Sarah Has a Son
1 The Lord was good to Sarah and kept his promise. 2 Although Abraham was very old, Sarah had a son exactly at the time God had said. 3 Abraham named his son Isaac, 4 and when the boy was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, just as God had commanded.
5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, 6 and Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. And now everyone will laugh with me. 7 Who would have dared to tell Abraham that someday I would have a child? But in his old age, I have given him a son.”
8 The time came when Sarah no longer had to nurse Isaac, and on that day Abraham gave a big feast.
Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away
9-10 One day, Sarah noticed Hagar's son Ishmael playing, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that Egyptian slave woman and her son! I don't want him to inherit anything. It should all go to my son.”
11 Abraham was worried about Ishmael. 12 But God said, “Abraham, don't worry about your slave woman and the boy. Just do what Sarah tells you. Isaac will inherit your family name, 13 but the son of the slave woman is also your son, and I will make his descendants into a great nation.”
14 Early the next morning Abraham gave Hagar an animal skin full of water and some bread. Then he put the boy on her shoulder and sent them away.
They wandered around in the desert near Beersheba, 15 and after they had run out of water, Hagar put her son under a bush. 16 Then she sat down a long way off, because she could not bear to watch him die. And she cried bitterly.
17 When God heard the boy crying, the angel of God called out to Hagar from heaven and said, “Hagar, why are you worried? Don't be afraid. I have heard your son crying. 18 Help him up and hold his hand, because I will make him the father of a great nation.” 19 Then God let her see a well. So she went to the well and filled the skin with water, then gave some to her son.
20-21 God blessed Ishmael, and as the boy grew older, he became an expert at hunting with his bow and arrows. He lived in the Paran Desert, and his mother chose an Egyptian woman for him to marry.
A Peace Treaty
22 About this time Abimelech and his army commander Phicol said to Abraham, “God blesses everything you do! 23 Now I want you to promise in the name of God that you will always be loyal to me and my descendants, just as I have always been loyal to you in this land where you have lived as a foreigner.” 24 And so, Abraham promised he would.
25 One day, Abraham told Abimelech, “Some of your servants have taken over one of my wells.”
26 “This is the first I've heard about it,” Abimelech replied. “Why haven't you said something before? I don't have any idea who did it.” 27 Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle, then the two men made a peace treaty.
28 Abraham separated seven female lambs from his flock of sheep, 29 and Abimelech asked, “Why have you done this?”
30 Abraham replied, “I want you to accept these seven lambs as proof that I dug this well.” 31 So they called the place Beersheba, because they made a treaty there.
32 When the treaty was completed, Abimelech and his army commander Phicol went back to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped the eternal Lord God. 34 Then Abraham lived a long time as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines.
The Birth of Isaac
1 The Lord blessed Sarah, as he had promised, 2 and she became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was old. The boy was born at the time God had said he would be born. 3 Abraham named him Isaac, 4 and when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born. 6 Sarah said, “God has brought me joy and laughter. Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.” 7 Then she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
8 The child grew, and on the day that he was weaned, Abraham gave a great feast.
Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away
9 One day Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, was playing with Sarah's son Isaac. 10 Sarah saw them and said to Abraham, “Send this slave and her son away. The son of this woman must not get any part of your wealth, which my son Isaac should inherit.” 11 This troubled Abraham very much, because Ishmael also was his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Don't be worried about the boy and your slave Hagar. Do whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I have promised. 13 I will also give many children to the son of the slave woman, so that they will become a nation. He too is your son.”
14 Early the next morning Abraham gave Hagar some food and a leather bag full of water. He put the child on her back and sent her away. She left and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water was all gone, she left the child under a bush 16 and sat down about a hundred yards away. She said to herself, “I can't bear to see my child die.” While she was sitting there, she began to cry.
17 God heard the boy crying, and from heaven the angel of God spoke to Hagar, “What are you troubled about, Hagar? Don't be afraid. God has heard the boy crying. 18 Get up, go and pick him up, and comfort him. I will make a great nation out of his descendants.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. She went and filled the leather bag with water and gave some to the boy. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up; he lived in the wilderness of Paran and became a skillful hunter. 21 His mother got an Egyptian wife for him.
The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech
22 At that time Abimelech went with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23 So make a vow here in the presence of God that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so promise that you will also be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living.”
24 Abraham said, “I promise.”
25 Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well which the servants of Abimelech had seized. 26 Abimelech said, “I don't know who did this. You didn't tell me about it, and this is the first I have heard of it.” 27 Then Abraham gave some sheep and cattle to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement. 28 Abraham separated seven lambs from his flock, 29 and Abimelech asked him, “Why did you do that?”
30 Abraham answered, “Accept these seven lambs. By doing this, you admit that I am the one who dug this well.” 31 And so the place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them made a vow.
32 After they had made this agreement at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol went back to Philistia. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped the Lord, the Everlasting God. 34 Abraham lived in Philistia for a long time.