And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.
Parallel translations
- WEB God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.
- KJV And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
- NKJV So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
- NASB And God was with the boy, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer.
- NLT And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer,
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
God is with Ishmael as he grows up in the wilderness and becomes an archer. The boy thrives under God's providential care.
Overview
Despite being outside the covenant line, Ishmael enjoys God's accompanying presence and grows to maturity in the desert. This fulfills the promise of God's care for him and underscores the Lord's faithfulness to His word. The verse shows that God's common grace extends to all, even as His special saving purposes proceed through Isaac.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Gen 28:15Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
- Gen 39:21the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
- Gen 16:12He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
- Gen 39:2–3And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
- Luke 1:80And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.
- Gen 10:9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
- Judg 13:24–25So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.
- Gen 17:20As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
- Gen 49:23–24The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
- Gen 25:27When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
- Judg 6:12And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
- Gen 27:3Take your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out into the field to hunt some game for me.
- Luke 2:40And the Child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon 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 21:20 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.