Genesis 21:3
in Genesis 21And Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore to him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
KJV
And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
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This verse in Genesis 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd Abraham called the name of his son whom Sarah bore to him Isaac. Isaac is interpreted as Laughter or Joy, which very name is fitting for all the faithful, to whom among other goods of the heavenly inheritance, their Redeemer promises by saying: "Again …
This site's exposition
Abraham gave the name Isaac
on Genesis 21:3-5
God had given the name Isaac at 17:19, before there was a child; it means he laughs. Isaac is circumcised on the eighth day, as God had commanded at 17:12. Abraham was then a hundred, twenty-five years on from the call at 12:4.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(2.) When Sarah received the promise she laughed with distrust and diffidence. Note, When God gives us the mercies we began to despair of we ought to remember with sorrow and shame our sinful distrusts of God's power and promise, when we were in pursuit of them. (3.) Isaac was himself, afterwards, laughed at by Ishmael (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And Abraham called the name of his son that was borne unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Isaac - See the reason and interpretation of this name in the note on Gen 17:7 (note).
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֨א | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֜ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֶׁם־ | shem- | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| בְּנ֧וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַנּֽוֹלַד־ | hanolad- | who had been born | H3205 → | 496 times |
| ל֛וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָלְדָה־ | yaldah- | she had borne | H3205 → | 496 times |
| לּ֥וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| שָׂרָ֖ה | sarah | Sarah | H8283 → | 38 times |
| יִצְחָֽק׃ | yitzchak | Isaac | H3327 → | 108 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֨אand he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
אַבְרָהָ֜םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שֶׁם־[the] name of
shem-H8034 →864 times
בְּנ֧וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
הַנּֽוֹלַד־who had been born
hanolad-H3205 →496 times
ל֛וֹto <the> him
lo
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יָלְדָה־she had borne
yaldah-H3205 →496 times
לּ֥וֹto <the> him
lo
שָׂרָ֖הSarah
sarahH8283 →38 times
יִצְחָֽק׃Isaac
yitzchakH3327 →108 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
Romans 9:7Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:18
even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 21:12
But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.
- Hebrews 11:18
Through
Genesis 21:6Then Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me.”
it leads to
- Psalms 126:2
Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
- Isaiah 54:1
“Shout for joy, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth in song and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her…
- Genesis 17:17
Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?”
- Luke 1:58
Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.
- Luke 1:46–55
Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
- Psalms 126:2
Through
Genesis 17:19But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after…
it leads to
- Genesis 21:2–3
So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 21:2–3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
3 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…
- PersonPatriarchsIsaacThe son of promise and of laughter — bound on Moriah, the quiet inheritor of the covenant.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.