Genesis 21:20

Translations

Modern

And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.

Traditional

And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

Literal

And God was with the boy, and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness and became a great archer.

Latin

Et fuit cum eo: qui crevit, et moratus est in solitudine, factusque est juvenis sagittarius.

Interlinear

Hebrew

English

And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.

Notes

Genesis 21:14–21

God rescued Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness and promised them a future (compare 16:7–14). This passage is like chapter 16, but there are key differences. God saves Hagar and Ishmael, but there is no special naming. God repeats the promise to Hagar, but she is not told to return to Sarah.

These repeated themes show God's plan for Hagar and Ishmael. As Joseph later explained to Pharaoh, a repeated event confirms God's plan (41:32). God did not leave Hagar and Ishmael alone. He met them in their time of despair (compare 16:7). He gave them what they needed and promised again that Ishmael would start a great nation (21:13; see 16:11–12).

Paul uses this story in his letter to the Galatians to show that God’s people must let go of anything that could block God’s promise from being fulfilled (Galatians 4:21–31).

Genesis 21:8–21

God used the incident of Ishmael’s mocking Isaac to separate Ishmael and Hagar from the family and the child of promise. They would constantly threaten the promised descendant if they remained with the family.

Theme notes and profiles

Abraham Hagar Ishmael Symbolic Numbers

Related verses

Genesis 28:15
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Genesis 39:21
…the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
Genesis 16:12
He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
Genesis 25:27
When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
Luke 1:80
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.
Genesis 39:2–3
And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
Genesis 49:23–24
The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
Judges 13:24–25
So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.
Judges 6:12
And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
Genesis 10:9
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
Genesis 17:20
As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
Genesis 27:3
Take your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out into the field to hunt some game for me.

Genesis 21:20

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