Genesis 21, Laughter

God has promised Abraham a son.  But that was some time ago....

Genesis 21:1-3, 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. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.

Suddenly, at the end of the description of barren women in Abimelech's harem, we have an announcement. Sarah is pregnant! In a few short lines, she has a son and they name him Isaac, as previously foretold.

Genesis 21:4-5, The circumcision of Isaac
When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

"Isaac" means "he laughs", harkening back to Abraham's response in Genesis 17:17-19. Sarah finally has the child she had long wanted.

The chapter divisions in our Bible are artificial, created in medieval times.  If one were reading this in an old Hebrew scroll, the story of the infertility of Abimelech's harem would continue into this chapter without pause, sharply contrasted by the story of Sarah's pregnancy. They are all part of one common story about Sarah and promises of children and descendants. 

Isaac is circumcised at eight days old. This will become a standard timeline for those Jews who consistently practice circumcision. (Jesus, in the New Testament, was also circumcised after eight days, see Luke 2:21.)

Genesis 21:6-8, Laughter comes to Sarah

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.

Sarah uses the name Isaac to describe her reaction to her child. She has dreamed of this for decades and now laughs about this surprise blessing. Laughter will continue for a time as a theme of this passage.

Genesis 21:9-13, Sarah turns on Hagar

But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."

The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.

But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."

Sarah's joyful laughter is ruined by Hagar's mocking laughter. So Sarah attempts to remove Hagar and Ishmael, even though the birth of Hagar's child was her idea.

Genesis 21:14-16, Hagar and Ishmael are dismissed
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob.

The Septuagint (ancient Greek translation) has the child sobbing, not Hagar. This fits better with the next paragraph.

Genesis 21:17-21, God intervenes to save Ishmael

God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. 

God intervenes to save Ishmael by pointing out a well of water nearby. God has great plans for Ishmael, even though he is not in the line of Israel.

Genesis 21:22-31, Treaty with Abimelech

At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you."

Abraham said, "I swear it."

Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized. But Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today."

So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?"

He replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well."

So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.

After the interlude about Sarah and Isaac, we return to the story of Abraham and Abimelech. Abimelech is aware that Abraham is protected by his God and pursues alliances.

The site of the treaty, Beersheba, will continue to appear throughout Old Testament history, eventually becoming one of the southernmost towns in the southern kingdom of Judah. (According to the NIV footnotes, "Beersheba" can mean "well of seven" or "well of the oath".)

Genesis 21: 32-34, Beersheba and the Eternal God

After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

Abraham stays for a time in the land of the Philistines, planting a tree and settling down. He worships by calling on God as "the eternal God".

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is olam 

עוֹלָם

which means "forever" or "everlasting". It appears in Genesis 3:22 and Genesis 6:4, where its meaning is different. In the first passage, it means "forever"; in the second it means "from ancient times." In this chapter, in verse 33, it is part of God's name, representing an attribute of God, as one who is eternal, everlasting.

Some Random Thoughts

Chapters 12-14 and 21-22 have some striking parallels in the life of Abram/Abraham. I copy, below, a table from John Walton's Genesis commentary (p. 501) which list those parallels.

    Threat from foreign ruler                        12:10-20             20:1-18

    Division of the family                             13:1-13               21:8-21

    Granting of the promised blessing          13:14-17             21:1-7

    Agreement with a foreign ruler               14:1-24               21:22-34

    Heir crisis                                                15:1-4                 22:1-2

    Descendants as the stars                          15:5                    22:17

    Recognition of Abraham's faith                15:6                    22:12

    Sacrificial context                                    15:9-11              22:1-11

Abraham's life and covenant relationship with God has cycles. The next chapter will describe an intensive test of Abraham and a step higher in that relationship..

First published Jan 25, 2023; updated Jan 23, 2026

Genesis 20, Abraham in Gerar

After Sodom, Abraham moves on. He settles for a time along a riverbed in the Negev desert (part of modern Israel; see this Wikipedia page on Gerar.)

Genesis 20:1-7, Abraham lies again about Sarah

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."

Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, `She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, `He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands."

Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die."

Abraham has done this before, with the Pharaoh of Egypt. Again, God intervenes and we see Abimelech arguing with God in a dream. 

For the first time, an Old Testament character is identified as a nabi (נָבִיא), a prophet. In this situation, the word seems to mean a person with a special relationship with God.

Genesis 20:8-13, Abimelech confronts Abraham

Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done."

And Abimelech asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?"

Abraham replied, "I said to myself, `There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, `This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother."'"

Abraham claims two things: there is no fear of God in that place -- but there was! -- and that, technically, Sarah is his (half-)sister.  This is the first we hear of this claim.

Genesis 20:14-18, Abimelech makes amends

Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, "My land is before you; live wherever you like."

To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated."

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, for the LORD had closed up every womb in Abimelech's household because of Abraham's wife Sarah.

What a rough time for Abimelech! And Abraham does not look good here (again!) The story of Abraham and Abimelech is not over but will continue in the next chapter, after a brief interruption. Alter argues that the infertility of Abimelech's harem implies that it is Abimelech who is suddenly impotent.  The question about the "closed wombs" in Abimelech's harem leads naturally to the insertion of a story about Sarah's fertility -- that brief interruption of the Abraham/Abimelech tale starts immediately in the next chapter.

Walton suggests that it is possible that Sarah is pregnant during this episode, since the birth of Isaac is announced at the beginning of the next chapter. With that upcoming birth, it may be important to emphasize, above in verse 6, that Abimelech had not touched Sarah.

A thousand shekels of silver is about 25 pounds, a considerable amount of silver. Walton (p. 496) says that in Ugaritic literature, this would be the bride price among the gods. Abimelech is making a very strong statement of respect.

This story parallels that of the Egyptian pharaoh from Genesis 12.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is keseph, a masculine noun meaning silver or money.

כֶּסֶף

This word appears in verse 16 in this chapter where the text does not use a word for shekel but says literally, "a thousand of silver." A unit of some type (pieces? shekels?) is implied.

Some Random Thoughts

Unlike the earlier event, here God appears to the foreign ruler in a dream. Dreams of significance occur sporadically throughout the Old Testament.

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First published Jan 24, 2023; updated Jan 23, 2026

Genesis 19, Judgment on Sodom

Sodom's wickedness has led God to condemn it, even after Abraham's negotiation.  Sodom does not have even ten righteous people in it.

Genesis 19:1-3, Two angels at Lot's door

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning." "

No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square."

But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.

Like Abraham in the previous chapter, Lot graciously offers hospitality to the strange guests. 

The word translated "angel" here is really "messenger." From context we know that these are "divine messengers." The three "men" in the previous chapter, one of whom apparently represented YHWH, has now reduced to two divine messengers.

Lot knows that the men will not be safe in the city square. The hospitality practiced by Abraham and Lot will be sharply contrasted by that of the residents of Sodom.

Genesis 18:4-9, Rape gang at Lot's door
Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."

"Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

Lot attempts to negotiate with the gang, offering them his daughters instead! The gang respond in anger and indignation. Lot underestimates both the gang and his visitors. (Walton suggests that one could interpret Lot's offer of his daughters as sarcasm, "You want my guests? I'd rather offer my virgin daughters!")

Genesis 19:10-13, Angels promise to protect Lot
But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here--sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."

The angels draw Lot back into the house and defend him. They blind the gang outside the house; those men are described as still attempting to enter Lot's home, even after being blinded.

Sodom will be destroyed. Lot needs to leave. He is told to take with him the ones he loves.

Genesis 19:14-20, Get your family

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished." When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.

The angels tell Lot to take his family and leave Sodom. When sons-in-law resist, the angels grab Lot and the other three in his family and quickly lead them out of town.

The status of Lot's daughter is confusing in verse 14. In verse 8 -- if Lot is being truthful -- the women are described as "having never slept with a man." The Hebrew is clear. But in verse 14 the men are described by the Hebrew word chathan (חָתָן), meaning "husband" or "son-in-law." These men are then described as connected to the women by the Hebrew laqach (לָקַח), a rather vague word that can mean "take" or "accept" or "acquire." The NIV here translates that word as "pledged to be married." Were the women married? Engaged? It is possible the men were contracted to marry the women; this would fit the culture of the ANE. It is also possible that the women were indeed married and Lot's earlier remark was deliberately false. (See Walton's comment on Lot's statement, above.) Regardless, the local men related to Lot's daughters had no intention in leaving.

Genesis 19:17-20, Fleeing Sodom

As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"

But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die. Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it--it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared."

The messengers tell Lot and his family to run and not look back. They are to flee to the mountains. Lot convinces the angels to instead let him turn aside to a nearby small town.  

Genesis 19:21-26, Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah (& Lot's wife)

He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar.)

By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Lot reaches safety in a small town named Zoar (tsaar, צָעַר, means "small".) But Lot's wife disobeys the command to "not look back" and is turned into a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:27-30, A pillar of smoke

Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived. Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.

Abraham can see that Sodom has been destroyed.

The location of Sodom, Gomorrah and Zoar is unknown. The Genesis account (see 14:2-3) puts them near the Dead Sea and Walton leans toward the southern end of the Dead Sea. Some argue that these ancient towns now lie under that very salty lake.

Genesis 19:31-36, Lot's daughters have sex with him

One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth. Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father."

That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

The next day the older daughter said to the younger, "Last night I lay with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father." So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.

In the ancient Near Eastern culture, a woman's significance was tightly intertwined with her ability to have children. Lot's daughters no longer have their husbands and so must have children some other way.  They choose to get pregnant by Lot, first getting him drunk. The narrator, as in other incidents, makes no comment on these actions.  (This might be a good place to reference the article "What's Up with Weird Bible Sex?" in Christianity Today.)  

Genesis 19:37-38, The Moabites and Ammonites

The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

This story explains the existence of the Moabites and Ammonites. (NIV footnotes: "Moab "sounds like the Hebrew for "from father"; "Ben-Ammi" means "son of my people.")  The existence of Moabites and Ammonites will be a problem for the future Israelites when they return to Canaan. Here, however, their existence is due to Abraham's influence in saving Lot's family.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is layil, a masculine noun

לַיִל

meaning night, midnight, This word shows up in verse 5 of this chapter and again in verses 33, 34 and 35. Evil things can happen in the blackness of night.

Some Random Thoughts

What was the sin of Sodom? Because of this chapter, the sin of Sodom has sometimes been equated with homosexuality, but that is a rather simplistic viewpoint. Indeed even the question is misleading as the residents of Sodom had many sins; the city is described as evil, a broad term implying many layers of filth. In this chapter we see a sharp deviation from ANE standards of hospitality, followed by violence, lust, rape. In Ezekiel 16:49-50, the people of Sodom are described as being 

"... arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 

They were haughty and did detestable things...."

This seems to be a rather apt description of many modern societies.

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First published Jan 23, 2023; updated Jan 22, 2026

Genesis 18, Three Men at Mamre

Abram, newly named Abraham, has had all the males in his family circumcised, in keeping with the new covenant with God.

Genesis 18:1-8, Three men appear
The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way--now that you have come to your servant." 

"Very well," they answered, "do as you say."

So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread." Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

The LORD is somehow identified with the three men. 

Abraham follows a common custom: he quickly asks the men to come in and rest, makes humble promises about "something to eat", and then hurries to get a sumptuous banquet prepared. Three seahs is probably about 36 pounds (NIV footnotes) or twenty quarts (Walton.) This makes quite a lot of bread! Furthermore, in the ANE culture, meat is a luxury. Abraham intends to greatly honor his guests.

Once again, the location of this meeting, in an account written for people centuries later, is identified by trees. Alter translates "great trees" as "Terebinth"; the KJV translates "great trees" as "plain". The Hebrew word used here is a modification of elah, meaning oak or terebinth; this word will show up again in Genesis 35:4. Apparently in these desert lands, one might identify a location by the existence of trees!

Genesis 18:9-12, Sarah laughs
"Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. 

"There, in the tent," he said.

Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." 

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

In verse 10, the Hebrew is literally "Then he" instead of "then the LORD"; the translators assume the pronoun refers to YHWH.

Sarah has long given up on the "pleasure" of bearing a child. Like Abraham in the previous chapter (17:17), Sarah laughs in surprise and doubt.

Genesis 18:13-15, Don't laugh!

Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, `Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'  Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." 

But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

"The LORD" confronts Sarah and promises to return a year later.  The reporting of dialogue is delightful here. Dialogue is somewhat rare in this book -- here we have God saying, "You laughed!", Sarah responding, like a child, "Did not!" to which God says, "Did so, did so!" Is YHWH teasing Sarah a little here?  Does she see how silly it is to deny this? In a year she will be blessed with a young son and will get her own fill of childish behavior! In the New Testament, Sarah's actions here are mentioned as an example of faith (in Hebrews 11:11)!

Genesis 18:16-21, YHWH looks at Sodom

When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

God decides to explain His plans to Abraham.  This is portrayed as an internal conflict of God, debating with Himself over whether to tell his friend Abraham of his plans.

One is reminded of the events just before the Great Flood; once again mankind has degenerated into evil and God plans a response.  This time it will not be a flood.

Genesis 18:22-33, Abraham bargains with God

The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" 

"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."

Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" 

He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."

Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" 

He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" 

He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."

Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" 

He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."

When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

Abraham argues with God and negotiates for Sodom.  Abraham calls for "righteousness" or "justice" in God's actions. Abraham stops his negotiation at an agreement on ten righteous people; surely Lot and his family would account for most of the ten. Later Jewish practice will require ten men (a minyan) as a minimum to form a synagogue.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is adon, a masculine singular noun

אָדוֹן

meaning lord, master. It appears in verse 3 in Abraham's address to the three strangers. The word need not refer to supernatural beings; Sarah uses the word in verse 12 to describe her husband.

Some Random Thoughts

In this passage, YHWH comes across as a (very powerful) friend of Abraham, telling Abraham of his plans, promising a son, correcting Sarah's "I did not laugh." In verse 22, ancient texts and ancient Hebrew scribal traditions apparently have the phrase "but the LORD remained standing before Abraham", as if YHWH were the one waiting on Abraham, as one might wait on a superior. The NIV follows the Masoretic text which switches the roles, with Abraham standing before YHWH.  Which is the original?  Did Masorete scribes change (sanitize) earlier texts because they were uncomfortable with "YHWH standing before Abraham"?

Not only does YHWH appear to stand before Abraham (as one of the three men?) but earlier He disputes with Sarah, as if He were teasing her about her upcoming joy of having a son. Neither image is that of a scary angry God, but instead a being Who is indeed a friend of the frail human, Abraham, and his wife.

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First published Jan 21, 2023; updated Jan 21, 2026

Genesis 17, Covenant Circumcision

Abram's maid, Hagar, has borne a child for Abram.  God had promised Abram an heir but had said nothing about the mother of the heir. Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, that changes.

Genesis 17:1-8, Covenant renewed

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." 

Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,"As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."

God appears to Abram and repeats his covenant. This time it includes a slight alteration in Abram's name. "God Almighty" is literally Hebrew "El-Shaddai". The name"Abram" begins with the Hebrew noun ab, meaning father; apparently "Abram" means "exalted father" while "Abraham" means "father of many."  

Ishmael is about 13 years old when this event occurs.

We are not told how God appears to Abram here. In the next chapter God's appearance (or that of His messengers) is in the form of three visitors.

Genesis 17:9-14, Circumcision
Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: 

Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner--those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

The sign of the covenant is a strange one -- males are to be circumcised, to have the foreskin of their penis removed.  Although circumcision was practiced at times in the ANE, especially as a rite at the onset of puberty, here it is a physical sign of the covenant with YHWH. 

Circumcision has obvious sexual/reproductive effects.  There probably was a direct connection (understood in that patriarchal culture?) between (1) cutting the male organ used for reproduction and (2) the promise that men of this covenant will reproduce often enough that their descendants will "be like the stars of the sky" (Genesis 15:5.)

Genesis 17:15-16, Sarai becomes Sarah
God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

There is a promise to Sarai also, as she will be the mother ancestor of these tribes. The name changes, for both Abraham and Sarah, seem to be relatively small.

The names Sarai and Sarah are both based on the Hebrew sar (שַׂר), a masculine noun meaning "chief", "governor" or "ruler." By adding the feminine ending ה, one gets a word meaning "female chief" or "princess".  Clearly this Sarah is to be the (female) chief of many people. (The name Sarai also appears to be a feminine version of sar; it is not clear to me the difference in meaning between Sarai and Sarah.)

Genesis 17:17-22, Abraham laughs
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"

Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year."

When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

God answers Abram's request about Ishmael, but insists that the promised tribe will come through a son named Isaac, "he laughs."

The Hebrew verb "to laugh" is tsachaq (צְחַק.) Prefixing the verb with יִ (ye, indicating the pronoun "he"), one arrives at the name יִצְחָק, Yitschaq (Isaac.)

Genesis 17:23-27, Males circumcised
On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

Abram follows the covenant instructions about circumcision. in some cultures male circumcision occurred at puberty and this event, the circumcision of the entire household, occurs just as Ishmael is entering puberty.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is sar 

שַׂר

a masculine noun meaning "chief", "governor" or "ruler." By adding the feminine ending ה, one obtains the word sarah (שָׂרָה) meaning "female chief" or "princess". That word is used in 1 Kings 11:3 to describe the 700 wives of Solomon and in Esther 1:18 to describe the noble ladies of Persia who might be led astray by Queen Vashti's insolence.

Some Random Thoughts

Note the strong emphasis on giving each child (or grown adult!) a name with meaning. In two chapters we have been given names and meanings for Ishmael, Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. In the ANE culture, it was the mother who named the child -- watch for this throughout our study in Genesis.

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First published Jan 20, 2023; updated Jan 20, 2026

Genesis 16, Hagar's Child

God has made promises to Abram and his descendants. But Abram is bothered by this, for he has NO children! In the culture of the ANE (ancient Near East) there are a number of acceptable ways to father children....

Genesis 16:1-4, An heir through Hagar
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.

Since Sarai has been unable to bear children, she suggests a possible substitute mother, her maid, Hagar. Although this seems wrong to us, this would have been acceptable in the patriarchal culture of the ANE. Indeed, Hagar probably considered this an honor, a promotion. She certainly is proud, later, that she is the mother of Abram's heir.

Genesis 16:5-6, "Hagar despises me!"

Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me."

"Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." 

Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

Abram is accused by Sarai of doing exactly what Sarai had told him to do! The Hebrew word cheq (חֵיק), translated "[into your] arms" here, is a masculine noun from a root that probably meant "to inclose". (A sexual image is implied.) Various translations render the word as "bosom", "lap", "arms", depending on the context. 

Despite fathering the child, Abram washes his hands of Hagar.  "Not my responsibility," he says.  So Sarai coldly sends Hagar and her child away.

Genesis 16:7-14, Don't leave!
The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"

"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.

Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."  The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward  all his brothers."

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."

That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

Hagar runs from Abram and Sarai. She is headed home to Egypt and is on the road to Shur (on the Egyptian border) when the "angel of Yahweh" intervenes and tells her to return to Abram. The messenger assures her that she too will have descendants too numerous to count.

The name "Ishmael", meaning "God hears", is built on the verb shama (שָׁמַע), "to hear" or "to listen". In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we have the famous "Shema Israel" ("Hear, Oh Israel!"), the call to devote oneself fully to YHWH and the Mosaic Covenant. By adding the prefix יִ (ye, indicating the pronoun "he"), and the suffix אל (-el, meaning "god") one obtains יִשְׁמָעֵאל. The name of the young boy is then Ye-Shema-El, literally "he - hear - God," or in the English grammatical structure, "God, he hears."

 

"Beer Lahai Roi" means "well of the Living One who sees me." Hagar names her son after the God who hears her cry and names the well after the One who saw her suffering.  In a later chapter she will still need to lean on the One who hears and sees.

Genesis 16:15-16, Ishmael stays
So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Here we are told that Abram names the child, apparently following Hagar's wishes. Ishmael will stay in the tribe of Abram, for the time being. Indeed, he will remain their thirteen years and is probably viewed, during that time, as Abram's heir.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is qol, voice, sound.

קוֹל

The word appears in verse 2, as Abram listens to the voice of Sarai.

Some Random Thoughts

The ancient story of Hagar and her son recently led an Indonesian father to examine how he brings up his own "strawberry" children in a modern world. The father's essay is here at Christianity Today.

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First published Jan 19, 2023; updated Jan 19, 2026

The Bible and Science

At various times I have been asked to speak to campus Christian groups on Faith & Science.  As we investigate Genesis, it is appropriate to ask, How does our study in Genesis related to modern science?  That question is part of a broader question on the Bible's perspective on "science".

The Bible's Perspective on "Science"

Modern science has a culture all its own; it is a modern concept that emphasizes understanding material structure (atoms, molecules) and emphasizes the physical laws of matter and energy.  It is not a concept that, in its modern form, appears in Scripture.  This does not mean that scientific concepts do not appear in Scripture but that the modern cultural viewpoint is not there.

In Genesis 1 we see each part of the universe created deliberately as an act of God, as beautiful and good. The passage describes the earth "teeming" with life, and describes all of nature as created by God's pleasure in an orderly fashion.

It is reasonable to believe that the Creator of the universe, a universe with physical laws, uses those laws and processes to do his will.  The ancient scriptures view Creation and the Creator in a way difference from our modern culture. We need to be careful to not impose on Scripture our cultural viewpoints; as John Walton says, in his commentary on Genesis, that in reading the Old Testament, we must avoid "intellectual imperialism".  Let me give several examples.

Beginning in Job 38 and continuing for four chapters, God challenges Job to "step to the blackboard" and explain, even control, a variety of natural phenomena. Here are verses 4-11 at the beginning of that passage:

"Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?

Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its place, 

that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out it?"

Verse 22 of that passage continues

"Have you entered the storehouses of snow 

or seen the storehouses of the hail...?"

This passage is not a scientific passage, but a passage about God's challenge to Job.  If one insists that this passage teaches that stars sing and that the sea has physical doors, that the earth has edges or that hail is stored in some barn somewhere, then one is imposing one's own cultural views on this ancient book.  This does not mean that the passage is in error, but that its message is not a scientific one.  

The modern reader often responds by saying, "Well, this is poetry, with poetic images", but that distinction is an oversimplification.  According to Walton, the ancient viewpoint emphasized processes, domains of functions and power.  It would not have asked about molecules and atoms and quantities of matter and energy.  The storehouses for the hail were processes God had for making hail.  Does Job have the power to make hail?  Obviously not.

This does not mean there is no "science" in Scripture, but that the science that occurs is on the level of the knowledge of the culture.  In the book of Acts, written by Luke -- who is elsewhere identified as a doctor -- we see an account of the death of Herod.  This occurred shortly after Herod allowed the people to call him a god:

Acts 12:23 on Herod's death:
"Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died."

There are two explanations here for Herod's death.  Which is correct? Did an angel strike him down or was he was eaten by worms?  I suspect that Luke would not have seen the distinction.  The doctor is suggesting the process of God's action: An angel struck Herod with a disease identified as "eaten by worms".

Still, nature (or "science"), whatever our perceptions of it, are witnesses of God's work.  Here are some sample passages:

Romans 1:20 --
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
Psalm 8 begins

"Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens...."

Psalm 19: 1-4 says

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun."

In all these passages, we see YHWH as the Creator of the universe, as the one who created all things and continues to maintain all things.

Common Myths about Faith and Science

In conversations with a variety of students, friends and colleagues, I have often run into a number of popular myths about either Christian faith or science.  These myths, at times, obstruct discussions on faith or science.  I give short versions of the most popular ones here, without much elaboration....

1. The Bible is a science textbook. (This belief, not supported by Scripture, leads to false assumptions by Christians about the world we live in. No, the earth is not flat....)

2. Hebrew scholars insist that creation must have been in six 24-hour days. (Considerable disagreement exists among Hebrew scholars and there are good contextual arguments against this claim.)

3. Faith is "blind faith", without any justification. (No, a better word might be "trust".  A Christian lives by "trust", relying on an invisible God whose actions may not always be seen.)

4. A naturalistic world view is completely rational and logical. (The argument used to justify naturalism is circular: "I dismiss anything outside the naturalistic world because there is nothing outside the naturalistic world.")

5. Science is a monolithic structure opposed to any debate or change. When confronted with evidence they don't like, scientists conspire to hide the truth. (I've lived and worked with scientists for almost five decades now.  They can indeed be arrogant, prideful, obnoxious, elitist... but there is significant -- sometimes raucous -- debate within the scientific community!)

Since I have only touched on five concepts, one or two which may generate some controversy, feel free to contact me further by email for more serious discussions.  My email address is a gmail: KenWSmith54.

On Young Earth Creationism

When I was eighteen, in 1972, I attended Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago.  (I lived on the ninth floor of Culbertson Hall, with all of the City out my window!) In our Old Testament Synthesis class, the instructor suggested four possible interpretations for the timeline of Creation.  Three of those interpretations (held by leading evangelicals and fundamentalists) allowed an "old earth", an earth that was possibly billions of years old. One interpretation required a "young earth", an earth six to ten thousand years old. 

At that time, the writings of Henry Morris were not widely known.  Morris published a book, The Genesis Flood, claiming that the earth is "young" (six to ten thousand years old) and that a universal flood explains the "errors" in the popular geological dates of the time.  Morris then founded the Creation Research Society and eventually the Institute for Creation Research. More recent versions of Young Earth Creationism (YEC) include Answers in Genesis (led by Ken Ham) and Creation Ministries International. 

I have read YEC materials for many decades now and I believe that they seriously misinterpret Genesis 1.  Debating the merits and errors of YEC will lead us too far afield in our attempts to read the Old Testament, but I am aware that many American Christians view YEC as "biblical". However, many evangelical and fundamentalist leaders, including Hebrew scholars, disagree.  (See this article by Norman Geisler, for example. Or this article by Dick Fischer. Or this video by Gavin Ortlund.) Fortunately these disagreements are over a minor doctrine, a place where Christians may practice grace with those who disagree with us.

Some Resources that I recommend

I emphasize that there is considerable speculation (and disagreement) on the correct interpretations of the Bible's statements about nature, especially as they relate to the Creation account of Genesis 1.  There are a number of different Christian groups, made up of professional scientists, who have weighed in on the importance of Christians engaging with Science.  Here are some I recommend.

1. American Scientific Affiliation (The ASA is an organization of scientists who are Christians.  I am a member of the ASA.)
2. BioLogos (started by Francis Collins) focuses on Evolution and Science. The organization is led by biologists who are Christians. BioLogos defends evolution from a Biblical Christian viewpoint.
3. Reasons to Believe (founded by Hugh Ross) focuses on scientific arguments for Christianity. RTB argues for progressive creation of some type (the universe is billions of years old) but does not endorse evolution.
4. Naturalis Historia, by professor R. Joel Duff, is a blog that looks at Natural History and, at times, critiques claims made by Young Earth Creationists.

I especially enjoy the thoughtful blog, Musings on Science and Theology, by "RJS" (a chemistry professor at a major research university). She writes an excellent blog which covers a variety of issues of science and faith, especially as they relate to biology. Among her many posts on Science and Theology, I suggest reading:

1. Who Wrote Genesis?
2. Of Nations and Languages
3. On Reading Genesis 1-11

The author of that blog has many other thoughtful reactions, as a Christian and scientist, to Genesis and related topics.

The following books are in my personal library. (I have another dozen books or more in my personal library, but these are my favorites.)

1. "Teaching Science in a Climate of Controversy" (a guide for educators from the American Scientific Affiliation) -- email me for a pdf copy of this.
2. "Creation or Evolution?" by Charles Hummel, an Intervarsity pamphlet summarizing the issues. A review appears here.
3. Science and its Limits, by Del Ratzsch, an excellent examination of what science can and cannot do.
4. The Language of God, by Francis Collins (former head of the NIH), explains why Collins sees science as providing evidence for God.
5. The Fingerprint of God, by Hugh Ross, explains why Ross sees science as providing evidence for God.
6. The Fourth Day, by Howard Van Till. Subtitle: "What the Bible and the Heavens are telling us about Creation".  The viewpoint is that of an astronomer.
7. Science Held Hostage, by Van Till, Young, Menninga.  Subtitle: "What Wrong with Creation Science AND Evolutionism."
8. Evolution, Nature & Scripture in Conflict? by Pattle P. T. Pun. This a favorite of mine, as Pun aggressively dismantles the arguments for Young-Earth Creationism while carefully explaining what we know about biology and evolution... and scripture.
9. (Mis)interpreting Genesis: How the Creation Museum Misunderstands the Ancient Near Eastern Context of the Bible, by Ben Stanhope. This book was recommended by friends and I am currently working through it.

On Beauty

Some years ago I was in a public debate on Christianity and Atheism at Central Michigan University.  I agreed to the debate on the condition that I and my opponents meet afterwards at a local pub for casual conversation.  There, over a few beers with two professors, I asked this question, 

"If at 3 AM you wake up and think, 'Gosh, maybe I am wrong', 

what would be the one thing that would be challenging your belief system?"  

I gave my answer: The Existence of Evil (see the book of Job, see Christ's cry on the cross in Matthew 27: 46.) My atheist/agnostic colleagues responded almost simultaneously, "Beauty", "Design". The universe seems to be wonderfully complex and beautiful, it appears to be designed.  If one does not believe in a Creator, then one must claim that this beauty is an illusion, possibly caused by an evolutionary need to feel significant.

But if we are here as the result of a Creator, the Creator who challenges Job to "give order to the morning", then our response must be 

"Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory in the heavens!"

We will return to reading Genesis tomorrow.

First published Jan 15, 2023; updated Jan 18, 2026