Genesis 21:2
in Genesis 21So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
KJV
For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
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This verse in Genesis 21
Commentary
8 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, and it stands after the closed wombs of 20:18. She conceived and bore Abraham a son at the time God had promised. Her barrenness stood at 11:30, one verse before the promise of descendants at 12:2.
This site's exposition
at the very time God had promised
Matthew Henry reads the very time as God keeping His own time, so what God promised came at the time He set. Henry calls that the best time. Sarah conceived in her old age, and Henry ties it to Hebrews 11, where she received strength by faith.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Do you wish to learn the symbolic meaning of Sarah's sterility? The church was to bring forth the multitude of believers. In order, therefore, that you may not find incredible how one who was childless, fruitless and barren could have given birth, she who by nature was barren went ahead, paving the way for chosen sterility, and Sarah became a type of the church. For just as she gave birth in her old age when she was barren, so too the church, though barren, has given birth for these, the final times.
The Medieval Church2 voices
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 Lord visited Sarah as He had promised, and fulfilled what He had spoken to her; she conceived and bore a son in her old age at the time God had predicted to her.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, God is always punctual to his time; though his promised mercies come not at the time we set, they will certainly come at the time he sets, and that is the best time. He was born by virtue of the promise: Sarah by faith received strength to conceive Heb. xi. God therefore by promise gave that strength.
For Sarah conceived,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתַּהַר֩ | vatahar | and she conceived | H2029 → | 43 times |
| וַתֵּ֨לֶד | vateled | and she bore | H3205 → | 496 times |
| שָׂרָ֧ה | sarah | Sarah | H8283 → | 38 times |
| לְאַבְרָהָ֛ם | leavraham | to Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| בֵּ֖ן | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לִזְקֻנָ֑יו | lizkunav | of old age<s> his | H2208 → | 4 times |
| לַמּוֹעֵ֕ד | lamoed | to the appointed time | H4150 → | 223 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֥ר | diber | he had spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | with <the> him | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֱלֹהִֽים׃ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַתַּהַר֩and she conceived
vataharH2029 →43 times
וַתֵּ֨לֶדand she bore
vateledH3205 →496 times
שָׂרָ֧הSarah
sarahH8283 →38 times
לְאַבְרָהָ֛םto Abraham
leavrahamH85 →175 times
בֵּ֖ןa son
benH1121 →4930 times
לִזְקֻנָ֑יוof old age<s> his
lizkunavH2208 →4 times
לַמּוֹעֵ֕דto the appointed time
lamoedH4150 →223 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֥רhe had spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
אֹת֖וֹwith <the> him
ʾotoH854 →929 times
אֱלֹהִֽים׃God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 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
Hebrews 11:11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised.
it leads to
- Genesis 21:1–2
Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
- Romans 4:20–21
Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,
- Genesis 18:11–14
And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
- Luke 1:36
Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month.
- Genesis 21:1–2
Through
Genesis 18:10Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the…
it leads to
- Genesis 17:21
But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
- Romans 9:8–9
So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.
- Genesis 17:21
Through
Galatians 4:22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
it leads to
- Genesis 16:15
And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
- Genesis 16:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies15
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsSarahAbraham's wife — barren, then bearing Isaac by promise “past age” through faith; Paul's allegory of the covenant of promise (Gal 4…
- PersonPatriarchsAbrahamCalled out of Ur, the father of all who believe, justified by faith, and the friend of God through whose seed all nations are bles…
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Chrysostom, DO NOT DESPAIR; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.