Genesis 21 · Verse 20

Genesis 21:20

And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
Genesis 21:20, King James Version

Genesis 21:20 in other translations

BSBAnd God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.
WEBGod was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness, and as he grew up, he became an archer.
ASVAnd God was with the lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.
YLTand God is with the youth, and he groweth, and dwelleth in the wilderness, and is an archer;
DARBYAnd God was with the lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
BBEAnd God was with the boy, and he became tall and strong, and he became a bowman, living in the waste land.
WebsterAnd God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

What does Genesis 21:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 21:20-21
20-21. God was with the lad, &c.--Paran (that is, Arabia), where his posterity has ever dwelt (compare Ge 16:12; also Is 48:19; 1Pe 1:25). his mother took him a wife--On a father's death, the mother looks out for a wife for her son, however young; and as Ishmael was now virtually deprived of his father, his mother set about forming a marriage connection for him, it would seem, among her relatives.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 Became an archer - And by his skill in this art, under the continual superintendence of the Divine Providence, (for God was with the lad), he was undoubtedly enabled to procure a sufficient supply for his own wants and those of his parent.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 21:14-21

If Hagar and Ishmael had behaved well in Abraham's family, they might have continued there; but they were justly punished. By abusing privileges, we forfeit them. Those who know not when they are well off, will be made to know the worth of mercies by the want of them. They were brought to distress in the wilderness. It is not said that the provisions were spent, or that Abraham sent them away without money. But the…

Read the full comment on Genesis 21:14-21 →

Genesis 21:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיְהִ֧יvay.Hiand he wasH1961
אֱלֹהִ֛ים'E.lo.HimGodH430
אֶת\־'et-withH854
הַנַּ֖עַרha.Na.'arthe ladH5288
וַיִּגְדָּ֑לvai.yig.Daland he grew upH1431
וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙vai.Ye.shevand he dweltH3427
בַּמִּדְבָּ֔רba.mid.Barin the wildernessH4057
וַיְהִ֖יvay.Hiand he wasH1961
רֹבֶ֥הro.Veha shooterH7235
קַשָּֽׁת\׃ka.Shata bowmanH7199

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 21:20

  • Genesis 28:15

    And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

  • Genesis 39:21

    But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

  • Genesis 16:12

    And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

  • Genesis 39:2-3

    And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

  • Luke 1:80

    And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

  • Judges 13:24-25

    And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

  • Genesis 10:9

    He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.

  • Judges 6:12

    And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

  • Genesis 25:27

    And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

  • Genesis 49:23-24

    The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

  • Genesis 17:20

    And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

  • Genesis 27:3

    Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
God.
17:20; 28:15; 39:2,3,21; Jud 6:12; 13:24,25; Lu 1:80; 2:40
an archer.
10:9; 16:12; 25:27; 27:3; 49:23,24

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 21:19

    And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

  • Genesis 21:20

    And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

  • Genesis 21:21

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

Read all of Genesis 21

Genesis 21:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y fué Dios con el muchacho; y creció, y habitó en el desierto, y fué tirador de arco.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Dieu fut avec l’enfant, et il grandit, et habita dans le désert et devint tireur d’arc.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Gott war mit dem Knaben, und er wuchs heran; und er wohnte in der Wüste und wurde ein Bogenschütze.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et fuit cum eo: qui crevit, et moratus est in solitudine, factusque est juvenis sagittarius.