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Genesis 21:8

וַ יִּגְדַּל הַ יֶּלֶד וַ יִּגָּמַל וַ יַּעַשׂ אַבְרָהָם מִשְׁתֶּה גָדֹול בְּ יֹום הִגָּמֵל אֶת יִצְחָק

And the Born-one is growing-great, and he is being weaned,720 and Father-of-Tumult is making a great drink721 in the hot-one of being weaned,722 אֶת-He-Laughs.


720

Strong’s #1580, gamal. To wean, accustom, cultivate. This word has incurred a variety of meanings because of its apparent figurative usage as to wean, ripen, repay, or deal bountifully. Interestingly, gamal as a noun (#1581) also means a camel. The primary meaning however is to wean. Gesenius writes, “This primary signification and the origin and connection of the other meanings are well illustrated by Alb. Schultens, (on Prov. 3:30)…”. There is a clear relationship to “weaving” as used by Joseph in Gen. 50:17 who is responding to the brothers having “weaned” a ruin to him.