And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
21. the wilderness of Paran ] Mentioned in Num 10:12; Num 12:16; Num 13:3. It seems to have been the wild mountainous country south and east of Kadesh, and west of Edom, the modern et-Tih.
out of the land of Egypt ] Hagar herself was an Egyptian, cf. Gen 16:1. For the parent taking a wife for the son, cf. Gen 24:3; Gen 34:4; Gen 38:6; Jdg 14:2. The preliminary steps for a marriage are taken by the parents of the parties; here, in the absence of the father, the mother selects the bride.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 21. He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran] This is generally allowed to have been a part of the desert belonging to Arabia Petraea, in the vicinity of Mount Sinai; and this seems to be its uniform meaning in the sacred writings.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the wilderness of Paran; in the borders of that wilderness, by comparing Gen 14:6, for the innermost parts of it were uninhabitable by men or beasts, as ancient writers note.
His mother took him a wife; by which we see both the obligation that lies upon parents, and the right that is invested in them, to dispose of their children in marriage in convenient time. Compare Gen 24:4; 28:2; Jdg 14:2.
Out of the land of Egypt, rather than out of Canaan, concerning whose accursed state and future destruction she had been informed in Abrahams house.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran,…. So called from Paran, a city in Arabia Petraea; it reached from the wilderness of Shur to Mount Sinai: the account Adrichomius q gives of it is this; Paran or
“Pharan is a wilderness, very large, desolate, impassable, and without water, containing, from Mount Sinai to Kadeshbarnea, a journey of eleven days; its land can neither be ploughed nor sown, is wholly dry, barren, and uncultivated; uninhabitable to men, destitute of villages, houses, and cottages; where neither men are seen, nor beasts nor birds; yea, neither trees nor any grass, only rocks and high rough stony mountains; it is taken sometimes for the first part of the desert of Arabia, near Mount Sinai, and sometimes for the last part, towards the land of promise; sometimes it is called the desert of Sin, and sometimes the desert of Sinai, from the mount; but this name Pharan seems to be the most general of the names of this very long desert:”
this is the wilderness the Israelites wandered in thirty eight years; what this writer says of it must be understood only of some parts of it, otherwise Ishmael could not have lived in it:
and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt: her own country, for she was an Egyptian, Ge 16:1; and where they dwelt was not far from it: according to the Jewish writers, he had two wives; the first he divorced, and then married the Egyptian; his first wife, they say r, he sent for, and took out of the plains of Moab, whose name was Aishah, and the other Phatimah; so the Targum of Jonathan here,
“and he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran, and took to wife Adisha (or Aisha), whom he divorced, and then his mother took him Phatimah to wife, out of the land of Egypt:”
the names of Ishmael’s wives seem to be taken from the Arabic writers; for Aishah, or Ayesha, was the name of a daughter of Abubeker, and one of the wives of Mahomet, and Phatimah the name of one of his daughters.
q Theatrum Terrae, S. p. 116. r Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. (c. 30.)
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(21) A wife out of the land of Egypt.However natural this might be on Hagars part, it would never theless strengthen the heathen element in Ishmael and his descendants. We find, nevertheless, that he was subsequently on friendly terms with Isaac (Gen. 25:9; Gen. 28:8-9). For Paran, see Gen. 14:6.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. The wilderness of Paran The great central region of the Sinaitic peninsula, now known as the desert et-Tih .
Wife out of Egypt His mother’s care followed him up to this point, and chose for him a wife out of her own native land . After this we hear of her no more .
This narrative of Ishmael’s expulsion is made the basis of an allegory in Gal 4:21-26, where see notes . We may also note the following lessons: 1) The mischief of polygamy . 2) The power of jealousy . 3) Bitter passions and wrong conduct springing from a sense of injury or neglect . 4) A doting father’s tenderness in conflict with the plans of God . 5) The wants and woes of the homeless, and of the outcasts. 6) No one is beyond the sight and hearing of God. 7) The beauty and fidelity of a mother’s love. 8) The origin of a nation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 21:21. His mother took him a wife out of the land of AEgypt One of her own countrywomen, as was most natural. It appears most likely that Abraham and Ishmael had an intercourse together in future life. Ishmael however, we read, as well as Isaac, took care of the patriarch’s funeral.
REFLECTIONS.Abraham no longer hesitates, when God commands; though parental tenderness might plead, or Hagar’s fate appear severe, it is enough for him to hear and obey. Thus he is trained by one exercise of obedience to the severer task preparing for him in Isaac. He gives them provision, and sends them away. Note; Nature may struggle hard, but when God’s glory requires, wife and children must be parted with. We have hereupon,
1. Hagar’s distress with her son in the wilderness. Her provision exhausted, weary with wandering, fainting with drought, famished with hunger, her poor boy sinks down by her side; while she, unable to relieve his wants, with tenderness, such as mothers feel, aggravated by distress so bitter, with face averted from her dying son, a scene too moving to behold, bursts into a flood of tears, and fills the solitary wilderness with unavailing lamentations. The former promises are all forgotten, and despair of help finishes her wretchedness.
2. Now was God’s time of mercy. He who beholds the tears of the miserable, and hears the groans of those who cannot cry to him, oppressed beneath their load of grief too big for utterance, He is near. God’s voice is heard; a voice of tender pity, What aileth thee? Arise, lift up the lad. He opens the fountain, dries up her tears, and Ishmael lives; nay more, he is great, grows up under God’s care, and begins, in the settlement of his family, to see the fulfilment of the promise. Behold here a lively picture of the faithful soul. (1.) He is brought into the wilderness, his misery overtakes him, no help is near, and nothing but unavoidable death before his eyes. (2.) Then God opens the fountain of mercy in the side of Jesus, and opens his eyes to see it near. (3.) Instantly the heart flies to this relief, and finds life in those waters which Christ alone can give. (4.) From that hour God is with him; and though in the wilderness of the world, he grows under his care, till (5.) he reaps the final blessing promised in the land of bliss and glory everlasting. O! happy are those whose eyes are opened by the Spirit of God, to see the well of living water, the fountain and fulness of grace which is in Christ, where thirsty souls may come and drink, and take their fill.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 21:21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
Ver. 21. And his mother took him a wife. ] Adeo est iuris non gentium, sed ipsius naturae, ut parentes matrimonia liberis procurent . Children are a chief part of their parents’ goods; therefore to be disposed of by them in marriage. When Satan had commission to afflict Job in his goods, he fell upon his children. Yet, in the Church of Rome, parents’ consent is not much regarded.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
in the: Num 10:12, Num 12:16, Num 13:3, Num 13:26, 1Sa 25:1
a wife: Gen 24:3, Gen 24:4, Gen 26:34, Gen 26:35, Gen 27:46, Gen 28:1, Gen 28:2, Jdg 14:2, 1Co 7:38
Reciprocal: Gen 14:6 – Elparan Gen 16:1 – Egyptian Gen 25:18 – Havilah Gen 34:4 – General Gen 38:6 – took Deu 1:1 – Paran 1Ki 11:18 – Paran 2Ch 24:3 – took for him Jer 29:6 – take wives Hab 3:3 – Paran