21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. 6 Everyone who hears about this 7 will laugh 8 with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, 9 “Who would 10 have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
1 tn Or “she conceived.”
2 tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.
3 tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.
4 sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the
5 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).
6 tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”
7 tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
8 sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) 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).
9 tn Heb “said.”
10 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.