad puteum parum distantem , idque confirmat Ca:. ex sequenti voce abzit, quae innuat aliquam ad' puteum fuisse distantiam. « Quae videns puteum aquae abüt et implevit utrem deditque puero bibere ».
21:20
v. 20 « Et fuit » Deus « cum eo; qui crevit et moratus est in solitudine, factusque est tuvenis sagitlarius ».
21:21
v. 91 « Habitavitque in deserto Pharan, et accepit illà mater sua uxorem de terra Aegypti », unde erat ipsa oriunda. np "an: Vulg. Chald. recurrere ad /513* adolescere : et factus est, dum adoles- ceret, sagittarius. Haec participialis constructio non est e genio linguae hebr. et post bw abundat. Alii statuunt i12 — 232^; ergo : et erat iaciens, sagittarius. Idem de hoc atque de illo participio dicendum. Sam. habet *2*3, nomen e forma. sua exprimens constantem occupationem : et erat iaculator, sagittarius. Si punetes nv», habes : et erat iuvenis arcus; et erat iaciens quoad arcum; admissa lectione Sam. : et erat iaculator quoad arcum, Germ. ein Bogenschütze. Hoc ultimum praeplacet. Abimelech h. 1l. nullo adiecto titulo designatur, ex v. 22 videtur a longo tempore novisse Abraham : ergo sane idem atque cap. 20 vir intelligitur. Ibi initio narrationis « rex Gerar » dicebatur, extrema nostra narratione refertur « terram Palaestinorum » incoluisse. Adest cum principe exercitus », veluti accinctus ad bellum. Firmam cum Abraham desiderat pacem, qua a tergo sit securus , dum alios aggrediatur inimicos. Cum illud fere fuerit tempus, quo Hyesos Aegyptum invasere, poterit quis coniicere Philisthaeorum CEDeUSMoRem cum ea invasione fuisse quadamtenus connexam. nvob5, unde lleAewlv,, assyr. Palastav, significat migrationem, ergo terram ' alienigenarum seu 'AJAogóÀov. Hoc nomine sane non ipsi primum Philisthaei regionem appellarunt : quod vero nativum ipsorum nomen fuerit, ignoramus. Aliqua de ipsis diximus ad 10, 14. Tempore exodi Ex. 13, 17 iam Philisthaeam obtinebant neque ulla ratio suadet, Philisthaeos aevi Abraham a posterioribus Philisthaeis pronuntiare fuisse diversos. Hitzig censuit esse Iaphetidas; sed quod moribus fuerint bellicosiores, ad certamina singularia proni, quod milites conduxerint et similia, si censeantur haec Iaphetidarum esse omnino propria, sufficienter e Philisthaeorum Cretae degentium cum Graecis commercio explicantur. Certe nomina virorum propria et urbium, quotquot novimus, semitica sunt; Ascalonitae in aliquo Ramsis II monumento depicti (Chabas Antiquité p. 284 sq.) oris specie Semitas imitantur ; mores, quales e s. Scriptura, imprimis e Samsonis historia novimus, et imprimis sacra (Dagon etc.) sunt semitica. Nota tamen, quando de lingua, moribus semiticis loquimur, id non necessario efficere originem e Sem, sed aut e Sem aut e Cham.
21:22
v. 22 « Eodem tempore » — temporis haec est determinatio admodum vaga, locus sane prope Bersabee, qui locus tum ad ditionem pertinuisse videtur regis Gerar (cf. v. 1&) — « dixit Abimelech » — LXX, uti videtur ex 26,26, addunt et Ochosath socius illius — « et Phicol princeps exercitus ezus ad. Abraham : Deus tecum est in universis, quae agis ». Sane cogitabant imprimis de clade Chodorlahomor.
21:23
v. 23 « Iura ergo per Deum » hic, illico, « ne noceas mihi », Hebr. : ne decipias me exspectantem pro praestita misericordia misericordiam; decipias, inquam, dum inimicis meis iungaris, aut procul dimicantis bona diripias, aut ea certe a diripientibus non defendas, — « e/ posteris meis stirpique meae ». | 17221 1^2 secus non legitur nisi duobus locis poeticis Is: 14, 22 ct Iob 18, 19, quibus expressiones posteritatem designantes cumulantur; praeterea potuit Isaias expressionem adhibens praecise nostrum textum in mente habere. Expressio nihil penitus probat pro diverso scriptore cum e 14, 19 constet s. narrationem, dum acta cum non Hebraeis refert, eorum loqui expressionibus. Tota haec de foedere Abimelech inter et Abraham inito narratio nativum quemdam colorem habet et summam sapit antiquitatem. — Infelicius Targumim vertere : ct filio meo et filio filii mei. | « Sed iuxta misericordiam , quam feci tibi, facies mihi et terrae , in qua versatus es advena ».
21:24
v. 9& « Dixitque Abraham : Ego tiurabo ».
21:25
v. 95 « Et increpavit Abimelech propter puteum aquae, quem » — Syr. recte quoad sensum supplet /oderant serv? Abraham et — « vi abstulerant servi eius ». Putat Calm. Abimelech dissidii gnarum, quod de puteo illo fervebat, ea etiam mente accessisse, ut eo composito amicitiam cum Abraham foedere firmaret. Si ita fuerit, verba utique v. 96 aliquam dissimulationem habent.
21:26
v. 26 « Hesponditque Abimelech : Nescivi, quis fecerit hanc rem; sed et tu non indicastt mihi, et ego non audivi praeter hodie ». Quibus verbis intelligens regis animum sarciendae iniuriae paratum (Del.),
21:27
v. 291 « tulit ztaque Abraham oves et boves, et dedit Abimelech » , non pro sacrificio (Calm.), sed ut donum ( Menoch.), cuiusmodi dona in foederibus pendi consueverant ( Kn. etcf. Is. 30,6; 39,1; 3 Reg. 15,19). « Percusseruntque ambo foedus ». Non dedit Abimelech dona, quod in sua ditione et pro auctoritate ageret.
21:28
v. 28 « Et statuit Abraham septem agnas gregis seorsum ». Hebr. Chald. articulum praefigunt, unde erit fere cum Ps. Ion. et Targ. Hier. dicendum, has septem agnas esse easdem atque oves v. 91, positasque esse seorsum a 5obus. Sed Sam. LXX Syr. ignorant articulum. Indicabat autem Abraham hoc separato dono, se non solum velle iuramentum fidei praestare, sed etiam regis de puteo 1uramentum accipere (Mar.).
21:29
v. 20 « Cu dzxit Abimelech : Quid sibi volunt septem agnae istae , quas stare fecisti seorsum? »
21:30
v. 30 « At ille : Septem, inquit, agnas accipies de manu mea , ut sint miht 1n testimonium, quoniam ego fodi puteum istum ».
21:31
v. 91 « Idcirco vocatus est locus ille Bersabee , quia ibi uterque iuravit ». 3392 iurare utique a Y3V septem, numero sacro, derivatur. Tamen textus evidenter edicit, putei nomen proxime a 2urandi verbo (LXX opéap $pxicyc?) derivari, non a septem agnis (Ps. Ion., Targ. Hier.). Cf. dicenda ad 26,33.
21:32
v. 32 « Et inierunt foedus pro puteo iuramenti ». Verte et percusserunt foedus in (LXX) Bersabee; vel etiam iunge cum prioribus e£ quia percusserunt foedus ín puteo iuramenti (Wellh.).
21:33
v. 33 « Surrezit autem Abimelech et PAicol, princeps exercitus eius , reversique sunt in terram Palaestinorum. Abraham vero plantavit nemus tn Bersabee », non ad viatores fructibus recreandos (Ps. Ion. , Targ. Hier.), sed ad altare in illo excitandum (Menoch.). Id enim insinuat contextus cum sequentibus (Calm.) , neque tum lucus sacri ulla ratione a Deo erant proscripti. « E4 znvocavit ibt nomen Domini Dei aeterni »; LXX Deus aeternus, quasi hac appellatione ibi Deum invocaverit aut locum appellaverit. bvN genus quoddam terebinthi vel quercus, cf. 1 Reg. 22,6; 31,13; 1 Par. 10,12 : vocem Vulg. interpretata est collective.
21:34
v. 3& « Et futt colonus terrae Palaestinorum diebus multis ». visionem (ubi conferatur 20, 3; 21, 12); ob voces v. 1. 11 « Abraham, Abraham. Adsum » (ubi conferas 46, 2 « Iacob, Iacob. Ecce. Adsum » : sed quid tandem haec efficiunt?); ob v. 11 angeli de coelo alloquium (cf. 21, 17; sed idipsum habetur h. 1. v. 15, quem iidem alteri elohistae denegant); ob v. 5 12 locale (sed tam paucis locis tantisque intervallis vox eo sensu usurpata deprehenditur, ut concludi prudenter nequeat quidquam). Praeterea v. 2. 12 "m respicit 21, 14; v. 13 Abraham conspiciens arietem, quem ante non viderat, in mentem revocat P5 19 Agar conspicientem, quem ante non viderat, fontem. Hacc autem recensuimus, non ut eundem esse cap. 22 et 21 auctorem negemus, quod concedimus libentissimi, sed ut perspiciat lector, quam tenuibus recentiores fulti rationibus pericopen aliquam auctori modo huie modo illi adiudicent. Iidem " alteri elohistae rursum abiudicant v. 15-18, quod altera angeli apparitio voce « secundo » nonnisi leviter narrationi agglutinetur; quod sensa et expressiones sint iahvistae affinia; quod v. 14, cuius intuitu etiam vox yn v. 2? fuerit inserta, intendat sanctitatem montis Moria ex ipso Abrahae aevo repetere. Quae omnia tribuun. tur iahvistae vel potius redactori, qui idem v. 11 D*nbx correxerit in ntm. Arg. — Igitur pericopen vel obiter legens perspiciet , eius summam esse in celebranda Abrahae fide. Audi apostolum Hebr. 11,17 sqq. : « Fide obtulit Abraham Isaac, cum tentaretur, et unigenitum offerebat, qui susceperat repromissiones; ad quem dictum est : Quia in Isaac vocabitur tibi semen. Arbitrans, quia et a mortuis suscitare potens est Deus, unde eum et in parabolam accepit ». Fide divinarum nixus promissionum Abraham paternas sedes reliquerat, advena varios tractus peragraverat, semen promissum annis bene multis oppertus atque centenarius tandem fuerat nactus. Adolescebat puer, cum pater immolare iubetur : is fide nixus imperata exsequi generose aggreditur. Iam si haec sit narrationis summa, debuit ea primitus eas omnes, quibus nunc constat, partes complecti. Age, an potuit in ea deesse primum angeli de coelo mandatum v. 11 sqq.? Sane, cum ex Isaac Abrahae promissum esset semen, non poteratis morte e medio tolli, sed aut mactatus, quod suggerit apostolus, erat resuscitandus, aut necis mandatum altero divino mandato erat revocandum. Finge Isaac posteros eos, qui virum ad multam vixisse senectutem prolemque procreasse norant: num ii traditione sacra non erant edocendi, quomodo districtum gladium ille evaserit incolumis? Item secundum angeli mandatum v. 15 Sqq. primitus narrationi infuerit oportet. Cum alias Deus Abrahae fidem constanter promissionibus sit remuneratus, estne credibile, aut hunc excellentissimum fidei actum sua caruisse promissione, aut primum narratorem eandem reticuisse? Ergo narratio primitus talis fuit quoad substantiam, qualis nunc est.
21:1
When he was 100 years old, A. had the awaited heir: Isaac (Gen. 21, 1-7). Regularly circumcised, his weaning was sumptuously celebrated (v. 8). Later the child aroused Sarah's jealousy, who wanted Ishmael expelled from her house. …
… birth to a son, who was circumcised on the eighth day and was named Isaac (Jiṣbāq = "he laughs"), not so much in memory of his mother's incredulous laughter (Gen. 18:10 ff.) as because of the joyful laughter that his birth brought to the family (ibid. 21:1-7).
… The promise was not long in being fulfilled: S. gave birth to a son, Isaac (v.); she was then about 90 years old (Gen. 21:1-8). Later, because of jealous disagreements with Hagar, S. induced her husband to send away Ishmael and his mother (ibid. 21:9-21): St. Paul, referring to the episode, sees in the two …
21:5
born 1200 years before the foundation of the Temple, fixed at 968 B.C., that is, in 2168 B.C. (cf. Gen. 21, 5; 25, 26; 47, 9; Ex. 12, 40; I Kings 6, 1). The setting of the biblical narrative about A. finds correspondence and confirmation in the information we have about the contemporary …
VII. THE PERIOD OF THE PATRIARCHS. - It comprises (according to Gen. 21:5; 25:26; 47:28) 290 years; thus for the birth of Abraham one would arrive, in the three hypotheses, respectively at the years 2168, 1945, 2040. The only synchronism that would make …
21:9
… A. dwelt with her son in the steppe of Pharan and gave him an Egyptian woman as wife (Gen. 21, 9-21).
… Ishmael too, older in age and of indomitable character, began to harass the little I. (Gen. 21:9 says only that Ishmael "was playing" with I.: doubtless these were jokes in bad taste, cf. Gal. 4:29). Living together became difficult, and Abraham, yielding to the pressure of …
… When the "son of the promise," Isaac, was born the following year from Sarah, disputes soon arose between the two mothers; and I. too set about harassing his brother Isaac, who was younger than he and of a quieter disposition (cf. Gen. 21, 9 ff.). …
… The promise was not long in being fulfilled: S. gave birth to a son, Isaac (v.); she was then about 90 years old (Gen. 21:1-8). Later, because of jealous disagreements with Hagar, S. induced her husband to send away Ishmael and his mother (ibid. 21:9-21): St. Paul, referring to the episode, sees in the two mothers the two Testaments symbolized, the old in the slave Hagar and the new in S., the free woman who bears children in freedom …
21:10
In this desert Ishmael dwelt (Gen. 21, 10, 21). It owes its special renown, however, to the 38 years spent there by the Hebrews after their departure from Egypt: in it must be sought the 19 stages of the Hebrews reported by …
21:12
Polygyny, by the fact that it is not opposed to the primary end of marriage, can exist by explicit divine dispensation as happened in the Old Testament (cf. Gen. 16:2; 21:12; Deut. 21:15). As to the time when this dispensation began, there are no definite and certain data in the Bible; the common opinion is that until the flood monogamy was in force, at …
21:13
… He took an Egyptian woman as his wife, and was the father of numerous offspring, as God had promised, by grace of his father Abraham (Gen. 17, 20; 21, 13, 18). With his brother Isaac he gave burial to Abraham (Gen. 25, 9) and died at the age of 137 years (ibid. 25, 17).
21:17
as a divine messenger (of Yahweh or of Elohim) and at the same time speaks and acts as God. He makes promises like Yahweh himself (Gen. 16:10-13; 21:17-19; 22:11-17), identifies himself with God (Gen. 31:11-13; 48:15-16; Ex. 3:2-4, 10 [Act. 7:31-35]; Iud. 2:1-4; 6:11-24; 13:6-23; Zach. 3:1-6). At the end of the "covenant code", …
21:22
… her off in good faith but, warned by a dream followed by an illness, he returned Sarah to her husband with protests of reparation and esteem (Gen. 20). Later, at Beersheba, having settled a dispute over a well, he made a solemn alliance with Abraham (Gen. 21:22-33).
The Hebrew name Bê'ér-Šebha' ("well of the oath," or "of seven wells") recalls the covenant made by Abraham with Abimelech, king of Gerar, on which occasion the patriarch offered the king seven lambs as testimony of his right of ownership over the well that he had dug there (Gen. 21:22-34; cf. the similar account concerning Isaac, ibid. 26:26-33).
TESTAMENT IN SACRED SCRIPTURE. - The term testamentum in the Vulgate often translates the Hebrew berith, by which is indicated both a pact between private individuals and an alliance between nations or ethnic groups (Gen. 21:22 ff.; Ex. 23:32; 34:12, 15; Deut. 7:2; Josh. 9:9 ff.; Judg. 2:2 etc.). …
21:23
Following the example of Abraham (Gen. 21:23; 23:4), of Moses (Ex. 2:22; Acts 7:29), of Israel drawn by God away from the pagan world (Wis. 18:3; Hab. 3:16: παρενία is a synonym of x.), every Christian is and must feel …
21:32
… In the Old Testament there is talk of the P. and of the Philistine land already in the time of the Patriarchs (Gen. 21:32, 34; 26:1, 8, 14 ff., 18), of the Exodus (Ex. 13:17) and of Joshua (Josh. 13:2), whether because of a purely literary anticipation of later terminology or because from the times of the …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.