Genesis 21:17

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. 1  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, 2  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard 3  the boy’s voice right where he is crying.

Genesis 24:7

24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 4  promised me with a solemn oath, 5  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 6  before you so that you may find 7  a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24:40

24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, 8  will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.

1 sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the Lord are focused on the child’s imminent death.

2 tn Heb “What to you?”

3 sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.

4 tn Or “the land of my birth.”

5 tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”

6 tn Or “his messenger.”

7 tn Heb “before you and you will take.”

8 tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the Lord or it may have a more positive moral connotation (“serve faithfully”).