The Meaning of Genesis 21:15 Explained

Genesis 21:15

KJV: And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

YLT: and the water is consumed from the bottle, and she placeth the lad under one of the shrubs.

Darby: And the water was exhausted from the flask; and she cast the child under one of the shrubs,

ASV: And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the water  was spent  in  the bottle,  and she cast  the child  under one  of the shrubs. 

What does Genesis 21:15 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 21:8-21 - Hagar And Ishmael Cast Out
Poor Hagar! She thought that she had given Abraham his heir, but now she found herself and her boy outcasts on the desert waste. The water was soon spent, she little dreamed that a fountain was so near. Cry to God, He will open fountains in the middle of your deserts. Beneath their sad lot a divine purpose was running. God said, "Let it not be grievous in thy sight." This is the teaching of Scripture: that our lives are being ordered and our steps prepared. All we need to be anxious about is the finding of the path. Let us ask God to open our eyes to see the fountains beside us, and the way before us. And after all, was not the wilderness a better training-ground for the lad than the comparative luxury of Abraham's tent? "He became an archer." Isaac would have been the better for a touch of the desert-life. The Holy Spirit, through Paul, gives the inner significance of this incident in Galatians 5:1. See also John 8:36. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 21

1  Isaac is born, and circumcised
6  Sarah's joy
8  Isaac is weaned
9  Hagar and Ishmael sent away
15  Hagar in distress
17  The angel relieves and comforts her
23  Abimelech's covenant with Abraham at Beersheba

What do the individual words in Genesis 21:15 mean?

And was used up the water in the skin and she placed - the boy under one of the bushes
וַיִּכְל֥וּ הַמַּ֖יִם מִן־ הַחֵ֑מֶת וַתַּשְׁלֵ֣ךְ אֶת־ הַיֶּ֔לֶד תַּ֖חַת אַחַ֥ד הַשִּׂיחִֽם

וַיִּכְל֥וּ  And  was  used  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.
הַמַּ֖יִם  the  water 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
הַחֵ֑מֶת  the  skin 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֵמֶת  
Sense: bottle, waterskin.
וַתַּשְׁלֵ֣ךְ  and  she  placed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁלַךְ  
Sense: to throw, cast, hurl, fling.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַיֶּ֔לֶד  the  boy 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יֶלֶד  
Sense: child, son, boy, offspring, youth.
תַּ֖חַת  under 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
אַחַ֥ד  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular construct
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
הַשִּׂיחִֽם  of  the  bushes 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שִׂיחַ  
Sense: bush, plant, shrub.