Genesis 21:5

Gen 21:5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

Ver. 5. And Abraham was a hundred years old.] After twenty years’ praying, and waiting the fulfilling of the promise; besides thirteen of those years’ silence, for aught we read, after the promise of a child. This was a sore trial; but God knew him to be armour of proof, and therefore tried him thus with musket-shot. Well might the apostle say, "Ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God," and suffered it too, "ye might receive the promise". {Heb 10:36} The "spoiling of their goods" required patience: but this waiting much more. Good men find it easier to bear evil, than to wait till the promised good be enjoyed. This waiting is nothing but hope and trust lengthened; which they that cannot do, like children, they pull apples afore they are ripe, {a} and have worms bred of them; as those hasty Ephraimites, that set upon the Philistines, and were slain in Gath. They had indeed a promise of the land, but the time was not yet come. They were weary of the Egyptian bondage, and would have thus got out; but they were too hasty. Fugientes ergo fumum, incidebant in ignem .{ 1Ch 7:21-22 Psa 78:9}

{a} Importuno tempore poma decerpunt . - Cyprian. See my Love-tokens, p. 94.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21:5 Isaac was born twenty-five years after the promise was first given (cp. 12:4).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

5. And Abraham was an hundred years old. Moses again records the age of Abraham the better to excite the minds of his readers to a consideration of the miracle. And although mention is made only of Abraham, let us yet remember that he is, in this place, set before us, not as a man of lust, but as the husband of Sarah, who has obtained, through her, a lawful seed, in extreme old age, when the strength of both had failed. For the power of God was chiefly conspicuous in this, that when their marriage had been fruitless more than sixty years, suddenly they obtain offspring . Sarah, truly, in order to make amends for the doubt to which she had given way, now exultingly proclaims the kindness of God, with becoming praises. And first, she says, that God had given her occasion of joy; not of common joy, but of such as should cause all men to congratulate her. Secondly, for the purpose of amplification, she assumes the character of an astonished inquirer, ‘Who would have told this to Abraham?’ Some explain the clause in question, ‘will laugh at me,’ as if Sarah had said, with shame, that she should be a proverb to the common people. But the former sense is more suitable; namely, ‘Whosoever shall hear it, will laugh with me;’ that is, for the sake of congratulating me.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh,.... This she said on occasion of the name of her son Isaac, which name her husband had given him by divine direction, and to which she assented. This doubtless brought to her mind her former laughing, when she first heard that she should have a son, which was in a way of diffidence and distrust; but now God having given her a son, laid a foundation for laughter of another kind, for real, solid, joy and thankfulness:

so that all that hear will laugh with me; not laugh at her, and deride her, as Piscator interprets it; but congratulate her, and rejoice with her on this occasion, as on a like one the neighbours of Elisabeth did with her, Luk 1:58.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

5. Hundred years old — Hebrews, son of a hundred years. Notable and memorable the fact that the father of the faithful was the son of a hundred years — a century old — when the son was born through whom he was to become “heir of the world.” Rom_4:13.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Abraham was a hundred years old, (cf. Gen_17:1, Gen_17:17) when his son Isaac was born unto him. Literally, at the time of bearing to him (ejn tw tekein) Isaac (vide Gesenius, "Gram.," Thus Abraham had waited twenty-five years for the fulfillment of the promise a remarkable instance of faith and patience, (Rom_4:20) as Isaac"s birth was a signal display of Divine power. (Rom_4:17; Heb_11:12) Whether Isaac was born at Gerar or at Beersheba cannot with certitude be inferred.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

one hundred

"100" (See: Numbers)

God has made me laugh

Sarah was laughing because she was surprised and happy. This can be made explicit. AT: "God has caused me to laugh joyfully" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

every one who hears

What people would hear can be stated explicitly. AT: "everyone who hears about what God has done for me" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children

This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "No one would have ever said to Abraham that Sarah will nurse children" (See: Rhetorical Question)

nurse children

This is a polite way of referring to breast-feeding babies. AT: "feed a baby her own milk" (See: Euphemism)

translationWords

Abraham

year

Isaac

Sarah

God

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ואברהם...את יצחק בנו, this verse is another example of the word את appearing in conjunction with verbs which appear in the passive mode. To name just a few such examples: Numbers 26,55 יחלק את הארץ, or Deut. 20,5 ולא ימס את לבב אחיו. What is the reason that the Torah saw fit to write this verse at all? Seeing that the Torah had told us that Avraham had been 99 years old when he had received the commandment of circumcision, and G’d had told him that Sarah would bear this son for him in the following year, we knew that he would be 100 years old at that time! (17,21) Perhaps the Torah wanted to tell us that Avraham had completed 100 years when Yitzchok was born and that the previous prophecy had been revealed to him when he had completed 99 years. In that event, Sarah’s pregnancy lasted fully 12 months, so that the news revealed in our verse is that her pregnancy was unnaturally lengthy.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.