This page gives you ready-to-use Bible study questions for Genesis 21, with a leader’s answer or discussion note for each one. It suits a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study, and every question names the verses it draws on so you can point the room straight to the text. You can work through the questions in order or pick the ones that fit your time.
Genesis 21 at a Glance
Genesis 21 opens with God doing what he promised. Sarah conceives and bears Isaac at the appointed time, and Abraham, now a hundred years old, names and circumcises him. Sarah’s laughter turns from doubt into joy, and the family celebrates the weaning with a feast.
The mood shifts when Sarah sees Ishmael mocking and asks Abraham to send Hagar and her son away. God tells Abraham to listen to Sarah and promises to care for Ishmael too. Hagar wanders in the wilderness, runs out of water, and cries out, and God opens her eyes to a well. The chapter closes with Abimelech making a covenant with Abraham at Beersheba, where Abraham plants a tree and worships the Everlasting God.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an opinion. Ask the group to point to the words in the text, and let the answers come from what is written rather than what people remember from a sermon. Keep the pace slow so everyone can find their verse.
Genesis 21:1-3
1 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had spoken. 2 Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
(WEB)
Read this passage first to set the scene and remind the group that the chapter begins with God keeping his word. It gives the foundation for everything that follows and works well as an opening prayer of thanks.
Genesis 21:6-7
6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 She said, “Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
(WEB)
Sarah’s words capture the joy of the chapter in her own voice. Reading them aloud lets the group hear the emotion in her speech and invites shared laughter before moving into harder material.
Genesis 21:12-13
12 God said to Abraham, “Don’t let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your servant. In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For your offspring will be named through Isaac. 13 I will also make a nation of the son of the servant, because he is your child.”
(WEB)
These verses hold God’s words to Abraham about Isaac and Ishmael. Reading them slowly helps the group see both the particular covenant and the wider care God extends, which is central to the chapter’s theology.
Genesis 21:17-19
17 God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him in your hand. For I will make him a great nation.” 19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the bottle with water, and gave the boy drink.
(WEB)
This passage shows God hearing and responding to a crying child in the wilderness. Read it aloud to highlight God’s attentiveness to the vulnerable, and pause for the group to picture Hagar’s sudden sight of water.
Genesis 21:33-34
33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days.
(WEB)
The chapter closes with Abraham worshiping the Everlasting God at Beersheba and living as a foreigner for many days. Reading these final verses ends the session on a note of worship and quiet faithfulness.
Memory Verse for Genesis 21
Genesis 21:1
The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had spoken.
(WEB)
This verse states the chapter’s central truth in one sentence: the LORD did for Sarah what he had spoken. It is short enough to memorize and gives the group a simple anchor for trusting God’s promises when waiting feels long.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you keep your word and act at the right time, even when we have waited a long while. Thank you for hearing the cries of those who feel forgotten, as you heard the boy in the wilderness and opened Hagar’s eyes to water. Help us to laugh with joy when you bring good things, and to hold our promises to others with honesty. Keep us faithful in our waiting, and make our study of your Word lead us into deeper trust in you. Amen.
