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Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
Genesis 21:14 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
  • KJV And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
  • NKJV So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
  • NASB So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.
  • NLT So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba.

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

Abraham obediently sends Hagar and Ishmael away with provisions, and they wander in the wilderness. He acts on God's word despite the cost.

Overview

Abraham obeys promptly, though the parting of his son into the desert is heavy with sorrow. Hagar and Ishmael's plight in the wilderness sets the stage for another display of God's compassionate care. The scene shows that obedience to God may bring hardship, yet God does not abandon those affected, but meets them in their need.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • 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.
  • Ps 119:60I hurried without hesitating to keep Your commandments.
  • John 8:35A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
  • Gen 16:7Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
  • Gen 26:31And they got up early the next morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.
  • Ps 107:4Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no path to a city in which to dwell.
  • Gen 21:31So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
  • Prov 27:14If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted to him as a curse.
  • 1 Kgs 19:3And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
  • Eccl 9:10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
  • Gen 26:33So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.
  • Gen 22:19Abraham went back to his servants, and they got up and set out together for Beersheba. And Abraham settled in Beersheba.
  • Gen 22:3So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.
  • Gen 37:15a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”
  • Gen 46:1So Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
  • Gen 19:27Early the next morning, Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
  • 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.
  • Gen 21:33And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.
  • Gal 4:23–25His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born through the promise.
  • Gen 24:54Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”
  • Isa 16:8For the fields of Heshbon have withered, along with the grapevines of Sibmah. The rulers of the nations have trampled its choicest vines, which had reached as far as Jazer and spread toward the desert. Their shoots had spread out and passed over the sea.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 21:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 21:14 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.