Genesis 21:10 · Bible study
Genesis 21:10 Commentary: Cast Out This Servant
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine Sarah's demand to expel Hagar and Ishmael, God's endorsement, and the covenant significance. Commentary, grammar, and theological themes for teachers.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Sarah demands the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael to secure Isaac's unique place in the covenant line; God endorses this as part of His promise.
- Key words: garash (H1644), drive out, divorce; yarash (H3423), inherit, possess. The command carries legal force.
- Main debate: Whether Sarah acted from personal spite or divine prompting, and how this episode serves as a type for two covenants (Galatians 4).
- Theological theme: God’s sovereign choice of Isaac as the heir of the covenant, while still showing mercy to Ishmael.
- Best use: A case study in how God works through human conflict to preserve His promise, and how justice and mercy can coexist.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
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!”
WEB World English Bible 2000
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 King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son: for the son of this handmaid shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and she saith to Abraham, `Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid hath no possession with my son--with Isaac.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And she said to Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my son — with Isaac.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Por tanto dijo á Abraham: Echa á esta sierva y á su hijo; que el hijo de esta sierva no ha de heredar con mi hijo, con Isaac.
Portanto disse a Abraão: Expulsa a esta serva e a seu filho; que o filho desta serva não herdará com meu filho, com Isaque.
et elle dit à Abraham: Chasse cette servante et son fils, car le fils de cette servante n’ héritera pas avec mon fils, avec Isaac.
und sprach zu Abraham: Treibe diese Magd aus mit ihrem Sohn; denn dieser Magd Sohn soll nicht erben mit meinem Sohn Isaak.
En zij zeide tot Abraham: Drijf deze dienstmaagd en haar zoon uit; want de zoon dezer dienstmaagd zal met mijn zoon, met Izak, niet erven.
allora ella disse ad Abrahamo: “Caccia via questa serva e il suo figliuolo; perché il figliuolo di questa serva non ha da essere erede col mio figliuolo, con Isacco”.
I rzekła do Abrahama: Wyrzuć tę służebnicę, i syna jej; albowiem nie będzie dziedziczył syn tej służebnicy z synem mym Izaakiem.
и сказала Аврааму: выгони эту рабыню и сына ее, ибо не наследует сын рабыни сей с сыном моим Исааком.
就對亞伯拉罕 說：「你把這 使女 和 她兒子 趕出去！因為 這 使女 的兒子 不可 與 我的兒子 以撒 一同 承受產業。」
So she said to Abraham, Send away that woman and her son: for the son of that woman is not to have a part in the heritage with my son Isaac.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Genesis 21:10
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that God endorses Sarah’s demand, even though her words sound harsh. Calvin argues that while Sarah exceeded the bounds of a modest wife, her tongue and mind were “governed by a secret impulse of the Spirit.” Gill similarly states she acted “by divine direction and influence,” pointing to God’s approval in verse 12. Clarke focuses on the Hebrew verb garash, which can mean “divorce”, suggesting a legal exclusion that prevented Ishmael from claiming inheritance. Matthew Henry notes that Ishmael’s mocking “provoked God to cast them off,” and Paul in Galatians 4 uses the entire episode as an allegory of two covenants. The core agreement: the expulsion was not merely a human quarrel but a covenantal necessity to preserve the line of promise through Isaac.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Covenantal necessity view: God's promise to establish covenant through Isaac (Gen 17:19, 21) required a clear separation to avoid contested inheritance.
- Allegorical/typological view: Paul (Gal 4:22–31) treats Hagar and Sarah as representing two covenants – the flesh versus the Spirit – establishing a theological pattern beyond the historical event.
- Ethical tension view: Modern readers struggle with the harsh treatment of Hagar and Ishmael; God's endorsement is examined in light of His later care for Ishmael (v.13, 17–20).
What is clear: God sovereignly chooses Isaac as the heir of the covenant promise, and He also hears the cry of Ishmael, showing mercy to both lines.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Sarah's motive | Sarah acted to safeguard Isaac's inheritance and the covenant line. | Some (Calvin, Gill) see her as divinely guided despite her harsh tone; others emphasize her human jealousy and anger, later overruled by God. |
| The nature of Ishmael's mockery | Ishmael's action provoked the expulsion. | Whether it was playful teasing (LXX: 'playing with Isaac') or hostile persecution (Paul: 'persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit'). |
| Paul's allegory in Galatians 4 | Paul uses Hagar and Sarah to illustrate two covenants: one of slavery (law) and one of freedom (promise). | How tightly to map the historical event onto the allegorical meaning, literal vs. typological interpretations. |
| God's care for Ishmael | God promises to make Ishmael a nation and hears his cry (v.13, 17). | Whether this mercy balances the harshness of the expulsion or simply shows God's common grace to all peoples. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This verse sits at a tense moment in Abraham’s household. Isaac has just been weaned, normally between ages two and five, and Abraham held a great feast to mark the occasion (v.8). During the celebration, Sarah saw Ishmael, now a teenager, “mocking” (v.9). The Hebrew verb mitsacheq carries overtones of laughing in a derisive or threatening way. In ancient Near Eastern custom, the son of a slave woman could share in inheritance if the father formally acknowledged him, but that status was always insecure. The Torah later regulated that only the son of the favored wife received the primary inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:15, 17). Sarah’s demand uses garash (H1644), the same word for divorce in Leviticus 21:7, she wants a legal severance, not just a household ejection. Abraham is grieved (v.11), but God intervenes: “In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For your offspring will be named through Isaac” (v.12). The command is therefore anchored in the covenant promise first given in Genesis 17:19. Cross-references show that Abraham later sent away all sons of concubines while he still lived (Genesis 25:6), confirming this pattern. The expulsion also sets the stage for God’s care of Ishmael in the wilderness, where he becomes a nation (v.13, 20, 21).
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Genesis 21:10. The Masoretic Text consistently records the verse as given, and early translations (LXX, Peshitta, Vulgate) render the same sense without substantial difference. The phrase “Cast out this bondwoman” is stable across traditions.
Reception History
In the early church, this verse was read primarily through the lens of Galatians 4:21, 31. Origen and Augustine saw Hagar as a type of the Synagogue and Sarah as a type of the Church, the old covenant must give way to the new. Reformers like Calvin and Luther emphasized the sovereignty of God in choosing Isaac over Ishmael, linking it to the doctrine of election. Later Pietist and Methodist commentators (Matthew Henry, Wesley) applied the passage to church discipline: those who mock the gospel (like Ishmael) risk being cut off, though God’s mercy extends even to the exiled. In modern interpretation, the passage raises ethical questions about treatment of marginalized people, yet the canonical narrative itself insists that God remains faithful to Ishmael even after the expulsion.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- The occasion of conflict: Ishmael’s mocking reveals the underlying tension between the child of human effort (Hagar) and the child of promise (Isaac).
- The demand and the grief: Sarah’s call to “cast out” is harsh but legally decisive. Abraham’s distress shows his fatherly love, yet God redirects him.
- The divine endorsement: God confirms that the covenant line runs through Isaac. He also promises to care for Ishmael, showing judgment and mercy together.
Five-Point Outline
- Setting: the weaning feast and the mocking (vv.8, 9).
- Sarah’s demand: imperative language and legal overtones (v.10).
- Abraham’s grief and God’s intervention (vv.11, 12).
- The promise reaffirmed: Isaac as the chosen heir (v.12b).
- The wider mercy: God’s care for Ishmael in the wilderness (v.13, 17, 20).
Illustration Hooks
- A blended family where lines of inheritance or care become contested, the story offers a theologically grounded way to think about boundaries and promises.
- Modern tension between “the way we’ve always done it” (Hagar) and a new direction God is giving (Isaac), church decisions about tradition versus fresh movement.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Was Sarah being cruel, or was she right to demand expulsion?
- If God is the God of all nations (including Ishmael’s), why does He choose one line over another?
- What does this passage teach us about God’s discipline and mercy happening at the same time?
Leading a Discussion
This passage raises hard questions about God’s choices, human conflict, and how promise works through broken families. Sarah’s demand sounds unkind, yet God affirms it. Ishmael is sent away, but God hears his cry. As you lead the group, help the group sit with the tension rather than resolve it too quickly. Let the text’s shape, conflict, command, grief, mercy, guide the conversation.
Discussion Questions
- What do you notice about Sarah’s tone and the words she uses? Why might she speak so forcefully?
- Ishmael was the son of Abraham; why would exclusion from inheritance feel so severe in that culture?
- How does verse 12 (God telling Abraham to listen to Sarah) change how we read her demand?
- What does the name “Isaac” (laughter) and the mocking (v.9) suggest about the nature of the conflict?
- Paul, in Galatians 4, uses Hagar and Sarah as an allegory for two covenants. How does that shape your understanding of freedom versus law?
- God both confirms Isaac as the heir and promises to make Ishmael a nation. What does this show about God’s character?
- In your own life, where might you see a conflict between human effort and trusting God’s promise?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 17:19 | God 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. |
| Genesis 17:21 | But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” |
| Genesis 20:11 | Abraham said, “Because I thought, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife’s sake.’ |
| Genesis 22:10 | Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to kill his son. |
| Genesis 25:6 | but Abraham gave gifts to the sons of Abraham’s concubines. While he still lived, he sent them away from Isaac his son, eastward, to the east country. |
| Genesis 25:19 | This is the history of the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. |
| Genesis 36:6 | Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, with his livestock, all his animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob. |
| Genesis 36:7 | For their substance was too great for them to dwell together, and the land of their travels couldn’t bear them because of their livestock. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke argues that Sarah's demand to "cast out" Hagar and Ishmael is less cruel than it sounds because the Hebrew word means divorce, not just expulsion. Sarah intended a legal separation to formally exclude Ishmael from any claim on Abraham's inheritance, which God had already promised through Isaac.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin acknowledges that Sarah's demand seems harsh and exceeds wifely modesty, yet he insists she was moved by a secret impulse of the Holy Spirit. Her words were not mere angry reproach but a divine oracle, and Paul later treats them as such. Still, Sarah does not strip Abraham of his authority; she appeals to him as the lawful director.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible notes that Hebrew custom allowed children of a maidservant to be recognized as coheirs. Drawing on this custom, the commentator points out that, in the Elohist source, Ishmael is presented as a coheir with Isaac, not merely a servant’s son.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva notes highlight Sarah’s legal argument that Ishmael, as a bondsman’s son, held no inheritance rights equal to Isaac’s. This distinction underscores the covenantal separation between the two lines, ensuring that the promise passed exclusively through Isaac rather than being shared with the elder son of Hagar.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill argues that Sarah’s demand to expel Hagar and Ishmael was not mere jealousy but guided by divine direction, as God later approved it. He notes she was acting on God’s revealed will that Isaac alone would inherit the covenant, and sees Paul’s allegory in Galatians as confirming God’s purpose.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that God’s direct command, not just Sarah’s demand, resolved Abraham’s painful dilemma and set a pattern for prompt obedience. He then reads the expulsion allegorically: the persecution by Ishmael, the Egyptian’s son, marks the beginning of the four hundred years of affliction Abraham’s descendants would suffer in Egypt.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange observes that Genesis 21 uses the name Elohim rather than Jehovah to reflect the broader context where Abimelech knows God only as Creator and Ishmael lives under general providence. This shift highlights how Isaac’s birth fulfills a specific promise tied to the covenant name, while surrounding events demonstrate God’s care for all humanity through His universal authority.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees Ishmael's mocking as no mere childish prank but a serious sin that God observes and will reckon with. He notes that Ishmael, being much older, ought to have protected his younger brother, and he links this persecution to the pattern Paul later describes in Galatians.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley reads the casting out of Hagar as a type of God rejecting the unbelieving Jews. Though they were Abraham's seed, they refused the gospel covenant, and their mocking and persecution of the infant gospel church provoked God to disfranchise them.