Genesis 21

^I “Lord” = YHVH. From havah (to be, become) or hayah (to come to pass, become, be). This is the name of the God of Israel, the self-existent and eternal one, the tetragrammaton. This pronunciation has been lost to time so “Lord” is generally used in its place.
^II “dealt” = paqad. This is to attend to or visit – can be used for a friendly or violent encounter. So, it can be to oversee, care for, avenge, or charge.
^III “Sarah” = Sarah. From the same as Saray (princess, mistress, noble lady, queen); from sar (chief, ruler, captain, official, prince). This is Sarah, meaning princess.
^IV “did” = asah. This is to make, do, act, appoint, become in many senses.
^V “promised” = dabar. This is generally to speak, answer, declare, or command. It might mean to arrange and so to speak in a figurative sense as arranging words.

^VI “conceived” = harah. This is to conceive or be pregnant – it can be literal or figurative.
^VII “bore” = yalad. This is to bear or bring forth. It can mean to act as midwife or to show one’s lineage. This is often used for birth or begetting.
^VIII “Abraham” = Abraham. From the same as Abiram (exalted father, a high father – lofty) {from ab (father literal or figurative) + rum (rise, bring up, being high, extol, exalt, haughty; to raise in a literal or figurative sense)}. This is Abraham, father of many nations or father of a multitude.
^IX “son” = ben. From banah (to build or obtain children). This is son, age, child. It is son in a literal or figurative sense.
^X “old age” = zaqun. 4x in OT– all in Genesis. From zaqen (to be old, grow old, old man); from the same as zaqan (beard or chin – the beard represents old age). This is old age.

^XI “time” = moed. From yaad (to appoint, assemble or gather selves, agree). This is a meeting, assembly, fixed time. It can be used for a festival or feast. It can also refer to a meeting place.
^XII “God” = Elohim.
^XIII “spoken” = dabar. Same as “promised” in v1. See note V above.

^XIV “gave” = qara. This is to call or call out – to call someone by name. Also used more broadly for calling forth.
^XV “name” = shem. May be from sum (to put, place, set). This is name, fame, renown. A name was thought to indicate something essential about a person – something about their individuality. So, this word can also mean honor, authority, or character.
^XVI “Isaac” = Yitschaq. From tsachaq (to laugh, mock, play, make sport; this is laughing out loud whether in joy or in a scornful way). This is Isaac, meaning “he laughs.”

^XVII “circumcised” = mul. This is to cut off, cut in pieces, or destroy. It is used for to circumcise. It can also mean to blunt.
^XVIII “eight” = shemoneh. Perhaps from shamen (to shine, which implies being oily, growing fat); from shaman (to grow fat, shine, be oily). This is eight or eighth. It can refer to abundance as being more than 7, the number of sacred fullness.
^XIX “old” = ben. Same as “son” in v2. See note IX above.
^XX “commanded” = tsavah. This is to charge, command, order, appoint, or enjoin. This is the root that the Hebrew word for “commandment” comes from (mitsvah).

^XXI “brought” = asah. Same as “did” in v1. See note IV above.
^XXII “laughter” = tsechoq. Related to “Isaac” in v3. 2x in OT. From tsachaq (see note XVI above). This is laughter, whether in a positive sense or as scorn.
^XXIII “hears” = shama. This is to hear, call, consent, or consider. It implies listening intelligently, giving attention, and, because of these two factors, obedience and action are often implied.
^XXIV “laugh” = tsachaq. Related to “Isaac” in v3 & “laughter” in v6. 13x in OT. See note XVI above.
^XXV “nurse” = yanaq. This is to suckle or to nurse. In a causative sense, it can mean to give milk. So, this word can be used for a nursing mother or for her suckling child.
^XXVI “children” = ben. Same as “son” in v2. See note IX above.

^XXVII “child” = yeled. Related to “bore” in v2. From yalad (see note VII above). This is something born – so, offspring, youth, fruit. It is the same word used in Isaiah 9:6 “for a child will be born to us.”
^XXVIII “grew” = gadal. This is to grow up, become great, become wealthy – to advance. The root meaning may be to twist in the sense of the process of growing.
^XXIX “weaned” = gamal. This is how one deals with someone whether positively or negatively – so to reward, requite. It can also mean to wean or the work that goes into something ripening.

^XXX “made” = asah. Same as “did” in v1. See note IV above.
^XXXI “great” = gadol. Related to “grew” in v8. From gadal (see note XXVIII above). This is great, high, bigger, noble, old, marvelous. It can also refer to someone who is powerful or distinguished.
^XXXII “feast” = mishteh. From shathah (to drink literally or figuratively; a drinker). This is drink or the act of drinking. So it is a feast or banquet, as occasions with drinking.

^XXXIII “saw” = raah. This is to see in a literal or figurative sense so stare, advise, think, view.
^XXXIV “Hagar” = Hagar. 12x in OT. Perhaps from hagar (fleeing; a stranger or foreigner) OR from ha (the) + garar (to drag out or away) OR from Persian/Greek aggareuo (to press into service). This is Hagar. Seehttps://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Hagar.html#.Xh-BtUdKhPY and https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Hagar
^XXXV “Egyptian” = Mitsri. From the same as mitsrayim (Egypt); perhaps from matsor (besieged or fortified place, bulwark, entrenchment; something hemmed in; a siege or distress or fastness); from tsur (to confine, besiege, to cramp). This is Egyptian.
^XXXVI “playing” = tsachaq. Same as “laugh” in v6. See note XXIV above.

^XXXVII “cast out” = garash. This is to cast out or expel. It can be to exile someone or to divorce them.
^XXXVIII “slave woman” = amah. This is female servant or slave, handmaid.
^XXXIX “inherit” = yarash. This is inheriting or dispossessing. It refers to occupying or colonizing – taking territory by driving out the previous inhabitants and living there instead of them. By implication, it can mean to seize or rob, to expel, ruin, or impoverish.

^XL “matter” = dabar. Related to “promised” in v1. From dabar (see note V above). This is speech, a word, a matter, an affair, charge, command, message, promise, purpose, report, request. It is a word, which implies things that are spoken of in a wide sense.
^XLI “was…distressing” = ra’a’. This is to be evil, bad, afflict. Properly, it means to spoil – to destroy by breaking into pieces. Figuratively, it is to cause something to be worthless. It is bad in a physical, social, or moral sense – something that displeases, does harm or mischief, punishes or vexes.
^XLII “to” = ayin. Literally “in the sight of.” This is eye in a literal or figurative sense so eye, appearance, favor, or a fountain (the eye of the landscape).

^XLIII {untranslated} = ayin. Literally “in your sight.” Same as “to” in v11. See note XLII above.
^XLIV “boy” = naar. May be from na’ar (to shake, toss up and down, tumble around). This is a child or a servant. It is a child in their active years so they could be aged anywhere from infancy to adolescence.
^XLV “do as she tells” = shama + qol. Literally “listen to her voice.” Shama is the same as “hears” in v6. See note XXIII above. Qol is a sound, used often for human voices. Also used when God speaks or angels, animals or instruments. It can be a cry or a noise, thunder or earthquakes and so on.

^XLVI “offspring” = zera. From zara (to sow or scatter seed; conceive or yield). This is seed or sowing. It can, thus, mean a fruit, plant, sowing time, child, offspring, or posterity.
^XLVII “named” = qara. Same as “gave” in v3. See note XIV above.
^XLVIII “make” = sum. Related to “name” in v3. See note XV above.
^XLIX “nation” = goy. From the same root as gevah (the back, person, or body); related to gev (among); related to gaah (to rise up). This is nation or people. Often used to refer to Gentiles or foreign nations. It can also be used figuratively for a group of animals. This is where the Yiddish “goy” comes from.

^L “rose early” = shakam. This is leaning one’s shoulder into a burden or load, whether a person or an animal. Thus, it meant starting or rising early.
^LI “morning” = boqer. From baqar (to seek, plow, break forth, admire, care for). This refers to the break of day. So it is dawn, early, morning, or morrow.
^LII “took” = laqach. This is to take, accept, carry away, receive. It can also have the sense of take a wife or take in marriage.
^LIII “bread” = lechem. From lacham (to eat, feed on). This is bread, food, loaf. It can refer to food more generally for people or for animals.
^LIV “skin” = chemet. 5x in OT. Perhaps from the same as chomah (a wall for protection); from the same as cham (father-in-law – one’s husband’s father; perhaps from a root meaning to join). This is a waterskin or bottle.
^LV “water” = mayim. This is water, waters, or waterway in a general sense. Figuratively, it can also mean juice, urine, or semen.

^LVI “gave” = natan. This is to give, put, set, offer. It is to give literally or figuratively.
^LVII “putting” = sum. Same as “make” in v13. See note XLVIII above.
^LVIII “shoulder” = shekem. Perhaps related to “rose early” in v14. Perhaps from shakam (see note L above). This is shoulder, neck, or some other place that bears burdens. Figuratively, it can refer to the spur of a hill, or one’s allotted portion.
^LIX “sent…away” = shalach. This is to send out, away, send for, forsake. It can also mean to divorce or set a slave free.

^LX “departed” = halak. This is go, come, walk. It is walk literally and figuratively and includes people and animals. It can be used figuratively for one’s moral life – how we walk according to God’s way or against it. It can also refer to the walk of life as in the course one’s life takes, the choices we make, etc.
^LXI “wandered” = taah. This is to wander, deceive, seduce, vacillate. It is to stray in a literal or figurative sense.
^LXII “wilderness” = midbar. Related to “promised” in v1 & “mater” in v11. From dabar (see note V above). This is mouth or speech. It can also be desert or wilderness. Additionally, it can be used for a pasture to which one drives cattle.
^LXIII “Beer-sheba” = Beerah shaba. From beer (a well or pit); {from baar (to make plain; to dig; can also mean to engrave or figuratively to explain)} + perhaps from shaba (to swear, curse, vow, make a covenant; properly, to be complete; this is to seven oneself – as in affirming something so strongly it is as though it were said seven times) {perhaps from sheba (seven – the number of perfection/sacred fullness)}. This is Beersheba – meaning either “well of seven” or “well of an oath.”

^LXIV “was gone” = kalah. This is to end, be finished, complete, prepare, consume, spent, or completely destroyed.
^LXV “cast” = shalak. This is to throw, fling, or hurl. It can also be to throw away in a literal or figurative sense.
^LXVI “one” = echad. Perhaps from achad (to unify, continue on a path; figuratively, to gather one’s thoughts). This is the number one, first, united. It can also be alone, altogether, a certain, a few.
^LXVII “bushes” = siach. 4x in OT. Perhaps from siach (to muse, meditate, complain, sing, sigh, speak, or utter); perhaps from siach (musing, meditation, communication, babbling, prayer, contemplation). This is a bush, shrub or plant. Perhaps it is a shoot as though it was expressed by a plant.

^LXVIII “went” = halak. Same as “departed” in v14. See note LX above.
^LXIX “sat down” = yashab. This is to sit and so to remain and so to dwell. It is sitting for any reason – as a judge, in order to ambush, or just sitting quietly. Causatively, this can mean settling or marrying. This can also mean continue, endure, or establish.
^LXX “opposite” = neged. From nagad (to declare, make conspicuous, stand in front, manifest, predict, explain). This is in front of, opposite to. It can refer to a counterpart or partner, one corresponding to or in the sight of.
^LXXI “distance” = rachaq. This is to widen, become distant, cast, or remove. It can be in a literal or figurative sense.
^LXXII “bowshot” = tachah + qeshet. Tachah is 1x in OT. To hurl, pull a bow to shoot an arrow. Qeshet is perhaps from qush (to set a trap, lure, ensnare) OR from qashah (to be fierce, cruel, dense, tough, severe). This is a bow, arrow, or archer. Bow can be used figuratively for strength.

^LXXIII “look” = raah. Same as “saw” in v9. See note XXXIII above.
^LXXIV “death” = mavet. From muth (to die in a literal or figurative sense). This can be death, deadliness, the dead, or the place where the dead go. It can be used figuratively for pestilence or ruin.
^LXXV “lifted” = nasa. This is to lift in a broad sense, literally and figuratively. So it could be to carry, take, or arise. It could also be bring forth, advance, accept.
^LXXVI “voice” = qol. Same as “do as she tells” in v12. See note XLV above.
^LXXVII “wept” = bakah. This is to weep, complain, or lament.

^LXXVIII “angel” = malak. This is a messenger, an angel, or a deputy of some kind. Can be used for human messengers literally or for prophets, priests, or teachers as messengers of God. Also used for supernatural messengers i.e. angels.
^LXXIX “called” = qara. Same as “gave” in v3. See note XIV above.
^LXXX “heaven” = shamayim. Root may mean being lofty. This is sky, the air, or heaven. It is in a dual noun form so this might refer to the part of the sky where the clouds move on the one hand and the part beyond that where the sun, moon, and stars are on the other hand.
^LXXXI “be afraid” = yare. This is to fear, be afraid, dreadful. It can also refer to fearful reverence – to fear in a moral sense is to say to revere, respect.

^LXXXII “come” = qum. To arise, stand, accomplish, establish, abide. This is rising as in rising against, getting up after being sick or asleep, arising from one state to another, becoming powerful, or rising for action. It can also be standing in a figurative sense.
^LXXXIII “hold…fast” = chazaq. This is to strengthen, seize, be courageous, repair, bind, heal, conquer, harden.
^LXXXIV “hand” = yad. This is hand, ability, power. Hand in a literal sense, but also what one can do or the means by which one does it.

^LXXXV “opened” = paqach. This is open, as opening one’s senses, particularly eyes. So, figuratively this can refer to being watchful.
^LXXXVI “eyes” = ayin. Same as “to” in v11. See note XLII above.
^LXXXVII “well” = beer. Related to “Beer-sheba” in v14. See note LXIII above.
^LXXXVIII “filled” = male. This is fill, satisfy, replenish, accomplish, fulfill, confirm, or consecrate. It is fill in a literal or figurative sense.
^LXXXIX “gave…a drink” = shaqah. This is to give water to, to cause to drink – to irrigate, drown. It can be used for watering plants or giving water to flocks.

^XC “was” = hayah. Related to “Lord” in v1. See note I above.
^XCI “lived” = yashab. Same as “sat down” in v16. See note LXIX above.
^XCII “became” = hayah. Same as “was” in v20. See note XC above.
^XCIII “expert” = rabah. This is increasing in any aspect whether quantity, authority, size, quality, greatness, etc.
^XCIV “bow” = qashshat. Related to “bowshot” in v16. 1x in OT. From the same as qeshet (see note LXXII above) OR from qashah (see note LXXII above). This is archer – one who shoots a bow.

^XCV “Paran” = Paran. 11x in OT. From the same as porah (a branch or spring; properly, ornamentation); perhaps from pa’ar (to beautify or adorn, to gleam; can refer to showing honor or glorifying someone; also to boast or to shake a tree for harvest). This is Paran, perhaps meaning ornamental.
^XCVI “mother” = em. This is a mother as binding a family together or a breeding female animal. It could be mother in a literal or figurative sense.
^XCVII “got” = laqach. Same as “took” in v14. See note LII above.
^XCVIII “wife” = ishshah. From ish (man); perhaps from enosh (human, humankind, mortal); from anash (to be weak, sick, or frail). This is woman, wife, or female.
^XCIX “land” = erets. Root may mean to be firm. This is earth, ground, field land, or country.
^C “Egypt” = Mitsrayim. Related to “Egyptian” in v9. See note XXXV above.

^CI “time” = et. Probably from anah (to answer, sing, announce); from ad (forever, all, old); from adah (to pass on, advance, decorate oneself). This is a period or season. It can also mean whenever or continually.
^CII “Abimelech” = Abimelek. Related to “Abraham” in v2. From ab (see note VIII above) + melek (king, royal). This is Abimelech, meaning “father is king.”
^CIII “Phicol” = Pikol. 3x in OT. Perhaps from peh (mouth in a literal or figurative sense; literally, beak or jaws; figuratively, speech, commands, or promises); {perhaps from pa’ah (to puff, scatter, cut in pieces)} + kol (all, every, everyone); {from kalal (to complete)}. This is Phicol, a commander – perhaps “mouth of all” or “edge of completion.” See https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Phicol.html
^CIV “commander” = sar. Related to “Sarah” in v1. See note III above.
^CV “army” = tsaba. From tsaba (to wage war, serve, assemble, fight, perform, muster, wait on). This is a large group of persons (used figuratively for a group of things). It implies a campaign literally as with army, war, warfare, battle, company, soldiers. Can also be used figuratively for hardship or for worship.

^CVI “swear” = shaba. Related to “Beer-sheba” in v14. See note LXIII above.
^CVII “here” = hennah. Perhaps from hen (lo! Behold! If, though; an expression of surprise). This is here in a location or here in a time, i.e. now.
^CVIII “not deal falsely” = shaqar. 6x in OT. From sheqer (deception, lie, disappointment, or thing that is vain). This is to deal falsely, generally to lie. It can be to cheat, but it usually refer to lying words.
^CIX “offspring or with my posterity” = nin + neked. Nin is 3x in OT. From nun (to propagate, continue, resprout, be perpetual). This is offspring, child, or posterity. Neked is 3x in OT. It is offspring or other progeny. Its root may also mean to propagate. Both words occur together in the same three places : Genesis 21:23 when Abraham and Abimelech make a covenant, Job 18:19 as Bildad discusses God’s punishment of the wicked, and Isaiah 14:22 when God cuts off the legacy of the Babylonians.

^CX “dealt” = asah. Same as “did” in v1. See note IV above.
^CXI “loyally” = chesed. From chasad (being good, kind, merciful; may mean bowing one’s neck as is done in the presence of an equal for courtesy’s sake; so, if one in a superior position is treating you like an equal, that is what is captured here). This is favor, goodness, kindness, loving kindness, pity, reproach, or a good deed. When done by God to humanity, this is mercy/loving kindness. When done by humanity to God, it is piety.
^CXII Literally “according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me.”
^CXIII “resided as aliens” = gur. Properly, this is the act of turning off the road for any reason. So, it means sojourning, becoming a guest. It can mean being fearful since one is outside of home territory. It can also mean dwelling, living, or inhabiting if one has turned off the root to encamp for a longer duration. This word is where the Hebrew “ger” comes from, which is the word translated “stranger” or “resident alien.”

^CXIV “complained” = yakach. This is to decide, be right, argue, or convince. It can also be to decide, convict, reason together, or reprove.
^CXV “servants” = ebed. From abad (to work, serve, compel; any kind of work; used causatively, can mean to enslave or keep in bondage). This is a servant, slave, or bondservant.
^CXVI “seized” = gazal. This is snatch, take violently, seize, tear away. It can also mean flay or rob.

^CXVII “know” = yada. This is to know, acknowledge, advise, answer, be aware, be acquainted with. Properly, this is to figure something out by seeing. It includes ideas of observation, recognition, and care about something. It can be used causatively for instruction, designation, and punishment.
^CXVIII {untranslated} = dabar. Same as “matter” in v11. See note XL above.
^CXIX “tell” = nagad. Related to “opposite” in v16. See note LXX above.

^CXX “sheep” = tson. This is a flock of sheep and goats.
^CXXI “oxen” = baqar. Related to “morning” in v14. From baqar (see note LI above). This is cattle – an animal used for plowing.
^CXXII “two” = shenayim. From sheni (double, again, another, second); from shanah (to fold, repeat, double, alter, or disguise). This is two, both, second, couple.
^CXXIII “made” = karat. This is to cut down, cut off, or make a covenant (idiom for making a covenant is “to cut a covenant”). It can also mean to destroy, fail, or consume.
^CXXIV “covenant” = berit. Perhaps from barah (to eat, choose, make clear); perhaps from bar (grain, wheat); from bara (to select, purify, cleanse, test, brighten, polish). This is a compact, covenant, alliance, treaty, or league.

^CXXV “set” = natsab. This is to station, appoint, establish, take a stand.
^CXXVI “apart” = bad. From badad (to divide or be separated; alone, solitary, lonely, isolated, straggler). This is apart, alone, separation, body part, tree branch, except. It can also be a city’s chief.
^CXXVII “seven” = sheba. Related to “Beer-sheba” in v14 & “swear” in v23. Related to shaba (see note LXIII above). This is seven or by sevenfold. It can also be used to imply a week or an indefinite number. Symbolically, this is the number of fullness, sacredness, perfection.
^CXXVIII “ewe lambs” = kibsah. 8x in OT. From the same as kebes (young male sheep – having just reached the age where it can butt other sheep). This is a ewe lamb.
^CXXIX “flock” = tson. Same as “sheep” in v27. See note CXX above.

^CXXX “accept” = laqach. Same as “took” in v14. See note LII above.
^CXXXI “in order that” = abur. From abar (to pass over, pass through, or pass by; cross over or to alienate; used for transitions). This is for, so that, on account of. Properly, it means crossed.
^CXXXII “witness” = edah. From ed (witness, testimony, recorder); from ud (to admonish, repeat, duplicate, testify, restore, record, relieve). This is testimony or witness.
^CXXXIII “dug” = chaphar. This is properly to pry into. It can also mean to dig search for, sink, or explore.
^CXXXIV “place” = maqom. Related to “come” in v18. From qum (see note LXXXII above). This is a standing, which is to say a spot or space a place. It can also refer to a locality or a physical/mental condition. HaMaqom is also a Jewish name for God – the place, i.e. the Omnipresent One.

^CXXXV “left” = qum. Same as “come” in v18. See note LXXXII above.
^CXXXVI “returned” = shub. To turn back, return, turn away – literally or figuratively. Doesn’t necessarily imply going back to where you started from. This is also the root verb for the Hebrew word for repentance “teshubah.”
^CXXXVII “Philistines” = Pelishti. From Pelesheth (Philistia); from palash (to mourn, wallow, maybe roll in). This is Philistines. Their name may mean “griever” or “burrower” or “weakener.” See https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Philistine.html.

^CXXXVIII “planted” = nata. To fix or fasten, establish or plant. This is planting in a literal or figurative sense.
^CXXXIX “tamarisk tree” = eshel. 3x in OT. This is tamarisk tree particularly or it can be used more generally for a grove.
^CXL “Everlasting” = olam. This is a long scope of time whether in the past (antiquity, ancient time) or in the future (eternal, everlasting).
^CXLI “God” = El. Related to “God” in v2. See note XII above.
^CXLII “many” = rab. From rabab (increasing in any aspect whether quantity, authority, size, quality, greatness, etc.). This is abundance, many, elder, exceedingly, great. It refers to abundance of amount, rank, or status.