The Meaning of Genesis 21:21 Explained

Genesis 21:21

KJV: And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

YLT: and he dwelleth in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother taketh for him a wife from the land of Egypt.

Darby: And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

ASV: And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he dwelt  in the wilderness  of Paran:  and his mother  took  him a wife  out of the land  of Egypt. 

What does Genesis 21:21 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 21:8-21 - Hagar And Ishmael Cast Out
Poor Hagar! She thought that she had given Abraham his heir, but now she found herself and her boy outcasts on the desert waste. The water was soon spent, she little dreamed that a fountain was so near. Cry to God, He will open fountains in the middle of your deserts. Beneath their sad lot a divine purpose was running. God said, "Let it not be grievous in thy sight." This is the teaching of Scripture: that our lives are being ordered and our steps prepared. All we need to be anxious about is the finding of the path. Let us ask God to open our eyes to see the fountains beside us, and the way before us. And after all, was not the wilderness a better training-ground for the lad than the comparative luxury of Abraham's tent? "He became an archer." Isaac would have been the better for a touch of the desert-life. The Holy Spirit, through Paul, gives the inner significance of this incident in Galatians 5:1. See also John 8:36. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 21

1  Isaac is born, and circumcised
6  Sarah's joy
8  Isaac is weaned
9  Hagar and Ishmael sent away
15  Hagar in distress
17  The angel relieves and comforts her
23  Abimelech's covenant with Abraham at Beersheba

What do the individual words in Genesis 21:21 mean?

And He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran and took for him his mother a wife from the land of Egypt -
וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב בְּמִדְבַּ֣ר פָּארָ֑ן וַתִּֽקַּֽח־ ל֥וֹ אִמּ֛וֹ אִשָּׁ֖ה מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם פ

וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב  And  He  dwelt 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בְּמִדְבַּ֣ר  in  the  wilderness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.
פָּארָ֑ן  of  Paran 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פָּארָן  
Sense: wilderness area bounded on the north by Palestine, on the west by the wilderness of Etham, on the south by the desert of Sinai, and on the east by the valley of Arabah; the exodus was through this area and probably all 8 stops were in this area.
וַתִּֽקַּֽח־  and  took 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
ל֥וֹ  for  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
אִמּ֛וֹ  his  mother 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֵם  
Sense: mother.
אִשָּׁ֖ה  a  wife 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
מֵאֶ֥רֶץ  from  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
מִצְרָֽיִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation