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Sarah said, “God has made me laugh.[a] Everyone who hears about this[b] will laugh[c] with me.” She went on to say,[d] “Who would[e] have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”

The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared[f] a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 21:6 tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”
  2. Genesis 21:6 tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  3. Genesis 21:6 sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, tsekhoq) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).
  4. Genesis 21:7 tn Heb “said.”
  5. Genesis 21:7 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
  6. Genesis 21:8 tn Heb “made.”
  7. Genesis 21:8 sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.