And Abraham named their son Isaac.
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham called his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
- KJV And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
- BSB And Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore to him.
- NKJV And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.
- NASB Abraham named his son who was born to him, the son whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
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 names his promised son Isaac, meaning 'he laughs.' The name marks the joy of God's fulfilled promise.
Overview
Obedient to God's earlier command, Abraham gives his son the name Isaac, recalling the laughter that accompanied the promise. The name commemorates both the doubt and the joy surrounding his birth, now transformed into gladness. Isaac stands as a living testimony to God's power to do what seems impossible, a forerunner of the greater Son given according to promise.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 17:19God said, “No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
- Rom 9:7Neither, because they are Abraham’s offspring, are they all children. But, “your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac.”
- Gen 21:6Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
- Josh 24:3I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his offspring, and gave him Isaac.
- Matt 1:2Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers.
- Heb 11:18to whom it was said, “your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac”;
- Gen 21:12God said to Abraham, “Don’t let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your servant. In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac.
- Acts 7:8He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
- Gen 22:2He said, “Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, even Isaac, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 21:3 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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