Genesis 21 · Verse 8

Genesis 21:8

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
Genesis 21:8, King James Version

Genesis 21:8 in other translations

BSBSo the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.
WEBThe child grew and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
ASVAnd the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
YLTAnd the lad groweth, and is weaned, and Abraham maketh a great banquet in the day of Isaac's being weaned;
DARBYAnd the child grew, and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
BBEAnd when the child was old enough to be taken from the breast, Abraham made a great feast.
WebsterAnd the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the day that Isaac was weaned.

What does Genesis 21:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
8. the child grew, and was weaned--children are suckled longer in the East than in the Occident--boys usually for two or three years. Abraham made a great feast, &c.--In Eastern countries this is always a season of domestic festivity, and the newly weaned child is formally brought, in presence of the assembled relatives and friends, to partake of some simple viands. Isaac, attired in the symbolic robe, the badge of birthright, was then admitted heir of the tribe [Rosenmuller].

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 8 The child grew and was weaned - Anglo-Saxon Version. Now the child waxed and became weaned. We have the verb to wean from the Anglo-Saxon awendan, to convert, transfer, turn from one thing to another, which is the exact import of the Hebrew word גמל gamal in the text. Hence wenan, to wean, to turn the child from the breast to receive another kind of ailment. And hence, probably, the word Wean, a young child, which is still in use in the northern parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and which from its etymology seems to signify a child taken from the breast; surely not from the Scotch wee-ane, a little one, much less from the German wenig, little, as Dr. Johnson and others would derive it. At what time children were weaned among the ancients, is a disputed point. St. Jerome says there were two opinions on this subject. Some hold that children were always weaned at five years of age; others, that they were not weaned till they were twelve. From the speech of the mother to her son, 2 Maccabees 7:27, it seems likely that among the Jews they were weaned when three years old: O my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee Suck Three Years, and nourished thee and brought thee up. And this is farther strengthened by 2Chr 31:16, where Hezekiah, in making provision for the Levites and priests, includes the children from three years old and upwards; which is a presumptive proof that previously to this age they were wholly dependent on the mother for their nourishment. Samuel appears to have been brought to the sanctuary when he was just weaned, and then he was capable of ministering before the Lord, 1Sam 1:22-28; and this certainly could not be before he was three years of age. The term among the Mohammedans is fixed by the Koran, chap. 31:14, at two years of age.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 21:1-8

Chapter Outline Birth of Isaac, Sarah's joy. (1-8) Ishmael mocks Isaac. (9-13) Hagar and Ishmael are cast forth, They are relieved and comforted by an angel. (14-21) Abimelech's covenant with Abraham. (22-34) Verses 1-8 Few under the Old Testament were brought into the world with such expectations as Isaac. He was in this a type of Christ, that Seed which the holy God so long promised, and holy men so long expected…

Read the full comment on Genesis 21:1-8 →

Genesis 21:8 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.

וַיִּגְדַּ֥לvai.yig.Daland he grew upH1431
הַיֶּ֖לֶדhai.Ye.ledthe childH3206
וַיִּגָּמַ֑לvai.yi.ga.Maland he was weanedH1580
וַיַּ֤עַשׂvai.Ya.'asand he preparedH6213
אַבְרָהָם֙'av.ra.HamAbrahamH85
מִשְׁתֶּ֣הmish.Teha feastH4960
גָד֔וֹלga.DolgreatH1419
בְּי֖וֹםbe.Yomon [the] dayH3117
הִגָּמֵ֥לhi.ga.Melwas weanedH1580
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יִצְחָֽק\׃yitz.ChakIsaacH3327

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

Cross references for Genesis 21:8

  • 1 Samuel 1:22

    But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide for ever.

  • Hosea 1:8

    Now when she had weaned Lo–ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.

  • Genesis 40:20

    And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.

  • Genesis 29:22

    And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.

  • Psalms 131:2

    Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

  • 1 Kings 3:15

    And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

  • Genesis 26:30

    And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

  • Genesis 19:3

    And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

  • 2 Samuel 3:20

    So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast.

  • Judges 14:12

    And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:

  • 1 Samuel 25:36

    And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

  • Esther 1:3

    In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A.M. 2111. B.C. 1893. and was.
1Sa 1:22; Ps 131:2; Ho 1:8
feast.
19:3; 26:30; 29:22; 40:20; Jud 14:10,12; 1Sa 25:36; 2Sa 3:20
1Ki 3:15; Es 1:3

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

Context

  • Genesis 21:7

    And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

  • Genesis 21:8

    And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

  • Genesis 21:9

    And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

Read all of Genesis 21

Genesis 21:8 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y creció el niño, y fué destetado; é hizo Abraham gran banquete el día que fué destetado Isaac.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et l’enfant grandit, et fut sevré; et Abraham fit un grand festin le jour où Isaac fut sevré.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und das Kind wuchs und ward entwöhnt; und Abraham machte ein großes Mahl an dem Tage, da Isaak entwöhnt wurde.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Crevit igitur puer, et ablactatus est: fecitque Abraham grande convivium in die ablactationis ejus.