Genesis 21:1
in Genesis 21Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah visited Sarah as he had said, and Jehovah did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
KJV
And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
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This verse in Genesis 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIsaac was born according to the promise. The Lord visited Sarah in mercy, as he had said. Note, No word of God shall fall to the ground; for he is faithful that has promised, and God's faithfulness is the stay and support of his people's faith.
This site's exposition
the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said
on Genesis 21:1-2
The verse says it twice, as He had said and what He had promised. Her barrenness stood at 11:30, one verse before the promise of descendants at 12:2, and the son comes at the very time God had promised. The closed wombs of 20:18 stand right before it.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureDisputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Conjugal chastity accords with the written law by reason of the divine miracle, according to that passage of Genesis 21: The Lord visited Sarah, as He had promised, and fulfilled what He had spoken, and she conceived and bore a son in her old age, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the Lord visited Sarah--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 [CALVIN].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The Lord visited Sarah - 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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
- The Birth of Isaac 7. מלל mı̂lēl “speak,” an ancient and therefore solemn and poetical word. 14. חמת chêmet “bottle,” akin to חמה chāmâh, “surround, enclose,” and הוּם chûm “black. באר שׁבע beêr-sheba‛, Beer-sheba‘, “well of seven.” 22. פיכל pı̂ykol, Pikhol, “mouth or spokesman of all.” 23. נין nı̂yn “offspring, kin;” related: “sprout, flourish.” נכד neked “progeny,” perhaps “acquaintance,” cognate with נגד ngd, “be before” (the eyes) and נקד nqd, “mark.” 33. אשׁל 'êshel “grove;” ἄρουρα aroura, Septuagint.; אילבה 'ı̂ylābâh, “a tree,” Onkelos. This chapter records the birth of Isaac with other concomitant circumstances.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
AND THE ETERNAL ‘PAKAD’ (VISITED) SARAH AS HE HAD SAID. That is, by granting her pregnancy. And the Eternal did unto Sarah as He had spoken by granting her the birth of a son.Thus the words of Rashi.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיהוָ֛ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| פָּקַ֥ד | pakad | he visited | H6485 → | 303 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שָׂרָ֖ה | sarah | Sarah | H8283 → | 38 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָמָ֑ר | ʾamar | he had said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| וַיַּ֧עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְשָׂרָ֖ה | lesarah | to Sarah | H8283 → | 38 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֵּֽר׃ | diber | he had spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
וַֽיהוָ֛הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
פָּקַ֥דhe visited
pakadH6485 →303 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שָׂרָ֖הSarah
sarahH8283 →38 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
אָמָ֑רhe had said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
וַיַּ֧עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְשָׂרָ֖הto Sarah
lesarahH8283 →38 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֵּֽר׃he had spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 18:14Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
it leads to
- Luke 1:37
For no word from God will ever fail.”
- Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Luke 1:37
Through
Psalms 12:6The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.
it leads to
- Proverbs 30:5
Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
- Psalms 18:30
As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- 2 Samuel 22:31
As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- Proverbs 30:5
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.