Genesis 21:8 kjv
And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
Genesis 21:8 nkjv
So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.
Genesis 21:8 niv
The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.
Genesis 21:8 esv
And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
Genesis 21:8 nlt
When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion.
Genesis 21 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 17:19 | God said, “But Sarah your wife shall bear you a son… you shall call his name Isaac." | Isaac as the promised covenant son |
| Gen 18:10 | "...Sarah your wife shall have a son." | Divine promise of Isaac's birth fulfilled |
| Gen 21:1-2 | The LORD visited Sarah...and she bore Abraham a son. | God's faithfulness in fulfilling the promise |
| Psa 127:3 | Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD... | Children as God's blessing |
| Prov 22:6 | Train up a child in the way he should go... | Preparation for a child's development |
| 1 Sam 2:21 | And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD. | Parallel of special children growing healthy |
| Lk 2:40 | The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. | Jesus' growth mirroring healthy development |
| Lk 2:52 | Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature... | Physical and mental growth, divine favor |
| Num 23:19 | God is not a man, that he should lie... Has he said, and will he not do it? | God's unwavering faithfulness to His promises |
| Deut 7:9 | Know therefore that the LORD your God is God... keeping covenant... | God's steadfastness in covenant fulfillment |
| Heb 10:23 | Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. | Assurance in God's faithfulness |
| Heb 11:11 | By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. | Sarah's belief in God's faithfulness |
| Gen 29:22 | Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. | Feasts as celebratory public events |
| 1 Sam 25:36 | ...he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. | Great feasts signifying importance |
| Neh 8:12 | And all the people went away to eat and drink and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. | Public joy and celebration |
| Lk 15:23-24 | Bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. | Celebration of the returned/valued son |
| Gal 4:1-2 | The heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything... until the date set by his father. | Weaning as a step toward heir's maturity and role |
| Heb 5:12-14 | ...solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. | Analogy of spiritual maturity beyond "milk" |
| Phil 4:19 | My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory... | God's provision for His people and promises |
| Gen 15:18 | On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram... | Foundation of the Abrahamic Covenant |
| Gen 17:7 | I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant... | Everlasting nature of God's covenant reaffirmed |
| Gen 33:5 | And Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children and said, "Who are these with you?" Jacob said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant." | Children as gifts from God |
| Gen 21:9-10 | Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing... | Immediately precedes the Ishmael conflict, highlighting Isaac's special status as the heir acknowledged by the feast. |
| Matt 22:2-4 | The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son... | Feasts as symbols of great significance and celebration of a son. |
| Job 1:4 | His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each on his day... | Shows cultural practice of familial feasts |
Genesis 21 verses
Genesis 21 8 Meaning
Genesis 21:8 details Isaac's healthy growth and the significant milestone of his weaning. This event, marking his transition from infancy, was celebrated by Abraham with a great feast. This celebration publicly affirmed Abraham's joy, gratitude to God, and Isaac's acknowledged status as the promised heir through whom God's covenant would be established. It marked a period of completion concerning Isaac's infant nurturing and heralded his progression towards childhood within the patriarchal household.
Genesis 21 8 Context
Genesis 21:8 occurs as a pivotal moment following the miraculous birth of Isaac (Gen 21:1-7) to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. His birth marked the fulfillment of God's longstanding promise to Abraham that he would have an heir through Sarah, establishing His covenant through this lineage. The immediate verses celebrate Isaac's existence and Sarah's joy, turning her skeptical laughter into joy (Gen 21:6).
Historically and culturally, weaning a child was a significant event in ancient Near Eastern societies, marking the child's readiness for more independent development and a step towards formal education or training within the family and community. It was often celebrated with a public feast to acknowledge the child's survival and growth, especially for an heir. For Abraham, this feast for Isaac, the child of promise, solidified his identity as the covenant seed. This grand celebration also sets the stage for the escalating tension between Isaac and Ishmael (Gen 21:9-10), emphasizing Isaac's unique position as the legitimate heir to God's promises, distinguishing him from Ishmael, born of human initiative.
Genesis 21 8 Word analysis
- And the child (wĕhayyeled): Connects this verse seamlessly to the preceding narrative where Isaac's birth is recounted. It emphasizes Isaac, the son promised by God, as the focal point of the narrative's progress.
- grew (gadal, גָּדַל): Hebrew for "to become great, large, strong." This term denotes natural, healthy development and maturity, implying that Isaac thrived under God's watchful care and blessing, vital for the heir of a divine promise.
- and was weaned (vayyiggamal, וַיִּגָּמַל, from gamal): To bring to full ripeness, to wean. This is a critical developmental stage. In ancient cultures, weaning could occur between 2 to 5 years of age, or even later for significant figures. It marked the child's transition from direct maternal sustenance (milk) to solid food and greater independence, often signifying their integration more fully into the family and community's routine. It was a formal separation from infancy.
- and Abraham made (wayya'as Avraham): Signifies Abraham's active participation and joyous initiative in acknowledging this milestone. It highlights his role as the patriarch in celebrating God's blessing and affirming Isaac's status.
- a great feast (mishteh gadol, מִשְׁתֶּה גָּדוֹל): A large banquet or drinking party, emphasizing the grandeur and importance of the occasion. Such a feast would have included the extended household, servants, and possibly neighboring tribal leaders, publicly displaying Abraham's joy and confidence in God's covenant with Isaac. It was an outward expression of an inward conviction and gratitude.
- on the day that Isaac was weaned: Specifically identifies the precise moment of celebration, highlighting the weaning itself as the central, monumental event being commemorated. This precision underscores its significance as a definitive stage in Isaac's life and the continuation of the promise.
Words-group Analysis
- "The child grew and was weaned": This phrase encapsulates Isaac's healthy progression, not merely physically but developmentally in a culturally significant manner. It points to divine providence enabling the promised child to thrive, indicating God's ongoing watchfulness over the fulfillment of His covenant.
- "Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned": This phrase captures the celebratory response to God's faithfulness. Abraham's public declaration of joy through a lavish feast demonstrates his acknowledgment of Isaac as the legitimate, thriving heir and expresses profound gratitude for God's incredible blessing after years of waiting and doubt.
Genesis 21 8 Bonus Section
- The timing of weaning in the ancient Near East (generally 2-5 years) meant that Isaac would have been a discernible, lively child by this time, making the feast a celebration of his distinct personality and viability, not just a fragile infant.
- This feast inadvertently serves as the catalyst for the conflict in the subsequent verses (Gen 21:9-10). The joyous public affirmation of Isaac's status, legitimacy, and health provoked Ishmael's mocking, which led to Sarah's demand for Hagar and Ishmael's expulsion. Thus, this moment of joy is also a pivot towards familial strife, highlighting the precise, covenantal distinction between the sons.
- The biblical record highlights the weaning of special children as significant events (e.g., Isaac, Samuel – 1 Sam 1:24). This reflects their specific role in God’s plan and signifies a key transition period in their life narrative.
- The "great feast" reflects the ultimate trust and reliance Abraham had developed in God's word, overcoming earlier doubts and laughter. It is a moment of pure, undiluted gratitude for the fulfillment of the miraculous.
Genesis 21 8 Commentary
Genesis 21:8, though seemingly a simple verse about child-rearing, carries profound significance. It marks Isaac's progression into childhood, confirming his health and God's sustaining hand upon the covenant line. The weaning event was a widely recognized developmental milestone, often observed with public celebrations in the ancient world, and Abraham’s "great feast" underscores the extraordinary importance of Isaac, not just as any son, but as the long-awaited son of promise. This banquet was a visible testimony to Abraham’s trust in God's faithfulness and a public declaration of Isaac’s legitimate place as the heir through whom the Abrahamic covenant would continue. This scene of joy and affirmation starkly contrasts with the subsequent verses concerning Ishmael, setting the stage for the definitive separation between the two sons, as one lineage was divinely chosen, and the other, though blessed, was not the primary inheritor of the covenant. The celebration essentially validates Isaac's thriving life as direct evidence of God's unfailing word.