“But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son,”
Genesis 21:9
BSBGo deeper on this verse (3)
- Hagar and Ishmael: Why God Heard the Boy in the Desert (Genesis 21)
What was Ishmael doing in Genesis 21:9?
Ishmael was laughing at the younger boy, mocking him or playing with him, and the verb shares its root with Isaac's name. Sarah "saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son" (Genesis 21:9). The verb is metsacheq, from tsachaq (H6711), the same root as Yitschaq (H3327), Isaac. Three verses after Sarah said "God has made me laugh" (Genesis 21:6), she saw the older boy doing the very thing the younger boy's name means.
Read the whole studyConnection with Abraham's laugh
The Hebrew root behind Abraham's laugh in Genesis 17 appears here, where Ishmael was "mocking her son." It also appears when Sarah laughed at the tent door (Genesis 18:12) and when Lot's sons-in-law thought he was joking about Sodom (Genesis 19:14). Each time, the laugh met a promise from God that sounded absurd.
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How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Engage with Genesis 21:9 in a fresh way
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