Genesis 22:21

22:20-24 This chapter ends with some account of Nahor's family, who had settled at Haran. This seems to be given for the connexion which it had with the church of God. From thence Isaac and Jacob took wives; and before the account of those events this list is recorded. It shows that though Abraham saw his own family highly honoured with privileges, admitted into covenant, and blessed with the assurance of the promise, yet he did not look with disdain upon his relations, but was glad to hear of the increase and welfare of their families.

Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother,.... The first of these gave name to the land of Uz, where Job dwelt, and who seems to be a descendant of this man, Job 1:1 ; and from whom sprung the Ausitae of Ptolemy (p), who dwelt near Babylon and by the Euphrates. The latter, was the father of the Buzites, of which family Elihu was, that interposed between Job and his friends, Job 32:2 , and Kemuel the father of Aram; not that Aram from whom the Syrians are denominated Arameans, he was the son of Shem, Genesis 10:22, but one who perhaps was so called from dwelling among them, as Jacob is, called a Syrian, Deuteronomy 26:5, or he had this name given him in memory and honour of the more ancient Aram: from this Kemuel might come the Camelites, of which there were two sorts mentioned by Strabo (q), and who dwelt to the right of the river Euphrates, about three days' journey from it. (p) Geograph. l. 5. c. 19. (q) Geograph. l. 16. p. 515.

(21) Huz. —The same name as Uz in Genesis 10:23 ; Genesis 36:28 , the Hebrew in all cases being’Uz. For the various regions supposed to have been “ the land of Uz,” see Notes on Job 1:1 ; Jeremiah 25:20 . Buz.—Probably he was the ancestor of Elihu (Job 32:2); but Buz, in Jeremiah 25:23, seems to have been a region in Idumea. Kemuel, the father of Aram.—He was not the progenitor of the Aramaic race, but the ancestor of the family of Ram, to which Elihu belonged (Job 32:2), Ram being the same as Aram (Keil). If so, Buz and Kemuel must have coalesced into one tribe.

21 . Uz his firstborn ] In Genesis 10:23 (P) Uz is the firstborn of Aram. Uz, as a locality in the Syrian region, is mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions. It may denote a branch of an Aramaean tribe, the Uṣṣâ of Shalmaneser II. It appears as the birthplace of Job ( Genesis 1:1 ). Whether it is the same Uz as is mentioned in Jeremiah 25:20 , Lamentations 4:21 , is doubtful. Another, Edomite, Uz is mentioned in Genesis 36:28 . Buz ] See Jeremiah 25:23 , where the mention of Buz with Dedan and Tema seems to point to the borders of the Arabian desert. Elihu, the friend of Job, is a native of Buz ( Job 32:2 ). Aram ] Here the son of Kemuel and nephew of Uz: in Genesis 10:23 (P), Aram, the son of Shem, is the father of Uz. Evidently the traditions embodying the relationship of the tribes of the desert were current in very various forms.

From Buz descended, as some conceive, Elihu the Buzite, Job 32:2 . Aram was so called, possibly because he dwelt among the Syrians, as Jacob, for the same reason, was called a Syrian, Deu 26:5 . But there was another more ancient Aram, from whom the Syrians descended, Genesis 10:22 .

CHAPTER 21 Ge 21:1-13. Birth of Isaac. 1. the Lord visited Sarah—The language of the historian seems designedly chosen to magnify the power of God as well as His faithfulness to His promise. It was God's grace that brought about that event, as well as the raising of spiritual children to Abraham, of which the birth of this son was typical [Calvin].God visits Sarah; she conceives and bears a son, Genesis 21:1,2. He is named Isaac, Genesis 21:3; circumcised the eighth day, Genesis 21:4. Sarah’s joy and thanks, Genesis 21:6,7. Abraham makes a feast at the weaning of Isaac, Genesis 21:8. Ishmael mocks; Sarah sees it, Genesis 21:9. She complains to Abraham, and desires to have him cast out, Genesis 21:10. Abraham is grieved, Genesis 21:11. God commands it; the reason, Genesis 21:12; promises a blessing to Ishmael for his sake, Genesis 21:13. Abraham sends Hagar and her son away; they wander in the wilderness, are like to perish for want of water, Genesis 21:14-16. God calls to her, Genesis 21:17; repeats his promise to Ishmael, Genesis 21:18; opens her eyes; she sees a well, Genesis 21:19. They dwell there, and Ishmael is an archer, Genesis 21:20; marries an Egyptian, Genesis 21:21. Abimelech convinced that God was with Abraham, desires a covenant, Genesis 21:22,23. Abraham consents, Genesis 21:24. Abimelech’s servants having taken a well from him, Abraham reproves him for it, Genesis 21:25. He pleads ignorance, Genesis 21:26. Both of them make a covenant, Genesis 21:27-32.

Verse 21. - Huz his firstborn , - ( vide Genesis 10:23 , where Uz appears as a son of Aram; and Genesis 36:28 , where he recurs as a descendant of Esau. That he was a progenitor of Job (Jerome) has no better foundation than Job 1:1 - and Buz his brother , - mentioned along with Dedan and Tema as an Arabian tribe ( Jeremiah 25:23 ), and may have been an ancestor of Elihu ( Job 32:2 ) - and Kemuel the father of Aram . " Not the founder of the Arameans, but the forefather of the family of Ram, to which the Buzite Elihu belonged; Aram being written for Ram, like Arammim, in 2 Kings 8:29 , for Rammim, in 2 Chronicles 22:5 " (Keil). Genesis 22:21

This family notice is inserted as a piece of contemporaneous history, to explain and prepare the way for the marriage of Isaac. "Milkah, she also," in allusion to Sarah, who has borne Isaac. So far as we know, they may have been sisters, but they were at all events sisters-in-law. The only new persons belonging to our histoy are Bethuel and Rebekah. Uz, Aram, and Kesed are interesting, as they show that we are in the region of the Shemites, among whom these are ancestral names Genesis 10:23 ; Genesis 11:28 . Buz may have been the ancestor of Elihu Jeremiah 25:23 ; Job 32:2 . Maakah may have given rise to the tribes and land of Maakah Deuteronomy 3:14 ; 2 Samuel 10:6 . The other names do not again occur. "And his concubine." A concubine was a secondary wife, whose position was not considered disreputable in the East. Nahor, like Ishmael, had twelve sons, - eight by his wife, and four by his concubine. - The Death of Sarah 2. ארבע קרית qı̂ryat-'arba‛, "Qirjath-arba', city of Arba." ארבע 'arba‛, "Arba', four." 8. עפרון ‛eprôn, "'Ephron, of the dust, or resembling a calf." צחר tshochar, "Tsochar, whiteness." 9. מכפלה makpêlâh, "Makpelah, doubled." The death and burial of Sarah are here recorded. This occasions the purchase of the field of Makpelah, in the cave of which is her sepulchre.

Descendants of Nahor. - With the sacrifice of Isaac the test of Abraham's faith was now complete, and the purpose of his divine calling answered: the history of his life, therefore, now hastens to its termination. But first of all there is introduced quite appropriately an account of the family of his brother Nahor, which is so far in place immediately after the story of the sacrifice of Isaac, that it prepares the way for the history of the marriage of the heir of the promise. The connection is pointed out in Genesis 22:20 , as compared with Genesis 11:29 , in the expression, "she also." Nahor, like Ishmael and Jacob, had twelve sons, eight by his wife Milcah and four by his concubine; whereas Jacob had his by two wives and two maids, and Ishmael apparently all by one wife. This difference with regard to the mothers proves that the agreement as to the number twelve rests upon a good historical tradition, and is no product of a later myth, which traced to Nahor the same number of tribes as to Ishmael and Jacob. For it is a perfectly groundless assertion or assumption, that Nahor's twelve sons were the fathers of as many tribes. There are only a few names, of which it is probable that their bearers were the founders of tribes of the same name. On Uz, see Genesis 10:23 . Buz is mentioned in Jeremiah 25:23 along with Dedan and Tema as an Arabian tribe; and Elihu was a Buzite of the family of Ram ( Job 32:2 ).

Kemuel, the father of Aram, was not the founder of the Aramaeans, but the forefather of the family of Ram, to which the Buzite Elihu belonged, - Aram being written for Ram, like Arammim in 2 Kings 8:29 for Rammim in 2 Chronicles 22:5 . Chesed again was not the father of the Chasdim (Chaldeans), for they were older than Chesed; at the most he was only the founder of one branch of the Chasdim, possibly those who stole Job's camels (Knobel; vid., Job 1:17 ). Of the remaining names, Bethuel was not the founder of a tribe, but the father of Laban and Rebekah ( Genesis 25:20 ). The others are never met with again, with the exception of Maachach, from whom probably the Maachites ( Deuteronomy 3:14 ; Joshua 12:5 ) in the land of Maacah, a small Arabian kingdom in the time of David ( 2 Samuel 10:6 , 2 Samuel 10:8 ; 1 Chronicles 19:6 ), derived their origin and name; though Maachah frequently occurs as the name of a person ( 1 Kings 2:39 ; 1 Chronicles 11:43 ; 1 Chronicles 27:16 ).