and she said to Abraham, “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this servant and her son! For the son of this servant will not be heir with my son, Isaac.”
- KJV Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
- NKJV Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.”
- NASB Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be an heir with my son Isaac!”
- NLT So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Sarah demands that Hagar and Ishmael be cast out so Ishmael will not share Isaac's inheritance. She insists the son of the slave woman not be co-heir.
Overview
Sarah's demand, though harsh, aligns with God's purpose to establish the covenant line through Isaac alone. Paul cites these very words to illustrate that the inheritance of grace cannot be mingled with the bondage of the flesh and the law. The expulsion, painful as it is, safeguards the distinct line of promise leading to Christ and the freedom of the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- John 8:35A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
- Gal 4:22–31For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
- Gen 36:6–7Later, Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the people of his household, along with his livestock, all his other animals, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan, and he moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob.
- 1 Pet 1:4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
- Matt 8:11–12I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Gal 4:7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.
- Matt 22:13Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- Gen 25:19This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,
- Gal 3:18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God freely granted it to Abraham through a promise.
- Gen 25:6But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
- Gen 22:10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
- Gen 20:11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’
- Gen 17:21But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
- Gen 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 him.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 21:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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