EXPOSITION. \"ho assigns that function to the mother; but CHAPTER XXI. vide eh. xvi. 15-that was born unto him, Ver. 1.-And the Lord-Jehovah; not whom Sarah bare to him (the latter clause because the verse is Jehovistic (Knobel, being added to distinguish him from Hagar's Bleek, et ol,ii), but because the promise child), Isaac - laughter,· the name ap- naturally falls to be implemented by him pointed for him by God before his birth (eh. who gave it (vide eh. xviii. 10)-visited- xvii. 19). rcmembered with love (Onkelos), i1ru,~i,/,aro Ver. 4.-And Abraham circumcised (vide (LXX.; cf. eh. I. 24 ; Exod. iv. 31 ; 1 So.m. on eh. xvii. 11, aud note at the end of that ii. 21 ; Isa. xxiii. 17) ; though it sometimes chapter) his son Isaac being eight days old means to approach in judgmcnt (vide Exod. (literally, a son of ei(Jht days), e.a (not only xx. 5 ; xxxii. 84 ). Alleged to be peculiar to because, but in the manner in whieh) God the Jehovist (the term used by the Elohist had commanded him. being i~!: eh. viiL 1; xix. 29; xxx. 20), the Ver, 5.-And Abraham was an hundred word occurs in eh, 1. 24, which Tuch and Bleck years old (cf. eh. xvii. 1, 17), when his son nscribe to the Elohist-Sarah aa he had said Isaac was born unto him. Literally, at tlw (eh, xvii. 21; xviii. 10, 14),-God's word of time of bearing to him (iv r,(j rmiv) Isaac promise being ever the rule of his performance (vide Gesenius, 'Gram.,' § 143). Thus (cf. Exod. xii. 25 ; Luke i. 72)-and the Lord Abraham had waited twenty-five years for did unto Sarah as he had spoken-i. e. implo- the fulfilment of the promise-a remnrknble mcnted his promise ; the proof of which is instance of faith and p:itience (Rom. iv. 20), next given (cf. Numb. xxiii. 19; Heh. vi. 18). as Isao.c's birth was u. signal display of Dinne Vor. 2.-For Sarah conceived,-through power (Rom. iv.17; H(b. xi. 12). \','nether faith receiving strength from God for that Isaac was born at Gernr or at Beersheba. can- purposo (lleb. xi. 11); the fruit of the womb, not ";th cortituue be inferred. m evory instnnco God's he.ndiwork (lse.. xliv. Ver. 6.-And Sara'!!. ■aid,-the spiritual 2), boing in her caso o. special gift of grace elevation of her soul being iuuicatcd by the and product of Diviuo power-and bare--the poetical form of her speech. Dilferin" from usual construction (eh. xxix. 32 ; xxx. 6) is Mury'smagnificat in having been uttered after, here somewhat modified by the J ehovist and not before, the birth of' the promised seeJ, (Kalisch) ; but the clause may be compared the anthem of Sarah was ob,·iously ,lesi!(ned with eh. xxx. 22, 23, commouly assigned to as 11 prelntlo to that loftier song of the Vir- the Elohist-Abraham (litcrolly, to Abm- gin (cf. Luko i. 41l). Jt eo11sists of two h.mn) a aon in hia old age,-literally, to his scnte11ces, the first containing two, nml the old a(Je; ,ic ro yijpat (LXX.)-at the set time seconJ three lines-God hath made me to (vide eh. xvii. 21; xviiL 10, 14) of which laugh. Or, retaininit the or,lcr of the Hebrew, God had spoken to him. God's word gave To laWJh hath 11v.,,f,1 me Rlohim ,· the em- Abraham strength to beget, Saro.h to con, phatic position of pni., contuining an o.liusion coive, anJ Isaac to come forth. Three times to the nnme h,t11c, probably indicating that repeated in two verses, the clause points to Samh's laughter wns of o. different character the supernatural character of Isas.c's birth. now from what it had pre\'iously been (eh. Ver. 3.-And Abraham oalled the name of xviii. 12); and her ascription of it to Elo- his eon-the nnming of a child by its fat her him intimating that him whom she formerly is, according to part:tionists, a peculiarity of mistook for 11 tmveller she now recognised to the Elobist as distinguished from the JehoYist, 1 be Dil'ine (' Speaker's Commrntary'). So tlrnt 2i0 THE BOOK OF GENESIS. [cII. xxr. 1-8.
all that hee.r me will le.ugh with me. Not, Ver. 8.-And the child grew,-.-a1 ,)vt,;e,, will laugh at me, deridebit me (Poole) a ,-I, ,ra,oiov (LXX.): imitated by Luke COil• sense t.he ""ords will bear (Rosenmiiller cerning Christ: To ,ra,oiov 11H11v, (Luke ii. ' Spenker's Commentary'), though in th~ 40)-and we.a weaned. The veJ"b gamal instances adduced (Job v. 22; xxxix. 7, 18, originally signifies to do good to any one, to 7 22) Plj'$ rather conveys the idea of despising do completely; hence to finish, Ol' make com- pletely ready, as an infnnt; hence to wean, difficulties (Kalisch); but, will laugh with me trvy'X.ap,iTai µ,o,, congaudebit milii (LXX.; ~ince either at that time the period of infancy Vulgate, Targurus, Calvin, Dathe, Keil). is regarded as complete, or the child's inde- Ver. 7.-A.nd she said, Who would have pendent existence is then fully reached. Tho time of weaning is commonly believed to said unto Abraham,-,~Q, the poetic word have been at the end of the second or third for "'l:;)"1, is introduced by 11;:l in order to ex- year (cf. l Sam. i. 22-24 ; 2 Chron, xxxi. press astonishment; the meaning being that 16; 2 Mace. vii. 27; Josephus, • Ant.,' ii. 9, what had happened was altogether out of the 6). And Abraham made a great feast the ordinary course of nature, was, in fact, God's same day that Isaac was weaned. Literally, work alone (Yatablus, Calvin, Rosenmiiller in the day of the weaning of Isaac; pro- Reil, Kalisch, ' Speaker's Commentary')'. bably, therefore, when Isaac was three years Less happy are Ti, avayyEA,i TI/' 'Af3paaµ, old and Ishmael seventeen. "It is still (LXX.); quis auditurum crederet Abraham customary in the East to •have a festive quod (Vulgate); quam fidelis e.st ille qui gathering at the time a child is weaned. dixit Abrahamo (On.kelos) - that Se.rah Among the Hindoos, when· the time for should have given children suck! Literally, weaning has come, the event is accompanied Sarah suckleth sons. " Many of the greatest with feasting and religious ceremonies, durin~ saints in Holy Scripture, and even our Lord which rice is formally presented to the chilu himself, were nursed by their own mothers " (' Bible Manners and Customs,' by Rev. J. (Wordsworth). For I have bom him a son A. Freeman, M.A., 'Homiletical Quarterly,' in his old age. Literally, I have born a vol. i. p. 78; cf. Roberts' 'Orientollllustm• ,,on to his old age. The LXX. incorrectly tions,' p. 24 ). render iv Tw Y'IP'l- µov. ·- •