Genesis 21:5

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 21:5 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
Genesis 21:5 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 21

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
5And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Abraham was an hundred years old when son Isaac was born unto him.] So that this was years after his departure from Haran, and coming into the land of Canaan, for then he was seventy five years of age, (<011204>Genesis 12:4); and this exactly agrees with the account of Demetrius, as related by Polyhistor, an Heathen writer f1211, who makes Isaac to be born just twenty five years from Abraham’s coming into the land of Canaan, and who must be now an hundred years old, being ninety nine at the time the Lord appeared unto him, and promised him a son at the set time the next year, (<011701>Genesis 17:1,21). This is observed, both to show the wonderful favour to Abraham, and the faithfulness…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“21:5 Isaac was born twenty-five years after the promise was first given (cp. 12:4).”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification