Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him with your hand; for I will make him a great nation.
All Commentaries on Genesis 21:18 Go To Genesis 21
John Chrysostom
AD 407
What loving kindness on the Lord’s part! Far from ignoring [Hagar] as a menial servant, he deigned to show her such wonderful concern for the reason that he had made the promise to the patriarch and the child was his. Hence the words “What is it, Hagar? Don’t worry: God heard the cry of the child. Get up, pick him up, and take him by the hand; after all, I am to make him grow into a mighty nation.” Don’t lose heart, he is saying, at being driven from home. He will enjoy such providence at my hands as to become a mighty nation, even he.
