14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a flask of water, and gave [it] to Hagar, putting [it] on her shoulder -- and the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his possessions, that he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went into a country away from his brother Jacob. For their property was too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were sojourners could not bear them, because of their cattle.
But he [that was] of the maid servant was born according to flesh, and he [that was] of the free woman through the promise. Which things have an allegorical sense; for these are two covenants: one from mount Sinai, gendering to bondage, which is Hagar. For Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which [is] now, for she is in bondage with her children;
For the fields of Heshbon languish, the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants: they reached unto Jaazer, they wandered [through] the wilderness; its shoots stretched out, they went beyond the sea.
Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.
I have made haste, and not delayed, to keep thy commandments.
They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way, they found no city of habitation;
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba; and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the country; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.
And they rose early in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
And they ate and drank, he and the men that were with him, and lodged. And they rose up in the morning; and he said, Send me away to my master.
And Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
And [Abraham] planted a tamarisk in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Jehovah, the Eternal ùGod.
Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there they had sworn, both of them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 21
Commentary on Genesis 21 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 21
In this chapter we have,
Gen 21:1-8
Long-looked-for comes at last. The vision concerning the promised seed is for an appointed time, and now, at the end, it speaks, and does not lie; few under the Old Testament were brought into the world with such expectation as Isaac was, not for the sake of any great person eminence at which he was to arrive, but because he was to be, in this very thin, a type of Christ, that seed which the holy God had so long promised and holy men so long expected. In this account of the first days of Isaac we may observe,
Gen 21:9-13
The casting out of Ishmael is here considered of, and resolved on.
Gen 21:14-21
Here is,
Gen 21:22-32
We have here an account of the treaty between Abimelech and Abraham, in which appears the accomplishment of that promise (ch. 12:2) that God would make his name great. His friendship is valued, is courted, though a stranger, though a tenant at will to the Canaanites and Perizzites.
Gen 21:33-34
Observe,