Devine Scripture

Genesis 21:15

What does Genesis 21:15 mean?

A plain-English look at Genesis 21:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Genesis 21:15 means

As Hagar and Ishmael wandered, their waterskin became empty, plunging them into a desperate situation in the arid wilderness. In utter despair, Hagar 'cast the child' (Ishmael) under a shrub, too weak or unwilling to carry him further. This act highlights their extreme distress and the immediate threat of death by thirst, demonstrating their complete lack of resources and total dependence on external help in their dire circumstances.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And when all the water in the skin was used up, she put the child down under a tree.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

and the water is consumed from the bottle, and she placeth the lad under one of the shrubs.

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the boy under one of the trees that were there.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And the water was exhausted from the flask; and she cast the child under one of the shrubs,

Context

This verse immediately follows Hagar and Ishmael's departure, graphically illustrating the swift onset of peril in the wilderness. The exhaustion of their water supply creates an urgent crisis, emphasizing their vulnerability and setting the stage for divine intervention, as their survival now hangs by a thread.

v.14And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

v.15This passage

v.16And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not look upon the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Isaiah 44:12

    The smithmakethan axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint.

  • 2 Kings 3:9

    So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them.

  • Genesis 21:14

    And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

  • Exodus 17:1

    And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys, according to the commandment of Jehovah, and encamped in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

  • Psalms 63:1

    O God, thou art my God; earnestly will I seek thee: My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, In a dry and weary land, where no water is.

  • Jeremiah 14:3

    And their nobles send their little ones to the waters: they come to the cisterns, and find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are put to shame and confounded, and cover their heads.

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