Genesis 21:1–7
Isaac is born
Sarah bears Abraham a son in their old age, the child is named Isaac and Sarah speaks about the laughter surrounding the birth.
Open scene →Genesis 21 · visual collection
Isaac is born, Hagar survives the wilderness and Beersheba is named in four visual scenes.
Genesis 21 combines celebration and grief. Isaac’s birth fulfills the promise to Sarah, while Hagar and Ishmael are then sent into the wilderness. The chapter ends with a negotiated peace at Beersheba.
The four scenes
Genesis 21:8–14
Hagar and Ishmael are sent away
After conflict at Isaac’s weaning, Abraham gives Hagar bread and water and sends her away with Ishmael.
Open scene →Genesis 21:15–21
A well in the wilderness
When the water is gone Hagar weeps in the wilderness. She is shown a well, helps Ishmael drink, and the narrative says God is with the boy as he grows.
Open scene →Genesis 21:22–34
A covenant at Beersheba
Abimelech and Phicol approach Abraham, the men make a covenant, and a dispute over a well is formally resolved.
Open scene →How the four scenes were chosen
The boundaries follow changes in speaker, location, action or narrative purpose rather than equal verse counts. SacraScenes keeps a longer passage together when it functions as one movement and starts a new scene when the chapter clearly changes direction. That makes the visual sequence useful for reading rather than merely slicing the source into matching-sized blocks. Each card links to an editorial page and then to the immersive reader at the exact Scripture range.
Joy and loss belong in the same chapter
SacraScenes does not let the birth scene erase Hagar’s later distress, and it does not let the wilderness scene erase the chapter’s covenant diplomacy. Four scenes preserve those contrasts.
Image and source boundary
The artwork is an original generated interpretation, not a photograph, archaeological reconstruction or doctrinal authority. Clothing, architecture and landscape are kept broadly appropriate to the biblical setting while uncertain details remain intentionally restrained. The Scripture panel is separate and labelled World English Bible (Catholic), so readers can compare the visual retelling with the public-domain source instead of receiving a blended paraphrase as though it were Bible text.
English and Slovenian visual readings
These four visual scenes are available with original English and Slovenian editorial retellings. English Scripture uses World English Bible (Catholic); Slovenian Scripture uses the historical Wolfova Biblija (1856–1859). Source quotations remain distinct from artistic interpretations and commentary. The German visual edition is not yet available. Read Genesis 21 in Slovenian →
Read the source or continue visually
Read complete Genesis 21 source textBack to Genesis 20Start Genesis 21 →Continue to Genesis 22 →
Editorial overview updated 28 September 2026.