So she said to Abraham: she refers to Sarah. So introduces the consequence of verse 9 in Revised Standard Version; but it also suggests to the reader something of the emotion that led Sarah to make this demand of Abraham. It may be necessary to show the emotion in Sarah’s words by saying something like “… Sarah was jealous, and she said….”

Cast out translates a verb meaning “drive out,” “expel,” “get rid of,” “send away.”

Slave woman is the same word as used in the plural in 20.17. See there for comments. Sarah’s demand is that Abraham send away or expel Hagar, whom she calls this slave woman, along with her son.

For the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac: by avoiding the names of Hagar and Ishmael—a rhetorical device of the narrator to show disdain—Sarah expresses the reason for her demand. Be heir, the same word as used in 15.3-4, translates the verb “to inherit.” For discussion of heir and “inherit” see 15.2.

This clause is translated by Good News Translation as a negative “must” clause: “the son of this woman must not get any part….” The sense is “the son of this slave woman must not inherit your wealth [when you die]. Only my son Isaac must inherit it.” Other expressions of this sense are “it is not right at all for the son of … to take part of what belongs to you; everything belongs to my son” and “her son can’t take over anything of yours [when you die]; Isaac my son has got to take over everything.”

Translators may wish to note the New Testament reference to this passage in Gal 4.29-30.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .