Genesis 21 — Hebrew and Greek compared
← Genesis 20 compared · Reading text of Genesis 21 · Genesis: all chapters · Genesis 22 compared →
Same 11 Similar 5 Different 9 Divergent 5 Disparate 4
Disparate in this chapter: 21:7, 21:16, 21:23, 21:33
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
The Birth of Isaac
21:1 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:1 YHWH visited Sarah as He had said, and YHWH did for Sarah as He had spoken.
Greek · Saints priority
21:1 The Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.
Both repeat the divine name/title and affirm fulfillment.
21:2 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time God had spoken to him.
Greek · Saints priority
21:2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in old age, at the appointed time the Lord had spoken to him.
H explicitly has his old age and God; G has old age without the possessive and names the Lord.
21:3 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:3 Abraham named his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.
Greek · Saints priority
21:3 Abraham named his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.
The naming and parentage agree.
21:4 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:4 Abraham circumcised his son Isaac at eight days old, as God had commanded him.
Greek · Saints priority
21:4 Abraham circumcised Isaac on the eighth day, as God had commanded him.
The prescribed age and action agree; G does not repeat his son here.
21:5 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Greek · Saints priority
21:5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Both give Abraham's age as 100.
21:6 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:6 Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
Greek · Saints priority
21:6 Sarah said, “The Lord has made laughter for me; whoever hears will rejoice with me.”
H has God and laugh; G Lord and rejoice. H laugh for/with me can have several shades of meaning; G makes shared rejoicing explicit.
21:7 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:7 She said, “Who would have said to Abraham, ‘Sarah nurses children’? For I have borne a son in his old age.”
Greek · Saints priority
21:7 She said, “Who will announce to Abraham that Sarah nurses a child? For I have borne a son in my old age.”
H refers to Abraham's old age and plural children; G refers to Sarah's own old age and a singular child, with a future announcement question.
The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael
21:8 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.
Greek · Saints priority
21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day his son Isaac was weaned.
G explicitly adds his son. The weaning feast agrees.
21:9 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.
Greek · Saints priority
21:9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, who was born to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac.
G explicitly names Isaac as the companion in play. H's laughing/playing participle can carry mocking senses in context but does not itself specify bullying or an object.
21:10 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:10 She said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit with my son, with Isaac.”
Greek · Saints priority
21:10 She said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit with my son Isaac.”
The expulsion and inheritance demand correspond.
Saints — Paul, Galatians 4:21–31: Paul treats the slave woman and the free woman allegorically as two covenants. That Christian application does not replace the narrative identities of Hagar and Sarah.
21:11 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:11 The matter greatly displeased Abraham because of his son.
Greek · Saints priority
21:11 The statement seemed very harsh to Abraham concerning his son.
Both describe Abraham's distress concerning his son.
21:12 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:12 God said to Abraham, “Do not be displeased concerning the boy and your slave woman. Listen to Sarah in everything she tells you, for through Isaac offspring shall be named for you.
Greek · Saints priority
21:12 God said to Abraham, “Do not regard the statement as harsh concerning the child and the slave woman. Listen to Sarah's voice in everything she tells you, for through Isaac offspring shall be named for you.
The command and lineage statement correspond; G explicitly refers to the statement and uses child for H boy.
21:13 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:13 I will also make the slave woman's son a nation, because he is your offspring.”
Greek · Saints priority
21:13 I will also make this slave woman's son a great nation, because he is your offspring.”
G adds great here. Both call Ishmael Abraham's offspring; H also promises greatness in verse 18.
God Hears the Boy in the Wilderness
21:14 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:14 Abraham rose early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, placing them on her shoulder, together with the child, and sent her away. She went and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Greek · Saints priority
21:14 Abraham rose in the morning, took loaves and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar. He placed them on the shoulder, and the child also, and sent her away. She departed and wandered in the wilderness near the Well of the Oath.
Both have a compressed shoulder-and-child construction. G more readily attaches the child to the placement; H can attach him to what Abraham entrusted to Hagar. Neither syntax requires silently changing Ishmael into an infant. G translates the place-name.
21:15 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:15 When the water in the skin was exhausted, she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
Greek · Saints priority
21:15 When the water in the skin failed, she cast the child beneath a fir tree.
H has an unspecified shrub; G specifies an elatē, conventionally a fir. The botanical difference is retained.
21:16 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:16 She went and sat opposite him at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Let me not see the child's death.” She sat opposite him, raised her voice, and wept.
Greek · Saints priority
21:16 She went and sat opposite him at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I will not see my child's death.” She sat opposite him, and the child cried out and wept.
H makes Hagar the one raising her voice and weeping; G explicitly makes the child cry and weep. Both have God hear the boy in the next verse, so H does not exclude his crying.
21:17 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:17 God heard the boy's voice, and the messenger of God called to Hagar from the heavens: “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the boy's voice where he is.
Greek · Saints priority
21:17 God heard the child's voice from the place where he was, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven: “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard your child's voice from the place where he is.
G repeats the location in the opening clause and adds your to the second reference to the child. The divine hearing agrees.
21:18 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:18 Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him firmly by your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”
Greek · Saints priority
21:18 Get up, take the child, and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”
The help commanded and promise agree; the lifting/taking verbs differ.
21:19 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.
Greek · Saints priority
21:19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of living water. She went, filled the skin with water, and gave the child a drink.
G adds living to the water, an expression for fresh or flowing water. Further theological symbolism belongs in reception.
21:20 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:20 God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer.
Greek · Saints priority
21:20 God was with the child, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer.
Divine presence, growth, dwelling, and skill correspond.
21:21 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Greek · Saints priority
21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
The place and marriage arrangement agree.
The Treaty at Beersheba
21:22 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.
Greek · Saints priority
21:22 At that time Abimelech, Ahuzzath his groomsman, and Phicol, chief commander of his force, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.
G adds Ahuzzath and his groomsman designation. The familiar Ahuzzath represents Greek Ochozath here and at 21:32 and 26:26; his additional presence remains. The added person is not silently removed or made part of H's delegation.
21:23 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:23 Now swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, my offspring, or my descendants. According to the kindness I have shown you, act toward me and the land where you have sojourned.”
Greek · Saints priority
21:23 Now swear to me by God that you will not wrong me, my offspring, or my name. According to the righteousness I have shown you, act toward me and the land where you have sojourned.”
H prohibits false dealing and names descendants; G prohibits wrong and names reputation or name. H kindness becomes G righteousness, changing the covenant's expressed terms.
21:24 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:24 Abraham said, “I will swear.”
Greek · Saints priority
21:24 Abraham said, “I will swear.”
The assent agrees.
21:25 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:25 Abraham reproved Abimelech about the well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized.
Greek · Saints priority
21:25 Abraham reproved Abimelech about the wells of water that Abimelech's servants had taken away.
H has one well; RH has plural wells. The taking verbs differ in emphasis.
21:26 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this. You did not tell me, and I heard nothing about it until today.”
Greek · Saints priority
21:26 Abimelech said to him, “I do not know who did this. You did not tell me, and I heard nothing about it until today.”
The threefold denial of knowledge and notification agrees.
21:27 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:27 Abraham took flocks and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two made a covenant.
Greek · Saints priority
21:27 Abraham took sheep and calves and gave them to Abimelech, and the two made a covenant.
G specifies sheep and calves; H's categories are broader. H literally cuts a covenant; neither verse explicitly narrates slaughter of these animals.
21:28 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart.
Greek · Saints priority
21:28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart.
The seven female lambs and separation agree.
21:29 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:29 Abimelech said to Abraham, “What are these seven ewe lambs you have set apart?”
Greek · Saints priority
21:29 Abimelech said to Abraham, “What are these seven ewe lambs you have set apart?”
The inquiry agrees.
21:30 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:30 He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness for me that I dug this well.”
Greek · Saints priority
21:30 Abraham said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from me so that they may be a testimony for me that I dug this well.”
G names Abraham and explicitly makes the lambs the plural witnesses; H has a singular witness expression for the transaction.
21:31 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore there.
Greek · Saints priority
21:31 Therefore he named that place Well of Swearing, because the two of them swore there.
G translates the place-name through the oath. H's name also resonates with seven in the surrounding lamb narrative.
21:32 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:32 They made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his army, rose and returned to the land of the Philistines.
Greek · Saints priority
21:32 They made a covenant at the Well of the Oath. Abimelech, Ahuzzath his groomsman, and Phicol, chief commander of his force, rose and returned to the land of the Philistines.
G retains the additional member of the delegation introduced in verse 22 and translates the place-name.
21:33 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:33 He planted a tamarisk at Beersheba and called there on the name of YHWH, the everlasting God.
Greek · Saints priority
21:33 Abraham planted a field at the Well of the Oath and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.
H describes a tamarisk; RH describes planting a field and explicitly names Abraham. The changed activity and site description are preserved.
21:34 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
21:34 Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.
Greek · Saints priority
21:34 Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.
The closing residence statement agrees.
← Genesis 20 compared · Reading text of Genesis 21 · Genesis: all chapters · Genesis 22 compared →
Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.