Preface: Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah. Hagar and Ishmael are sent packing. Abraham interacts with Abimelech and Phicol (Abimelech’s military leader).

Introductory Remarks: At the end of Genesis 20 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD), we spent a great deal of time summarizing what we have been studying, and taking an overall perspective of what we have been studying. With this lesson, we will return to a verse-by-verse analysis of each chapter of Genesis.

At this point, we begin Genesis 21, which is about the birth of Isaac. Now, recall, the immediate promise of the birth of Isaac occurred way back in Genesis 18:10a (ESV) The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Then God warned Abraham about what He was about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah. Then we had a chapter on Sodom and Gomorrah. Then we had this odd chapter of Abraham and Sarah moving to Gerar and Abraham lying about his wife. So, it seems like, between an imminent promise and the actual birth of Isaac, a lot of time has passed, even though only one year has passed. There was actually a purpose in all of that, which we will study.

Chapter 21 covers 3 incidents: (1) the birth of Isaac, (2) the dismissal of Hagar from Abraham’s compound, and (3) a covenant established between Abraham and Abimelech.

This should be the most extensive examination of Genesis 21 available, where you will be able to see every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 21:

Introduction

         vv.     1–7           The Birth of Isaac, the Promised Son

         vv.     8–14         Hagar and Ishmael are Cast out of the Abrahamic Compound

         vv.    15–21         God Provides for Hagar and Ishmael

         vv.    22–32         Abimelech makes a Treaty with Abraham

         vv.    33–34         Abraham Dwells in the Land of the Philistines

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Preface

         Preface               Quotations

         Preface               Introductory Remarks

         Introduction         The Prequel of Genesis 21

         Introduction         The Principals of Genesis 21

         Introduction         The Patriarchal Timeline for Genesis 21

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Genesis 21 by Matthew Poole

         Introduction         Matthew Henry’s Alternate Outline

         Introduction         David Hocking’s Alliterative Outline of Genesis 21

         Introduction         Chapter Updates

         v.       1              Hajime Murai Organizes Genesis 21:1–8

         v.       1              The Bible Query on, Did God Impregnate Sarah?

         v.       2              Sarah gives birth to Isaac (graphic)

         v.       6              Genesis 17:16–17 (a graphic)

         v.       7              The Parallels Between the Birth of Isaac and the Birth of Jesus

         v.       7              T. H. Leale Sums up the Parallels of the Births of Isaac and Jesus

         v.       7              Ray Pritchard on, What Abraham learned from the birth of Isaac

         v.       7              Isaac’s Birth in the New Testament

         v.       7              The Abbreviated Doctrine of Legalism

         v.       7              Isaac’s birth in the New Testament continued

         v.       7              Reasons Why We Can Believe the Bible is the Word of God

         v.       8              Hajime Murai Organizes Genesis 21:8–21

         v.       8              And the child grew and was weaned (a graphic)

         v.       9              Genesis 21:9c Text from the Greek Septuagint

         v.       9              Laughing with Isaac

         v.      10              Hagar and Ishmael Banished by Abraham Verhaghen (1728-1811) (graphic)

         v.      10              Is Sarah being too harsh with Hagar and Ishmael?

         v.      10              Interlude: the Son of the Free Woman versus the Son of the Slave Woman

         v.      10              A Summary of Galatians 4:21–31

         v.      10              A brief review of Genesis 21:1–10

         v.      13              God gives reasons why Abraham should listen to Sarah

         v.      14              The Bible Query on, was Abraham right to send Hagar away?

         v.      14              A Justification of Abraham, by the Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary

         v.      14              The Bible Query on, isn’t Ishmael the firstborn son?

         v.      14              Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert by Jean-Charles Cazin (graphic)

         v.      14              The Dismissal of Hagar by Dutch painter Adriaen van der Werff

         v.      14              Was Abraham remiss in the supplies he gave Hagar and Ishmael?

         v.      15              God Provides (graphic)

         v.      19              Hagar’s Extremity (a graphic)

         v.      19              Hagar and Ishmael painted by Carl Bauerle and engraved by W. Roffe

         v.      20              Gill, on the Legacy of the Bow in the Line of Ishmael

         v.      21              Map of the Wilderness of Paran

         v.      27              Abimelech and Abraham discuss the problem with the wells (a graphic)

         v.      30              The Meaning of the Ewe-Lamb Narrative

         v.      31              A Review of Genesis 21:22–31

         v.      31              The Parallels from Genesis 21–22 to the Ministry of our Lord

         v.      32              When Critics Ask, on the Philistines in Palestine in the era of Abraham

         v.      32              Peter Pett on the Philistines

         v.      33              Genesis 21:33 (graphic)

         v.      33              Dr. Shuckford on, Calling on the Name of the Lord

         v.      33              Scofield on, the Everlasting God

         v.      33              What Abraham is doing in Bathsheba on the outskirts of Gerar

         v.      33              Various Commentators on Abraham’s Life in Beersheba

         v.      33              Clarke’s final points on Genesis 21:33

         v.      34              Gentile Salvation in the Old Testament

         Summary            Chapter Summary

         Summary            An Abbreviated Exegesis of Genesis 21

         Addendum          The Parallel Lives of Ishmael and Abraham

         Addendum          Why Genesis 21 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from Genesis 21

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Genesis 21

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Genesis 21

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Genesis 21

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Genesis 21

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Genesis 21

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An Introduction to Genesis 21

I ntroduction: I should admit that, when first reading Genesis 20 and 21, they seemed to be very odd chapters. Why is much of this material here? Obviously, we would hear about the birth of Isaac; but the other stuff (Abimelech coming to make a treaty with Abraham) seemed quite odd in the second half of Genesis 21.

Genesis 21 ties together and helps to explain the reason for Genesis 20. Abraham will spend much of his later life in the land of the Philistines, proclaiming the Word of God. Genesis 20–21 chapters help to explain how he ends up there.

A lot of the book of Genesis gives us a contrast between the line of Jesus Christ (the line of promise) and alternate genealogies. We see why God chose one line, but not another. We have seen Lot and his life among the Sodomites and the negligible impact that he had on that society, even though he did believe in Jehovah Elohim. Contrast this with Abraham’s impact on the Philistines during this era (which Philistines may not be at all related to the Philistines later found in the Bible).

There was more to Abraham’s impact than living a perfect life. In Genesis 20, we find out that Abraham made some major errors living with the Philistines. We also saw Lot, whose relationship with Y^ehowah seemed to have little or no impact upon those around him. That is the contrast. Even the men who were to marry his daughters were unbelievers. So, his impact for the Lord was zero. Abraham’s impact on the world around him was astonishing.

When God chooses to have an impact on the world, there is little that we can do about it. While we are in the midst of history, we know many of the secular leaders, e.g. FDR, Hitler, Churchill, Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers; but the men who had the most impact on society may or may not be known. Billy Graham is well-known, and we see how God has given him the ear of many presidents. R. B. Thieme, Jr. is far less known, but has had a much different impact upon the United States. From God’s view, the men who fearlessly proclaim the Word of God are the men who had a real impact upon the United States; whereas the famous politicians did very little apart from helping to infest our government with corruption, fraud, waste and abuse.

With Abraham, we get some true perspective. In the latter half of this chapter, we will see two men interacting, Abraham and Abimelech, leader of the Philistines. 4000 years later, who remembers who? Billions of people know Abraham; and only a small percentage of them know much about Abimelech. And this is not to say that Abimelech was a bad leader—quite the contrary, Abimelech seems to be an honest and fair man, someone who gave Abraham is fair shake. In fact, Abimelech gave Abraham a good establishment environment in which he could thrive. Abimelech provided law and order; Abimelech provided justice and a fair court system. These things are very important, and often help with the teaching of the Word of God; but it is Abraham who provided the true spiritual impact, which impact is still with us today.

We know about Abimelech because his name (actually title) is preserved in the Word of God. But there were far greater kings in that era (by human standards). However, we would be hard-pressed to name any of them (well, most Americans seem to have a difficult time naming the vice president).

From the New American Bible: [21:1-21] The long-awaited birth of Isaac parallels the birth of Ishmael in chap. 16, precipitating a rivalry and expulsion as in that chapter. Though this chapter is unified, the focus of vv. 1-7 is exclusively on Sarah and Isaac, and the focus of vv. 8-21 is exclusively on Hagar and Ishmael. The promise of a son to the barren Sarah and elderly Abraham has been central to the previous chapters and now that promise comes true with the birth of Isaac. The other great promise, that of land, will be resolved, at least in an anticipatory way, in Abraham's purchase of the cave at Machpelah in chap. 23. The parallel births of the two boys has influenced the Lucan birth narratives of John the Baptist and Jesus (Lk 1-2).

There are two related items in this chapter, and I don’t know how significant they are. Hagar and Ishmael will have to leave Abraham’s compound and will live out in the desert. Hagar and Ishmael will be saved by a well, which God points out to her. At the end of this chapter, Abimelech, king of Gerar, will recognize the importance of his bond with Abraham, and he will go to Abraham to reestablish that bond. One of the important items of contention (which Abimelech was unaware of) are the wells that Abraham had dug, but Abimelech’s men had been giving Abraham grief over. This problem will be cleared up by Abimelech. I don’t know if there is a deeper relationship between these two things in this chapter.

The Patriarchal Timeline for Genesis 21

Thomas Coke’s abbreviated description: Isaac is born, is circumcised and weaned. At Sarah's request Hagar is driven out; to whom, wandering in the wilderness, an angel promises that Ishmael shall be the father of a numerous posterity. Abraham and Abimelech make a covenant.

The first half of this chapter explains the separation of the Ishmaelites from the Israelites, and suggests why there might be some resultant animosity between these peoples, despite the fact that they have come ultimately from two half-brothers.

The second half of this chapter informs us that, even though there is a distinct separation between Abraham and the line of promise from other peoples, that is not an uncrossible barrier to the gentiles outside of Abraham’s line. All it takes is positive volition toward the Revealed God, which is what Abimelech and Phicol both have.

Steven J. Cole: When you come to a passage like this in the Bible, the question is, Why did God include this in sacred Scripture? It seems to me that the answer is, It shows the faithfulness of God in the ordinary. It shows how God faithfully provided all that Abraham needed apart from Abraham’s schemes. Throughout Abraham’s story run two great promises which God made to Abraham: a son, through whom Abraham would become a great nation, and through whose descendants all the nations would be blessed; and, the land of Canaan, where his descendants would live. In seeking to bring about both of these promises, Abraham resorted to human schemes to help God out: with the son, he went in to Hagar and produced Ishmael; with regard to the land, his fears of being wiped out by the inhabitants of the land prompted him to lie about Sarah being his sister, not his wife.

——————————

The Birth of Isaac, the Promised Son

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. Taken from http://targum.info/targumic-texts/pentateuchal-targumim/ and first published in 1862.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And Y^ehowah visited Sarah, as which He had said, and so makes Y^ehowah to Sarah as which He had spoken.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   Unfortunately, what was recovered the Dead Sea Scrolls of Genesis, with very little of the second third of the book being preserved. Nothing of Genesis 21 survives.

Targum of Onkelos                And the Lord remembered Sarah according to that which He had said to her; and the Lord wrought a miracle for Sarah like to that for which Abraham had spoken in prayer for Abimelek. [JERUSALEM. And the Lord wrought miracles for Sarah, as He had spoken.]

Latin Vulgate                          And the Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and fulfilled what he had spoken.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND the LORD remembered Sarah, as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had spoken.

Septuagint (Greek)                And the Lord visited Sarah, as He said, and the Lord did to Sarah, as He spoke.

Significant differences:           The targums add the word miracle(s).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Isaac's birth

The LORD was attentive to Sarah just as he had said, and the LORD carried out just what he had promised her.

Contemporary English V.       The LORD was good to Sarah and kept his promise.

Easy-to-Read Version            The Lord kept the promise he had made to Sarah. The Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD blessed Sarah, as he had promised,...

The Message                         GOD visited Sarah exactly as he said he would; GOD did to Sarah what he promised:...

New Berkeley Version           The Lord came to Sarah as He had said; He dealt with her as He had promised [Enabling her to be a mother.].

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then Jehovah visited SarAh and did as [He had promised] her.

Ancient Roots Translinear      Yahweh counted happiness to Sarah as he said when Yahweh did to Sarah as he spoke.

Christian Community Bible     Yahweh was kind to Sarah as he had said, and fulfilled his promise to her.

International Standard V        Isaac is Born

The LORD came to Sarah, just as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.

God’s Word™                         The LORD came to help Sarah and did for her what he had promised.

New Jerusalem Bible             Yahweh treated Sarah as he had said, and did what he had promised her.

New Simplified Bible              Jehovah was gracious to Sarah, as he had said. Jehovah did for Sarah what he had promised.

Revised English Bible            The Lord showed favour to Sarah as he had promised, and made good what he had said about her.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord came to Sarah as he had said and did to her as he had undertaken.

Conservapedia                       And the LORD visited Sarah as He said He would, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken.

The Expanded Bible              A Baby for Sarah

The Lord ·cared for [visited] Sarah as he had said and did for her what he had promised.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 The Ever-living afterwards effect with Sarah what He had promised, and the Lord did for Sarah that which He had said;...

New Advent Bible                  And the Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and fulfilled what he had spoken.

NET Bible®                             The Birth of Isaac

The LORD visited [The Hebrew verb translated "visit" (pâqad (פָּקַד) [pronounced paw-KAHD]) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God's special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people's destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One's destiny is changed when the Lord "visits." For a more detailed study of the term, see G. André, Determining the Destiny (ConBOT).] Sarah just as he had said he would and did [Heb "and the Lord did." The divine name has not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.] for Sarah what he had promised [Heb "spoken."]. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

NIV – UK                                The Birth of Isaac

Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   SARAH BIRTHS YISCHAQ

And Yah Veh visits Sarah as he said

and Yah Veh works to Sarah as he worded:...

JPS (Tanakh—1917)               And the LORD remembered Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               The Lord took note of Sarah as He had promised, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.

Kaplan Translation                 Isaac and Ishmael

God granted special providence [Pakad in Hebrew (see Hirsch). Usually translated as 'remembered' or 'visited.'] to Sarah as He said He would, and God did what He promised for Sarah.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Context Group Version          And YHWH visited Sarah as he had said, and YHWH did to Sarah as he had spoken.

English Standard Version      The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised.

Green’s Literal Translation    And Jehovah visited Sarah as He had said. And the Lord did to Sarah as He had spoken.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Isaac Born, Circumcised, and Weaned

And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as He had spoken. The Lord visited Sarah by doing to her as He had promised, by granting her what she had desired for so many years, a child of her own. Children are a gift of the goodness of God.

Syndein/Thieme                     And Jehovah/God visited Sarah as He had said, and Jehovah/God kept on doing {'asah} unto Sarah as He had intensively decreed/'communicated categorically' {dabar}.

Young’s Updated LT             And Jehovah has looked after Sarah as He has said, and Jehovah does to Sarah as He has spoken.

The gist of this verse:          God fulfills His promises to Sarah.

Translation: And Y^ehowah visited Sarah, just as He had said [He would];...

Several chapters ago, God promised Abraham and Sarah (who was listening from the flap of the tent) that she would become pregnant by Abraham, when he is about 100 years old and she is about 90 years old.

In between this chapter and those promises (Genesis 17:16, 19 18:10), much has happened. After promising Abraham again that he would sire a child by Sarah, God speaks to Abraham about the destruction of Sodom. Abraham intercedes for Sodom, because Lot lives there and gets God to agree that, if there are only 10 righteous men in Sodom, then God would not destroy it. In Genesis 19, the angels of Y^ehowah go to Sodom to destroy it and 4 other cities. However, they first rescue Lot and his family. Abraham sees the destruction of Sodom from where he lives, and moves from the place southward, so that he passes by the destroyed cities moving toward the Negev. Then, in Genesis 20, Abraham turns about, going northwest, and stays in Gerar, which is a Philistine controlled city. He lies to Abimelech, the king there, about Sarah, and so Abimelech takes Sarah to be his wife. God comes to Abimelech in a dream and warns him that, unless Sarah is returned to her husband, everyone in Abimelech’s family would die. Abimelech and his cabinet are in a panic, and Sarah is quickly restored to Abraham, although Abimelech does reprove Abraham for his lying. Abimelech gives Abraham many presents, as well as an invite to stay anywhere in the land of Gerar (Abimelech apparently controlled a significant portion of the land beyond his city).

Barnes, who usually provides excellent commentary, suggests that Isaac may have been born prior to Abraham and Sarah moving to Gerar. Barnes is wrong, because the real threat of Genesis 20 is Sarah being taken into a harem at the time that she is to conceive the child of promise.

You will note here that, not only is the child that Sarah bears uniquely–born, but this involves a visit from Jehovah Elohim. To visit here is the very common Hebrew verb pâqad (פָּקַד) [pronounced paw–KAHD], which means, to go to a person, to visit, to have personal contact with, to sort out, to visit a person, to commit, to charge to the care of, to fall upon, to attack, to number, to take a census. If you are familiar with the British expression, to sort [something] out; where someone needs to deal with a situation or solve a problem by acting directly or becoming personally involved, that is what this word means. Strong's #6485 BDB #823. This word can be used for the threat of evil (Exodus 20:5 Psalm 59:5) or for the promise of good (Genesis 50:24 Exodus 4:31 Ruth 1:6).

The NET Bible: The Hebrew verb translated "visit" (פָּקַד, paqad) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God's special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people's destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One's destiny is changed when the LORD "visits." 

Thomas Constable: God "visited" Sarah (Genesis 21:1, NIV), a common metaphor that describes God's intervention in nature and human afffairs. The Hebrew word translated "visited" (paqad) also appears when God intervened to save the Israelites from Egyptian bondage (Genesis 50:24-25; Exodus 4:31) and when He ended a famine (Ruth 1:6). It also occurs when He made Hannah conceive (1 Samuel 2:21) and when He brought the Jewish exiles home from Babylonian captivity (Jeremiah 29:10). Thus its presence here highlights the major significance of Isaac's birth.

In previous chapters, God came to Abraham in person (which seems to be the case, most of the time). However, here, He appears to work behind the scenes. God is clearly here, at work, directly with Abraham and Sarah, because of the use of the verb pâqad (which is in the Qal, and not the Hiphil).

We are not given any details here as to what the nature of this visit is, but Sarah’s reproductive system, which appeared to have problems from the beginning (Genesis 11:29–30—although the problem could have been partially with Abraham) and was certainly out of order due to her old age (Genesis 18:11), was regenerated by this visit. Similarly, Abraham, who was sexually dead (Genesis 18:12), was now no longer sexually dead. You will recall that circumcision (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) was the sign of regeneration—new life was given to his sexually dead phallus. Furthermore, this effect on Abraham will continue for another 40 or so years. He will be sexual active and potent for some time now. After Sarah passes, Abraham will take another wife and have several sons by her.

Given that Sarah was thought to be beautiful even in the previous chapter, her not having a child was probably not due to a lack of trying—which fact is backed up by her associating sex and conception with pleasure in Genesis 18:12. It is reasonable to suppose that she and Abraham both continued having sex up until the time of Abraham’s age-induced impotence. And this was all overridden by God, as per this verse, where God visits Sarah as He had promised.

Translation: ...consequently, Y^ehowah did for Sarah just as He had promised [her].

What God has promised Sarah is, He would make it possible for her and Abraham to become parents. Her womb would become functioning again, as would Abraham’s phallus, and they would have a child together, just as God had promised. So, this is about 3 months after the end of Genesis 17.

Clarke: That is, God fulfilled his promise to Sarah by giving her, at the advanced age of ninety, power to conceive and bring forth a son.

God has already promised in Genesis 17:15–16 And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." (ESV) Clearly, this is a son of Abraham and Sarah. God confirms this in Gen 18:10a The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." (ESV) Sarah is being emphasized in all of this because Isaac being born to her is a picture of Jesus being born to virgin Mary. The emphasis is upon the line of promise as coming from the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).

Prior to this point in the narrative, we know that Abraham was sexually dead; and that Sarah was long past the age of giving birth. Therefore, God has to make a change in both Abraham and Sarah in order for her to become pregnant. However, the Bible focuses only upon the woman. The Bible does not tell us that Jehovah visits Sarah on one day and Abraham the next. The Bible narrative only focuses upon Sarah. Why? This is because the unique birth of their son is a type of Christ, Who is also uniquely-born. Although God spoke to Joseph about Mary’s pregnancy, God affected no change in Joseph (see Matthew 1:18 Luke 1:27–38). This is because Jesus was virgin-born, so there was no contribution from Joseph (she became pregnant before they married; and there was no out-of-wedlock sex between them—Matthew 1:21–25). Therefore, the narrative here in Genesis says nothing about God visiting Abraham and causing a physical change in him (although, logically, that had to have happened). The idea is to parallel the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ (even though these history of these events were all recorded about two millennia before Christ). Since Joseph had nothing to do with the birth of our Lord, nothing is said about God visiting Abraham and restoring his potency to him. After the fact, an angel visited with Joseph and explained to him what had happened, so that he did not privately divorce Mary (Matthew 1:18–20). So, even though Abraham is a willing and necessary participant in the conception of Isaac, his contribution is not spoken of, only Sarah’s is. That is because Isaac’s birth is a picture of our Lord’s birth.

One of the amazing things is how carefully the Bible fits together as a puzzle. This portion of the book of Genesis, which I believe to have been written 4000 years ago, fits as a carefully-designed counterpart to first chapter of Matthew and Luke. That is, the birth of Isaac is very much a foretelling of the birth of Jesus—actually, to be precise, the birth of Isaac is the type and the birth of Jesus is the antitype.

Genesis 21:1 And Y^ehowah visited Sarah, just as He had said [He would]; consequently, Y^ehowah did for Sarah just as He had promised [her]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Genesis 21:1 And Jehovah visited Sarah, just as He said He would. Consequently, Jehovah made it possible for Sarah to become pregnant, as He had promised her. (Kukis paraphrase)

One of the reasons for studying the Word of God and learning what is in the Bible is to build your faith upon substance. Like anything else, these are just words, but we know approximately when these words are written, and we know that there was a clear time period between the Old and New Testaments. Also, these different testaments were preserved by different entities (Jews and Christians) who did not always see eye-to-eye. However, the more I have studied the Bible, the more everything fits together; the more it all makes sense. And there is little reason to think it is this gigantic hoax or some incredible coincidence. This is only one example of type and antitype out of many. It takes a much greater faith to believe that this is a hoax or a coincidence rather than believing this is the Word of God.

The first verb is the Qal imperfect of pâqad (דַקָ ) [pronounced paw-kad' ] and it means to attend to or to visit. The context determines whether this is with friendly or hostile intent. There is a parallelism here:

         Yahweh visited Sarah

                  as He had said

         and Yahweh did to Sarah

                  as He had promised

The last word is the Piel perfect of dâbar (דָּבַר) [pronounced daw^b-VAHR] and in the Qal it means simply to speak, however this is the intensive stem and to promise is a reasonable rendition. What was done is God had to make Sarah fertile again; He had to make her womb operational. The results were immediate.

Calvin: The language of the historian seems designedly chosen to magnify the power of God as well as His faithfulness to His promise. It was God's grace that brought about that event, as well as the raising of spiritual children to Abraham, of which the birth of this son was typical.

God, for 25 years, has promised Abraham and Sarah a son. This would be the son, through whom all God’s promises would be fulfilled.

Modernizing a quote from John Trapp: God repays not His people with words only, as Barack Obama did his people, nor does God fool them with great and wonderful promises, as candidate Obama did his various constituencies; but God’s promises are real, resulting in the performance of His Word. Of the many promises of the man Obama, it may be said, that he has been as the peacock, all in its glorious and changeable colors; which lovely colors changed by the light as he moved. Trapp continues: Great men's words, said one, are like dead men's shoes: he may go barefoot that waits for them. Not so good men; they will stand to their oath, though it tend to their loss. [Psalms 15:4] They are children that will not lie. [Isaiah 63:8] Their Father is a God that cannot lie. [Titus 1:2] He is the God of Amen, as Isaiah called him; [Isaiah 65:16] and "all his promises are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus," [2Corinthians 1:20] "the faithful and true witness". [Revelation 3:14] Judah would not break promise with the harlot, lest he should be shamed. [Genesis 38:23].

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Arthur Pink: Isaac was the child of promise. The Lord took great interest in the birth of this boy. More was said about him before his birth than about any other, excepting only Abraham's greater Son.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so conceives and so gives birth Sarah to Abraham a son in his many years to a set time which promised him, Elohim.

Targum of Onkelos                And she conceived, and Sarah bare to Abraham a son, who was like to himself in his age, at the time of which the Lord had spoken to him.

Latin Vulgate                          And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

Septuagint (Greek)                And she conceived and bore to Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time according as the Lord spoke to him.

Significant differences:           No real differences except Lord in the targum instead of God (Elohim).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       Although Abraham was very old, Sarah had a son exactly at the time God had said.

Easy English                          So Sarah became *pregnant. And she had a baby son for Abraham. This son was born at the exact time that God had promised such a long time before.

Easy-to-Read Version            Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. All these things happened exactly like God promised.

Good News Bible (TEV)         ...and she became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was old. The boy was born at the time God had said he would be born.

The Message                         Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a son in his old age, and at the very time God had set.

New Berkeley Version           Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the season which God had mentioned to him.

New Life Bible                        Sarah was able to have a child and she gave birth to a son when Abraham was very old. He was born at the time the Lord said it would happen.

New Living Translation           She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

Ancient Roots Translinear      Sarah conceived and begat to Abraham a son in his old-age, as God spoke to him at that meeting.

Beck’s American Translation Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son when he was old, at the time God mentioned.

International Standard V        Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the very time that God had told him.

NIRV                                      Sarah became pregnant. She had a son by Abraham when he was old. He was born at the exact time God had promised him.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             And Sarah became with child, and gave Abraham a son when he was old, at the time named by God.

Bullinger Bible                        For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the exact time of which ← God [the Creator] had spoken to him.

Conservapedia                       For Sarah fell pregnant, and bore to Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.

The Expanded Bible              Sarah ·became pregnant [conceived] and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. Everything happened at the time God had said it would.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 ...and Sarah conceiving, gave birth to a son to Abraham in his old age, a way that God had promised him.

New Advent Bible                  And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her.

NET Bible®                             So Sarah became pregnant [Or "she conceived."] and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and Sarah conceives

and births Abraham a son in his old age

at the season Elohim worded to him:...

Kaplan Translation                 Sarah became pregnant, and she gave birth to Abraham's son in his old age. It was at the exact time that God had promised it to him.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And pregnant is Sarah and is bearing for Abraham a son for his old age, at the appointed time of which the Elohim had spoken to him.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age at the set time of which God had spoken to him. God's promise was literally fulfilled, for at just the time that He had named at His last visit the son of promise was born, a stranger in truth, for Abraham was still sojourning in the land of the Philistines. The birth of Isaac was an act of faith on the part of Sarah, who with all her human infirmities was a true child of the Lord, Hebrews 11:11.

Syndein                                  For Sarah kept on being pregnant, and kept on bearing Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which 'Elohim/Godhead had decreed/'communicated categorically' {dabar}.

World English Bible                Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

Young’s Updated LT             And Sarah conceives, and bears a son to Abraham, to his old age, at the appointed time that God has spoken of with him.

The gist of this verse:          Sarah conceived and then bore a son to Abraham, at the time that God had promised them.

Translation: Sarah conceived...

The proper name Sarah actually occurs below in the Hebrew. However, it makes better sense in the English to put it up front.

The conception was helped along by God, in ways we do not understand. Both Sarah and Abraham’s reproductive organs were revitalized, as God had direct contact and sorted everything out. This made it possible for Sarah to conceive.

A set of wâw consecutive followed by imperfect verbs indicates the order in which these things take place. Quite obviously, Sarah conceived first and then she gives birth after.

Translation: ...and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age...

So there is no confusion, this is a son born to Abraham and Sarah, despite their advanced age.

Sarah gives birth to Isaac (graphic) from Bible Lessons for Kids; accessed September 9, 2014.

One aspect of the Old Testament which I find fascinating is there is no miracle or confusion about the birth of a child; a child is first conceived and then it is born. There is a two-step process recognized by the writers of Scripture from the beginning. This goes all the way back to Genesis 4:1–2. This verse indicates that this birth is the one that God had promised. Abraham has already sired one child, whom God has rejected as heir of Abraham and the promises He made to Abraham, and Abraham will have other children also. However, this is the child, the line of Jesus Christ, the line of the Jewish race.

There is a history here which Arthur Pink aptly recalls: Some twenty-five years had now passed since Abram had left Ur of the Chaldees, and during these years he had received promise from the Lord that He would make of him a great nation (Gen. 12:2) and that He would make his seed as the dust of the earth (Gen. 13:16). But years went by and Abram remained childless: the promised seed had not been given and Abram was exercised and perplexed. "And Abram said, Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezar of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me You have given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir" (Gen. 15:2, 3). To these questions the Lord returned answer, "This will not be your heir; but he that will come forth out of your own bowels will be your heir" (Gen. 15:4). Another interval passed and yet no child appeared, and "Sarai said unto Abram, Behold, now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing: I pray you, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai, and he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived" (Gen. 16:2, 4). A further thirteen years dragged their weary course and "God said unto Abraham, as for Sarai your wife, you will not call her name Sarai, but Sarah will her name be. And I will bless her, and give you a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations: Kings of people will be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Will a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? And will Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before You! And God said, Sarah your wife will bear you a son indeed; and you will call his name Isaac" (Gen. 17:15-19). Shortly after this the Lord, accompanied by two angels, appeared unto His servant in the plains of Mamre and, "they said unto him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And He said, I will certainly return unto you according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah your wife will have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Will I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto you, according to the time of life, and Sarah will have a son" (Gen. 18:9-14).

Pink continues: Many are the important truths illustrated in the above Scriptures, and many are the profitable lessons to be learned therefrom. We name a few of them without attempting to enlarge. We see from the above that God is in no hurry in the working out of His plans. Man may fret and fume, hurry and bustle, but Jehovah has all eternity at His disposal and works leisurely and with deliberation. Well for us to mark this attentively- "he that believes will not make haste" (Isa. 28:16). Again, we note here God’s Almightiness. Nothing can hinder or thwart the outworking of His purpose. Abraham may be old, Sarah may be barren, but such trifles present no difficulty to Him who is infinite in power. Abraham may seek to obtain an heir through Hagar, but Jehovah’s plan cannot be foiled: Sarah’s son will be his heir, not Ishmael. Behold, too, the faithfulness of God. The Lord had said Sarah will have a son, and what He promised He performed. His promise may seem unreasonable and impossible to the carnal mind, but His word is sure. Learn, also, how faith is tried and tested. This is in order to display its genuineness. A faith that is incapable of enduring trial is no faith at all. A hard thing was promised to Abraham but, "he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God" (Rom. 4:19, 20). Finally, note that God has a set time for the accomplishing of His will and the fulfilling of His word. Nothing is left to chance. Nothing is contingent on the creature. Everything is definitely fixed beforehand by God. "For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him" (Gen. 21:2). Mark how this is emphasized by repetition- "But my covenant will! establish with Isaac, which Sarah will bear unto you at this set time in the next year" (Gen. 17:21); "At the time appointed I will return unto you, according to the time of life, and Sarah will have a son" (Gen. 18:14). So also we read in another connection, "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak" (Habak. 2:3). Compare Galatians 4:4.

Translation: ...by a set time which Elohim had promised him.

Back in Genesis 18, God got very specific with Abraham and told him exactly when a child would be born to him. It would be about a year later. We had the individual Member of the Trinity in v. 1; and here, God is seen as the Trinity. Jesus Christ, the revealed member of the Trinity was involved in the process of making it possible for Sarah and Abraham to have a child. However, the promise had come, essentially from the entire Trinity (as God the Father would have planned this in eternity past).

At the time that God made His final promise to Abraham and Sarah, Sarah is 89 years old, and she will give birth at age 90. This occurs here at God’s set time. God has perfect timing which, to us who are impatient, often seems to be too far off in the future. For 25 years, God has been speaking to Abraham and making a series of promises to him, but this appears to be the first promise upon which God actually acted. The birth of Isaac is the basis for every other promise that God makes to Abraham. For perhaps 30 years, God has been making promises to Abraham, but none of these promises can come to pass without Isaac being born. Everything else depends upon His birth. And yet, all of this time, Abraham was strong in faith. And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb; he did not hesitate at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised He is also able to perform (Romans 4:19–21; VW). My point is, Abraham did not see this promise fulfilled for 25 years, and then the most fundamental of all the promises is fulfilled. He did not see any of these promises begin to be fulfilled until he was 100 years old, about 25 years after he first stepped out in faith (comparing Genesis 12:4 with Genesis 21:5). Or, see the Abrahamic Timeline (HTML) (PDF). Yet Abraham remained strong in faith all of this time (he certainly slipped up a few time; Genesis 20 is an examples).

God has kept Abraham and his wife alive during some incredible historical events, but that simply kept them alive long enough to have the most fundamental promise of God fulfilled. All of the promises of inheritance in the world would have meant little to a childless Abraham and Sarah. In fact, all of God’s promises to Abraham would have meant nothing at all, apart from the birth of Isaac.

Is there any chance you see the parallel to the birth of Jesus at this point? All of God’s promises to us mean absolutely nothing apart from the birth of Jesus Christ. We have no inheritance unless Jesus has come to this earth. What’s more is, none of these promises made by God to us has any foundation unless Jesus dies for our sins. Therefore, almost immediately after Isaac’s birth—that is, in terms of this recorded narrative—God will ask Abraham to offer up his own son as a sacrifice.

Genesis 21:2 Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age by a set time which Elohim had promised him. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Genesis 21:2 Sarah conceived and then gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the time which God had foreordained. (Kukis paraphrase)

You will note that the Preincarnate Form of our Lord does not seem to appear to Abraham or to Sarah. Our first two verses read: And Y^ehowah visited Sarah, just as He had said [He would]; consequently, Y^ehowah did for Sarah just as He had promised [her]. Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age by a set time which Elohim had promised him. If there is a face to face meeting, nothing is said about that. I don’t believe that God did appear to Abraham, and there is a reason for this. Isaac is representative of the Christ child; therefore, it would confuse the issue for the 2^nd Person of the Trinity to be there, physically manifested, at the birth of Isaac, who represents our Lord’s birth into this world. God simply keeps the birth of Isaac as a real event, but one which represents the birth of our Lord.

It is also worth noting that the writer of this passage refers to the Word of God 3 times in the first two verses:

Genesis 21:1–2 Y^ehowah visited Sarah as He had promised. And Y^ehowah did to Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

What God speaks and what God promises is His Word. Even before there was a Bible, there was the concept of God speaking to man, and conveying very specific thoughts. For 25 years, God has been making promises to Abraham; and now, the first of these promises is being brought to pass. The most fundamental promise of all, of those made to Abraham, is being brought to pass. Therefore, Genesis 21:1–2 emphasizes that these are the words of God and God fulfills His Word.

Now go back and re-read those two verses and notice that Sarah is named 3x; Abraham is only named once. Against, the emphasis is upon the woman, the seed of the woman; that is key to the virgin birth of our Lord. This birth is more important than any other, because Isaac’s birth will symbolize our Lord’s birth in so many ways.

We see a similar emphasis in Heb 11:11–12 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful Who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. (ESV, capitalized) Do you see how the birth and conception is closely associated with Sarah, but the fulfillment of the promises are associated with Abraham?

Pink: It has been noticed by others that in Abraham we have a striking illustration of election, while in Isaac we get, typically, the precious truth of sonship. Abraham was the one chosen and called by God; Isaac was the one promised and born of God’s power. The historical order of Genesis is thus the doctrinal order of the New Testament. Thus we read in Ephesians 1:4, 5, "According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him: in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will." Isaac brings before us in type regeneration.

V. 2 reads: Sarah conceived and then gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the time which God had foreordained. This birth is a miracle. In order for Abraham to father the child and for Sarah’s body to be able to receive his seed and produce a child, God had to work miracles in both of them. God had to make them both alive again. Abraham’s body was dead sexually; Sarah’s body was dead reproductively. They were at a point in life when, restoration to a former state would be impossible. This is a consistent theme throughout Scripture, that we are dead, and that God must give us life. We are dead, and there is no human solution. Jesus Christ is our only solution.

Pink: As it was with Isaac so it is with every Christian. Before any of us could be born again God had to work a miracle. Make no mistake on this point; regeneration is the direct result of the supernatural operation of God. This needs to be stressed today, for regeneration has been so misrepresented by modern evangelists that to the popular mind the "new birth" signifies nothing more than a process of reformation. But the new birth is no mere turning over of a new leaf and the endeavor to live a better life. The new birth is very much more than going forward in a religious meeting and taking the preacher's hand; very much more than signing a card and "joining the church." The new birth is an act of God's creative power, the impartation of spiritual life, the communication to us of the Divine nature itself. Arthur Pink continues: Abraham and his wife- each of them nearly a hundred years old- desiring a son- what could they do? Nothing! absolutely nothing. God had to come in and work a miracle. And thus nature had nothing to glory in. So it is with us. The natural man is not only a sinner, a lost sinner, but he is a helpless sinner impotent, unable to do anything of himself. If help comes it must come from outside of himself. He is, like Abraham and Sarah, shut up to God.

These grand themes of Scripture—written over a period of 2 millennia—occur and reoccur throughout. Man is dead; man is in a hopeless state. And yet, God is able to bring life out of death; God is able to take that which is dead, and He makes it alive. But there is more to this than simply a superiority over nature; God redeems us, as well as makes us alive. God forgives us when He regenerates us. God does not simply give us new life, but He restores us to Himself, as His children, as His prodigal sons.

Genesis 21:1–2 And Jehovah visited Sarah, just as He said He would. Consequently, Jehovah made it possible for Sarah to become pregnant, as He had promised her. Sarah conceived and then gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the time which God had foreordained.

J. Vernon McGee: There are some very remarkable truths here that we need to lay hold of. First of all, the birth of Isaac was a miraculous birth. It was contrary to nature. In the fourth chapter of Romans, Paul writes that Abraham "... considered not his own body now dead . . . neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb" ( Rom. 4:19) . Out of death God brings forth life: this is a miraculous birth. We need to call attention to the fact that God did not flash the supernatural birth of Christ on the world as being something new. He began to prepare men for it, and therefore way back here at the birth of Isaac we have a miraculous birth. McGee continues: We also find here that God had to deal with both Sarah and Abraham. They had to recognize that they could do nothing, that it would be impossible for them to have a child. Abraham is 100 years old; Sarah is 90 years old. In other words, the birth of Isaac must be a birth that they really have nothing to do with.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so calls Abraham a name of his son, the one being born to him, who has born to him, Sarah, Isaac.

Targum of Onkelos                And Abraham called the name of his son whom Sarah had borne him Izhak.

Latin Vulgate                          And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sara bore him, Isaac.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him — whom Sarah bore to him — Isaac.

Significant differences:           None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       Abraham named his son Isaac,...

Easy English                          Abraham called his new son Isaac. Isaac had been born to Sarah for Abraham.

Easy-to-Read Version            Sarah gave birth to a son, and Abraham named him Isaac [Isaac This name means "he laughs" or "he is happy."].

New Living Translation           And Abraham named their son Isaac.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And AbraHam named the son that was born to him through SarAh, IsaAc (Laughter).

Ancient Roots Translinear      Abraham called the name of his son begotten to him, that Sarah begot to him, Isaac (laughed).

International Standard V        Abraham named his son who was born to him Isaac-the very one whom Sarah bore for him!

God’s Word™                         Abraham named his newborn son Isaac.

New American Bible              Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him. Mt 1:2; Lk 3:34.

New Simplified Bible              Abraham gave the name Isaac (he laughs) to the son Sarah bore him.

Revised English Bible            The son whom Sarah bore to him Abraham named Isaac,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             And Abraham gave to his son, to whom Sarah had given birth, the name Isaac.

Conservapedia                       Abraham named his son that was born to him from Sarah, Isaac [Or literally, "He shall laugh." ].

The Expanded Bible              Abraham named his son Isaac, the son Sarah gave birth to.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Abraham accordingly gave the son born to him, by Sarah, the name of Isaac;...

HCSB                                     Abraham named his son who was born to him--the one Sarah bore to him--Isaac.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Abraham gavehis newborn son, whom Sarah had borne him, the name of Isaac.

NET Bible®                             Abraham named his son — whom Sarah bore to him — Isaac [Heb "the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac." The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.].

NIV – UK                                Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Avraham called his son, born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Yitz'chak.

Kaplan Translation                 Abraham gave the name Isaac [Yitzchak in Hebrew. See Genesis 17:19.] to the son he had, to whom Sarah had just given birth.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and Abraham calls the name of the son he births,

whom Sarah births to him, Yischaq:...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                Abraham named his son whom Sarah bore to him Isaac [laughter].

Concordant Literal Version    And Abraham is calling the name of his son who is born to him, whom Sarah bears for him, Isaac.

English Standard Version      Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. The emphasis is again upon the fact that this was the son of promise, that he was the son of Abraham, not by a servant, but by Sarah, his wife. He complied with God's command in giving his son the name Isaac (he that laughs), Genesis 17:19. As the joyous laughter of Abraham had been caused by the great contrast between the idea and the reality, so the birth was a miracle of God's mercy, whence the son should always be an object of joyful and grateful contemplation.

Modern KJV                           And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him (whom Sarah bore to him) Isaac.

Syndein                                  And Abraham kept on calling the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac {Yitschaq - name means 'laughter'}.

Young’s Updated LT             And Abraham calls the name of his son who is born to him, whom Sarah has born to him—Isaac.

The gist of this verse:          Abraham named his newly-born son Isaac.

Translation: Abraham called the name of his son,...

You will recall that God already told Abraham what to name his son. This sentence has an unusual construction, so that what Abraham names his son is found at the end of this sentence, after twice it is said to be born to Abraham.

Translation: ...the one being born to him, whom Sarah bore to him,...

These are parenthetical phrases, which emphasize and reemphasize the real birth of a son to Abraham and Sarah. We would have expected, given what has come before, for phrasing like this to be left out. The whole idea is, you should not be able to come away from this chapter and think anything other than, Abraham impregnated Sarah, and this is the child she bore.

Translation: ...Isaac.

Although this is not a wildly composed sentence, it is unusual, particularly with all of the repetition. What is found in the subordinate clause is already covered in v. 2. The writer is apparently making a big deal of this.

Isaac would continue the line of Abraham down through Jacob and then to Moses and Joshua, through David, and eventually to our Lord’s humanity.

Genesis 21:3 Abraham called the name of his son, the one being born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Genesis 21:3 Abraham called the name of his son, Isaac (the boy whom Sarah bore to him). (Kukis paraphrase)

God had told Abraham to name his son Isaac (Genesis 17:19). He was given this name for two reasons. When God told Abraham that he would soon have a son, he fell on his face and laughed. The word laughed is tsâchaq (צָחַק) [pronounced tsaw-KHAHKH], which means to laugh; to mock; to play. Strong’s #6711 BDB #850. God, knowing all things at once, knew that Sarah would also laugh at the prospect of having a child (Genesis 18:9–12). Isaac’s name is derived from this verb to laugh.

Gill: [Abraham] remembers the order [to name his son Isaac], and is obedient to it; the reason of which name, which signifies laughter, was on account of his laughing for joy at the promise made him, as well as there might be afterwards a further reason for it, from Sarah's laughing through distrust; and it might presignify the joy and laughter that would be expressed by others at his birth.

Barnes: This is no longer the laugh of delight mingled with doubt, but that of wonder and joy at the power of the Lord overcoming the impotence of the aged mother.

Thomas Constable: Isaac's name ("laughter") was appropriate for two reasons. 1. Isaac would be a source of joy to his parents as the fulfillment of God's promised seed. 2. Both Abraham and Sarah had laughed in amazement and unbelief respectively when told that God had chosen to bless them by giving them a son so late in life (Genesis 17:17; Genesis 18:12).

B. H. Carroll: [A]ccording to Paul, Isaac comes into the world the child of promise, and by a miraculous birth. In this respect he is the type of all Christians who are regenerated, born of supernatural power.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so circumcises Abraham Isaac, his son—a son of eight days—as which had commanded him Elohim.

Targum of Onkelos                And Abraham circumcised Izhak his son, when the son of eight days, as the Lord had commanded him.

Latin Vulgate                          And he circumcised him the eighth day, as God had commanded him.