[Finally, the child of promise is born, and we’re not talking about you-know-who. Just the thought of Sarah having a firstborn son at her age, that’s the true miraculous conception and birth! The most ideal age for childbearing is said to be from teens and before the age of 30; in fact birth defects are a real threat for women bearing children at age 40. It is Sarah who’s the crucial figure here, since men are known have children way into their old age but women? There’s an age limit, and yet she would have to live long enough to raise her one and only son who continues the line that would eventually birth the chosen people of Israel but let’s not get ahead of the storyline.
The son of Sarah’s scheme, Ysmael, once again is sent away with his mother. This is a side of Sarah that is not to be emulated. From the beginning this was her idea, then she causes much unhappiness for three people: Abraham, Yshmael and Hagar.
Unbracketed commentary is from Pentateuch and Haftorah’s, ed. Dr. J.H. Hertz; translation is Everett Fox The Five Books of Moses with commentary indicated by “EF”; additional commentary by Robert Alter, “RA.”––Admin1.]
Genesis/Bereshith 21
ISAAC AND ISHMAEL
1 Now YHVH took account of Sara as he had said, YHVH dealt with Sara as he had spoken.as He had said. See XV,4; XVIII,10.
2 Sara became pregnant and bore Avraham a son in his old age, at the set-time of which God had spoken to him.at the set time. See XVIII,14.
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Isaac. See XVII,19.
4 And Avraham circumcised Yitzhak his son at eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Avraham was a hundred years old when Yitzhak his son was born to him. 6 Now Sara said: God has made laughter for me, all who hear of it will laugh for me.laughter. i.e. joy; an additional reason why the name Isaac was appropriate for the child.
laugh . . . me. i.e. rejoice with me.
[EF] laugh for me: Out of joy or disbelief. Some suggest “laugh at.”
[RA] Laughter has God made me. The ambiguity of both the noun tseoq (“laughter”) and the accompanying preposition li (“to” or “for” or “with” or “at” me) is wonderfully suited to the complexity of the moment. It may be laughter, triumphant joy, that Sarah experiences and that is the name of the child Isaac (“he-who-laughs”). But in her very exultation, she could well feel the absurdity (as Kafka noted in one of his parables ) of a nongenarian becoming a mother. Tseoq also means “mockery,” and perhaps God is doing something to her as well as for her. (In poetry, the verb tsaaq is often linked in parallelism with la’ag, to scorn or mock, and it should be noted that la’ag is invariably followed by the preposition Ie, as tsaaq is here.) All who hear of it may laugh, rejoice, with Sarah, but the hint that they might also laugh at her is evident in her language.
7 And she said: Who would have declared to Avraham: Sara will nurse sons? Well, I have borne him a son in his old age![RA] uttered. The Hebrew milel is a term that occurs only in poetic texts and is presumably high diction, perhaps archaic.
for I have borne a son in his old age. In a symmetrical reversal of God’s report in chapter 18 of Sarah’s interior monologue, where Abraham’s advanced age was suppressed, Sarah’s postpartum poem, like the narrator’s reprot that precedes it, mentions only his old age. Hers is implied by her marveling reference to herself as an old woman suckling infants, a pointed reversal of her own allusion in chapter 18 to her shriveled body.
8 The child grew and was weaned, and Avraham made a great drinking-feast on the day that Yitzhak was weaned.the child . . . was weaned. Usually at two or even three years; II Maccabees, VII,26. Weaning a child is in the East still made the occasion of a family feast.
9 Once Sara saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian-woman, whom she had borne to Avraham, laughing . . . .making sport. ‘Mocking’ (RV). The Heb. term usually refers to an act of impurity or idolatry. Or, ‘Ishmael laughed derisively at the feasting and rejoicing over the child Isaac, inasmuch as he was the elder son and the heir to his father’s estate. Hence Sarah’s natural desire to drive him out of the house’ (Erlich).
[EF] laughing: Perhaps mockingly. The theme of Yitzhak’s life continues.
[RA] laughing. Hebrew metsaeq. The same verb that meant “mocking” or “joking” in Lot’s encounter with his sons-in-law and that elsewhere in the Patriarchal narratives refers to sexual dalliance. It also means “to play.” (Although the conjugation here is pi’el and Sarah’s use of the same root in verse 6 is in the qal conjugation, attempts to establish a firm semantic differentiation between the deployment of the root in the two different conjugations do not stand up under analysis.) Some medieval Hebrew exegetes, trying to find a justification for Sarah’s harsh response, construe the verb as a reference to homosexual advances, though that seems far-fetched. Mocking laughter would surely suffice to trigger her outrage. Given the fact, moreover, that she is concerned lest Ishmael encroach on her son’s inheritance, and given the inscription of her son’s name in this crucial verb, we may also be invited to construe it as “Isaacing-it”—that is, Sarah sees Ishmael presuming to play the role of Isaac, child of laughter, presuming to be the legitimate heir.
[RA] Drive out this slavegirl. In language that nicely catches the indignation of the legitimate wife, Sarah refers to neither Hagar nor Ishmael by name, but instead insists on the designation of low social status.
the thing was very grievous. For Abraham was attached to Ishmael; see XVII,18.
[EF] bad in Avraham’s eyes: Displeasing or upsetting to him.
12 But God said to Avraham: Do not let it be bad in your eyes concerning the lad and concerning your slave-woman; in all that Sara says to you, hearken to her voice, for it is through Yitzhak that seed will be called by your (name).God said unto Abraham. Probably in a dream during the night; v. 14.
in Isaac shall seed be called to thee. Isaac was to be the Patriarch’s heir; and consequently Abraham might act upon Sarah’s wish, and send Ishmael away, thus avoiding any dispute later on concerning the inheritance.
[EF] seed will be called: i.e. your line will be continued.
[RA] listen to her voice. The Hebrew idiom has the obvious meaning “to obey,” but the literal presence of hearing a voice is important because it resonates with the occurrence of the same verb and object at the heart of the wilderness scene that immediately follows.
acclaimed. The literal meaning of the Hebrew is “called.”
13 But also the son of the slave-woman-a nation will I make of him, for he too is your seed.14 Avraham started-early in the morning, he took some bread and a skin of water and gave them
to Hagar-placing them upon her shoulder—together with the child and sent her away. She went off and roamed in the wilderness of Be’er-sheva.
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bottle of water. Still used in the East.
and the child. Abarbanel shows that the Heb. text can be translated to mean that both Hagar and the lad carried the food and water.
wilderness of Beer-sheba. The town Beer-sheba, in the extreme South of Palestine, is situated on the border of the desert.
[EF] Be’er-Sheva: Trad. English “Beersheba.”
[RA] rose early in the morning. This is precisely echoed in the story of the binding of Isaac (22:3), as part of an intricate network of correspondences between the two stories.
and he gave her the child. The Hebrew has only “the child,” with an accusative prefix. This has led many commentators to imagine that Abraham is putting Ishmael on Hagar’s shoulders together with bread and water—a most unlikely act, since the boy would be about sixteen. But biblical syntax permits the use of a transitive verb (“gave [them] to Hagar”) interrupted by a participial clause (“placing [them] on her shoulder”), which then controls a second object (“the child”). The only way to convey this in English is by repeating the verb.
15 Now when the water in the skin was at an end, she threw the child under one of the bushes,one of the shrubs. To protect him from the fierce sun.
16 and went and sat by herself, at-a-distance, as far away as a bowshot, for she said to herself:Let me not see the child die! So she sat at-a-distance, and lifted up her voice and wept.
as it were a bowshot. i.e. within hearing.
[RA] a bowshot away. This particular indication of distance is carefully chosen, for it adumbrates the boy’s vocation as bowman spelled out at the end of the story.
when the child dies. Like the narrator in verses 14 and 15, Hagar refers to her son as Iyeled, “child” (the etymology—“the one who is born”—is the same as enfant in French). This is the same term that is used for Isaac at the beginning of verse 8. From the moment the angel speaks in verse 17, Ishmael is consistently referred to as na’ar, “lad”—a more realistic indication of his adolescent status and also a term of tenderness, as in the story of the binding of Isaac in the next chapter.
17 But God heard the voice of the lad, God’s messenger called to Hagar from heaven and said to her: What ails you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the lad there where he is.heard the voice of the lad. God has pity on the anguish of the alien slave mother, and hears her prayer no less than that of an Abraham.
where he is. lit. ‘as he now is.’ The Rabbis deduce from this the doctrine that God, in answering prayer, judges the penitent worshipper as he is at that moment of his penitence.
[RA] And God heard the voice of the lad. The narrator had reported only Hagar’s weeping. Now we learn that the boy has been weeping or crying out, and it is his anguish that elicits God’s saving response. In the earlier version of the banishment of Hagar (chapter 16), the naming of her future son Ishmael stands at the center of the story. Here, as though the writer were ironically conspiring with Sarah’s refusal to name the boy, Ishmael’s name is suppressed to the very end. But the ghost of its etymology—“God will hear”—hovers at the center of the story.
18 Arise, lift up the lad and grasp him with your hand, for a great nation will I make of him!19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; she went, filled the skin with water, and gave the lad to drink.
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and God opened her eyes. i.e. she now perceived the well of water which was quite near her, but which in her anguish of mind she had overlooked. ‘the Hebrew phrase to open the eyes is exclusively employed in the figurative sense of receiving new sources of knowledge, not in that of regaining the sense of sight’ (Maimonides).
20 And God was with the lad as he grew up,
he settled in the wilderness, and became an archer,
a bowman.
[RA] a seasoned bowman. There is an odd doubling of the professional designation in the Hebrew (literally archer-bowman”), which I construe as an indication of his confirmed dedication to this hunter’s calling, or his skill in performing it.
21 He settled in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took him a wife from the land of Egyptwilderness of Paran. See on XIV,6.
his mother took him for a wife. It was usually the concern of the parent to find a wife for the son, XXIV,3; XXXIV,4.
out of the land of Egypt. Her native land.
[EF] Yishmael Banished(21:9-21). Once Yitzhak has been born, separation must be made between heir and firstborn. Despite Avraham’s obvious love for him, Yishmael must leave; his mother must repeat her ordeal of Chap. 16 as well. Nonetheless the text emphasizes that God is there “with the lad” (v. 20); twice the Yishmael motif of “God hearkening” resounds (v.17); and God promises that the boy will eventually attain the same exalted status as his brother (vv 13,18).
Structurally, this brief tale foreshadows the next chapter, the ordeal of Yitzchak. It speaks of a journey into the unknown, a child at the point of death, the intervention of God’s Messenger,” the parent’s sighting of the way out, and the promise of future blessing. Of course the differences between the two stories are equally important.
v. 22-34. ALLIANCE BETWEEN ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH
[EF] Treaty (21:22-24): This interlude, which usefully separates the life threats to Avraham’s two sons (for a similar example, see I Sam. 25), is one of many scenes demonstrating Avraham’s relationship with local princes.
22 It was at about that time that Avimelekh, together with Pikhol the commander of his army,said to Avraham: God is with you in all that you do.
God is with thee. Evidenced by the birth of a son to the Patriarch in his old age.
[RA] This episode is clearly a continuation of the Abimelech story in chapter 20, interrupted by the linked episodes of the birth of Isaac and the expulsion of Ishmael. Abimelech had offered Abraham the right of settlement in his territories (“Look, my land is before you”). Now, as Abraham manifestly prospers (“God is with you in whatever you do”), Abimelech proposes a treaty which will ensure that the Hebrew sojourner does not unduly encroach on him or his land.
23 So now, swear to me here by God: If you should ever deal falsely with me, with my progeny and my posterity . . . ! Rather, faithfully, as I have dealt with you, deal with me, and with the land in which you have sojourned.
here. In this place, i.e. Beer-sheba.
kindness. Referring to gifts and permission to dwell in the land, see XX,14.
[EF] with my progeny and my posterity: Heb. u-le-nini u-le-nekhdi.
24 Avraham said: I so swear. 25 But Avraham rebuked Avimelekh because of a well of water that Avimelekh’s servants had seized.reproved. While agreeing to the suggested alliance, Abraham stated a grievance; Lev. XIX,17, ‘Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour.
[RA] concerning the well. The particular instance of the clash between Abimelech’s retainers and Abraham links this story with the immediately preceding one, in which Ishmael is rescued by the discovery of the well in the wilderness.
26 Avimelekh said: I do not know who did this thing, nor have you ever told me, nor have I heard of it apart from today. 27 So Avraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Avimelekh, and the two of them cut a covenant.sheep and oxen. The exchange of gifts on making a treaty.
28 Then Avraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock aside. 29 Avimelekh said to Avraham: What mean these seven ewe-lambs that you have set aside? 30 He said: Indeed, these seven ewe-lambs you should take from my hand, so that they may be a witness for me that I dug this well.witness. The acceptance of the lambs would be equivalent to acknowledging Abraham’s right to the possession of the well.
[EF] take: Accept.
31 Therefore that place was called Be’er-sheva/Well of the Seven-swearing, for there the two of them swore (an oath).Beer-sheba. The name is given a double etymology; ‘the well of seven (lambs)’ and ‘the well of swearing’.
[RA] the name of that place Beersheba. The Hebrew makes a transparent etymological pun. Be’er means “well.” Sheba’ can be construed as “oath” but it is also the number seven, ritually embodied here in the seven ewes Abraham sets apart. A second etymology may be intimated, not for the place-name Beersheba but for the term shev’uah, “oath,” which seems to be derived by the writer from the sacred number seven, made part of the oath-taking.
[RA] the land of the Philistines. This is an often-noted anachronism, the incursion of the Philistines from Crete to the coastal area of Canaan postdating the Patriarchal period by more than four centuries. The writer may mean merely to refer casually tot his region in geographical terms familiar to his audience; it is not clear that Abimelech with his Semitic name is meant to be thought of as a “Philistine” king.
33 Now he planted a tamarisk in Be’er-sheva and there he called out the name: YHVH God of the Ages.
and called there on the name of the LORD. See on II,8.
It is noteworthy that the story of Hagar and Ishmael is the Reading for the First Day of Rosh Hashanah; while the next chapter, the intended Sacrifice of Isaac, is read on the Second Day. The highest manifestation of the Divine is not to be found in the calling into existence of Nature’s elemental forces; far higher are God’s ways manifest in the hearts and souls of men, in the home life of those who do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God.
[EF] tamarisk: A tree rarely mentioned in the Bible. It may indicate a holy place, similar to the oaks where Avraham dwells earlier. God of the Ages: A name unique to this passage.
[RA] at Beersheba. The cultic tree is planted “at” rather than “in” Beersheba because it is evident that the site of the oath is a well in the wilderness, not a built-up town.
34 And Avraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days.